Holiday baking pantry: vanilla, cocoa, natural sprinkles and baking spices

Most holiday baking comes down to a short list: good vanilla, the right cocoa, warm spices and something bright for the top. Here's how to stock that pantry before the cookie tins come out, with sprinkles and food colouring made without artificial dyes.

We carry baking basics from Watkins, Simply Organic and Camino at both stores, along with flours, sugars and bulk spices. If you're baking gluten free or cutting back on sugar this year, our guides to gluten free flour and natural sweeteners pick up where this one leaves off.

Which vanilla should I use for holiday baking?

Pure vanilla extract is the everyday choice for cookies, cakes and custards. Vanilla bean paste is for recipes where vanilla is the star and you want to see the specks. A non-alcoholic vanilla suits no-bake treats and drinks, and vanilla powder works where liquid would thin a recipe.

Simply Organic Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract has three ingredients: water, organic alcohol and organic vanilla bean extractives. There's no sugar, and because it's a pure extract, it holds up in the oven. Simply Organic is the spice and baking line of Frontier Co-op, a member-owned co-operative, and everything in it is certified organic.

Watkins, in business since 1868, also makes an organic vanilla powder: organic sugar carrying vanilla bean extractives, with no alcohol or water. It's the one for meringues and shortbread, and for stirring into hot chocolate or whipped cream.

WatkinsOrganic vanilla powder, 96 gNo alcohol or water, so it won't thin a recipe. Organic, non-GMO and kosher.Shop →

Almond, caramel and other extracts

A few drops of almond extract is what you taste in bear claws, frangipane and many a Christmas cookie. Simply Organic's has four ingredients: water, organic alcohol, organic glycerin and bitter almond oil. Watkins Caramel Flavour Extract is lovely in cinnamon rolls, frosting and a mug of hot chocolate.

Natural or Dutch-processed cocoa: which one do I need?

Look at the leavening in your recipe. Natural cocoa is slightly acidic, so it's the right pick for recipes that rise with baking soda. Dutch-processed cocoa has been treated to neutralize that acidity, so it pairs best with baking powder and gives a darker colour and a mellower flavour.

If a recipe just says "cocoa", it usually means natural cocoa. Dutch-processed is the one for the darkest chocolate cake and the smoothest mug of hot chocolate.

Camino cocoa and baking chips

Camino is the brand of La Siembra Co-operative, owned by its workers and a pioneer of fair trade cocoa and sugar in Canada. Both cocoas are certified organic and Fairtrade, grown by small-scale farmers. The same goes for their baking chips, which cover the whole cookie tin: semi-sweet for classic chocolate chip cookies, bittersweet (at least 71% cacao, with no dairy in the list) for deeper flavour, and a vegan white chip made with cocoa butter.

Are there sprinkles and food colouring without artificial dyes?

Yes. Conventional sprinkles and food colouring are usually tinted with synthetic FD&C dyes. The ones on our baking shelf get their colour from plants instead: vegetable juices, turmeric, spirulina, red cabbage and radish.

The Watkins Assorted Food Coloring set has four squeeze bottles. Red comes from vegetable juice, yellow from turmeric, green from spirulina and turmeric, and blue from spirulina. Add it drop by drop to frosting, royal icing or cake batter until you get the shade you want.

The Pure Food by Estee Holiday Cheer mix is vegan and gluten free, and it holds its colour and shape in the oven if you press it into the cookie dough before baking. The Watkins sprinkles are non-GMO, and the chocolate ones are corn syrup free and kosher too.

1. Start small. Plant colours are softer than neon dyes and can shift with heat or acidity, so test a little frosting first.
2. Build up the shade. Add colour a drop at a time and stir well between drops. Shake each bottle before you use it.
3. Decorate on white. Sprinkles look brightest on white icing, so make a plain batch first and colour only what you need.
4. Keep them dry. Store sprinkles sealed in a dry cupboard so they stay crunchy.

Good vanilla, the right cocoa and fresh spices do most of the work. The sprinkles are the fun part.

Which spices go into holiday baking?

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice cover most of the season, from gingerbread and molasses cookies to pumpkin pie and spice cake. Cloves are strong, so a little goes a long way. Allspice is a single spice, the dried berry of a tropical evergreen tree, not a blend.

If you only need a few spoonfuls, buy by weight from our bulk section instead of a full jar. Our bulk spice guide covers pumpkin pie spice, whole cloves, nutmeg and cardamom, and how to store spices so they stay fresh. For cinnamon toast and snickerdoodles, our guide to Ceylon cinnamon vs cassia explains the difference.

The small things that go missing

Every year someone runs out of cream of tartar halfway through the meringue. It stabilizes whipped egg whites so meringues, pavlova and angel food cake hold their volume, and keeps frosting from going grainy. Molasses is the backbone of gingerbread, and baking soda does the rising in most of those cookies.

Wholesome makes the organic molasses and icing sugar, and Bob's Red Mill is the employee-owned mill behind the baking soda.

Questions we get a lot

Can I use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract?

Yes. It's the better choice when vanilla is the main flavour, like ice cream, crème brûlée, pudding or a vanilla bean shortbread, because you can see the specks.

Is there a vanilla without alcohol?

Yes. Simply Organic's non-alcoholic vanilla is made with organic glycerin and water, and Watkins vanilla powder has no alcohol or water at all.

Can I swap Dutch-processed cocoa for natural cocoa?

It's best to use the one your recipe calls for. Natural cocoa is acidic and works with baking soda; Dutch-processed is alkalized and pairs with baking powder. Swapping can change the rise and the colour.

Do natural sprinkles melt in the oven?

The Holiday Cheer sprinkles hold their colour and shape if you press them into cookie dough before baking. For the brightest look, add sprinkles to icing after the cookies cool.

Are these baking supplies gluten free?

The Watkins food colouring and sprinkles, the Holiday Cheer mix and Camino's semi-sweet chips are all gluten free. Check each label, and see our gluten free flour guide for the flour side of the recipe.

You'll find vanilla, cocoa, sprinkles and spices in the baking aisle at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. Sugars and sugar-free swaps are in our natural sweetener guide. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: Frontier Co-op, About Us; Camino, About; Bob's Red Mill, About Us; product labels.