Every (Edible) Holiday Gift You Need.
The Strong Buzz Gift Guide is here. Please rejoice.
The holidays are a time of giving. Whether you’re buying for your screen-slaver kids, your beautiful friends, that relative you really can’t ever please, or the hostess who always throws the best Wassail party (I’m looking at your Jenny!), finding the best gift is top of mind at the moment. I have the answer to all your gifting dilemmas: food.
Here’s the thing, and this should come as no surprise: everyone likes to eat. A delicious gift you can unwrap, put on a plate or in a bowl, and snack on (or devour in one eat-your-feelings, post-dysfynctional-family-dinner sitting), is always welcome. I’ve collected some of my favorites edible presents below; these are guaranteed not to end up on a shelf, in the trash room, or regifted, because they’ll vanish within moments of receipt.
Literally Anything from Lysee’s 2023 Holiday Collection 🎄
Lysee, the stunning and sensational Flatiron bakery, is doing several holiday gifts including several over-the-top treats including a $215 Holiday Box, and a $135 Holiday Cake, but for something a little more affordable but no less wonderful, grab their $49 Holiday Gateaux Collection. The pretty box includes their best selling cookies with some new flavors only for this holiday season: a Chestnut Madeleine, their GF Pear-Hazelnut Financier, a Santa Teddy, Cookie Duo, a Truffle-Chocolate & Chestnut Shortbread, and a Mini Yakgwa. Pre-orders are available here; Pick-up & In-store purchase starts from 12/6.
Ice Cream in Winter: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams’ Holiday Collection
I’m not sure how many of you realize that ice cream is a year-round food, but for those of you who may only eat it in summer, here’s a very good reason to start eating it in winter: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams’ Holiday Collection.
Jeni’s, you may know, was founded in 2002 by James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Jeni Britton, an early disrupter in the artisan ice cream movement who introduced a modern ingredient-driven style of ice cream to the world of frozen desserts. Two decades later, she’s continued to foster a community of growers, producers, and makers, churning ice cream that’s marvelously smooth and impossibly creamy, rooted in real ingredients grown by real people.
For the holidays, she’s really outdone herself, creating a line up that includes several show stopping flavors: Merry Berry, a bramble berry buttermilk ice cream with amaretti cookies and raspberry coulis; Buckeye Frenzy, a peanut butter ice cream base loaded up with chocolate and crispy rice); Rum Ball, a dairy-free Rum-soaked dark chocolate cream with tangerine and crumbled cake; Boozy Eggnog, my favorite, an egg custard spiked with nutmeg and Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey; and White Chocolate Peppermint, a swirl of pink and white peppermint with white chocolate freckles that tastes like a snowy day at an ice rink. Jenni’s is $12 a pint but you can also get the collection for $68. Order here.
Get Happy with Hummus
You can get great hummus in New York at places like Miznon, Miss Ada, Shukette, and Laser Wolf, but you really could not get great grocery store hummus until relatively recently, thanks to Little Sesame. It’s the best hummus in a package I’ve ever had, that’s because it’s freshly spun in small batches from organic regeneratively-farmed chickpeas. It’s rich and velvety, smooth and creamy, far more silken in texture than the airy fluffy sort you might be used to. Lemon juice is its only stabilizer and it’s added in just the right amount to bring up the flavor of the small list of ingredients. You can try the Classic, the Jammy Tomato, or the Caramelized Onion, but my favorite is the Herby Jalapeno; it’s got a nice kick. Order the taster pack ($36) for your BFF or gift a quarterly subscription ($60)! Be sure to choose the bundle that comes with their pita — big and puffy like a cushion — the perfect vehicle for Little Sesame goodness, and also just to snack on when you need a little somethin’. Order here!
William Greenberg’s Hanukkah Goodies
This city is not lacking in lovely bakeries (see below for others), but not many are as iconic to this city as William Greenberg Desserts, one of the oldest small, independent bakeries in New York. It’s been on Madison Avenue since 1946, and over the decades has become famous for its amazing Black & White Cookies. These are the OG. For Hanukkah, they are doing some special holiday desserts that would make any latke party a lot more sweet. Take a look:
The Hanukkah House – a bakery original, this is the tenth year they are making the Hanukkah House. Each one is handmade and hand decorated (you can take the kids and watch each house being hand decorated from the street window and in-store). Each house can also be customized (e.g. include a name or message on the roof). It makes a great centerpiece for any Hanukkah gathering. ($50)
Hanukkah Blues & Whites – this is their traditional black and white but done in blue and white instead. SO good. ($36/18 minis).
Hanukkah Seasonal Cookies – Their addictive shortbread cookies are cut into seasonal shapes (Dreidel, Menorah, Star of David) and hand decorated with handmade sugar frosting ($39/dozen)
Hanukkah Gift Package – If you can’t decide, then don’t. Get a little of everything! New this year, this gift box includes 12 mini-Hanukkah blues and whites, 12 Hanukkah seasonal cookies, 12 mini jelly donuts, each dozen individually boxed in William Greenberg Desserts’ iconic red tin and wrapped in red cellophane and bows. ($150).
Of course the bakery also sells latkes, rugelach, jelly donuts, hamantaschen, babka, and an assortment of other cookies for Hanukkah. A full list of their holiday offerings can be found here.
Get Converted to the Church of Peanuts
I am late to the Church Peanut game friends, but better late than never. Church Peanuts are THE best—big and substantial, no little bits or mealy halves, just salty fat peanut beauties that will make you a convert to the Church no matter your religion. My favorite Church Peanuts are made by the First United Methodist Peanut Crew in North Carolina; these peanuts, the size of small grapes, are primo: grown in the sandy soil of North Carolina fields, blister-fried in fiery oil, and tossed in seriously flaky salt.
As the story goes, the Peanut Crew got started back in the ’60s, when a preacher from Rocky Mount visited a church that was frying peanuts as a fundraiser. When he joined the congregation at First United Methodist Church of Mount Olive, he suggested they blister-fry peanuts to help the community.
What started as a small fundraiser has grown quite a bit. The Peanut Crew makes about 2,000 cases (about 2100 peanuts are in one batch) between Thanksgiving and Christmas with proceeds going directly to people in the community who need it. Every time a batch is made, they hold a meeting to decide how the money raised will be spent.
The peanuts jars are not fancy or splashed with modern font or clever branding. They are a study in understatement; just a simple 7-ounce screw-top glass jar with a simple white-and-blue label that read: “PEANUTS Prepared by FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PEANUT CREW.”
Get a dozen and stuff them in everyone’s stocking. First United Methodist Church — Mount Olive: (919) 658-3169, fumcmtolive@gmail.com.
Onino
I’ve written about Onino before because it’s the best crispy chili ever made and I use daily. I spoon it onto scrambled eggs, roast chicken, fish, avocado toast, hummus, steak, tacos, what have you. I imagine you could put it on that Amazon box in your recycling bin and it would be quite tasty. I honestly have yet to find a food that does not benefit from its presence; it’s sort of like Beyonce, you can’t go wrong.
Onino is made by Cristy Lucie-Alvarado, 39, a longtime recipe developer who gets it going in a pan of hot oil with sugar, and a proprietary blend of chiles, so the oil gets flavored and colored by the peppers’ dark hued skins. Then she adds copious amounts of super thin, hand-sliced garlic and shallots, carefully and painstakingly frying those to a golden crisp. Finally, she brilliantly adds toasted sesame seeds and chopped toasted Marcona almonds, which add that rich nutty flavor and super satisfying crunch. She named her Crispy Chili Onino after her son Nino, and the millions of times she and her husband said: Oh Nino!
You can buy a jar for $20 on her site, or do what I do and subscribe. It’s that good.
All the Whey: Give the Gift of Cheese
I remember a few years ago, when Eiji turned 10 and my friend Dawn got him a Murray’s Cheese board for his birthday. The kid still talks about it as the best birthday present EVER. So if you have a special someone in your life who loves cheese, check out Murray’s gifts (now 20% off!). They’ve just revamped their monthly subscription clubs for an all-new experience with more education and MORE CHEESE, with 5 clubs for newbies, adventure seekers, beverage pairing lovers, and mac + cheese fans. There is also a board called Toast to Cheese (best cheeses to enjoy with wine), Choose Your Chevre Adventure Kit (very fun and DIY, must love goat cheese!) and The Party Starter (exactly as billed!). You really cannot go wrong with cheese.
Spice Up Your Life: Curio Spice Co
There’s been a recent uptick in fancy spice companies like Burlap & Barrel and the like, but I am really loving Curio Spice Co, which sources spices from small sustainable farms around the world and makes hand-made spice blends. Their vintage-styled tin packaging is stunning; it evokes a rare book library, and as a B Corp, they are focused on direct sourcing and fair pricing. Wonderful bundles include:
Culinary Essentials bring next-level pantry staples to your door, with the new Elevated Essentials kit as the next step in a flavor journey.
A monthly club called the Secret Spice Society, delivering unique spices and blends to your doorstep each month.
Curio also offers fun DIY kits like a Picking Kit, Mulled Wine Kit and Spiced Butter Kit.
Their Signature Blends set them apart from other spice companies – each is an original creation from founder/blender-in-chief Claire Cheney inspired by her travels and blended to inspire creativity in the kitchen.
Challelujah Baby!
You know I have to plug my favorite ex-husband’s new Challah business! (Also my only ex-husband.) But seriously folks, if you have not tried Craig’s Make Me Challah, you simply must add it to your holiday table. It’s an amazing hostess gift and an easy way to add more carbs to your latke party!
Make Me Challah is offering a Quarterly Challah subscription, a gift that keeps on giving, perfect for the special someone in your life. Think eight nights of light is a big deal? Imagine 13 weeks of challah! All Make Me Challah pickups are on Fridays at One Girl Cookies in Cobble Hill. Subscription packages are already 13 for the price of ten- and now you can get an extra 10% off with code STRONGBUZZ at checkout!
The One Girl Cookies Gift Box
One Girl Cookies is a Brooklyn-born and raised bakery from Dawn Casale and Dave Crofton that has been around for almost 20 years now. Their signature jewel-sized cookies are buttery and beautiful and make a gorgeous gift – they are almost too pretty to eat. Head over to their site and pick the gift box that works for you, ranging in size from 24 cookies for $36, and up.
The Classic Collection is my go-to, which includes all the best OGC gems:
Lucia: chocolate caramel shortbread layer bar
Lana: chocolate sandwich cookie filled with raspberry jam
Juliette: chocolate cinnamon ganache sandwiched between two hazelnut cookies
Penelope: butter cookie covered in chopped nuts filled with apricot preserves
Sadie: orange butter cookie topped with a light glaze and covered in shredded coconut
Susanna: spicy oat cookie accented with crystallized ginger