Everything's bigger in Texas, certainly – but it's not usually this delicious. Sugar cookies stuffed with strawberry cheesecake chocolate-chip cookies stuffed with Nutella dark chocolate cookies stuffed with choco-mint ganache the "King Bubba" that's a peanut butter cookie stuffed with Reese's Pieces and PB chips. But, lord-a-mercy, it's these stuffed, half-pound monsters of expertly baked dough that are the local company's sugary secret weapon in the war against anything other than gifting supremacy. And, actually, the shop(pe), run by Vanilla Orchid Catering honchos Ivan and Molly Mills, is nonpareil in the matter of freshness and sheer variety of flavors vis-à-vis all things chicken salad.
You'd think a place called Chicken Salad Shoppe would be in the savory part of this roundup. But of course Fluff's also working the sugary magic with full-on, stuffed, topped, and drizzled Pavlovas (named after that famous Russian ballerina, yes) and spongey Australian lamingtons and a variety of tarts and cakes (ooooh, Baked Alaska) and – so much more than "just" meringues, is what we're saying. And that's just those snow-white, spice-dusted, meringue drops we're talking about. These meringues, these crunchy little clouds of sweetness from Kristin Collins and her cohorts, they'll brighten any gathering with their subtle flavors and maximum eye appeal, all packaged in a box pretty enough to make your favorite sorority sister (or, we daresay, your most studly auto mechanic) squee with delight. Still, though: We sure as hell are going to order one of those little golden turkeys, because 1) they're remarkably delicious, and 2) they've already become a holiday tradition around here. Her Delysia crew continues to bring world-class quality and sophisticated style to all forms of chocolate-making – the boxes of truffles, the seasonal shapes, the nut-studded barks, the sipping chocolates – and Austin's all the better for it. But you know that tasty stuff was (and still is) just an extra, right? Because what Patel has been doing with chocolate for years transcends any mere trends. Nicole Patel of Delysia Chocolatier was among the first to bring that new golden chocolate (made with caramelized sugar) to the States, and she's not the last. Imagine the likes of this collection, from the city's best, once a month. By pairing with a different bakery every month, we'll explore the multitude of new bakeries springing up in Austin along with tried-and-true greats." Yeah, he's not kidding: The first box we got was from Sweet Charli Girl, the bakery that owner Rachel Metts named after her rescue dog, and among the box's half-dozen items were freshly made cookie-filled cookies, a small loaf of (exquisitely moist) pumpkin bread, maple brown sugar pecan cookies, a double-chocolate brownie, and a big chocolate peanut butter bar that tasted, omg, as good as those peanut butter pies we recall from the Magnolia Cafe. Bakery Box ATX is a bakery-of-the-month sort of deal, offering "the opportunity to sample the best pastries the city has to offer without having to make trips around the city. Max Kunik, the local entrepreneur behind Taster's Table Club, has introduced his newest foodie foray, and it's just about perfect for gifting purposes. This, front & center, is one of those phenomenal half-pound cookies from Chicken Salad Shoppe.