If you’ve not had time to do Christmas baking or make other goodies, or simply need to supplement items you’ve made, there’s a solution: Visit a business specializing in such items. Below is a list of some of them in the capital region and the cornucopia of seasonal treats being offered.

I didn’t have room to note every business doing sweet work in and around Victoria or the rest of Vancouver Island. But do yourself a favour and visit your neighbourhood bakery or other shop selling sweet things and you can be guaranteed to come home with yummy things handcrafted with care.

Wild Fire Bakery

1517 Quadra St., Victoria

This funky, bustling operation dedicated to using organic or locally sourced ingredients is baking up holiday goodies such as gingerbread people, vegetarian mincemeat tarts, shortbread and pumpkin tarts. In addition to their regular selection of awesome breads, they also create a braided, ring-shaped challah-style loaf and a cardamom-scented whole-wheat harvest bread, both of which are flecked with candied orange and cranberry. wildfirebakery.ca.

Ooh La La Cupcakes

(Four locations; see below)

This cupcake specialty shop offers an array of holiday-themed flavours, both in regular and mini sizes. They include gingerbread cake with Swiss meringue buttercream icing, rum and eggnog, chocolate candy cane, and cranberry orange. They also make ganache-covered Christmas yule logs filled with hazelnut praline buttercream icing, and other goodies such as white chocolate candy cane bark. Ooh La La has two Victoria locations: 619 Broughton St. and 1391-A Hillside Ave.; one in Langford at 713 Goldstream Ave. and one in Sidney at 9774 Third St.

oohlalacupcakes.ca.

The Italian Bakery

3197 Quadra St., Victoria

This much-loved bakery has been caringly creating good things to eat for more than three decades. On their this-would-be-good-for-Christmas list is a wonderful selection of cookies, such as the crescent-shaped cornetti, several varieties of pannetone, a rich Christmas bread with fruit, Christmas yule logs and gingerbread houses and people. They also sell a selection of chocolates and pandoro, a sweet milk- and egg-rich cake traditionally baked in a star shape. 250-388-4557.

Bubby Rose’s Bakery and Café

1020 Cook St., Victoria

This always-busy Cook Street destination is finding room in its richly stocked displays for several types of holiday treats. They include fruitcake and stollen made with natural, non-dyed fruits, shortbread, rum balls and hand-decorated gingerbread and other cookies. Depending on the day, in addition to the regular types they sell, they are also producing some tasty breads, such as challah, a traditional Jewish braided egg bread, and an intriguing-sounding cranberry rosemary bread. bubbyrosesbakery.com.

The Dutch Bakery

718 Fort St., Victoria

This family-owned outfit has been baking up a storm since 1956. In December, their offerings include filled speculaas (Dutch-style spice cookies), gingerbread dolls and marzipan figures and fruits. They also make what they call “world-famous stollen,” decorated almond rings and sticks, Dutch-style shortbread, and make almond paste in house that you can buy in bulk for home use.

thedutchbakery.com.

Fol Epi

398 Harbour Rd., Victoria

This organic bread and pastry shop located in the Dockside Green area is taking pannetone to the next level. They make it with wild yeast-raised dough, import organic vanilla from a co-operative in Mexico to flavour it and enrich it with in-house candied orange, organic butter and other good things. Fol Epi also makes eggnog macaron, vegetarian mincemeat tarts with apples and cranberries, ganache-filled chocolates, tourtière and gingerbread. folepi.ca

Origin Bakery

110-1790 Island Hwy., Colwood; and 1525 Pandora Ave., Victoria

This bakery specializing in gluten-free items is making the world a happier place for those sensitive to gluten. Seasonal items, which can vary from location to location, include pannetone, fig bars, cranberry cheesecake, chocolate peppermint cake, chocolate nib shortbread, gingerbread cookies and lemon sugar cookie mitts and snowmen.

originbakery.com.

Ottavio Italian Bakery and Delicatessen

2272 Oak Bay Ave., Oak Bay

This Oak Bay institution is half-delicatessen, half-bakery/café. This article is focused on the bakery/ sweet side and Ottavio is offering seasonal items such as Black Forest yule logs, torrone, a tasty nougat candy, fruit- and nut-rich panforte, classic mincemeat tarts, assorted cookies and marzipan logs for home baking. Even their gelato is flavoured for the season — gingerbread, candy cane, cinnamon or spiced quince. ottaviovictoria.com

Pure Vanilla Bakery and Café

2590 Cadboro Bay Rd., Oak Bay

This bright and happening bakery/café is cooking up some wonderful things for the holidays. They include mitten-shaped gingerbread cookies, orange ginger cookies, white chocolate cranberry cheesecake, sugar and spice nuts and dark chocolate pecan butter tarts. There are also offering traditional items, such as stollen and fruitcake.

Tel. 250-592-2896

Lighthouse Cake

742 Goldstream Ave., Langford

This pastry and cake emporium is offering seasonal specialties such as cranberry cheesecake, yule logs flavoured with Irish cream, shortbread, Christmas-themed tarts, gingerbread houses and fruitcake. They also sell a wide range of cakes in sizes to feed six to 100. They also do specialty cakes, dressed up in all sorts of fanciful ways.

lighthousecakecompany.ca.

Breadstuffs Bakery

1191 Verdier Ave., Brentwood Bay

There are a lot of seasonal delights being whipped up at this popular bakery. Items include their signature Scottish, all-butter shortbread, rum balls, mincemeat tarts and pies, and gingerbread people, both a large size and smaller, six to a package — three boys and three girls — called “gingerfolk.” To help customers with their own baking, they also sell ready-to-use pie dough and pie shells, and sugar dough for cookies. Breadstuffs is also doing a wide range of chocolates and confections, such as chocolate-covered ginger and caramels, hazelnut clusters and their wicked peanut butter cups. breadstuffsbakery.com.

Little Vienna Bakery and Café

6726 West Coast Rd., Sooke

Even if you don’t live in Sooke, you might want to make a trip out to this bakery to pick up some of their seasonal goodies. They include gugelhupf, a traditional soft yeast dough with raisins, almonds and cherry brandy that is baked into a bundt form and dusted with icing sugar. Other items they are baking up include apple cranberry crumble, vegetarian mincemeat pie, caramel walnut butter tarts, pfeffernüsse cookies and linzer cookies. littleviennabakery.com

Eric Akis, author of the just-published, hardcover book Everyone Can Cook Everything, writes in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.

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