If you’ve ever wished your favorite Hallmark movie came piping hot from the oven with a dusting of powdered sugar, you’re in luck. Hallmark Channel is adding a new festive baking competition series to their Countdown to Christmas programming this year, and its equal parts cozy, competitive, and completely heart-melting.
Hosted by Tamera Mowry-Housley (you know and love her from Sister, Sister and The Real) and judged by New York Times Cooking expert Vaughn Vreeland, Baked with Love: Holiday isn’t your typical bake-off. Ten pairs of talented home bakers step into a literal Christmas wonderland — a snow-dusted barn decked out like Santa’s workshop — to recreate family recipes that are as rich in story as they are in flavor. The prize? $50,000, bragging rights as the Christmas Baking Champions, and the ultimate honor: having one of their desserts featured in a Hallmark Countdown to Christmas movie.
But as Mowry-Housley tells Celeb Secrets, the real joy isn’t in the win. It’s in the warmth.
“I didn’t expect it to be so emotional,” Tamera shares. “It’s about Christmas, it’s nostalgic. The stories that you hear are personal and vulnerable, but there’s lots of familial history involved in it… It’s just a beautiful show all around.”
Even though filming took place in the middle of summer, Vaughn says the Christmas spirit kicked in immediately.
“The second we stepped foot in the barn, we were like, ‘Oh my God,’” he laughs. “It was the middle of June, but it still felt festive. There was fake snow everywhere, twinkling lights… it literally felt like we were counting down to Christmas.”
That nostalgia is what makes Baked with Love: Holiday stand out in the crowded holiday TV lineup. Each episode focuses on a themes like Deck the Halls, Winter Wonderland, The Night Before Christmas, Santa’s Workshop, giving contestants a chance to weave their personal heritage into their creations.
“You feel like you’ve been transported into these families’ kitchens and even their Christmas tables,” Tamera says. “When you hear these bakers’ family stories about their recipes, you’re like, ‘Really? I don’t want to cry again!’ But Hallmark pulls on your heartstrings in the best way.”
And according to Vaughn, the show’s biggest ingredient is heart.
“It was like being away at summer camp for two weeks,” he jokes. “Everyone… the contestants, the crew, the judges… just radiated warmth. You could feel the love, even when things got competitive.”
Still, there were stakes. With $50,000 and a Hallmark feature on the line, emotions ran high — but not for the reasons you might expect.
“It was about the $50,000, but then it wasn’t,” Tamera explains. “It was about showcasing their family recipe that’s been passed down and making their family proud. Ultimately, they were competing against themselves.”
“When someone messed up, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh no, I blew my chance at $50,000.’ It was more like, ‘I let my partner down.’ And then the next episode, they’d bounce back stronger. That growth — that comeback — was really exciting to watch,” Vaughn adds.
The pair got emotional themselves as they watched contestants bake through laughter, tears, and memories. Tamera says certain teams even reminded her of her own family traditions with her twin sister, Tia.
“There were these twins that reminded me so much of my sister and I,” she says. “Christmas brings everyone together to be present. It reminds you that our time on this earth is about connection and creating core memories, and the show does exactly that.”
Vaughn admits he saw reflections of his own relationships in the bakers, too.
“The mother-daughter duo reminded me of me and my mom,” he says. “The two husbands from Kentucky reminded me of me and my boyfriend. You just see little pieces of yourself in everyone, and it makes it impossible not to root for them.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hallmark Christmas series without a little sparkle, and Baked with Love brings that in spades. With MasterChef: The Professionals’ Anna Haugh joining the judges’ panel and a special appearance by the legendary Dame Mary Berry, this show blends world-class baking with Hallmark’s signature heart.
At the end of the day, Baked with Love: Holiday proves that Christmas magic isn’t just found under the tree. It’s found in the kitchen, shared with people you love, and maybe, just maybe, baked into the perfect cookie.
“Every corner of your screen,” Tamera teases, “you’re gonna see a lot of Christmas. And it really just makes you jolly.”
New episodes of Baked with Love: Holiday air every Monday night at 9/8c on Hallmark Channel, with streaming available the next day on Hallmark+. Tonight (November 3), “bakers are tasked with creating a Christmas Cookie wreath, but the seemingly simple assignment proves to be too much for some,” Hallmark states on their website. And if that’s not all, “a 3-D Christmas Tree Cake leads to a major meltdown for one family pair,” the description continues.
For more on Hallmark’s Baked with Love: Holiday, watch our full interview with Tamera and Vaughn below — and don’t forget to let us know what you think of the show by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
Interview quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity. For more coverage from Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas, click here.
