Craft bakery Christmas: Birds, Cooplands, Stacey’s, and Two Magpies present 2023 offerings

Craft bakeries are looking to warm the hearts of customers with their selections of festive-themed baked goods this Christmas.

Seasonal offerings on display feature an expected mass of mince pies, including a twist to the traditional recipe, along with yuletide favourites like pork pies and gingerbread. There are a few newcomers, such as the festive sandwich, Christmas Danish, and even a giant panettone.

Having already reported on the Christmas menus unveiled by the UK’s biggest coffee shop brands, we now have a look through the handcrafted treats appearing in bakery chain counters across the country:

Birds Bakery

The bakery chain – a finalist in the Bakery Retailer of the Year category at last month’s Baking Industry Awards 2023 – is expecting to shift over 500,000 Christmas treats during the holiday season this year at its 61 sites spread across the East Midlands. This includes around 350,000 mince pies, 180,000 pork pies, 30,000 Rudolph cupcakes, and 12,500 gingerbread elves.

Priced at 65p each or six for £3.65, the mince pies are made to the same secret recipe the family-run bakery has been using since it started trading in 1919. The likes of festive cupcakes from £2, mini chocolate logs from £1.75, and shortbread Christmas trees from £2.15 will also be sold at Birds shops, as well as for online order or home delivery via Uber Eats or Just Eat.

Cooplands Bakery

Some brand-new bakery treats are joining the host of festive goodies returning for the Christmas line-up at Cooplands’ 180 shops across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the northeast of England.

This includes the Festive Sandwich (£3.50), comprising a freshly baked soft bread roll infused with cranberry and sage & onion, filled with sausages, streaky bacon, sliced turkey breast and lettuce. There’s also the new Festive Bread (£2) and Pigs in Blankets Pizza (£1.95).

Sweet items making debuts this yuletide include the Black Forest Pudding Pot (£2 each) – made with chunks of dark cherry chocolate brownie, chocolate custard and whipped cream – and the Christmas Danish (£1.40), which features laminated sweet cinnamon pastry, swirled with chocolate chips, and smothered in sweet cream cheese.

Rounding out the list of newcomers at Cooplands are the Christmas Tree Brownie (£1.45), Festive Ring Buns (£3), and Cream Horn (£2).

Stacey’s Bakery

The fourth-generation family bakery firm, which runs three shops in towns between Nottingham and Derby, has given a sweet make-over to yuletide favourite, the mince pie. Its limited-edition version sees the pastry lid replaced with a deep layer of almond sponge, finished with flaked almonds and a dusting of icing sugar.

Stacey’s is also creating Christmas Stars featuring puff pastry topped with vanilla custard and fruity mincemeat.

“Christmas is the perfect time for indulging in treats that you may feel are too naughty for the rest of the year,” reminds Stacey’s MD David Stacey.

Two Magpies Bakery

In the afterglow of being named the inaugural winner of Employer of the Year at the Baking Industry Awards 2023, Two Magpies is busy crafting its range of traditional festive treats for sale at its 10 shops and cafes across East Anglia.

A happy accident has seen it go big this year, with a mix up in quantities leading to the creation of a whopping 2kg fig and dark chocolate panettone. “It looked so amazing (and tasted fabulous) that we’ve decided to roll it out as a Christmas special,” explained Two Magpies operations director Yasmin Wyatt.

The colossal cake – each made with no less than 200g of figs, 200g of dark chocolate, and 100g of Pedro Ximenez sherry – is now available to pre-order online for nationwide delivery, priced at £35 and enough for 20 folk. There’s also a more modest version for £13 that serves a mere six people.

Two Magpies is also selling its rich and fruity Christmas Pudding in sizes of 400g (£12, serves three) or 900g (£20, serves six), authentic Stollen (£10, serves eight), Festive Yule Log (£35, serves eight), Merry Cherry Cake (from £65, serving 12), and mince pies (£10 for box of six).