Baking sure fire way to warm up holiday spirit

Holiday time comes and goes and what gets remembered the most are the treats and baked goods that everyone looks forward to indulging in. The winter season in Iowa is definitely a good time of year to indulge in treats. With cold, windy weather a constant, a warm hot chocolate, warm apple cider and some fantastic holiday cookie really can lift the spirits, as it gets colder and more frosty outside.

Families love to look forward to recipes being made over and over again, traditional recipes that have been passed on from family member to family member. For example, a British grandmother’s favorite trifle, an aunt’s gingerbread or a grand dad’s famous apple pie.

As the season gets busy from Thanksgiving till end of the year, it’s nice to slow down and

and make treats for the family and friends. Where to start? There are so many favorites and continual new recipes uploaded on the internet.

According to Statista website, when survey takers were asked what their most essential dessert for Christmas was, approximately 46.3 percent of responding U.S. adults picked apple pie in 2021. Chocolate chip cookies were the second most coveted dessert for Christmas. Chocolate cookies ranked just in front of fruitcakes. Fruitcake was named by 35.8 percent of respondents as an essential Christmas dessert! That may be surprising, as fruitcake gets a bad rap, but traditions are important, and many cultures make fruitcakes at holiday time. 

In talking with local Cedar Fall holiday enthusiasts, many had holiday favorites that bring out festive feelings. 

Journalism teacher Brian Winkel enjoys making jam thumbprint cookies with currant jam, and it’s always been his favorite and really looks forward to making them. Local artist Karin Desnoyers makes dozens and dozens of biscotti cookies for friends and family. Every year the biscotti cookie tins are returned to her, so that she can make more. Local professional baker Lorenzo of Kiesha’s Desserts replied to these questions.

#1. Being a professional baker, since you can make just about anything, does your family even have a traditional dessert line up?

During the holiday season, my family LOVE pies and cheesecakes—specifically cherry cheesecake and cherry pie as well as Pecan pie.

#2. What do your customers buy the most of?

Our most popular items during the holidays are pies and cheesecake, with cheesecake being just a bit more popular. 

Which is funny, because a survey across the states by womansday.com magazine found that although many states enjoyed a variety of different desserts, cheesecake was the overall winner in popularity. In our own state of Iowa though, Oreo balls were the most popular dessert at holiday time.

Clearly, it’s very important to spend time with family and friends over the holidays. One of the best ways to make the holidays memorable is to bake and cook traditional favorites or even potential new favorites. Experiment! One thing that’s nice about holiday baking is that it’s a great way to celebrate without spending too much money, so do a cookie exchange, have a gingerbread house making party and everyone can get merry!