Growing up in Dunbar, Joanne Lee remembers feeling envious of her classmates’ lunches in elementary school. It’s not that the Vancouver native didn’t like the egg tarts and coconut buns her Chinese-born mom lovingly packed in her brown bag; it was more that she found herself salivating over treats that were foreign to her family, like brownies and chocolate-chip cookies. The second she tasted one of those North American standbys, she was hooked. She was about eight when she made her first batch of brownies, and that culinary venture launched her lifelong love of baking.

A former HR professional, Lee turned that hobby into a career three years ago, opening the Last Crumb Bakery and Café on Main Street with her sister, Julianne.

“When I was little, I used to get issues of Homemaker magazine,” Lee recalls during an interview at the pair’s airy spot. “I would always get so excited looking at the recipes.…I started making my own birthday cakes.

“I had a fascination with North American, nostalgic, comfort baked goods and started getting obsessed,” she adds. “I love that baking is delicious and homey and comforting. I loved the fact I could churn something out in a couple of hours and it would make people so happy. That’s the biggest reason I wanted to open a bakery—the joy that people receive when you make something. It makes people so happy.”

What better holiday gift, then, than a batch of freshly baked goodness? The Lees and other top Vancouver bakers say you can’t go wrong with something homemade and delicious.

“I love making people cakes,” says Lee, who notes that the Last Crumb pays homage to her mom, who died of pancreatic cancer six years ago. (“My mom loved my banana bread,” she says. “We talked about opening a bakery when she was in the hospital, and it gave her strength. She was really excited about it.”) “Regardless of what type of occasion it is, people are always going to be so delighted if you make something yourself. It takes time and effort, and people know that and appreciate that.”

Eleanor Waterfall, who heads Cadeaux Bakery, admits that few people give baked goods to her as a gift—not many have the gumption to try to impress the former pastry chef of Lumière, Chambar, and other restaurants—but she says she’d be thrilled to receive some.

“When I receive homemade baked goods, it’s one of my favourite gifts,” Waterfall says on the line from her Gastown shop. “When people bake for a Christmas gift, you can really taste the love.”

Waterfall recommends making a Yule log for a standout edible present.

“It’s super festive,” she says. “You can put some delicious fillings in the middle. You can make it any way you want and decorate it any way you want: it can be really elegant or rustic, and it’s one of those things you can get the kids to help with. It’s kind of like a gingerbread house where anything goes. You can buy jujubes or make your own marshmallows and add those on; it’s super fun.”

If you’d like to make seasonal sweets to give away but don’t have the culinary chops of the pros, stay calm. The experts have plenty of advice for novices.

“Think of something simple in terms of recipes; don’t go for the crazy Linzer cookies with homemade jam,” Waterfall says. “If you don’t have much time or you don’t have a KitchenAid [mixer], buy butter cookies and dip them in melted chocolate or personalize them somehow.”

Rosie Daykin, owner of Butter Baked Goods and Café, suggests using a simple recipe like one for pecan shortbread, which she shares in her latest cookbook, Butter Celebrates!: A Year of Sweet Recipes to Share With Family and Friends.

“If you’re thinking of something seasonal, this couldn’t be easier to make,” Daykin says on the line from her West Side café. “There are minimal ingredients, and it comes together so quickly. It’s very rewarding and so delicious.

“My advice to anybody at this time of year is don’t overextend yourself,” she says. “I like to put out a platter with a variety of baked goodies every year, so I will make one treat a night over two weeks or a week and a half. That makes things very manageable. And know your strengths. I want you to try new recipes, but if there’s something you’re really good at, do that. I’m pretty sure Santa would be happy with
a plate of chocolate-chip cookies.”

You may want to emulate Daykin’s Yum Balls, Waterfall’s Christmas tree built out of sugar cookies, or the Lees’ mini gingerbread-men cakes iced with chocolate ganache, but keep in mind that festive presents don’t have to be sweet.

“You could make phyllo shells or use premade ones and maybe put tapenade in them, or fill them with cream cheese and put smoked salmon on top with a caper,” says chef and Gourmet Warehouse owner Caren McSherry by phone. “You could get mini rounds of rye bread or buy mini scones and put crème fraîche with smoked salmon and a little bit of dill on top. This time of year is an overload of sweet; a lot of people just want to have a glass of wine and have some savoury items, which is nice.

“You could make up some Bolognese spaghetti sauce, put it in a jar, and tie it with raffia, then give a beautiful box of pasta to go with it,” she adds. “If you wanted to go overboard, you could put some Parmesan cheese in. You could do an olive medley—buy four or five different olives: some green pitted, some Kalamata, some Cerignola, some Castelvetrano—put them all in a bowl, mix together with some really good olive oil, put some rosemary sprigs in there, cut a lemon into wedges and put those in there, then put that in little jars for a homemade olive mix. It doesn’t take time, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money.”

For those who are stuck on sweets, McSherry offers this quick and easy recipe: melt one cup of good-quality chocolate, then add a cup of toasted and slivered almonds and two cups of cornflakes. Mix it all together, press it into mini muffin moulds, and top each with a sprinkle of gold-leaf flakes and a drizzle of caramel sauce, and voilà: “It takes five minutes; it’s so easy, then you’re done. The texture is crunchy and the flavour of intense chocolate is beautiful.”

Whatever you decide to make for the friends and loved ones on your list (check out the Last Crumb’s recipe for sugar cookies below), be sure to present your edible creations with some slick wrapping. Inventive packaging will transform even the plainest baking into a gift that wows.

“If I was giving baked things, I would give the pan you baked them with,” McSherry says. “If you did madeleines, I would give the madeleine mould and the recipe, and if the budget permits, a nice plate to serve them on. With gingerbread men, I would give the cookie cutter and the sprinkles that go with them and a festive plate to match.”

Lee suggests putting cookies, cupcakes, squares, bars, and other consumable items in glass Weck jars or Bernardin jars; add a sticker or a gift tag and some ribbon.

Daykin likes using interesting containers such as bamboo steamers, which you can buy at the dollar store. “You could stack two or three on top of each other, each with a different treat, and tie them up with a big bow,” she says. “That extra step really adds to the gift.”

You could also place your baking in a wicker basket lined with a beautiful piece of linen, Waterfall says. “The way to make your Christmas baking look awesome is packaging,” she says. “When you’re giving something homemade, if you can add something handcrafted too, like a handmade wreath or even some holly and mistletoe, it really adds a lot.”

If you’re really pressed for time or completely lacking in culinary confidence, Lee has more ideas. Make hot-chocolate mix by combining good-quality cocoa and sugar; alternatively, toss together dry ingredients for cookie or pancake mixes, with instructions on what liquids people need to add. You could also make your own tea bags, using coffee filters, staples, twine, and loose tea; a collection of different tea bags could also be nicely packaged. “You can get cute little boxes from Urban Source or use Chinese takeout boxes,” Lee says. “You could get kids to decorate them and grandparents would love it.

“Dress it up with cello [cellophane]; cello bags are your friends,” she adds. “You can get Avery labels at Staples—you don’t have to wait for your order to come from Etsy—and make your gift more personalized. You could have a cookie swap: get four people together; everyone makes one type and you walk away with a mix. It’s a time-saving idea and makes Christmas baking less daunting.”

The Last Crumb Bakery & Café’s sugar cookies

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Method

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.

Add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together well and add to the creamed mixture. Mix just until dough comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Remove dough and allow to rest on counter for half an hour. Dust counter with flour and roll out dough to desired thickness. Cut out preferred shapes and place on cookie sheet. Allow cookies to rest in the refrigerator before baking to get best result.

Bake at 350 ° F (170 ° C) for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on size of cookie. 

Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.