Published: February 01, 2008 11:44 am            

BASKET OF NIAGARA: New gift idea highlights local goodies

TASTE OF NIAGARA: Mary Ann Hess, owner of Honeymoon Sweets in Niagara Falls, displays a gift basket that includes products from a variety of area small businesses.

Goodies from Niagara

Small companies join together to create memento from the Falls

For those looking to send some flavors of Niagara as Valentines, a new gift is available that is chock-full with chocolates, wines and other mementos from the region.

Mary Ann Hess, of Niagara’s Honeymoon Sweets, has gathered products from several area small businesses to create a taste of the region.

Hess, who three years ago took her 30-year hobby of chocolate making and turned it into a small business, began her candy career featuring chocolate medallions imprinted with a carving of Niagara Falls. She and her small staff of friends and family also create chocolate barrels filled with cookie crunch, called Daredevils, and kissable chocolate lips to honor the romantic history of the area.

Both the barrels and the Falls medallions are available in the basket, which is lined with a red mini-tablecloth.

The basket also holds postcards, or a calendar created from of photos of the falls, wine from Marjim Manor in Appleton and cookies from Howe’s Cookies of Niagara Falls.

Every basket can be personalized with coffee mugs, wine glasses or tea cups, Hess said.

Honeymoon Sweets also offers a variety of chocolates that are created by Hess, including chocolate-covered doughnut holes filled with cheesecake, snapping turtles that have a spicy bite and spa chocolates, featuring a light white chocolate infused with strawberry and basil.

The baskets start at about $40 and can be custom-ordered online at NiagaraHoneymoonsweets.com.

— Michele DeLuca



        

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