The holidays are a time to indulge, and for many of us, that means ultra-delicious food: Think roasted turkeys, boozy eggnog, and of course, baked goods. All those pies, cakes, and crusty rolls can be pretty intimidating for someone who’s an inexperienced baker, though. So much measuring! So many different types of flour!
One of Katie’s favorite spots near her house in the Hamptons is Carissa’s The Bakery. She stocks up on owner Carissa Waechter’s pumpkin brioche rolls at Thanksgiving, and is a serious fan of her buttery monkey bread. So we knew Carissa would be the perfect person to reach out to for tips around baking during the holidays. Here’s her expert advice for bakers of all levels — whether you’re a first-time cake-maker or have a black belt in bread.
Katie Couric: There’s so much going around the holidays: People visit with their families or get invited to parties, and sometimes they want to bring along baked goods — or at least feel like they should. What advice do you have for beginner bakers?
Carissa Waechter: Well, my biggest rule of thumb always is just to have fun with it. And remember: If your dish is a mess, you can call it “rustic” — and if it looks burnt, just call it “smoked.” Artisan, earthy baked goods are definitely a trend, so even if things go wrong, you can just pretend like that was your intention.
But I’d recommend that a beginner baker start out with something we love doing at the bakery: Apple-cider cheesecakes, which are designed to be super rustic and don’t require a ton of skill. It’s a delicious cheesecake recipe, where the end result is actually cracked and kind of burnt-looking.
Or more generally, I’d recommend chocolate chip cookies. In fact, everybody should start with chocolate chip cookies. They’re super easy, really forgiving, and you don’t need any special equipment. Plus, there are so many fail-proof recipes, so even if you burn them, they still taste delicious. After all, there’s nothing that ice cream can’t fix…
What about someone who’s more of an intermediate baker? Someone who’s mastered cookies and can make a sheet cake. What’s the next type of thing they should attempt?
Pies, because they’re very satisfying when they come out. Again, they’re also pretty forgiving and there’s lots of room for having fun with a crust in terms of design and layering. Even if it makes you a little nervous, you really can’t go wrong with a delicious rustic-looking pie .
What about someone who’s even more advanced? They probably don’t have your level of expertise, but they might be getting close…
I think that showing up with a delicious loaf of bread that you made is impressive. It’s the most simple thing in the world, but people are quite impressed with it. But if that sounds kind of boring to someone who’s more skilled, then I’d go with baking eclairs, because those are super-satisfying. They’re a little bit finicky, but if you do the process right, the results are so poofy, delicious, and very impressive. Your friends will go nuts.
What do you like to bake around the holidays?
In general, we pull all-nighters at the bakery right before the actual holiday, so it’s a long week of basically eating nothing but bread and pies and cookies. So I tend to want something lighter or slightly different at my own holiday parties, like sorbet or ice cream — and definitely something boozy. For Thanksgiving, I usually bring my friends pies and stuff like that from the bakery, of course. But then I might do homemade ice cream, and add espresso to it, to make it into affogato.
What are your personal holiday traditions?
My closest friends are generally off of work on Thanksgiving — and the bakery is always super busy. So Thanksgiving morning, I round up all of my friends and in exchange for a pie, they all work at the bakery. We do things like a hot toddy station, and there’s one guy who’s responsible for walking around and making sure everybody’s happy. I love my staff so much — I give them all hugs, give them all pies, then wish them off to their own holiday dinners. And then, my friends who’ve worked through the day, we rest and then eat real food, not just pies.
Do you do something similar for Christmas, or is that more of a family affair?
Christmas is big in my family, so we do a lot of decorated cakes and cookies. But we try to keep the menu different, just to keep things exciting.
