Bake from Scratch

Bakers, it’s time to pull out the cookie cutters and piping tips—our 2020 Holiday Cookies special issue is here! This issue includes a merry and bright star-studded lineup of bakers in addition to our own holiday favorites. Rebecca Firth brings spice, spirits, and her typical cookie prowess to our pages. Dazzling snow globe and stocking cookies were created with care by Emily Hutchinson, the queen of cookie decorating, equipped with helpful step-by-step photos. Her stunning recipes for Twinkling Tree Cookies and Poinsettia Cookies are our gorgeous cover stars. Mike Johnson, brownie connoisseur, offers several delicious bars and cookies, including Peppermint Patty Brownies that everyone will rave about all season long. Erin Clarkson brings fabulous new recipes to the table, like Cranberry Shortcake Bars and Chocolate Cherry Linzer Cookies. Laura Kasavan delivers her usual buttery, crumbly comfort in the form of Chocolate Toffee Shortbread and Cranberry Cheesecake Cookies. And finally, how could Sarah Kieffer not finish things off with an epic pan bang? Chocolate-Mint Pan-Banging Cookies, along with cheesecake bars and pumpkin blondies, round out this wonderfully festive collection of cookies.

Bake from Scratch

Editors Letter • FOUR YEARS AGO, WE BEGAN ONE OF MY FAVORITE BAKE FROM SCRATCH TRADITIONS: OUR HOLIDAY COOKIES SPECIAL ISSUE.

Cookie Index • HOLIDAY COOKIE INDEX

The Bake from Scratch Holiday Cookie Collection • For this issue, we created a wish list of flavors for our holiday cookie plate. We were dreaming of marzipan-stuffed gingerbread cookies, White Russian-inspired bars, and a marbled red velvet cookie that would enchant the eyes and the taste buds. We’re happy to say that this holiday season, we’ve gotten exactly what we wished for.

Rebecca Firth • Rebecca Firth is a food writer, a photographer, the creator of the sweet-focused blog DisplacedHousewife, and author of the best-selling cookbook The Cookie Book. Her focus is on recipes that are accessible, delicious, and loaded with “heaps of jazz hands.” Rebecca was a finalist for the 2017 Saveur Blog Award (Baking & Sweets category). Her next cookbook, The Cake Book, will be released in fall 2021. She lives with her family in the Santa Ynez Valley, California.

Emily Hutchinson • Emily started baking as a small child with her grandmother. As she grew into adulthood and became a mother, baking was put on the back burner temporarily. Then, in 2008, her daughter Jenny passed away from SIDS. She was beyond devastated. With no hope in sight, her friends invited her to church, her heart opened, and she started to bake again. This triumph in the kitchen brought her joy, and she had to share it with the world through step-by-step videos. Ten years later, her Instagram account has more than 100,000 followers, she has taught numerous classes, and she appears on national television to showcase her popular techniques. Emily published her first book, Creative Cookie Decorating, in 2019; her second book is coming in 2021.

Mike Johnson • Mike Johnson is a New York City-based recipe developer and food photographer who runs the popular baking and sweets blog Mike Bakes NYC, where he shares his indulgent dessert recipes. Mike’s blog started as a creative outlet while he was in law school, combining his love of photography with his insatiable sweet tooth. Now, he’s a licensed attorney who’s left the practice of law to make his dream of working in the food industry full-time come true. Mike’s first cookbook, Even Better Brownies, comes out December 1.

Erin Clarkson • Erin is a baking blogger who moved from New Zealand to Brooklyn, New York, six years ago, and she started her blog as a way to combat homesickness by making classic New Zealand treats. Her blog covers a range of sweet and savory baking, with a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients, reworked New Zealand...