The holidays make us approach sugar with a reverence unlike any other time of the year. We usher in the season of indulgence with shiny cookie tins, heirloom recipes for grandma-style fudge, and advent calendars filled with chocolates, truffles, and treats.
The time of year may inspire some to bake, and we have plenty of recipes for cakes, cookies, and confections on the Local Palate! However, if you fear the concept of creaming butter or breaking out a candy thermometer, the Local Palate Marketplace offers an emporium of Southern sweets and treats that you could give as gifts, bring to holiday parties and gatherings, or satisfy your own sweet tooth. Here are a few we’re crushing on currently.
People love gifting tins of cookies, true, but you can stand out from the sea of broken cookie pieces (what do you expect to happen when you put them in a tin?) with an oversized deep-dish style cookie. Dense and moist colossal cookies from Sunflour Baking Company come in sizes more reminiscent of a small pie or deep-dish-style pizza and flavors range from chocolate fleur de sel to oatmeal raisin to vegan chocolate chip.
Speaking of gifts, candies and confections make excellent gifts for coworkers, neighbors, and teachers. That said, candy can be fussy to make—chocolate seizes, caramel crystalizes—you feel defeated. Save time and heartache with chocolate-covered toffees from North Carolina, candied pecans made with vegan and gluten-free ingredients, and Nashville-made gourmet chocolates. (We particularly love adding these chocolate-covered marshmallows to cups of cocoa.)
Sugar aside, this season is a time of feasting. If you tackle preparing a giant meal and find yourself pressed to make an actual dessert, too, take it easy on yourself and rely on talented professional bakers instead to supply you with Southern treats. A fudgy chocolate pie or whiskey-spiked caramel brownies look and taste like you spent hours slaving in the kitchen—not something delivered to your door. Another easy (and fun!) dessert move when entertaining company is setting up an ice cream bar. Make yours extra decadent with premium toppings, like J.Q. Dickinson’s bourbon caramel sauce, chocolate-covered Virginia peanuts, and candy-coated popcorn.
Build out your wish list of sugar treats while browsing our assortment of Southern desserts and sweets. From stocking-stuffers to after-dinner show stoppers, it’s a good time for sugar on the Local Palate Marketplace.
