Looking for Christmas cookies? These RI bakers will sweeten your season
Christmas cookies, make or buy?
Why not both? That's my motto. I can make my Mum's Anise Cookies for Christmas Day and buy Three Wishes gluten-free Lemon Ricotta Cookies for my neighbor. That's a win-win in my book.
In general, I don't think you can have enough Christmas cookies in December. They bring joy to my soul. And I'm not alone.
There's something so welcoming about a tray of cookies awaiting you when you go to someone's home. They say welcome! They are as much a part of Christmas in some homes as trees and Santa.
Like everything, prices have gone up a bit in the cookie game. But when you consider all the butter, extracts, chocolate and love that goes into each one, you understand.
All Italian bakeries will have cookie trays ready for Christmas shoppers. It's not hard to find beautifully cut and decorated sugar cookies either. Let's face it, in Rhode Island, you can't go wrong.
Here are nine spots for Christmas cookies that mix it up geographically and by style.
The Biscotti Bar
Gianna Grande is the new kid on the block. She recently started The Biscotti Bar, a mobile Italian cookie business. How mobile? We are talking a push cart, not a truck. It was handmade in white by her boyfriend. Her hope is it can be a fun addition to weddings and other events, customized to the needs of her clients. Think dipping a fresh biscotti into a chocolate fountain.
But today we are here to talk about her Christmas cookies.
"I grew up in an Italian family with traditions of cooking and baking," she said. "I love to be in the kitchen."
Grande, who lives in North Providence, said her family makes 14 to 18 kinds of cookies, including biscotti, for family and friends at Christmas. They bake together and they even have a name for it: The Great Wrap Off.
Her Biscotti bar makes almond biscotti, pistachio biscotti, maple walnut biscotti, almond macarons, prune slices, ricotta biscuits and an almond triangle.
She has a day job in the medical field but she is diving into her cottage business this season. People can read about each cookie and order on her website, biscottibar.square.site and pick up in North Providence. Her cookie assortment includes biscotti, wine biscuits and ricotta biscuits. It comes in one pound ($25) and two pounds ($50), with 18-20 cookies per pound.
She also has two pop-up events with her cart planned. Find her at Bobbles & Lace, 17 Touro St., Newport, on Saturday, Dec. 16, from noon to 3 p.m. She'll be at Sheperd's Run Winery, 4780 Tower Hill Road, South Kingstown, on Sunday, Dec. 17, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Grande said she will be stocked up with cookies or you can order ahead for pickup.
Follow her on Instagram and Facebook for future pop-up events.
Scialo Brothers Bakery
257 Atwells Ave., Providence, (401) 421-0986.
Scialo's General Manager Olivia DeAngelis said they are offering three-pound Christmas Cookie trays ($69), their most popular, as well as five-pound ($115), eight-pound ($184) and 10-pound trays ($184).
"Our cookie trays are filled with every cookie we make in house," she said. The list includes Quaresimale (Almond Biscotti), Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti, Amaretti, Cherry and Chocolate Macaroons, Prune and Date slices, Butter Cookies with Sprinkles, Butterballs and Cranberry Pistachio topped with Italian candies.
Their homemade Torrone ($29.99 a pound) is available throughout the month. That and the three-pound cookie tray can be shipped nationwide. Call the store for that service. Struffoli ($38), Guanti (Wandies – $24 for a tray) are also a holiday specialty they stock in the store.
Pastiche Fine Desserts
92 Spruce St., Providence, (401) 861-5190, pastichefinedesserts.com.
Pastiche's cookies come in a variety of sizes with a popular choice being a box of 25 assorted cookies: Almond Biscotti, Chocolate Chip, Russian Teacakes (butterballs), Chocolate Walnut Truffle Cookies, Rugelach and Lemon Squares. They should be ordered a day ahead and cost $22.50. They come in larger sizes, too. There are 2½ pound boxes ($45) and four pounds boxes ($75). They can also be ordered in baskets or by a particular cookie. Order online.
Antonio's Bakery
2448 West Shore Road, Warwick, (401) 738-3727, antoniosbakery.net.
They have three sizes of Italian cookie trays. Small is 2 1/2 pounds ($38), medium is 3 1/2 pounds ($54) and large, is five pounds ($72). They stock the small ones in the store but place an advance order for larger ones. They are filled with an assortment of Traditional Butterballs, Chocolate Butterballs, Quaresimali, Anise Bars, Prune Bars, Raspberry Almond Cookies, Pignoli Cookies, Coconut Macaroons, Butter Cookies and Chocolate Biscotti.
They also have pound biscotti cookie tins, gingerbread cookies, pecan cookies, double chocolate with peppermint cookies, and their traditional Christmas tree and Christmas stocking sugar cookie trays. They also have torrone, the Italian nougat candy made with almonds, cut into assorted sizes ($22 a pound).
Carina e Dolce
1402 Plainfield Pike, Cranston, (401) 301-1334, carinaedolce.com
Andrea Soave Nadeau's Carina e Dolce is open for holiday pop-up shops 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Assorted cookie trays come in three and five-pound sizes They are $20 per pound. She has assorted Christmas sugar Cookie Kits and decorated gingerbread cookies. Pre-order for custom cookies by the dozen.
Three Wishes Bakery
39 Greenville Ave., Johnston, (401) 642-7819, threewishesbakery.com and on Facebook and Instagram.
Three Wishes is a gluten- and nut-free bakery where the baking duo of Brian and Laura Meier cook allergen-free sweets. Their two-pound cookie trays have seven different cookies ($45). They have one-pound trays of Lemon Ricotta Cookies ($20). Both can be ordered through their website Threewishesbakery.com or by calling the bakery.
Confectionery Designs
42 Winthrop St., Rehoboth, Massachusetts, (774) 565-8288, confectionerydesigns.net
They offer elegant gift boxes that include Almond Joy, Orange Cranberry Shortbread, Gingerbread, Sugar Cookies, Pecan Snowballs, Almond Sables and Peppermint Bark. They come in three-quarters of a pound ($40) and 1 1/2 pounds ($75). They also offer individual bags of cookies, as well as gingerbread men. They must be ordered ahead and the deadline for Christmas is Dec. 18. Pickup is Saturday, Dec. 23 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Solitro's Bakery
1594 Cranston St., Cranston, (401) 942-9840, solitrosbakery.com and on Facebook.
Where to go: Make some memories and check out these Christmas lights in Rhode Island
The bakery is making their handmade cookies sold on trays that are small (1 3/4 pound for $35) medium (3 1/2 pound for $75) and large (4 1/4 pound for $88). They are open Christmas Eve but have online ordering set up as well. They will have loose cookies a few days before Christmas. They also have struffoli ($30) and cinnamon bun Christmas trees ($20). Torrone is $22 a pound.
Wright's Dairy Farm & Bakery
200 Woonsocket Hill Road, North Smithfield, wrightsdairyfarm.com and Wright's Creamery, 498 Kinsley Ave., Providence.
They have two tray sizes: a 2.75-pound tray has about 60 cookies ($42) and a 4-pound tray that must be pre-ordered, with about 135 cookies ($68). The trays are an assortment of their most popular Christmas flavors that include peanut butter blossoms, raspberry thumbprints, vanilla biscuit, M&M, chocolate chip, coconut macaroons, pistachio shortbread, sprinkle butter cookies, hand-cut gingerbread people, double chocolate chip, Russian tea and caramel pecan. They are also available as individual packages. There will be small cookie trays available for walk-in customers at both locations.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Where can you find Christmas cookies in RI? Check out these bakeries
