Looking back at some of the best baked goods she’s ever had, professional baker Cori Volfson doesn’t name-drop complicated confections that hinge on hard-to-find ingredients. Instead, she shared memories of her grandmother’s cinnamon rolls and the chocolate chip cookies that were a former roommate’s calling card. The twist? Both these comforting classic recipes were made with affordable ingredients.
Her ex-roommate had told her, “‘Oh, yeah, this is my grandma’s recipe. It uses shortening, and the recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag.’ It was incredible. They’re delicious cookies,” Volfson told Yahoo Canada.
While Volfson knows all about complex processes in the kitchen from her day job, her down-to-earth, hand-on-heart favourites at home are a reminder we could all use this holiday season.
“A lot of what we see on Instagram, or online in general, in the New York Times, all those sources are this super aspirational version of baking that involves all these ingredients,” Volfson said, adding there’s a time and place for artistry in the kitchen.
“I really do genuinely believe that people have been baking for much longer than that — and it’s not always this thing that’s aspirational. It often is super practical. We’ve been needing little treats for so long.”
Traditional cookbooks are great sources for your basic chocolate chip cookie that is going to be good and was made in a time when butter was also expensive.
Cori Volfson, baker
The average Canadian family is expected to spend around $1,000 more on groceries in 2026, meaning it’s a good idea to learn some ways to make cooking and baking more budget-friendly. (Getty Images)
For those of us who have taken up baking amid the rise of alternative types of flour and the multi-step projects Volfson referenced, this might come as a surprise. But, as food costs continue to soar (the average family may spend nearly $1,000 more for food in 2026), Volfson explained returning to an earlier era of recipes might make sense.
“It’s sometimes helpful to look to sources that aren’t the most up to date,” she shared, citing Joy of Cooking, published in 1931, as an example. “Older cookbooks — more traditional cookbooks — are great sources for your basic chocolate chip cookie that is going to be good and was made in a time when butter was also expensive.”
In fact, Volfson noted that for those who love baking, familiarizing yourself with classic cookbooks from the last century is one way to find tasty recipes using cheaper ingredients. Moreover, it’s can be a good way to learn a sense of recipe structure, helping you develop a nose for when it’s possible to make a lower-cost swap, and when you can’t forego an ingredient.
“If you are able to look at a wide berth of recipes, you can kind of identify what’s absolutely essential and what’s adding to it,” she shared.
For example, she suggested swapping a pricier pistachio with a cheaper nut, such as walnuts or peanuts. Some bakers might also substitute costly fresh fruit with jam. If she’s making an olive oil cake, she revealed she’ll sometimes replace no more than half the olive oil with a more affordable canola or vegetable oil, without sacrificing flavour.
“Most dairy you can substitute for other dairy,” she added. “So if you have crème fraîche in a recipe and you don’t want to buy crème fraîche, you might already have yogurt in your fridge for breakfast. You can sub the yogurt there.”
In many cases in the kitchen, you can typically substitute one dairy product for another. (Getty Images)
Then there’s the vegan route. Since butter and eggs are some of the most expensive ingredients in baking, starting with a vegan recipe can be an effective way to keep grocery spending in check.
For instance, many vegan recipes use apple sauce instead of eggs. Volfson added that any recipe calling for the often pricey vegan butter from the natural food section can handle hard margarine in its place, since they’re so similar.
Of course, swaps won’t cut it when expensive ingredients are the star of a recipe. Buttery shortbread, for example, won’t exactly work if you cut corners. That’s when Volfson suggested thinking of the longevity of ingredients.
For example, butter freezes well, so it’s easy to buy a few ahead when it’s on sale, if that’s in your budget. She also mentioned that dried fruit can last for what seems like forever, and can be used in a wealth of recipes, so it’s another item to keep an eye on for sales. Eggs can also be frozen if they’re taken out of their shells and beaten until just blended.
“You can freeze cheeses,” she added, “and people often freeze dairy.”
Another easy way to spend less on holiday baking this season? Scale back expectations.
Instead of making a dozen different butter-based cookies, starting new baking traditions with cheaper ingredients — such as oil-based cupcakes topped with red and green sprinkles — can help satisfy both a sweet tooth and a craving for holiday spirit. If you’re worried that you’ll mess it up or waste ingredients on a flop, take a deep breath.
“A homemade baked good, even if you feel like you have totally messed it up, is still going to taste so good,” Volfson added. “Fresh-baked things taste good. People will enjoy them, point blank.”
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Dining and Cooking