Holiday Baking Championship - Season 8 (2021)

In a nod to the day after Thanksgiving, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to use Black Friday kitchen gadgets like a spiralizer or an espresso machine to make desserts. For the main heat, the competitors work in teams to create cornucopia bread baskets filled with flavored holiday breads and add tasty dips and spreads on the side to impress judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall. In the end, one baker is eliminated.

In honor of the Hanukkah oil that kept burning, host Jesse Palmer asks the seven remaining bakers to create festive Hanukkah olive oil cakes. In the main heat, it's all about gift exchange desserts as the competitors randomly choose a dreaded holiday dessert and attempt to spin it into holiday happiness to please judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Carla Hall.

For the exclusive holiday desserts preheat, the six remaining bakers try to impress judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Carla Hall by making tasty treats for guests with a dietary restriction. In the main heat, host Jesse Palmer challenges the competitors to update an assigned vintage holiday dessert to create a new Christmas delight.

Host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to create sweet potato and spice desserts in honor of Kwanzaa. In the main heat, the competitors make Christmas card cakes that depict a perfect family snapshot for a holiday card to capture the smiles of judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Carla Hall. In the end, one baker heads for the exit.

Host Jesse Palmer kicks things off with a swanky Christmas open house for judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Carla Hall and asks the bakers to create dessert charcuterie boards. Then, the bottom two bakers face off in a sudden elimination challenge of dueling holiday pinata desserts. In the final main heat, the competitors take on holiday party theme cakes and incorporate lights into their designs. The most successful cake maker becomes the Holiday Baking Champion and walks away with $25,000.