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The ninth season of the rebooted Doctor Who may have come to a close earlier this month, but there’s still one episode to look forward to: the annual Christmas Special! This year will find Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor and his wife River Song reunited for a holiday adventure with plenty of snowy scenes, Christmas carols and Antlers. A week later, Sherlock fans get a new episode as well (after a two-year wait!), as John and Sherlock find themselves in 1890’s London for a Victorian holiday special airing on January 1^st.

With these two incredible specials on the horizon, what’s a fan to do? Gather all your nerdy friends and celebrate amazing British television with a WhoLock Holiday party… or two! Here's how:

It’s a no-brainer: dough recipe book release + holiday season = bake-off celebration! Russell van Kraayenburg’s Making Dough is all about demystifying baking. It claims that you can master all different kinds of pastry doughs if you know the ratios between five ingredients—flour, butter, water, sugar, and eggs.

Ten intrepid food bloggers have agreed to put Russell’s claim to the test, by taking up the mantle of the #MakingDough Challenge. We’ve given five bloggers the book’s biscuit dough recipe, and the pie dough recipe to five more. Their challenge: to take that dough recipe and make a pie/biscuits of their own.

Follow along for some holiday baking inspiration.

Something about fall always gets us in the mood for baking. And while the Hello Kitty Baking Book is filled with all of the purrrfect recipes to melt your Hello Kitty-shaped heart, we at Quirk went above and beyond to NERD OUT the classic sugar cookie recipe with some of our favorite pop culture icons. Couldn't you just eat them up? 

(Image from film, Ponyo) 

Here at Quirk, we’ve spent the week scouring the internet for the best bookish, geeky, and crafty links. Whether you are looking for the latest Star Wars details or a fun DIY tutorial, we’ve got something to make your week a little brighter.

Excerpted from our Maple cookbook by Katie Price Webster.

Makes 3 cups | Active time: 10 minutes | Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/3 cup best-quality cocoa powder
1/3 cup dark maple syrup
21⁄2 cups low-fat milk
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Marshmallows (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk cocoa and syrup. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, heat milk, stirring often, for about 8 minutes, or until steaming. Pour hot milk into cocoa mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer cocoa mixture to the saucepan and return to medium-low heat, stirring often, until completely smooth and steaming hot. Stir in vanilla and drop in marshmallows (if desired) before serving. 

Here at Quirk we’ve rounded up some of the best bookish, geeky, and crafty links of last week to make your Monday a little brighter. Whether you desperately needed a recipe for TaunTaun cookies or were looking for some desert island book picks, we’ve got you covered.