Summer entertaining season is well under way, and whether you’re the host or just a lucky guest, I’ve pulled together a selection of unique sweets, snacks and treats from seven incredible, family-owned, small food businesses to help upgrade your next summertime bash.
Bring these as host gifts, serve them as dessert, add a little extra flavor to your favorite recipes or even skip the cooking altogether and order up a full meal your friends and family will love.
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'Pick & Mix' unique Swedish sweets from BonBon NYC
This NYC-based Scandinavian candy shop was founded by a trio of friends who wanted to introduce their favorite candies from their homeland to the U.S. They started off with a candy store and now ship their imported Swedish candies nationwide. They specialize in DIY Pick & Mix candy assortments of bite-size sweet and sour gummies, licorice, marshmallows and chocolate treats, but also carry other specialty Swedish treats like wrapped candy bars, chips, chewing gum, cookies and even beverages. They even make their own artisan Swedish Fish gummies in flavors like Elderflower, Wild Strawberry and Sour Blackberry, inspired by their childhood summers in Sweden.
BonBon Pix & Mix Gift Boxes, $18 and up
BonBon Artisan Swedish Fish, $8 and up
Add s'more fun with artisan marshmallows from the Toasted Mallow Café
This Latina-owned marshmallow shop was a dream made true by Tricia Arce and her wife Hazel who pooled their savings with the goal of starting a marshmallow café. They opened in Gilbert, Arizona in 2014, and have been serving up their creative confections ever since. Their signature sweet is hand-crafted artisan marshmallows in more 30 rotating seasonal and specialty flavors like mango Tajín, cookies & cream, lemon meringue, churro, s’mores and more. They also put their flavorful spin on handmade marshmallow cream (try their edible cookie dough flavor!), oatmeal cream pies, s’mores kits and mallow bars. For those who can’t make it to the café in person, all items ship nationwide through their online shop.
Toasted Mallow Marshmallows and Treats, $8 and up
Serve up color and sweetness from Zola Bakes
Classically trained pastry chef Samantha Zola honed her skills working at the legendary Magnolia Bakery and Daniel Boulud’s Epicerie Boulud before striking out on her own to chase her dream of starting her own bakery specializing in her childhood favorite dessert — rainbow cookies. The colorful treats are made with layers of moist almond cake filled with raspberry, apricot jam or hazelnut cream, and topped with white or dark chocolate. Zola offers a variety of color combinations and patterns for holidays, and can even make fully customizable versions for special events and weddings.
Zola Bakes Rainbow Cookies, $49 and up
Host a pasta party with Rubirosa at home
Enjoy the flavors of the iconic Italian American family-owned restaurant and pizzeria anywhere in the country with the Rubirosa Sunday Sauce Set. This charming gift box (part of the Rubirosa pantry collection) includes a jar of marinara sauce, a jar of vodka sauce, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and three boxes of its signature lumache pasta (lumache means “snail” in Italian), a ridged shell-like shape that is pinched at both ends and prized for its ability to hold rich sauces well.
Rubirosa Sunday Sauce Set, $89
A twist on classic chips and salsa from Tia Lupita
Owner Hector Saldivar started his company to honor his mother, known as “Tia Lupita” by all who love her. His first product was a hot sauce inspired by his mother’s recipe, which he first requested permission from her to bottle and sell. After finding success with the sauce, his line expanded to include other hot sauce flavors, Veracruz-style salsa macha(a rich condiment made with a mix of chiles, oil, nuts, seeds and aromatics), and Cactus Tortilla Chips made from sustainable nopales (prickly pear cactus). The chips are light, crispy and airy, and naturally gluten- and grain-free. The chips come in flavors like sea salt, habanero, chipotle, hot sauce and salsa verde, and can be purchased individually or in a sample pack.
Tia Lupita Cactus Tortilla Chips Variety Pack, $29
Tia Lupita Salsa Macha Variety Pack, $20
Tia Lupita Hot Sauce Variety Pack, $28
Pops of flavor from Portland Salt Co.
Husband-and-wife duo Justin and Rebecca Christiansen started their artisan salt blend company with the goal of helping home cooks learn how salt can enhance all flavors in their dishes. They created a variety of balanced salt blends in different flavor profiles from sweet to spicy to herbal. Try their 3-Pack Classic Gift Box, which features their crowd-favorite Portland Steak Salt, Portland Za'atar and their salty-sweet Portland Toast Sugar, which will take your classic cinnamon toast to the next level.
Portland Salt Co. 3-Pack, $28
Bring legendary barbecue right to your door from 17th Street BBQ
Barbecue Meats & Sides, $65 and up
Barbecue Sauce & Rubs, $18 and up
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