Get in the Spirit With Holiday Sweets

What’s a festive gathering without a sweet finale? Find recipe inspiration in five new cookbooks that feature desserts primed to inspire you to share the joy of the season.

EE Berger

Chocolate-Dipped Espresso Stars

Zingerman’s Bakehouse has developed a serious fan following at its Ann Arbor, Michigan, location, drawing on more than 30 years of experience turning out flawless pies, bread, cakes and cookies. As a follow-up to their first successful cookbook, the Zingerman team of Amy Emberling, Lindsay-Jean Hard, Lee Vedder and Corynn Coscia shares Zingerman’s Bakehouse Celebrate Every Day: A Year's Worth of Favorite Recipes for Festive Occasions, Big and Small. With 80 recipes and more than 100 colorful photos, you’re sure to find something to suit all of your holiday festivities. The recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Espresso Stars infuses buttery shortbread with rich coffee flavors. You can serve them as a holiday party treat or nibble on them while wrapping gifts or waiting up for Santa.

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Rachelle Beatty

Baked Apples With Oat Crumble

It’s often said that the best dishes are made with love. In their new cookbook, Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts: Wholesome Everyday Recipes Made with Love, cousins Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer draw inspiration from the large family meals they’ve eaten together their entire lives. The collection of more than 135 recipes by the duo of influencers (Harris of the Jilly Academy for entrepreneurs and Wesszer of lifestyle blog Fraîche Living) is a charming follow-up to their previous best-selling cookbook. While you’ll find plenty of hearty, wholesome dishes for every kind of meal all year round, try the simple recipe for Baked Apples With Oat Crumble for a sweet, seasonal treat. Tip: In the unlikely event you have leftovers, the recipe includes a tip on how to blend them into a delicious smoothie.

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Kelsey Foster

Midnight Kiss Cookie Bites

Maegan Brown, the recipe developer behind The Baker Mama blog and best-selling author of Beautiful Boards and Spectacular Spreads, believes that the best dishes can be enjoyed in one or two bites. With that in mind, she’s released her third cookbook, Brilliant Bites: 75 Amazing Small Bites for Any Occasion, packed full of delicious treats, most of which don’t even require utensils to serve. Brown’s Midnight Kiss Cookie Bites are the perfect dessert to serve as you ring in the new year — or really, anytime you need a sweet pick-me-up.

Get Recipe: Midnight Kiss Cookie Bites