One of the many joys of the Christmas holiday season is the fanciful confections, candies, Buche de Noel, cakes and chocolates that appear like like magic once a year. But which ones are the absolute best? If visions of sugar plums are dancing in your head, read on. Our round-up of the best and most beautiful luxury Christmas holiday treats this year.
where are the best Christmas holiday treats this year?
Christmas is nearly here, and you know what that means. It’s time for hampers filled with goodies, family gatherings and stockings filled with tasty treats and hung by the chimney with care. Like Halloween and Easter, for many people Christmas is about sweet treats. Both for giving and receiving, they can help make the season bright.
So we went in search of luxury holiday confections, and we found lots of wonderful surprises. From melt-in-your-mouth chocolates made to look like jolly old St. Nick to champagne-infused gummy bears to toast the holidays, these are the treats we want in our stockings this year. They’re also wonderful host or hostess gifts for those you’ll be visiting this holiday season.
Where to Find the Best Luxury Christmas Holiday Treats
1. fortnum & mason
Whether you are looking for a little something for yourself or a hamper full of goodies to gift, London’s Fortnum & Mason will have something to please everyone.
Favorites include the shop’s traditional Praline Yule Log ($28) topped with hazelnuts and an elegant Iced Christmas Cake ($40) filled with amaretto soaked red cherries and topped with white icing and a red tree. And of course you can’t go wrong with a tin of beautifully decorated Iced Christmas Gingerbread Biscuits ($40).
2. neiman marcus
ICYMI, Neiman Marcus has a stellar gourmet food selection, particularly when it comes to the holidays. For those looking for a yule log stateside, they offer a Tootie Pie Company Buche de Noel Yule Log Cake ($110) that looks as if it came straight out of the forest.
And if you ever secretly loved those once popular popcorn buckets that were big in the early 90’s, than perhaps you might like a Chocolate Cookie Crunch Popcorn Bucket ($25)? It takes the classic tin to a whole ‘nother taste level. For the kids (and kids at heart) we think Kate Weisler’s Chocolate Drinking Snowman ($38) looks almost too sweet to turn into a drink.
3. milk bar
This holiday season Milk Bar is bringing a serious dose of winter wonder to its shops. Their Peppermint Bark Cake ($50) is made of a dark chocolate cake that’s been infused with a peppermint soak. Then it’s sprinkled with crunchy cocoa crumbs, layered with silky fudge and creamy peppermint frosting and topped off with crushed peppermint pieces – yum!
The Peppermint Pretzel Snap Tin ($29) isn’t your average holiday cookie. It’s a combination of pretzel, peppermint, caramel and chocolate atop a crisp dark chocolate wafer dipped in silky white chocolate peppermint bark. Finally, if you’ve never tried Milk Bar’s famous Truffles, give yourself a delicious gift this year with a Holiday B’Day Truffle Box ($24). You won’t regret it.
4. jacques torres
French master chocolatier Jacques Torres pulls out all the stops for every holiday, and Christmas is no exception. You’ll find handmade artisanal chocolate with a topping of good cheer in the molded Very Jolly Santa ($29) available in either milk or dark chocolate.
Another option are the new Noel Bonbons ($49), made of white chocolate and filled with crushed candy cane ganache accompanied by red Christmas balls filled with cranberry vodka ganache and green Christmas balls filled with hazelnut praline. And if you just can’t bare to choose? Why not have a little bit of both – and then some – with the It’s a Very Merry Christmas Bundle ($97) that also features cookies and Jacques choice bon bons too.
5. harrods
As we discovered on our journey through the newly renovated food hall of Harrods earlier this year, you can find endless options of sweet treats here including lots of truffle options from both in house and top name chocolatiers.
We’re into trying as many flavors as possible, so we like the Harrods Truffle Assortment Box ($36). Other delicious finds include Decadent Christmas Pudding ($32) and Sugar covered Rudolf Noses ($7) (aka sugar coated marshmallows that melt in your mouth) for the little ones.
6. bergdorf goodman
Like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman is also home to a number of delicious gourmet sweets. Our top pick is their collection of Savannah Dutch Village Gingerbread Houses ($265) because let’s be honest, sometimes those DIY ones leave us feeling like we needed an engineering degree to put them together.
For something a little smaller, we like Austin Cake Ball’s Christmas Collection ($45) that are adorned with ornaments, gifts, stockings and Santa himself. And if you want to show a little extra love this season, what about Maggie Louise’s 25 Days of Chocolate Kisses ($110) filled with an array of white, milk and dark chocolate lips with accents like strawberry crisp, chocolate caramel and sea salt?
7. hotel chocolat
Hotel Chocolat, the British chocolatier, has whimsical options for kids and adults for Christmas. The Truffle Chocolate Christmas Tree ($34) is large enough to share with 12 of your closest friends. It’s made up of 5 layers of salted caramel and praline milk chocolate with feuilletine and decorated with dark, milk and white chocolate baubles (aka truffles).
Or what about a large vegan Dark Chocolate Festive Wreath ($26) with hazelnuts, almonds and raisins? And if sharing isn’t your thing we like these cute little Jolly Christmas Penguins ($10) made of milk chocolate.
8. dylan’s candy bar
Not surprisingly, the Holiday season is a very big deal at Dylan’s Candy Bar, and there are sweets to satisfy just about everyone. We love these adorable Belgian Chocolate-Covered Reindeer Nutter Butters ($45). They’re party-perfect treats dipped in Belgian chocolate and accented with salty sweet chocolate covered reindeer antlers.
For those celebrating Hanukkah you can’t go wrong with hand Chocolate-Dipped Hanukkah Cake Pops ($50) topped with assorted nuts, chocolate swirls and candies. Finally, wouldn’t these Lollipop Christmas Ornaments ($8) make for the sweetest Christmas tree decorations?
9. sugarfina
Not in the mood for chocolate? If you’re more of gummy candy type, Sugarfina is the place for you. For Christmas, the confectioner is offering a Dom Pérignon Vintage Champagne infused Champagne Bears ($20), Pumpkin Pies Caramels ($8) and sweet strawberry flavored Snowman Gummies ($8)
10. georgetown cupcakes
If you’re not a candy type at all, you can still join in the sweet fun with some delicious cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes. Try a sampling of their flavors with the Limited Edition Christmas Tree Dozen ($41) that contains 12 different holiday-inspired flavors like Rudolph Red Velvet packaged in a pink keepsake tree-shaped gift box.
For your little ones, try Santa’s Favorite Dozen ($36) that is inspired by the North Pole or the Winter Wonderland Dozen ($36) that is perfect for Frozen 2 fans.
the Best Luxury Christmas Holiday Treats this year
There you have it, our roundup of where to find the most decadent treats this holiday season for indulging yourself and others. All of us here at Dandelion Chandelier are wishing you a very sweet holiday!