Christmas is a time for togetherness. For family, friends, coworkers, and neighbours. Those beautiful faces you haven’t seen for a while. The holidays are a time to bring flavours together too. Savoury & Sweet. Spicy & Rich. Traditional dishes with a modern twist. Potlucks, cocktail parties, and festive brunches –these moments that unite us are the best gifts of the season. Togetherness is what makes Christmas so magical, and all of our treats are made with love and your celebrations in mind.
SPICY NUTS
This staff favourite is the perfect pairing of sweet and spicy that only comes once a year!
Christmas brings together so many great things, but this duo definitely takes the cake.
We think we can all agree milk and cookies belong together - especially this time of year.
The perfect pairing of sweet maple syrup and spicy Sriracha that only comes once a year!
Gingerbread loaf glazed with sweet farmer's butter sauce make up the festive flavours of the season.
“Every year I try new recipes when making cookie boxes for friends and family for the holidays. My favourites are reimagined and a version ends up Crave’s next year's baking boxes. This year it is the Pecan Pie Sandwich Cookie!”
- Crave Co-Founder, Carolyne
This year’s baking boxes are the perfect bundle of beloved classics and new recipes. We’re introducing: Pecan Pie Cookie, Holiday Chocolate Bar, Spiced Cranberry Bar and Peppermint Nanaimo Bar
We’re also welcoming back tried and true favourites, including our Salted Caramel Nut Bar, Magic Bar, Butter Tarts, and our Classic Shortbread - a popular menu item making its return after 4 years!
Holiday left-overs? Not a problem! You can freeze our holiday bars for up to 3 months in an air-tight container. Enjoy the taste of the holidays into the New Year! Togetherness is what makes Christmas so magical, and all of our treats are made with love and your celebrations in mind. Our baking is available until December 24th, so be sure to order for your holiday festivities. Order here!
Wondering what Christmas time looks like for Crave Co-Founders, Carolyne and Jodi? Read on to hear about their traditions and what togetherness means to them.
Potlucks, cocktail parties, and festive brunches – these moments that unite us are the best gifts of the season. When it comes to family time during the holidays, Carolyne and Jodi alternate hosting and everyone from their family comes over for dinner.
“We love to hang out, play games, cook amazing food, and we all pitch in to clean up – we truly enjoy spending time together.”
- Jodi, Crave Co-Founder
After the big feast with second helpings of everything, Carolyne likes to slow down and spend some extra time with loved ones.
“After Christmas Day, my husband Tony, my son Oliver and I spend time together baking, cooking, playing games (we have some pretty competitive monopoly games), sleeping in, watching movies and hitting the slopes for some downhill skiing!”
- Carolyne, Crave Co-Founder
There are so many reasons to crave Christmas, and we’ve got a bakery full of them!
“We both agree there is nothing quite like the hustle, bustle, and the excitement in the bakeries! We love to see how everyone works as a collective team to make Christmas special and to ensure our customers’ homes are filled with delicious baking. It really is a magical place at Christmas – the scents of chocolate and gingerbread are in the air!”
- Carolyne and Jodi
Sisters Jodi, Antoinette and Carolyne in their matching PJs.
Jodi’s sons Mac and Griffen in their matching PJs.
Carolyne with her son Oliver and husband Tony in their matching outfits.
When Carolyne and Jodi were growing up, in early December their dad would take them and their sister Antoinette to the Kananaskis Forestry Range (permit in hand!) to cut down a Christmas Tree, for not only their family but their neighbours and friends as well. They would walk deep into the forest to find perfect trees and deliver them to each person on their way home. Their Dad would put the tree up (it was sometimes so tall it required some fishing line to be tied at the top of the tree to the curtain rod) and clip multi coloured lights to the branches. Their mom would decorate the tree with bows, homemade sugar cookie ornaments, along with popcorn and cranberry garlands the sisters had strung together.
Both Jodi and Carolyne pay homage to this tradition by picking out a real Christmas tree with their families every year.
“Although we do not cut down our tree, we head to our favourite tree lot and pick the perfect tree to decorate” - Carolyne “We go to the same lot every year and buy our tree together. We put the tree up and let it settle and the boys are always so excited to decorate the tree - it’s almost like waiting for Santa for them. We have a collection of decorations from both our families, some handed down, some homemade and some new. Because I love to decorate the tree so much, I’ve been buying my boys a Christmas decoration of their own each year since they were born.” - Jodi
“Since our boys were young Carolyne and I put together advent calendars. We started with cardboard Christmas trees with small boxes that held a foil wrapped chocolate Santa from Purdy’s for the 24 days leading to Christmas Day. A few years ago Carolyne bought pocket calendars that we hang on their bedroom doors and Carolyne and I take turns every November filling the pockets with small gifts, jokes, acts of kindness and the same chocolate Santa’s from Purdy’s. It is such a fun and festive tradition to bring Christmas joy to our boys for the month of December” - Jodi
Cookies for Santa and the reindeer.
Carolyne’s son Oliver with Jodi’s sons Mac and Griffen.
“On Christmas Eve as a little girl I would diligently set out cookies for Santa. I always included the shortbread cookies I had made, however I was told Santa’s favourite treat was Butter Tarts (I was very unsure about this as tarts were not cookies!) I have carried on this same tradition with my son Oliver, who sets out shortbread cookies he makes for Santa and of course, the reindeer!” - Carolyne Find Carolyne’s recipe for shortbread cookies on page 15.
“OUR
One of the best parts of Christmas is sitting around the living room with family you haven’t seen since last year, catching up and stuffing your face with festive treats.
“The classic shortbread has a story that goes back to when I was a little girl! The recipe is hand mixed and so when I baked with my mom, she had a little stool I sat on with a bowl between my legs and I would mix away,” explains Carolyne, our Co-Founder.
She goes on to say, “when we introduced our Crave holiday baking boxes, we made our classic shortbread the exact same way - physically mixing by hand, and everybody thought we were crazy.”
While we no longer hand-mix the shortbread, it’s still the same delicious, buttery cookie you know and love, and it’s a Crave staple for the holidays! Here is Crave’s Classic Shortbread recipe from Carolyne and Jodi’s maternal grandmother, Grandma Starling.
2 cups flour (take out 2 tablespoons to save for later)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup butter
½ cup icing sugar
1 Heat oven to 300°F.
2 Measure flour & cornstarch into a bowl and whisk together.
3 Measure icing sugar into a bowl and set aside.
4 Place butter in another bowl and mix with your hands until soft, it will take at least 5 minutes.
5 Add the icing sugar to the softened butter 1/3 at a time, mixing well between each addition.
6 Continue mixing with your hands until the butter and sugar are very pale and warm to the touch.
7 Add the flour/cornstarch mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
8 The dough is done when it starts to pull away clean from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
9 Place dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to ½” thickness.
10 Use a 1 ½ inch round or scalloped cookie cutter to cut cookies.
11 Place cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a fork, prick the top of each shortbread twice.
12 Place pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes.
If you prefer to use an electric mixer, follow the same directions using a hand held or stand mixer!
“My mom and I always make sure that a large batch of Cherry Chocolate Chip Dreams are made. These are not only a family tradition, but they’re also Santa’s favourite.”
- Alison M. (Baker at Willow Park)
Makes about 3 ½ dozen cookies
½ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips ¾ cup coconut ¾ cup chopped maraschino cherries, well drained
1 Cream shortening with sugar. Beat in egg and almond extract.
2 Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into creamed mixture.
3 Mix in chips, coconut and cherries.
4 Drop from a teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets.
5 Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
"Chocolate crinkles are commonly available in bakeries in the Philippines. Because they're so simple to make, these were one of the first treats I made after learning how to bake.”
- Fresenda (Retail at our Edmonton location)
Makes about 10-15 cookies
1 cup cocoa powder, sifted 2 cups of sugar ½ cup oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour, sifted 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 In a bowl/mixer combine together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
2 Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt to the wet mixture and mix well. It will become very sticky at this point. Make sure all are well incorporated.
3 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge and let it chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
4 Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place powdered sugar in a separate bowl.
5 Scoop a spoonful of the dough and roll into a ball (1 inch to 1 ½ inch (small) or 2 inches (big) in diameter and all at the same size).
6 Coat each ball completely with powdered sugar and place on the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart as they will expand as they bake.
7 Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Once done, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
A soft spiced holiday cookie that is a family favorite. Enjoy!
- Cynthia B. (Cake Designer at Kensington)
Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs 2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 Cream butter with sugars. Beat in eggs.
2 Combine flour, baking soda & powder, spices and salt. Mix into creamed mixture along with pumpkin puree.
3 Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
4 Drop from a small spoon onto cookies sheets (lined with parchment). Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
“Punjabi culture is extremely tight-knit and familial. To me, this recipe is a reminder of that fact! Since making its way into my family, this recipe has been passed along to cousins and aunts all over the world, who now make it for their families. It’s such a beautiful thing to see human connection through baking. The cookies are great for dunking in chai, but admittedly, the satisfying crunch of that first bite is what takes me right back to my childhood!”
- Navneet S. (Marketing Coordinator)
Makes 1.5kg of cookies
3 ½ cups of flour
1 ¼ cup of sugar
1 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup of whipping cream
1 Preheat oven to 360°F.
2 Mix all together in one bowl.
3 For shaping, use a cookie cutter or cookie press*.
4 Put a little bit of cooking oil or butter on the cookie sheet before placing the cookies.
5 When the sides of the cookies become light brown, move to top shelf (the first batch always takes the longest).
6 Bake on the bottom shelf for 7-10 minutes or on the top shelf for 5 minutes.
*The cookie press is used for all sorts of Punjabi dishes. In this case, it gives the cookies their rectangular shape and ridges all along the top, which help ensure that crunchiness! Hand rolling the cookies will work, however, they won’t turn out as crunchy as they would made with this little instrument.
At Crave, we believe the holidays are a time for togetherness and we want to thank you for including Crave in your…
Festive traditions. Evenings lounging in cozy sweaters. Impromptu kitchen dance parties, and special moments with loved ones.
We are so grateful for your continued support, and happy to take part in your life’s moments - big or small. Whether you bring a box of bars to a holiday party, split the last cookie with a friend, or eat a whole pack of mini cupcakes during movie night, thank you for choosing Crave.
