ROCHESTER, N.Y. – This Consumer Alert is all about your Christmas cookies, cakes, and croissants. They’re going to cost more because the ingredients cost more. The prices of eggs and butter are soaring. And there are a few things you can bake without eggs and butter.

My daughter and I make a Southern pound cake that takes six eggs and four sticks of butter. And that is one expensive cake. I chatted with Amanda Powers, the Director of Communications for the New York Farm Bureau about why prices are increasing.

Deanna Dewberry: “There’s a confluence really of factors that have been driving up the price. Can we talk about that?

Amanda Powers: “That’s true. The first and foremost factor that you’re probably hearing about is bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza. But it’s much easier to say bird flu.”

Bird flu may be easy to say but it’s not at all easy to stop the spread when that vicious virus infects a flock.

Amanda Powers: “And as you can imagine some farms have massive flocks so when there’s a contagion episode it can wipe out tens of thousands if not more birds.”

Combine that decrease in supply with the extraordinary increase in demand during the holidays and you have eggflation. In fact, the price of eggs has increased 160 percent since 2019.

And then there’s the cost of butter. You need it for everything from greasing your pan to adding richness to your cakes. The price of butter is up 29 percent since 2019. The cost always climbs during the holidays because of the increase in demand, but there are also other factors at play.

Amanda Powers: “We literally have a problem of fewer cows which equals less milk obviously, which then equals less butter.”

Fewer cows because of the compounded pressures of increased costs for feed and labor have forced some farmers out of the business. But it’s not all bad news.

Amanda Powers: “I am hearing that butter prices are coming down soon which is good news.”

Good news indeed, but it won’t be before you head to the grocery store to buy all the fixings for your holiday feast.

But there are ways to save. Here’s Deanna’s Do List:

• This weekend and next week you’ll see many of your holiday meal items go on sale. Make a list and compare prices before you head out.
• Buy in bulk… For example, you can freeze flour to extend the shelf life.
• Substitute apple sauce in some recipes rather than more expensive oils
• Turkeys are still cheap. Buy a big one and freeze what you don’t eat.
• And lastly, don’t stress. Exhale. Enjoy your family and friends.