SAUCES

georgehowellcoffee.com

Suggested Retail Price: $14.50 per 12-ounce bag

George Howell revolutionized New England’s coffee scene when he opened his first café in 1974, bringing the more -asser tive West Coast roasting style to Harvard Square. Forty-one years later, he’s still at it, blending and roasting coffee beans, as for this wonderfully balanced espresso blend with pronounced fruit and chocolate notes. Perfect in a latte or cappuccino, great in a gift basket.

ACTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Alchemy Espresso

powellandmahoney.com

Suggested Retail Price: $5.99 per bottle

A Jack Rose cocktail combines equal parts grenadine, Calvados, and fresh lemon juice. It’s a lovely holiday drink, made lovelier with the application of this all-natural grenadine flavored with pomegranates and orange-blossom water. Powell & Mahoney makes a line of 18 all-natural mixers perfect for holiday entertaining.

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS

True Grenadine

POWELL & MAHONEY

For David L. Davis, a gift of homemade marmalade for friends in 2009 has since grown into a business that now includes more than 15 varieties of marmalades, jams, and preserves. Our favorite, Berries of the Woods, is a jam made with raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Packed with large chunks of whole fruit and the perfect amount of -sweet ness, it’s great spread on toast, swirled into oatmeal, or even spooned straight from the jar.

NORFOLK, CONNECTICUT

Berries Of The Woods

HILLHOME COUNTRY foxpointpickles.com

Suggested Retail Price: $9 per jar

Zared Goldfarb makes delicious pickles, full of zingy flavor. His fiery, spicy dills are a head’schile dream. But it’s the exceptional crunch of these spears that really turned our heads, crossing the line from tasty to addictive.

WARREN, RHODE ISLAND

SPICY & GARLIC DILL PICKLES

PICKLING COMPANY

FOX POINT carrsciderhouse.com

Suggested Retail Price: $15.99 per bottle

We love Carr’s version, made with heirloom apples grown on a family farm in the Pioneer Valley. Its bright, fresh flavor adds a sweet-tart finish to pancakes or yogurt, and it’s a great addition to a cider doughnut or muffin recipe.

Boiled cider is a New England tradition, a concentrated hit of apple that’s produced in much the same way as maple syrup.

HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS

Apple Cider Syrup

CARR’S CIDERHOUSE hillhomeproducts.com

Suggested Retail Price: $8 per 8-ounce jar

jams & preserves

Suggested Retail Price: $6.95 per box onestofoods.com vadeboncoeurnougat.com

Suggested Retail Price: $14.95 per 3 bars

Didier Murat gives American nougat a good name. Using the traditional European technique, he crafts each bar with the help of a copper cauldron and wooden molds to produce a soft and chewy candy that all but melts in your mouth. We love the almond–orange peel variety for its addictive combination of citrus and nuts.

Under the name Vadeboncoeur (French for “go with a good heart’’),

VERGENNES, VERMONT

ALMOND–ORANGE PEEL NOUGAT

VADEBONCOEUR dancinglion.us

$16.50 per 8-piece assortment

Suggested Retail Price:

Lion master chocolatier Richard Tango–Lowy offers an impressive line of chocolate bars from his New Hampshire shop/café, featuring ingredients such as Himalayan coarse salt, crispy almonds, candied citrus, and cayenne. Don’t want to choose?

Making good on his commitment to “chocolate as art,” Dancing

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Chocolate Bars

Artisan

DANCING LION

An elegant tasting kit features squares of eight different varieties.

BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT

Masala Chai Ice Cream

TEA-RRIFIC!

Suggested Retail Price: $11.95 per 6-piece assortment chocolatesprings.com

In flavors like rosemary, ancho chile, and “Hint of Cinnamon,” husband-and-wife team Jesse and Jane Ciccone began Onesto (Italian for “honest”) as a way to deliver small-batch crackers that aren’t just flavorful and crisp, but also gluten-, dairy-, and preservative-free. To start, try the classic Sea Salt, topped with just the right amount of salty crunch.

NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS

Sea Salt Crackers

ONESTO ARTISAN CRACKERS castletoncrackers.com

Suggested Retail Price: $14.99 per three 6-ounce boxes

Suggested Retail Price: $10 per pint tearrificicecream.com

Chocolatier Joshua Needleman is a master of infusions. He packs his fruit-, champagne-, and teainfused chocolates full of clear, recognizable flavor without ever crossing into the perfumy. His creamy ganache centers and quality chocolate coverings add up to bonbon perfection.

LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS

Bonbons

CHOCOLATE SPRINGS

Mario Leite produces an entire line of tea-infused ice creams in flavors such as chamomile and ginger matcha. It’s a supremely specific niche, but one taste will remind you that few things pair with cream and sugar as well as tea. All the flavors are delicious, but the chai sings with flavor and is a perfect match for holiday desserts such as gingerbread and chocolate.