The Festive Bake Zach Cherry Loves To Gobble Down On Thanksgiving - Exclusive

As one of the co-hosts of the newly relaunched "Great American Baking Show," Zach Cherry knows a few things about baking. While, in a recent exclusive Mashed interview, he admits there was a learning curve that came with hosting the show, he also told us that he "dabbles" in baking himself.

Of course, we had to know what he planned to bake for the upcoming holiday season. He told us about one very special bake for him and his family. He said, "My family had a Thanksgiving tradition. We would make these cookies that were shaped like turkeys. We would decorate them with a Reese's Cup for the wing, and then candy corns for the feathers, and a chocolate chip for the eyes, and a little Twizzler for the gobbler. That was always a fun thing to do together as a family." Then, at Christmas, rather than reach for pie, he said one of his favorite desserts is a dump cake that his mom makes.

During his time on both "The Great American Baking Show" and "The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday" special, Cherry has a few tips for aspiring amateur bakers who want to one day appear on the show — and then win. He said that the secret to winning is practice, practice, practice. The show requires bakers to complete three challenges: two that they know about ahead of time, and one that's a surprise. He recommended practicing the two challenges bakers know about in advance — and being sure to practice the bakes in the allotted amount of time.

That said, practice doesn't always make perfect. Cherry recalled a mistake that he sees often on the show. He said, "The other really important hint is, when you need to proof something, you have to proof it longer than you think you have to proof it. That seems to be a recurring thing that comes up on the show."

"The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday" is now available to stream for free on The Roku Channel.