Holiday Gift Guide and Giveaways!
November 30, 2025 by JennyI am sorry for getting this gift guide up a bit late, we have been busy, busy, busy. Be sure to check out my roundup of holiday, entertaining, and baking cookbooks for gifting ideas. A few will be mentioned here again.
Sour House inspires people to bake more sourdough bread by creating thoughtfully designed baking tools and inviting people to bake more often. Their products include the Goldie and DoughBed.
The Goldie – pictured above – is a warm, safe home for your sourdough starter. Goldie warms your starter jar, bringing your starter up to the “Goldilocks Zone” of 75-82ºF / 24-28ºC – not too hot, not too cold. When your temperature is consistent, your starter is consistent. Your starter will be healthy, rise faster, and be ready on your schedule.
Before we can shape a great loaf of bread, we need to mix and ferment a great bowl of dough. This first proof (also known as bulk proof) is the most important step in bread baking – and, the most difficult. Unfortunately, developing the eye and timing for a well fermented, “proofed” dough can take months (if not years) for us home bakers. The problem is not your dough, it’s your kitchen. Kitchen temperatures are often too cold for bread dough, and more importantly, always changing – making it difficult to know what kind of schedule your dough is on. So, all you need to do is warm up your bread dough by about 5-10°F (3-6°C) and keep it there. DoughBed is designed to do exactly that.
Sour House is offering our Members a 10% discount – use EYB-Dec25 at checkout. I will be writing more about these Sour House products when I receive them and test them out.
CG Hunter sells high-end gorgeous home decor and kitchen items such as cake stands, trays, boards, napkins and more. They are having a Black Friday sale now with huge savings.
I am in love with the Charlotte wood round serving board which measures 22″ x 18″. It is perfect for holiday entertaining and year round use. Imagine appetizers, cookies or just about anything served on this beautiful piece.
The Charlotte serving tray is 50 percent off right now! And I use it all the time. It is sturdy and looks stunning. I have taken dinner up to my husband who has been working nonstop since last Tuesday and saves me multiple trips. Leaving this tray loaded with drinks, snacks and other items in your guest room. Lastly, these beautiful eggplant and grey roses napkin set are lovely and 60 percent off! Look around their site for more incredible sales. Enter our giveaway below to win a serving tray.
Duralex – I have written about Duralex products previously and use their bowls and glassware in my home. They are durable, look elegant and are made in France! They, too, are having a Black Friday sale with 30 percent off their products.
The Le Picardie® 18 piece glass drinkware set comes in several colors – clear, amber and marine. I have the set in clear and there is a size perfect for every need. The Le Gigogne® clear stackable glass bowl set – 9 pieces is ideal for holiday baking and general dinner prep. They are my go-to bowls .
For the Harry Potter fan the Harry Potter: Hogwarts in the Snow Cake Pan Set is a great gift especially if they are a baker as well! This item would make a great stocking stuffer: Make Your Own Chocolate Frogs: Silicone Chocolate Mold and Gift Box Set. Enter our giveaway below to win the snow cake pan set.
Baking cookbooks:
- Cookies – The Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treat by Vaughn Vreeland and the New York Times (99 online recipes – New York Times)
- Bread Etc.: Recipes + Techniques for Baking with Sourdough, Yeasted Dough, Pizza Dough + More by Matthew James Duffy
- Pâtisserie Made Simple: The Art of Petits Gâteaux by Maxine Scheckter (more in my Quick Bites and review post) – being released in the US and UK in March 2026
- 108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen by Kat Lieu (short review here)
- Pastry Temple: Baking with Inspired Flavors by Christina Wood
- Chocolat – Parisian Desserts and Other Delights by Aleksandra Crapanzano
- The Big Book of Baking & Viennoiserie by Jean-Marie Lanio, Thomas Marie and Olivier Magne
- Dorie’s Anytime Cakes by Dorie Greenspan (11 online recipes) – more about this book here
- Sure Thing Desserts: Truly Perfect Versions of Everyday Classics by Matt Lewis
- Potluck Desserts by Justin Burke (read more about this book in my Quick Bites and review post)
- SCÉAL: Seasonal Recipes and Stories from a Modern Irish Bakery by Charlotte Leonard-Kane and Shane Palmer
- Ready for Dessert, Revised Edition: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz
- Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond by Laurel Kratochvila (read more about this book in my review post)
- Baking & the Meaning of Life: How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes by Helen Goh (read more about this book in my review post)
- Lebanese Baking: More Than 100 Recipes for Sweet and Savory Baked Goods by Maureen Abood (read more about this book in my Quick Bites and review post)
- Mali Bakes: Make and Decorate the Retro Cakes of your Dreams by Patti Chimkire
- Sally’s Baking 101: Foolproof Recipes from Easy to Advanced by Sally McKenney
- Galette!: Sweet and Savory Recipes As Easy As Pie by Rebecca Firkser
Christmas cookbooks:
- The Christmas Companion: Recipes, Crafts and Inspiration for a Magical Festive Season by Skye McAlpine
- The German Christmas Cookbook: Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Holidays by Jürgen Krauss
- Rick Stein’s Christmas: Recipes, Memories & Stories for the Festive Season by Rick Stein (28 online recipes)
- Winter in Tuscany: Cosy Recipes and the Quanto Basta Way by Amber Guinness
- Winter in the Highlands: Eating, Drinking and Celebrating in Scotland by Flora Shedden
Cookbooks to impress:
- Something from Nothing by Alison Roman
- The Pasta Book – Recipes, Techniques, Inspiration by Marc Vetri and David Joachim
- A Kitchen in Italy: A Year of Family Meals and Celebrations from Our Home by Mimi Thorisson
- Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home by Calvin Eng
- Milk Street Backroads Italy: Finding Italy’s Forgotten Recipes by Christopher Kimball and J. M. Hirsch
- Milk Street Shorts – Recipes That Pack a Punch by Christopher Kimball
- French at Heart: Recipes That Bring France Home by Marjorie Taylor, Kendall Smith Franchini and Jess Thomson
- Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from The Lost Kitchen by Erin French
- Welcome to My Table: A Cookbook of Delicious Recipes, Celebration Menus, and Hosting Inspiration to Bring People Together by Jeannie Jacobs – Be sure to check out the author’s site for incredible gifts for the hostess and entertainer.
- Anna Cooks: 125+ Delicious & Achievable Recipes for Every Meal of the Day by Anna Olson
- On Meat – Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen by Jeremy Fox
For ideas for the entertainer, cocktail enthusiast or all around great titles to gift this year, please see the roundup of holiday, entertaining, and baking cookbooks.
And lastly, give the gift of CookShelf/Eat Your Books this holiday season for 50% off! during our Black Friday special!
When you buy the certificate you add your email address to the form — not the recipient’s email. (We just had this question). Use this link to purchase.
Special thanks to our publishers and vendors for providing items in our promotion open to US Members – a total of five winners. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Leave a comment on this blog telling us which item or cookbook you would like to find under your tree this year.
There will be give winners. The winners will be as follows (if you do not want the item you won, tell us that and we will pick another winner).
- The first winner: The CG Hunter Charlotte serving tray.
- The second winner: The Harry Potter cake pan.
- The third winner: A set of baking titles – titles in bold above in the baking section.
- The fourth winner. The first 4 titles in bold above in titles to impress.
- The fifth winner. The second 4 titles in bold above in titles to impress.
Once you leave your blog comment stating which recipe you would like to make there are three additional options that you can complete for more entries. If you have any questions about this process email me at jenny at eatyourbooks.com directly.
- Follow Eat Your Books on Instagram for another entry. Leave a second comment stating you followed and your Instagram name (you may omit your Instagram name if that is set to private, just add “followed”).
- Follow CookShelf.app on Instagram for another entry. Leave a third comment stating you followed and your Instagram name (you may omit your Instagram name if that is set to private, just add “followed”).
- Subscribe to the free CookShelf.app Substack for another entry. Leave a fourth comment stating you are subscribed.
Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on January 5th, 2026.
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