Holiday Baking Championship

Crunch Time at the North Pole

Season 13, Episode 7December 14, 2026120 minChristmas

In the semifinals, six bakers are facing three challenges to prove who belongs in the finale. For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer meets the bakers one-on-one in Santa's office to talk through a key skill or deficit they need to address in Santa's performance review desserts. In the merry mail heat, bakers must create surprise package desserts based on an ingredient inside a package and decorate it like a holiday gift. Finally, in the main heat, a human resources department sponsored snowball fight inspires snowball croquembouches decorated to represent different Santa's Workshop spaces like Mrs. Claus' kitchen, the reindeer barn, or the elf break room. Judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown, and Molly Yeh select the bakers who will move on to the finale.