There are some staples that should always be in a baker’s pantry: flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Some lists leave out the last two, or only include them as extras, but I use vanilla and cocoa powder almost every single day and my kitchen is never without them. I don’t want your kitchen to be without them, either, which is why I’m giving away two Baking Basics Gift Packs full of baking essentials from Rodelle. You’ll have to stock up on flour and butter, but this gift pack is full of vanilla beans, vanilla extract, Dutch process baking cocoa  and other essentials  that will get you set up for all of your holiday baking
To enter the contest, just leave a comment below and mention your favorite holiday treat – whether it is a pumpkin pie recipe that you’ve been baking for twenty years or a new sugar cookie recipe you just added to your repertoire. The contest ends Sunday at midnight (11/10/2013) and two winners will be randomly selected from the entries. Don’t forget to fill in your e-mail on the comment form (it will not be made public), as that is how I will contact the winner, and good luck!
Here are a few chocolate and vanilla recipes to kick start your holiday baking:
Update: Comments are now closed. Congrats to Alyssa and Amy on winning this giveaway! Thanks to everyone for participating!
Kara D
November 6, 2013Gingerbread Men for sure!
Alexis
November 6, 2013my favorite are spritz cookies made with a cookie press. And as an ode to my childhood, I still make a few blue dogs every year!
Nicole P.
November 6, 2013I love to make pizelle cookies. Last season wI got a new pizelle iron and I can’t wait to break it out.
Donna
November 6, 2013Every Christmas people wait for my fudge and brownies. Say it would not
be right without them. Thanks for great giveaway. This would make baking
for the season much better
Marion
November 6, 2013I have 2 favorite cheesecakes that I make over the holidays. Pumpkin praline and cranberry orange swirl!
Sarah
November 6, 2013My mothers sugar cookies!
Katie
November 6, 2013We always make (and decorate) sugar cookies. Doesn’t feel like the holidays without them!
Charlie Ray
November 6, 2013My Father-in-Law’s pecan pie! Since he passed, my wife makes this to keep him with us, especially for the holidays.
Jessica
November 6, 2013I tend to make rugelach around the holidays. There’s something so decadent about dough that involves butter AND cream cheese…
elainepill
November 6, 2013for realz, the one i love and that gets the most requests from my family at the holidays is salted caramel pumpkin pie, which i found on your site a few years ago! it has become a thanksgiving must have… 🙂
i also love swedish ginger snaps from an old NYT recipe, which are made with bacon fat.
Carla
November 6, 2013I love making toffee.
Barb
November 6, 2013Apple pie for Thanksgiving dessert is the best!
Abigail S.
November 6, 2013I just learned how to make pumpkin spice poke cake and it is definitely a favorite for the holidays now:)
Seana
November 6, 2013My absolute favorite thing is a spice cake with eggnog frosting that I made last year. Looking forward to making it again at Christmas time!
nancy odonnell
November 6, 2013My favorite is apple pie – love the smell of it baking 🙂
Josh G.
November 6, 2013My absolute favorite holiday treat are the homemade vanilla caramels I used to make every year with my mother and still make every year on my own.
kristin
November 6, 2013love to make blondies with caramel and white chocolate chips
Ally
November 6, 2013I really love pizzelles! We make them every year, so they’re just a quintessential holiday treat for me.
ashley k
November 6, 2013I love making the classic chocolate chip cookies. There’s something about them that just says winrer-time to me 🙂
Eva @ Eva Bakes
November 6, 2013Peppermint bark!
Katie
November 6, 2013I love making chocolate truffles and chocolate covered pretzels for holiday gifts — they look so impressive but are really easy to make!
BethD
November 6, 2013For Thanksgiving I love apple pie with cinnamon roll crust, and at Christmas I love my Grandma’s fudge with marshmallows.
Sarah H.P.
November 6, 2013My favorite holiday treat is Butter Cookies that my mom makes for me every Christmas!
Kris
November 6, 2013Pumpkin bread!
Traci
November 6, 2013Around Halloween I always make my homemade oreos with an orange cream filling!
Erin Schmandt
November 6, 2013My favorite holiday treat are those holly wreaths made with marshmallows and LOTS of green food coloring =).
kristy
November 6, 2013my favourite thing to eat over the holidays are steamed pumpkin hee ban, an Asian flat steamed bun which I made not long ago.
rachel
November 6, 2013My mom’s Christmas cut-out cookies! Love them slathered with frosting
Susan
November 6, 2013I always bake a big batch of holiday treats to send to my husband’s work. But my favorite treat to make for my family is a flourless chocolate cake.
Catherine B
November 6, 2013Apple pie! The smell of it baking is amazing. My fiance’s uncle makes this awesome pumpkin cheesecake as well.
Bethany Fasnacht
November 6, 2013Peppermint bark, by far!! I love the stuff and can’t get enough!
Vimitha
November 6, 2013I would love to make some shortbread cookies for Christmas…
Jenny
November 6, 2013There are so many, but Italian pizelles might just be my favorite!
Josie
November 6, 2013My favorite holiday eat is pumpkin pie. So creamy and delicious!
Cheryl Newton
November 6, 2013My neighbor makes an amazing caramel corn. Gotta get that recipe!
Lisa
November 6, 2013Fudge and linzer cookies using my grandma’s recipe from Germany
Carlyn
November 6, 2013My favorite Christmas dessert is Chocolate Lava Cake with Peppermint Icecream!
Demarie Parks
November 6, 2013I love making mincemeat pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, my Grandma started making it when I was young and it became a family favorite immediately, and now I carry on the tradition.
Nicky
November 6, 2013My mom’s buttertarts. They are so gooey and delicious. You know Christmas is around the corner when mama makes a massive batch of those!
Jennifer C.
November 6, 2013My favorite is gingerbread people and houses
Allie B.
November 6, 2013I’m the one person in the US who LOVES fruitcake – I even love making it!
Ginny
November 6, 2013Thanks for doing such a simple giveaway. So many these days have fifteen steps for ever more entries 🙂
My favorite thing to bake right for the holidays is my mother-in-law’s chocolate bourbon pecan pie. So good!
Jenna Z
November 6, 2013My all time fav holiday treat is fairy pudding, which is basically just sweetened condensed milk, boiled in the can to become caramel, then mixed with whipped topping and layered with nilla wafers. Firidge overnight so the wafers become soft and then eat. Oh sweet heaven!
Kat
November 6, 2013I love all the pies! Especially my sweet potato toffee pie!
Joanie from NC
November 6, 2013Hard to choose 1 favorite, it’s between Cook’s Illustrated pecan bars (and I don’t even really like pecan pie…!) and Baking Bites pumpkin sheet cake with brandy buttercream. Love both those treats!
Thank you!
Linda B.
November 6, 2013My mom’s sugar cookies!
Maureen
November 6, 2013I bake a pumpkin crisp. I have been doing it probably close to 14 years. We have this for Thanksgiving and then the weeks before Christmas I make eggnog bread and eggnog cheesecake bars.
davarr
November 6, 2013Buttery Christmas cookies in a variety of flavors made with my grandchildren
Treva
November 6, 2013Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad. We only make it for the holidays, so it’s a dish we look forward to all year!
Shirley
November 6, 2013Pick just one?? Impossible!! Cookies. . getting together with my daughters and having a Christmas cookie bake fest. Most wonderful way to start the Holidays.