It’s time to see what Grandma is cookin’ up this year for the 2024 Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays!

You see, Grandma’s Recipes is a Festive Food Marketplace Booth (one of 7 at this year’s Festival) — and we’re visiting every single one of them to bring you our full reviews so you can know which ones are a must-stop for you during your Festival of Holidays experience!

Menu

Grandma has kept things short and sweet this year, with two food items on the menu and one drink. For food, the returning Barbacoa Tamal de Res has been joined by the new Cookie Dough Yule Log.

And to drink, Grandma is serving a Café de Olla Cold Brew.

So gather round the table, family! Let’s dig in!

Eats

As mentioned, the Barbacoa Tamal de Res is back this year!

It’s presented with Oaxaca cheese, tomatillo salsa, and crema, and costs $9.25. 

This dish was VERRRY tasty! But we’re warning you, the tomatilla salsa has a good kick of heat to it when you dig in, which we think surpasses some of the most recent levels of spiciness that we’ve come to know from Disneyland lately. If you’re not a fan of more than a low-level of spice, then this probably isn’t a dish you’re going to enjoy. The meat inside of the tamale was well seasoned, and the standouts here were the cheese mixed with the crema, which made for a glorious bite of flavor when you got them all mixed together! The price for this one felt fair for what you get, and we were satisfied.

Making its debut this year is the Cookie Dough Yule Log for $8.

I don’t know about you, but my family food gatherings have never included a sweet treat crafted and filled with chocolate chip cookie dough and white chocolate mousse, then covered with chocolate buttercream. (If yours have, though, I hope you’ll consider inviting me over next year!)

Cookie dough lovers, look out — this one is a match made in holiday heaven for you! The cookie dough in this one really ties everything together. The chocolate in the center wasn’t overpowering, which we were a bit concerned about at first glance. The buttercream used in this one is really soft and cuts down the chocolate flavor. It’s also topped with some festive sprinkles and a white chocolate cookie, which made it feel like a quintessential SoCal holiday treat. It’s also dense enough that we thought it could pass for a shareable snack, and we can’t wait to grab it again and share it with a friend!

Drinks

At this point in the festivities, it’s time for a little caffeine fix, don’t you think? That’s where the Café de Olla Cold Brew comes in for $8.25.

It’s made with Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co. Mexico Origin Coffee, low-fat and condensed milk, house-made spiced syrup with star anise, clove, and cinnamon, then topped with a chocolate dulce de leche sweet cream. The finishing touch is a mini-pan dulce for garnish!

Admittedly, our reporter isn’t a huge fan of Joffrey’s Coffee cold brew, so a big part of this drink is that you’ll need to be a fan of its taste. However, the first thing we felt we needed to do with this drink was give it a quick stir. Otherwise, you’re going to end up with a massive dose of Dolce de Leche right off the bat. Even when we mixed it, that was still the most prominent flavor of this drink, which was fine, but we did find it a bit odd. The cookie topping was almost like a sugary donut, which almost acted as its own standalone snack — talk about a fun bonus!

OVERALL

Overall, we were impressed with the quality of the dishes here, and they got our stamp of approval. The Yuletide Log, though, was the star here, and we’d even go as far as saying it’s one of the best of the festival. The coffee drink was a bit in the middle of the road for us, but both of the dishes here were exceptional.

That’s it from Grandma’s Recipes, but there’s a LOT more where that came from!

Click here to see FULL menus and food photos of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Festival of Holidays at Disneyland Resort!

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the Festival? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

• See our full page on the Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays here
• Check out ALL of the Festival menus here
• See our FULL REVIEW of EVERY Festival of Holidays BOOTH here!

And stay tuned for more Disney news!

Will you be visiting the Festival of Holidays? Tell us in the comments!