At Christmas, gingerbread makes it most impressive appearance as deliciously decorated cookies and sugary winter wonderlands with houses both big and small.

Please join us as we take a quick tour of my first attempt to make a candy covered gingerbread house!

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Cheesecake is one of America's most favorite desserts, and depending on the ingredients and mixing methods used, textures range from light and airy to dense and rich to smooth and creamy. The two most frequently encountered mishaps are cracks across the top of the cake and batter that is not completely smooth. Have a listen and hear how you can prevent these from happening the next time you bake a cheesecake!

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Since not everyone can watch a video while commuting to work, we thought it would be helpful to add audio podcasts to the mix and take the time to answer any questions you may have. And quite possibly, save some lives.

Viewer Jen from California asks So, I'm trying to master the art of making scones. In many recipes, they say to barely mix the dough; that over mixing will make the scone tough. How will I know when I've over mixed? Listen to the audio stream to find out how.

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Parchment paper cones, also known as cornets, are an extremely helpful pastry kitchen "tool" that are wonderfully easy to make! Filled with melted chocolate to adorn candies or royal icing to embellish cookies—your decorating possibilities are endless!

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1. Cut parchment paper into an equilateral triangle (all three sides measure the same) or buy parchment paper that’s already cut into triangles for cones (available at cake-decorating stores).
2. Holding the triangle with the "peak" at the top, label the points A (bottom right) B (bottom left) and C (top peak).
3. With your dominant hand (your "writing" hand), hold the triangle like a pyramid with the "north" peak (corner C) pointing towards you.
4. With your non-writing hand, bring the bottom right corner (corner A) up to meet the top corner C or "north" peak.
5. Place corner A directly on top of the "north" peak C with the ends directly over each other (no overlapping).
6. Hold the seams of A and C in your writing hand; then with your non-writing hand, bring corner B completely around the cone and up to where corners A and C meet.
7. All three letters should line up together. Make sure all seams are dead center and the hole at the bottom of the cone is extremely small or non-existent.
8. Place a piece of tape on the seam to keep them together and centered.
9. Fold about 1-inch of top edge inside the cone.
10. Fill with melted chocolate or royal icing and have fun!