Can't wait to make a Buche de Noel! Telephone Melts / Flickr

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

Tis the time to haul out the bakeware! I love baking, especially in the cold weather months, as it warms up our home. It’s been really cold in L.A. lately! Below are a few dessert recipes I’m planing to make for our different Christmas celebrations.

Gingersnap Pear Cheesecake – In my post about non-traditional Thanksgiving desserts, I said how much I love cheesecake because of it’s versatility. For Christmas, try one with pears and a gingersnap crust. The flavors complement each other wonderfully. Best thing is that if you know how to make a basic cheesecake, you can have this done in no time. Another thing I like is that it travels well to parties and it can be made ahead of time.

Chocolate Truffles – This recipe takes about three to four hours to make, but it’s well worth it! You can make the chocolate truffles on the weekend and store them (good luck not eating them!) to share at your company’s Christmas party or potluck. The best thing is that you can make so many combinations. These little treats are also great for homemade gifts.

Bark – There are bark recipes galore, but this one with mint candies seems most appropriate. I’m going to make bark for my sister so she can share with her friends at school before they go on their winter break. I’m making different varieties to suit everyone’s tastes. One of my favorite combinations is white chocolate with pistachios and cranberries. The color is just so festive! Did I mention it’s so easy to make and transport? I’m using baggies with colorful ribbon to hand out.

Buche de Noel – I’m so excited to make one of these logs. It’s like the grown up version of the gingerbread house. When I was in high school my french teacher brought one to share with the class and I fell in love. It was delicious! This year I’m going to try to make one from scratch. It’s so festive and you can decorate it as you please. The traditional yule log recipe calls for sponge cake and takes considerable time to make, but I found a recipe that it’s doable. And it doesn’t call for crazy, fancy ingredients.

What dessert are you making this Christmas?

My eye! Credit: Nieve44/La Luz

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Free Shipping Day is Dec. 16

Just a heads up to let you know that Free Shipping Day, when hundreds of online retailers offer free shipping with guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery, is coming up on Dec. 16, 2011. If you shop online, get a cash back rebate on every purchase by shopping through Ebates.

Some retailers have minimum spend requirements, others don’t. Here is an abbreviated list of the 1,595 participating retailers.

Apple Store

Barnes & Noble

Beauty.com

Bed Bath and Beyond

Best Buy

Bloomingdales

Columbia

Dell

Dockers

Drugstore.com

DSW

Forever 21

Gaiam

Harry & David

JC Penney

Kmart

Kohl’s

Land’s End

Levi’s

Macy’s

Melissa & Doug

Nordstrom

Office Depot

Office Max

Old Navy

Oriental Trading

Radio Shack

REI

Sears

Sephora

Tiger Direct

Walgreens

If you are willing to pay for expedited shipping ($$$), the deadlines stretch as late as Dec. 22.

Best Buy
Standard: Dec. 20, 11 a.m. EST
Express: Dec. 21, 11 a.m. EST
Fastest: Dec. 22, 11 a.m. EST

Cabela’s
Standard: Dec. 16
Express: Dec. 20, 9 p.m. CST
Fastest: Dec. 22, 11:30 a.m. CST

Lands’ End
Standard: Dec. 14
Express: Dec. 19
Fastest: Dec. 21

DSW
Standard: Dec. 17, midnight EST
Express: Dec. 21, midnight EST
Fastest: Dec. 22, midnight EST

JCPenney
Ship-to-store: Dec. 19
Standard: Dec. 20
Fastest: Dec. 22, noon CST

Kmart
Standard: Dec. 16
Express: Dec. 21
Fastest: Dec. 22

Joann
Standard: Dec. 13, 11 a.m.
Express: Dec. 15, 11 a.m.
Express Plus: Dec. 20, 11 a.m.

Kohl’s
Standard: Dec. 18 11 p.m. CST
Fastest: Dec. 21, 11 p.m. CST

Sierra Trading Post
Standard: Dec. 15
Express: Dec. 21, 3 p.m. MST
Fastest: Dec. 22, 3 p.m. MST

Sears
Standard: Dec. 16
Express: Dec. 21
Fastest: Dec. 22

Zappos
Standard: Dec. 16

Time is running out to enter!

Don’t forget to enter all our Win Giveaways! The first five contests end Monday, Nov. 21 so enter now!!!

Contests that end Nov. 21, 2011

• Giveaway for Diary of a Wimpy Kid and other Pressman games
• $169 HP Photoprinter and Snapfish gift card giveaway
• $100 Fashion Playtes design your own clothing gift card
• $180 fancy hair dryer and flat iron
• $99 Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker, blender, and electric wine opener

Contests that end Nov. 24, 2011

• $99 HP HD webcam
• $99 doll, train, and toys from Cracker Barrel
• $100 Lands’ End gift card
• $100 storage cubes from Way Basics

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