Holiday Baking Championship

The 12 bakers are divided into the Nice Team and the Naughty Team, and Jesse Palmer challenges each team to create an edible holiday village. Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown decide which baker from the losing team will be eliminated.

Jesse Palmer challenges the Naughty and Nice teams to make holiday cocktail and mocktail desserts. Then, the bakers create meringue-based desserts that are either cheerful or cheeky to impress judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown.

Jesse Palmer asks the teams to create over-the-top holiday wreath desserts, and the team who won the previous challenge gets to pick a naughty or nice advantage. Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown decide which baker goes home.

Jesse Palmer challenges the nine remaining bakers to make holiday pies with no repeated flavors among their own team. In a surprise twist, each team must select only their best two pies for tasting by judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown.

Jesse Palmer asks the teams to make desserts representing snow-day activities for judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown. Plus, the most recent winning team gets to choose either a 15-minute head start or stealing a baker from the other team!

Jesse Palmer asks the remaining seven bakers to make a Chrismukkah dessert platter with decorated Christmas cookies, rugelach, and traditional Hanukkah sufganiyot. Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown do a blind tasting to decide who wins.

In the semifinals, there are no more teams, and Jesse Palmer gives the six remaining bakers a gauntlet of three retro Christmas dessert challenges. Guest judge Stephanie Boswell joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which bakers go to the finale.

For the finale, Jesse Palmer challenges the bakers to make large-scale, over-the-top naughty vs. nice cakes. Guest judge Zac Young joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide the winner of $25,000 and the title of Holiday Baking Champion!