Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson: Cookbook Review

Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson, by Canadian chef Anna Olson, was released in October 2018. It is her first holiday-based cookbook. The recipes take you from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Get set for holiday season success, with more than 100 savory and sweet recipes from celebrity baker and chef Anna Olson.

When does the festive season begin for you? For Anna, it’s with the first pumpkin pie of the year. Pumpkin pie isn’t something she bakes on any old evening, so it signifies something very special when she starts the holidays! In Anna’s house, the holidays are a time for coming together with family and friends, celebrating traditions, and making some new ones, too. In this festive cookbook, Anna shares the recipes she most loves to make during the holiday season–for occasions like a festive brunch, entertaining a crowd, a cozy supper, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, an elegant New Year’s evening–and sensational sweets such as holiday cookies, celebratory centerpiece cakes, festive pies and tarts, fancy bars and slices, and much more!

With every recipe is a spoonful of practical and supportive advice, including menu planning, make-ahead preparation, and hundreds of other hints and tips. Set for the Holidays will help add sparkle and take away stress from your holidays, so you can navigate the season with confidence!

My Opinions

Set for the Holidays is the second Anna Olson cookbook I’ve reviewed. I enjoyed how the book is laid out. At the beginning of the book, Olson shares menu ideas for assorted dinners, from a casual dinner with friends to a full holiday dinner with several guests to a game night full of finger foods. Along with these menus, Olson also shares tips to help the event run more smoothly.

There are also several chapters on baked goods, ranging from upscale cookies like Speculoos Cut-Out cookies to classic holiday staples like Panettone. There are also twists on traditional treats like Caramel Apple Bars or Cinderella Pumpkin Pie (which is actually a cheesecake with a pumpkin pie layer).

While several of the more than 100 recipes sound delicious, there are some I can’t make at home due to their nut content. There was a recipe that surprised me when I realized it contained a tablespoon of almond butter. What is that recipe? A Winter Sunshine Smoothie! Why would a smoothie need a scoop of nut butter?

Another issue I have with this cookbook is that several of the recipes feel more advanced than you might expect. Olson is a trained pastry chef and, as such, enjoys sharing such recipes in her cookbooks. These may seem intimidating for the casual home cook.

While there are several photos throughout the cookbook, not every recipe has one. I’m not sure about you, but I love looking at the images in cookbooks to see what my final dish should look like.

While I enjoyed reading Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson, given that there are only a handful of recipes I am comfortable trying, I do not think this would be a welcome addition to my cookbook collection.

Are you looking for more food-related content? Check out my other Foodie Fridays posts.