Gingerbread houses are a beautiful (and delicious) holiday pastime. For many families, building and decorating gingerbread houses is an annual tradition. Over the years Vancouverites have gotten pretty creative with their "houses."
Just last year, one person made a replica of Waterfront Station out of gingerbread and lots of people attempted to turn the English Bay Barge into festive candy displays.
However, baking the pieces from scratch can make the process a lot more labour-intensive. It's hard to ensure that the cut dough will cook in the correct shape and fit together well, even with copious amounts of icing.
Many turn to gingerbread house kits to cut down on the number of steps between starting and snacking. Here are some of the best local bakeries in Metro Vancouver that are offering gingerbread houses assembled or otherwise this holiday season.
Goldilocks Bake Shop
Filipino bakery chain Goldilocks Bake Shop has brought back their signature colourful gingerbread houses along with a whole menu of retro holiday foods. “Christmas is a very important time of year for Goldilocks, and we make sure to pull out all the stops,” says Maj Yee, managing director of Goldilocks Bake Shop Canada in a press release. “We are thrilled to continue offering the classics while creating new Filipino-West Coast options for people to gift and enjoy. This year, I’m especially proud of our contemporary gingerbread houses, as well as new retro cakes - perfect for a fun celebration with friends and family.”
The gingerbread houses come pre-decorated in red or green icing and assembled for people who want to gift them (and maybe pretend they did the work). They are on sale now and only available in limited quantities.
Swiss Bakery
This little gingerbread delight looks like it would be right at home in the snow-capped alps. The molasses gingerbread is spiced and available to order three ways, either fully decorated with royal icing, candies, and two sugar cookies flanking the doors, flat-packed in a box for DIY, or pre-assembled but not decorated for the person who just wants to do the fun part.
Punk Rock Pastries
Punk Rock Pastries in Burnaby is known for its, shall we say, unconventional baked goods. This Christmas, many of their holiday treats involve anatomy if you catch our drift. Mercifully, the gingerbread house kit does not. It's honestly very tame and understated considering Punk Rock's usual fare.
The kit comes with a flat-packed gingerbread house, three piping bags of icing, three bags of sprinkles, and one bag of assorted candy. If you like to go all out on the candy consider picking up some extra.
Ginger & Bread Co.
Ginger & Bread Co. is an Afro-Indigenous-owned business out of Burnaby that takes gingerbread houses to the next level. We're talking epic kits that range from sugar shack to B.C. rancher, to a completely custom-built project. They even have a condo tower gingerbread kit that comes with LED lights for the little apartment windows.
The houses are pretty customizable too with different coloured icings and options for candy themes such as rainbow, classic Christmas, or all-white for added creativity.
If gingerbread isn't your thing but you still want the fun of building and eating a house, they offer sugar cookie versions too. Kits have to be ordered online for pick up in Burnaby or delivery within Metro Vancouver.
Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery
People who buy the Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery gingerbread house kit are asked to send in a photo of their finished work by Boxing Day to be entered into the gingerbread house contest. The winner gets a gift back of Lemonade goodies.
The kit includes all the house pieces, two gingerbread people, royal icing mix (just add water), piping bags, a gold board to build the house on and instructions. The only thing not included is candy and people can use whatever they want. And the kits are good until January according to Lemonade's website.
