An expert on traditional holidays and the special baked treats that mark them, veteran chef and cookbook writer Beatrice Ojakangas presents recipes for twenty-one seasonal occasions and cultural holidays. She takes you from spring to winter with recipes like heart-shaped coffee cake for Valentine’s Day, Austrian carnival doughnuts or spicy rabbit cookies for Easter, and cinnamon-walnut kamish bread or challah for Rosh Hashanah. For Christmas, the biggest baking season of the year, Ojakangas offers enticing recipes for thirty-eight classic and fancy cookies, eighteen yeast breads, thirteen quick breads, nine cakes, ten bar cookies and brownies, and many more. With these recipes, every holiday is sure to be memorable.

In addition to its array of delectable foods, The Great Holiday Baking Book is brimming with holiday lore from cultures around the world. Ojakangas also provides helpful tips and practical information about hosting a cookie-swap party, organizing your bustling holiday kitchen, involving the kids in baking fun, and more. With its variety of specialties and treats for almost every gala occasion, The Great Holiday Baking Book is sure to become an indispensable part of your feasts and celebrations. 

Beatrice Ojakangas is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including The Great Scandinavian Baking Book (1999) and Scandinavian Feasts (2001), both published by the University of Minnesota Press. Her articles have been published in Bon AppÉtit, Gourmet, Cooking Light, Cuisine, and Redbook, and she has appeared on television’s Baking with Julia Child and Martha Stewart’s Living. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.