We love it when everything starts to show up. It is a relief when stuff we ordered starts to arrive (because sometimes they don't!) and it is like comfort food, even if we don't eat it. Like sugary treats without the calories!

One of our favorite "classic" holiday ornaments has arrived early!

Please note they sell out quickly!

Once upon a time, before we had too many gifts under the tree, candy canes hung as gifts for children.

Hand bent to look like a shepherd's staff, the candy cane has a history reaching back hundreds of years. First, as a hard sugar stick that would eventually be bent for the holidays. Popular belief was the white sugar stick was transformed for the children who would get restless during the long-winded holiday sermons....

They were truly a treat.

Today's versions of a candy cane are often nothing more than a little wimpy striped stick of glucose syrup stretched to imitate the past.

Our candy canes are nothing like the commercial ones you see at the Five and Dime. They are fat, beautiful, bent peppermint sticks, worthy of the name Peppermint Candy Cane!

These Peppermint Candy Canes are always a wild hit every year and they are back with their stripes in full force!

Don't just buy one, buy a dozen! Holidays can be striped with fun! One is good, but messy to share, two is better, and, well, 24 is best...best to have around for those late nights.

Approximately 5 inches long, from the top of the curve to the bottom of the stem.

They are actually worth eating! Especially after they have been hanging on the Christmas tree. Why not get a few dozen to share with friends and family?

The days of giving away a candy-colored car for Christmas are over. Why not give the next best thing, a candy cane?

Click Here to Order Your Candy Canes!

She was the chef. She had been cooking for most of her life. Predictably, she started cooking by standing on a stool next to her grandfather in his kitchen. She learned how to bake apple pie and paczki.

Her favorite thing to make, though, was a cranberry citrus cheesecake, only made at Thanksgiving. She loved buying the two-pound log of cream cheese from the local cheese shop. There was something extremely satisfying, she thought, about all that cream cheese united in a bowl with sugar and eggs.

He was the traveler. He had loved to travel ever since his parents had taken him on a trip to Dearborn and the Henry Ford Museum. What really grabbed his attention was the museum building itself. And within the building, what he remembered most were the giant columns encircled with radiators to keep the building warm in the cold December winter.

She learned later in life, after a painful childhood, that she was allergic to many foods, including dairy. That changed her from being a baker to a saucier. She loved the process—the required rhythmic stirring that often comes with the making of sauces.

Though now, she really just made soup and salads in her small place on a corner in her sweet little neighborhood. The corner place could be in San Francisco or Brooklyn, but hers was in a small spot in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

He had taken a job as a salesman. a traveling salesman, so to speak. Though he started selling auto parts, he quickly found out that it limited his travels to where there were automobile companies. Now he was a freelance salesperson who used his big-business experience to sell unique products from little companies around the world. He chose whom he worked with based on where the sales calls would take him.

When he visited Paris, probably the only city he would consider living in after home, he went to this tiny bistro on a corner that had a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower. The food was always good. The salads were crisp, and the soup somehow transformed from "just a bowl" to something otherworldly.

What he loved the most, though, was having a cafe noisette that came with a small round chocolate filled with liquor and topped with little bumps, which was placed on his saucer. He was smitten with the little chocolate globes.

And he loved the conversation with the chef, who often came out to sit and chat with him about his travels.

She always asked him about the food he ate in all the places he visited. And she said that if he ever could bring her a paczki or fudge from Mackinac Island, she would be eternally grateful. He thought it strange she would know or want foods from Detroit, being from Paris.

She always looked forward to his visits, though she had no idea when he would show up. And it was like Christmas whenever he did. It was like a present of conversation.

She loved the stories he would tell of his adventures to different lands, all based on the food he would eat. And it was the cooks that she found most interesting, how they approached the meals and how they all seemed to have learned from generation to generation, like herself.

It was pretty cold this time of year, and the avenues twinkled with holiday lights. She knew he would be coming this day; he had left a cryptic message, but she had figured it out and was prepared.

And this time, when she brought out his soup and salad, she also had a little blue box with his favorite chocolates, and he had his gift box of fudge and paczki. It was this evening, when they shared the foods they loved with each other, that they figured out....

See all the romantic Mademoiselle de Margaux Chocolate here!

Elegant twigs of chocolate with a hint of natural orange to complement delicious, deep dark cocoa notes, Sarments du M'doc has created an original treat. Using the best chocolate blended with carefully selected orange flavor results in a chocolate twig with a delicate, unique taste. They are perfect to accompany your cappuccino or hot chocolate.

Shop now for Mademoiselle de Margaux Chocolat Noir Saveur Orange Twigs - small!

Pair the syrupy liqueur of black currants, cassis, with basil in a French dark chocolate and you have a hard to resist treat!

Part of chocolate's magic lies in its melting point, which is close to or slightly below the average human body temperature of around 98.6 degrees F (37 degrees C).

This characteristic gives this chocolate its smooth texture as it softens on the tongue, creating a delightful and satisfying sensation.

A nice bite and easy melting is a perfect pairing with a cappuccino or a nice cup of salad tea. Or, stir it into your hot chocolate and watch it disappear.

Shop now for Dark Chocolate Twigs with Cassis and Basil!

I like this cheesecake a day later after it is chilled through and through.

See the Basque Cheesecake recipe here!

Swiss spiced cookie made with honey, almonds, orange and lemon peel.

There is something special about these spice cookies! They have this wonderful chewy bite that, for me, is totally addictive.

My first taste of these cookies brought back a rush of memories. I had tried this cookie before, in Switzerland, on a whim, I expect, as a treat that looked interesting. By the time I realized I really liked them, I had moved on to another country.

Many years later, sample packages of leckerli arrived at my door, and that rush of memory flooded my taste buds.

The first thing I noticed about the cookies is the thickness - too tall for a gingerbread man and too short for a cake; firm to the touch but not hard, squeezable if you put your thumb into it.

You see white sugar splashes and almonds that tell you the bite is going to be interesting.

When you do take your first taste, you are very aware of the firmness, yet the bite is easy with the occasional crunch from the almonds. It takes more than one chew, which I am thankful for as it is so enjoyable to eat. To me, in many ways, this is the most addictive element of this cookie. It is super pleasurable!

The flavor showcases a wonderful blend of ingredients: honey, almonds, orange peel, lemon peel, kirsch, and spices - perfectly balanced. Not one element stands out over the others.

If you have just one a day, the larger offering will last you for 24 days. This assumes you don't share and can manage enough restraint to eat only one at a time. I ate 12 just writing about them. And now I need to eat 12 more to confirm my taste memory!

Shop now for Andres Leckerli Cookies - A Swiss Treat here!

Open the wooden box (okay, so it's not thick wood, more like a veneer, but still, it is wood) and behold your giant cookie - made to be broken, not cut! What fun!

Goulibeur has been making this traditional family recipe for a long time!

Selon la tradition, le Broye du Poitou ne se coupe pas, il se brise d'un coup de poing sec, chacun prend alors un morceau selon son appetit.

Loosely translated, "Tradition says don't cut it with a knife, but punch it with your fist, so you can make the size of cookie you want!" About 10" across.

Limited to supply on hand.

Shop now for Goulibeur Broye du Poitou French Butter Shortbread in a Wooden Box!

Nonnettes are similar to Pain d'epices in that they are a "spice-bread" that has honey as a key ingredient. These "Nonnettes" are from Les Ruchers de Bourgogne, the beekeepers whom make some of the finest honeys we have ever had! 

Like a small round cake, slightly larger than a mouthful, with a center of jam, it is not the jam that is “the feature", it is in fact, the bread itself. It is hard to explain how these cakes are. The outside smells like a gingerbread and when you make the first bite the honey sugar on the outside crinkles in your mouth.

The outside blends with the "cake", soft and chewy, and it is a drier feel than you might expect; it is more like a super soft ginger bread cookie. The jam in the center is a little pocket of topping in reverse, as if you dolloped the bread yourself.

The spices and the honey in the "bread" are quite a combination that is both, subtle and tasty. Perhaps not for everyone, every element of this delicious cake is top notch! I love this cake and its bigger brother Pain d'epices. I could eat all 6 in one sitting! Will easily fit in a stocking, but be careful not to squish!

Shop now for Les Ruchers De Bourgogne Raspberry Nonnettes!

See all the Les Ruchers De Bourgogne Honey Nonnettes!

The honey cakes are soft, yet not soft. The honey makes them sweet without overly sugary sweet.

Just a quick bop in the microwave for 2 or 3 seconds is perfection,

Want to impress your home Francophile who cooks only French? They will love you for this....

Shop now for Les Ruchers De Bourgogne Honey Nonnettes with Fig Jam here!

See all the Les Ruchers De Bourgogne Honey Nonnettes!

These chocolates are filled with grappa and a cherry. These are chocolates you must pop in their entirety into your mouth or you will have an explosion of grappa all over your chin and shirt!

What a glorious mix of textures and flavors! If I could I would consume a whole box in just one episode of survivor!

Shop now for Bodrato Boero Grappa Chocolate-Covered Cherries - Extra Large Hat Box!

See all the Bodrato Boero Grappa Chocolate-Covered Cherries beautiful Packaging!

The individual packaging and the thicker layer of chocolate enrobing the cherry attracted us to them.

The bite is firm, without being hard. The chocolate collapses nicely. Imagine a chocolate dam releasing a gentle flow of grappa. Add the cherry and you have the perfect combination of flavors and textures.

Bodrato Cioccolato, est. 1943, is well-known for this Boero chocolate, which uses the Bella di Garbagna, a slow food designated cherry.

Shop now for Chocolate-Covered Cherries in the Cute Hat Box!

See all the Bodrato Boero Grappa Chocolate-Covered Cherries beautiful Packaging!

Oh! These are so wonderful! Thin, with a back covered in chocolate and a crunch and a chewy bite, these are a delight. It is hard not to eat them all in one length of a movie. Though one is super satisfying!

This is a treat worth indulging in!

Good for everyone!

GF.

Shop now for Maison de Florentins Chocolat Noir et Citron!

Florentines are delicate, wafer-thin cookies with a mix of crunchy and chewy textures, and Maison de Florentins adds to this classic profile with a chocolate-orange topping.

A real joy to enjoy with each bite. The chew is awesome, and the flavors are super fun!

Orange has a sweet, slightly tangy flavor. It's juicy, with a well-rounded sweetness balanced by a mild acidity that varies depending on the variety.

GF.

Shop now for Maison de Florentins Chocolat Noir et Orange!

Francois Doucet Pate de Fruits is one of THE fruit jellies from France.

Established in 1969 by Francois and Maggy Doucet, Francois Doucet started with a candied almond as its first product. In the 50+ years since, they have widened their range of confections to include these Pate de Fruits. Starting with hand-selected fruits of the region, with 75% coming from Provence, these fruit jellies are a wonderful, sweet jelly treat!

Sweet, with fruit flavor, soft to the teeth, you can enjoy these anytime! It is, if you didn't know, like an adult gummy bear but much, much better!

Pear, Citron, Clementine, Apricot, Passion Fruit, Peach, Raspberry, Cherry, Strawberry, and Blueberry French fruit jellies (pates de fruit.)

Shop now for Francois Doucet Pates de Fruits!

A traditional marmalade in England, the slightly bitter Seville orange, is a classic.

I have been craving a good, perfectly toasted English muffin with little crusty peaks and bits, so I can spread it with butter, topped with this marmalade or a mixture of cream cheese and orange marmalade spread. Seville Orange Marmalade: Pop the top and....

And you will see a flat sea of soft orange jelly. Beneath the gel, you can see the chunks of orange swimming, just waiting to be scooped up with the first spoonful.

To the nose, it is subtle, sensitive, and has the smell of the orange peel. Not exactly a Florida orange, more of a lemon grapefruit orange.

There will be a sparkle as you pull out the first bite.

And the first bite is a mix of solids and quickly disappearing sweetness, just the right amount of sweet gel! And the bite of encased peel is delicious. From the thin strips to little chunks to the big ones, each spoonful is different and the same.

It is these big chunks that share the bitter bits of orange peel while giving you the soft hits of flavor you expect from a marmalade.

As you progress with more spoonfuls, you find the jelly has more than sweetness; it, in fact, carries the Seville orange profile with it. It acts like a jelly wrap around the bits of orange.

On your next bite, you might find yourself dissolving the jelly first and then chowing down on the peel. Or you might not be able to wait and just chew away. Either way, it's a good mouthful.

This is one of my all-time favorite marmalades! It is not too sweet and not too chunky. From toast to roast to cheese, it is perfect to tuck away in your essential pantry, ready to pull out when royalty visits, if you can wait that long.

Shop now for Hawkshead Seville Orange Marmalade!