The original Ace of Cakes opens up about family traditions, holiday baking, and the secrets behind unforgettable cookies.
The original Ace of Cakes shares his secrets to magical holiday cookies. While Duff Goldman delights viewers on Food Network’s baking competitions, the popular chef understands that people long to taste those jaw-dropping desserts. This holiday season, Goldman shares more ways to indulge in the holiday classics. With his seasoned advice, everyone will make delicious, magical memories.
Recently, Duff Goldman partnered with Great Wolf Lodge for the holiday season. After last year’s larger-than-life gingerbread “lodge,” this year’s offering brings families together. The custom cookie-decorating kit invites everyone to showcase their creativity while sparking a conversation. Enjoyed in a dazzling snowglobe, the winter wonderland experience is the sweetest holiday experience.
During a conversation with Duff Goldman, he explained that the snow globe winter wonderland experience is more than decorating with icing, colorful sugar, and nonpareils. It is about creating memories with your family.
He recalled, “I remember all those times, cooking with my mom, cooking with my grandma, cooking even with my great-grandma. All those things really have stuck with me my entire life.”
With his daughter, Goldman continues those holiday cookie traditions. In addition to traditional sugar cookies, he makes a white chocolate gingersnap cookie. His daughter adds all the white chocolate icing and candied ginger pieces. The sweet moment becomes a precious memory, and it makes every cookie taste even better.
Duff Goldman Shares the Secret to an Awesome Cookie Plate
As the holiday baking season quickly approaches, home bakers crave tips, tricks, and advice from experts like Duff Goldman. From food festivals to the treats he brings to his daughter’s school, Goldman is the “Cookie King,” not just the “Ace of Cakes.”
Although he didn’t agree with calling his cookie plate “infamous,” he believes that a great cookie plate is better than a complicated plated dessert. Once people take a bite of those cookies, they swoon over the flavor.
Goldman recommends that a cookie plate have “four or five different kinds of cookies with lots of different characteristics.” Thick, thin, chewy, crunchy, chocolatey, nutty, or with a dollop of jam — variety is essential. While flavor matters, texture is what separates a good cookie from a great one.
Speaking about cookie texture, Goldman explained that smart baking techniques are imperative. How long the dough is mixed, the butter’s temperature, and the baking time all influence that perfect bite.
Even though cookies bake for about 12 minutes, a few seconds make a difference. Goldman recommends pulling cookies out of the oven about 90 seconds before they look done.
He explained, “You have to develop the confidence to take your cookies out of the oven before they're finished, knowing that they will finish on the cookie sheet. Or second, you think your cookies are done, you pull them out, and you get them right off that cookie sheet immediately.” It is the secret to making cookies that taste like they came from grandma’s oven.
Holiday Baking Championship Secrets Revealed
Season after season, Duff Goldman serves as a judge on Holiday Baking Championship. While every new group of bakers impresses with impeccable flavors, stunning visuals, and over-the-top creations, Food Network viewers devour every new season.
When asked why fans are devoted to these baking shows, Goldman believes it is more than the fantastical desserts. The stories and the emotional connections to what the bakers make are essential.
As Goldman said, “It is fascinating to see how people manipulate stuff and turn it into something else.” With his expert commentary sprinkled into the mix, it becomes engaging television.
What Duff Goldman Is Looking Forward to This Holiday Season
With the holiday season in full effect, everyone gathers around the table, enjoys the feast, and makes magical memories. Duff Goldman celebrates family traditions and creates new ones, too.
When asked what he is looking forward to this holiday season, he shared that he is preparing for a big Thanksgiving celebration. In addition to several turkeys, Goldman brings together all types of cuisines.
From Japanese dishes to Lithuanian food, the menu travels the globe with flavor and tradition. His personal favorite is his mother’s oyster stuffing, which she always makes just for him.
Even if his daughter might be a few years away from making his grandmother’s apple strudel, the holiday celebrations are full of family, food, and flavorful memories. Those ingredients always make the moment memorable — cookie plates and all.
