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Make merry this season with the finest local holiday goodies
With the holidays fast approaching, indulgence is all around. We’ve collected our favourite local, artisanal treats so you can focus on the best sweets this season. These offerings are great for entertaining or gifting as stocking stuffers or presents. Find the finest this season with our curated guide to the best local chocolates, pastries and treats.
These colourful showpieces come in Christmas tree and ornament shapes from Temper Chocolate & Pastry in West Vancouver. Filled with chocolate treats, they are great for sharing.
This decadent shop on the westside is dishing out ice cream all season long. Pick up a take-home ice cream in La Glace’s decorative keepsake milk-glass jar as a special accompaniment to your holiday feasts this year. Their Eggnog & Rum flavour is spiced cream with a hint of rum while their Pain D’Epice features notes of honey, ginger and spiced bread.
No need to say bless you, kugelhopf is a marble bundt cake from central Europe. This brioche-style cake features candied orange peel, raisins and almonds. Perfect for breakfast on Christmas morning or for a simple holiday get-together.
Make a good impression with this gift by the local chocolatiers at ChocolaTas. Big flavours are packed into this tiny tin, including homemade hazelnut, chai masala, exotic caramel and dark salted caramel. Pick up a few for an effortless, office-friendly gift.
Even when the snow is blowing outside, we still love a scoop of delicious ice cream. Rain or Shine has the best holiday flavours around, including Gingerbread Molasses, Rum & Eggnog and Cinnamon. Keep a lookout for the unreal Vegan Chocolate Orange with a coconut milk base and orange oil. Kids will love the decadent Peppermint Hot Cocoa with Marshmallow Fluff. So festive!
Bring a touch of magic to your holiday feasts this year with this chocolate showpiece. Designed by chocolatiers, this wreath—complete with shining stars—is forged entirely with chocolate and boasts eight decadent, handmade chocolates inside. The bright colours and delicate textures make this a fabulous, albeit temporary, decor addition to your home this holiday.
It’s impossible to pick just one treat from this fantastic Vancouver bakery. There are six kinds of seasonal cookies available, including Spiced Rye Sablés and Smokey Russian Tea Cakes. Don’t miss out on the Gâteau Basque, made with buttery almond pastry and filled with vanilla cream. There’s also gingerbread financiers and an Orange Cherry Double-baked Chocolate Croissant. You’ll have to make multiple visits over the season to get your fill!
Running out of time for holiday baking? This cookie gift box from Soirette can lend you a hand. This box includes 22 darling holiday cookies in six varieties, including Winter Cardinal Shortbread and Cranberry Pistachio Sablées.
Shop at Meinhardt Fine Foods for foodie gifts and holiday treats this season. The local specialty grocers are selling their made-from-scratch eggnog. Pair it with cranberry squares from their bakery or indulge in their vegan gingerbread loaf with a cup of hot tea.
Cozy up by the fire and indulge in these incredible truffles from Purdys. Smooth milk chocolate is filled with eggnog and rum-infused white chocolate. A light and creamy take on a chocolate liqueur, these make for a great nightcap on Christmas Eve.
Even your vegan and gluten-free friends won’t be able to say no to these handmade Canadian candies! The cute shapes come in classic holiday flavours like Mint Chocolate, Eggnog, Clementine and Peppermint. These make a great stocking stuffer and look beautiful in a glass dish on the holiday table.
Wild Sweets in Richmond creates intricate treats with vintage chocolate-making techniques. This festive, limited edition collection features single origin chocolates with a ganache filling. The beautiful air-brushed chocolates feature flavours like wooded vanilla, plum molasses and more.
Say cheers to the season with a classic mincemeat pie! The Pie Shoppe’s special mincemeat blend includes apricots, prunes, plums, four kinds of raisins, Medjool dates, figs, currants, cranberry, orange, ginger root, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and a splash of brandy.
Adorable and delicious, these chocolate ornaments are hand-crafted and filled with cocoa nib crunch and chocolate-covered nuts. They come in three sizes and a variety of colours. A great gift for party hosts or a terrific option for a treat you and your little ones can share!
Have a holly, jolly, East Van Christmas this year with a DIY gingerbread kit from Swiss Bakery. Decorate two gingerbread people and their bike with icing and chocolate sprinkles. This kit gives you all the fun of cookie decorating with none of the architectural hassle of a gingerbread house. (Gingerbread bike lanes not included.)
We can’t resist these gorgeous little boxes of candy during the holidays! You get eight delightful boxes of candy inside this extravagant gift set. The bento box has all your favourite holiday flavours and treats, including Pumpkin Pie Caramels, Jamaican Rum Snowballs and Gingerbread Cookies.
Vancouver artisanal chocolate makers Mink are putting out this colourful and modern box of delight for the holidays. Filled with mojito ganache, each chocolatey dome tastes as good as it looks.
Doughnut lovers, rejoice! Cartems is bringing us four festive flavours this year we can’t wait to try. Check out the Winter Mint with candy cane crumble and the Gingerbread with molasses glaze. Pick up a box that includes the coconut-y Sweet Snow or the Eggnog, stuffed with coconut eggnog pastry cream. Serve with coffee for a delightful afternoon pick-me-up after all your holiday shopping.
‘Tis the season to eat boozy pastries! Grab a few of these decadent rum balls from Cadeaux Bakery in two flavours: dark chocolate cake balls—flavoured with rum, Belgian chocolate and coated in coarse sugar—or vanilla cake balls—flavoured with Belgian white chocolate, rum and coated in toasted coconut.
Chef Tret Jordan of Homer St. Cafê and Bar has whipped up a holiday delight that doesn’t even require the use of an oven. The no-bake dessert relies on a sweet, whipped mixture of cream cheese and whipping cream—plus genuine vanilla bean of course—to delight diners this season.
