Gourmet Gift of the Day Blog

My husband and I recently refinanced our home mortgage.  Our lender was able to lock in a great interest rate and save us more than $200 a month on our mortgage payments.  Because she saved us thousands of dollars over the next 30 years, we thought this cookie gift expressed our sentiments very well!  The gourmet tin was tied with a green bow and included the phrase “Thank You” written in a fancy script on the cover.  When our lender opened the tin, she was delighted by the colorfully decorated Oreo cookies that were covered in Belgian chocolate and then sprinkled with money-themed decorations.  She called us after they arrived and thanked us for the delicious show of appreciation.  We found this tin at Gourmet Cookie Bouquets for $35.

A new cake trend has been emerging in the wedding industry.  Rather than a standard tiered wedding cake, brides are opting for extreme cakes, cakes made entirely of cupcakes, individual cakes for each guest, even cookie cakes.  This is a great way to show the couple’s individuality, and  Cookie Gift Baskets has recognized the new trend by offering giant wedding cookies as well as their wedding cake cookie favors.  The jumbo cookie is shaped like a four-tiered wedding cake, and can be personalized with the bride and groom’s names, their unique color scheme, or any number of custom design options.  A perfect compliment to this giant cookie are the individual cookie favors, which can be an exact duplicate of the larger cookie, can be made in different colors and designs, they can even serve as a unique bridal shower favor or fun wedding announcement.  There are so many ways to show the couple’s individual style at their wedding, this great option is also a tasty one!

The giant cookie pictured weighs nearly 3 pounds and is sold for $33.  The cookie favors measure approximately 5″ high (about 1/4 lb apiece) and range in price from $4.50 to $5.75 apiece.

My cousin Keily is graduating from high school this spring and heading off to college many states away.  She is a great student and is excited for her new adventure, but is also a bit apprehensive and nervous about moving away and encountering all the “firsts” that come with being in a new city and starting college.  I’m sure she will succeed no matter what happens, and will also gain some valuable life lessons along the way.  To give her a little boost of enthusiasm, we are sending her this cookie tin for a graduation gift.  The cookies will be gone long before she moves away, but we have written a note that will accompany the gift, telling her to keep the tin in her dorm room and fill it with all the cards and letters she receives from home.  That way her family will always be close by!  The cookies come from one of my favorite online retailers – Gourmet Cookie Bouquets – so I know that they will arrive fresh and delicious.  The $31 tin holds one dozen jumbo cookies weighing 1/4 lb apiece.

I really enjoyed this bright spring assortment of cookies, drink mixes and a gourmet snack mix that filled the pink wire purse-shaped basket.  The light and buttery cutout cookies were hand-decorated by the bakers at Cookie Gift Baskets, then individually packaged in heat-sealed cellophane to preserve their freshness.  My favorite part of the gift pack was the vanilla nut crunch – it had a sweet and slightly salty crunch that left me wanting more!  I also enjoyed the key lime lemonade mix, which gave new twist of flavor to my favorite summer beverage.  Priced at $36, this cheery tote is a great way to brighten someone’s day without breaking the bank.

The coming of spring brings bright colors, fresh flowers and a general feeling of happiness in our neighborhood.  The kids are outside playing, the neighbors come out of hibernation, and the spring flower beds start to fill up.  Geraniums are a great sign of spring, and these geraniums even come with a sweet treat tucked inside – 8 gourmet chocolate chip cookies!  The cookies are colorfully wrapped with cellophane and arranged with artificial greenery, so the flowers can still be displayed long after the cookies are gone.  These delicious delights made a great gift for my girlfriend who was recently released from the hospital – she said this bouquet was the tastiest one she had ever received!  The cookies are also available sugar-free, both the regular and sugar-free bouquets are priced at $45 and shipping is only $10.25 if you choose ground delivery.

This week is Administrative Professional’s Week, and Thursday is specifically Admin Professional’s/Secretary’s Day.  Make sure your assistant knows how much they are appreciated by sending a cheery cookie bouquet – with giant buttercreme cookies shaped like Sunflowers!  The arrangement is available in 5 sizes and ranges in price from $28 to $82.  Overnight shipping is also available, in case you are the type of person who does things at the last minute!

At a gourmet food convention last month, my colleague and I thought the most ingenious products at the entire show were the edible business cards handed out by one of the vendors!  The favors were iced graham crackers, dipped in white Belgian chocolate and then covered with an edible image in the exact likeness of her business card.  The show was around St. Patrick’s Day, so our vendor had decorated her favors with green and white sprinkles to celebrate the holiday.  Each cookie was wrapped in a clear, heat-sealed bag and they were certainly the hit of her booth!  We visited with the vendor – both about her products and about her favors – and discovered that she was able to get a bulk pricing discount from Gourmet Cookie Bouquets, and ordered enough in advance to take advantage of bulk ground shipping.  The cookies tasted fresh and delicious, and our vendor had very cleverly attached an actual business card to the back of the bag, so we would still have her contact information after the cookie was eaten.  The business card cookies are available for $3.05 apiece, but if you have a large quantity order contact Gourmet Cookie Bouquets and inquire about corporate/quantity discounts.

Sarah, our Admin Assistant, is by far the most valuable employee in our office.  She keeps my boss on schedule with his meetings, conference calls and out of town trips; she manages our office phones, keeps our supplies stocked, helps with last-minute projects and always does it with a smile.  We would be lost without her!  To show our appreciation for Sarah’s excellent work, this year we will help her celebrate Administrative Professional’s Week with a tin of gourmet cookies from one of our favorite online retailers.  The reusable tin comes with either 6 or 12 jumbo cookies in a variety of flavors.  I know that Sarah’s favorite cookie flavor is oatmeal raisin, so I have asked Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets to send her all 12 oatmeal raisin rather then their variety.  The customer service is top-notch, and I was reassured it was no problem to request a specific flavor.

Admin Professional’s week is April 20-24, but don’t wait until the last minute to reward the person in your office who keeps everything together!  You can send this gourmet cookie gift for $45 plus $9.95 shipping.

I am a huge fan of Chinese food, and the perfect ending to any Chinese dinner is a crispy fortune cookie!  My sister knows I’m fond of fortune cookies, so she thought this giant cookie would be a great way to ask my husband and I to be her son’s godparents.  The extra-large dessert (about the size of a football) came with a custom fortune message inside, so when we cracked it open we got the invitation to baby Preston’s baptism and the request to play a very special role in his life.  I was honored and excited, and immediately called my sister to thank her for the special invitation – and for the tasty way in which is was given!  The cookie itself was an awesome experience, the crunchy and sweet cookie paired well with the chewy caramel coating.  My favorite part of the whole experience was picking off the caramel “nuggets”  and eating them all first!  My sister found this unique treat at Gourmet Cookie Bouquets for $28.

Now that the Final Four has been decided for this year, you can either celebrate your team making it to the finals or drown your sorrows in a delicious bouquet of cookies made with your team colors.  Either way – you win!  Cookie Gift Baskets will send out a tasty cookie gram filled with basketball-themed cookies, and will also customize the cookies with your favorite team’s colors for only $10 more.  The 9 cookie size is available for $61 (before customizing), and can be shipped to arrive as quickly as overnight.

p.s.  Go Spartans!