Your Great American Christmas Bake Off

It's that time of the year. Spice is redolent in the air. Mixing bowls are filled with icing and ovens are full of cookies. Yup, it's The Great American Holiday Baking Show. Paul Hollywood, he with the icy blue stare is back, frowning and smiling  - and ultimately charming not only his bakers but America as well.

ABC or local New York Channel 7 is airing this for three consecutive Thursdays between nine and eleven PM.It ends the day after Christmas, a time when , frankly, people are sick of anything baked and iced. Mr. Hollywood is the anchor of this with Sherry Yard replacing Prue Leith and the great Mary Berry. Ms. Yard is no hack, She is a pastry chef who has won the James Beard award three times for her amazing pastries and was pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Los Angeles. She kind of reminds me of Berry, with her chic outfits and cooking teacher demeanor. To inject humor there is Baby Spice, Emma Bunton and former Chicago Bear , Anthony "Spice" Adams (get the connection there?) They're not as sharp and witty as the original hosts , Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc but they do offer some levity. The program is the same with three different bakes with themes. There is the signature bake - a challenge for the bakers to show off their recipes, followed by a technical bake. This is usually a classic recipe  that has a series of steps omitted. The bakers have to guess what was omitted and add it in. The third bake is the showstopper. This allows the bakers to show off their skills and talent. In the past it had been gingerbread houses and cakes in the shape of elaborate mushrooms and cheeseboards.

One thing that is different. The Yanks are flown to the UK instead of Hollywood and friends coming to the states. They're baking in the picturesque Iver Heath , a Buckinghamshire town seventeen miles west of London. That alone is worth the trip and I hope the bakers all got to enjoy some sight seeing as well as experiencing English country life. The bakers come from all different backgrounds and states. There is even a priest  along with a research scientist, a former FBI agent and a chemist with a Harvard degree. That alone is an interesting mix. I watched or tried to watch the first episodes , as hard as they were to see  on a wonky DVR. The very first signature bake was an exciting one - an olive oil cake. To be honest I've always shied away from this recipe, deeming it too dense, and maybe too oily a bake. Yet seeing the bakers creating them and putting their own personal spins into the recipes has made me change my mind. Some added cranberries  while others added apples or grapefruit. The technical challenge was an angelfood cake with a passionfruit curd filling. I'm sure there will be cookie and cake challenges along with a fruit cake one.

If you're a big fan of The Great British Baking Show and Paul Hollywood's icy blue stare, then this is the show for you. It's also inspiring - filling your heard with more than just sugarplums. Look at the challenges and see if you can recreate them.