Taste Test
On the hunt for the city’s best gingerbread cookies.
There are few sweeter holidays than Christmas— it’s the season of eggnog, candy canes and chocolate. But let’s be honest: nothing beats a classic gingerbread cookie. Here’s what happened when we asked two local pastry chefs and one keen reader to find the city’s best.
1. Liberty Bakery
“This is my favourite design— so cute!” said Turner of Liberty Bakery’s unique Totoro shape. The thicker-than-average layer of icing means this cookie teeters on the edge of being too sweet, but thanks to its soft, chewy texture and perfectly balanced level of spice, our judges really couldn’t find much to fault. $3.25, 3699 Main St., libertybakery.com
HONOURABLE MENTION 2. Fratelli Bakery
Our judges would have preferred this cookie to have a little more spice—it needed a stronger ginger, clove and molasses flavour to set it apart from the crowd—but they loved the nostalgic look of these gingerbread men. “The chocolate and candy decoration is a nice touch,” said Hung. $2.50, multiple locations, fratellibakery.com
3. The Uncommon Cake
These custom-made cookies were described as “whimsical and fun,” but, tastewise, our judges couldn’t look past the heavy spice and too-hard icing: “I don’t like biting into a cookie and feeling like I’m going to snap my teeth,” said one. $4, online, theuncommoncake.com
4. Two Daughters Bake Shop
This gluten-free, vegan gingerbread cookie didn’t fool any of our judges—its dark colour and grainy texture immediately tipped them o. That said, they appreciated the bakery’s eorts to bring this holiday treat to the masses. “I’ve definitely had worse,” said one judge. $2.25, 121 E 1st St., North Vancouver, twodaughtersbakeshop.ca
5. Cadeaux Bakery
Cadeaux Bakery’s gingerbread cookies have a “nice peppery finish” that keeps them from being too sweet. The texture could use some work, though: “It’s a little bit dry and crumbly,” said Burton. “I could use some hot chocolate to dunk it in.” $3.95, 172 Powell St., cadeauxbakery.com
6. Butter Baked Goods
The cookies from Butter were lacklustre in flavour (“They’re missing spice,” noted one judge),but our panellists loved the cookie’s imperfect shape and sprinkle decoration—it has “a homemade feel to it.” $5, 4907 Mackenzie St., butter-baked-goods. myshopify.com