Not only has she invented, to our knowledge, the concept of the “mug cookie”—a cookie baked with a slot that hooks onto a mug of hot chocolate, tea or coffee—but she has done it in the most charming way. Get the recipe and download the pattern.

Cookies are only one of Martha’s impressive talents. We can’t wait for an occasion to make her bacon cups and fill them with scrambled eggs or a spinach salad.

For those of into Jell-o shooters, here is an impressive Jell-O shooters recipe or (if you leave out the vodka) a way to amuse kids with Jell-O.
Martha Reardon, we don’t know you, but we love you!

It’s cookie magic: a wee gingerbread
house that perches on the rim of a mug.
Photo by Martha Reardon | NotMartha.org.

With the face of Santa, poinsettias and
stars, these earn the name, “art candy.”
Photo courtesy Hammond’s Candies.

In honor of National Hard Candy Day, today, find candies in shapes and colors that add interest to your decor, or that celebrate the season at hand.

For Christmas, old-fashioned “cut rock” hard candies—the ones with pictures in the center, known as art candy—are still made by Hammond’s Candies.

Like the ship in the bottle, people marvel at how the designs—for example, tiny Santas, Christmas trees, gold stars and poinsettias—get into the small pieces of candy. Each hand-made piece is a little work of edible art.

• See more of our favorite candies in our Gourmet Candy section.

Hershey’s Bliss white chocolate squares with a “creamy meltaway center” hit the spot. Not sugary-sweet like some white chocolate, they’re portion-controlled so you can enjoy just a bite or two.

You can also use the little square of Bliss to crown other desserts, or serve a piece along with cups of coffee.

Or, use them in our Cupcake Surprise recipe.

• Check out our favorite chocolates—and everything you’ve always wanted to know about chocolate—in the Gourmet Chocolate Section of THE NIBBLE.

Bliss for a white Christmas. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Spread joy with Paumanok Preserves’
savory chutney, conserve, jelly and jam.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

The best gourmet peanut butters, jams, chocolate bars, maple syrups, teas or mustards, for example, are treats that recipients can appreciate every day of the year—and they’ll think of you with every delicious bite or sip.

Put together a selection of the finest in a gift box. In addition to the food themselves, your gift will be the joy of discovery.

• Check out Paumanok Preserves (at left), a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.
• Visit the main index of NIBBLE food reviews to find great products in every category.

Treat him or her to delicious and festive red and green mozzarella rolls from the Mozzarella Company, one of America’s finest artisan cheese makers. This is no ordinary mozzarella: It will please the most discriminating turophile (that’s Greek for cheese lover).

The red and green spiral fillings include basil pesto, green olives, prosciutto and sundried tomatoes. They’re great for slicing for hors d’oeuvres and salads (how about a holiday Caprese salad with fresh basil and roasted red peppers) or making fancy holiday grilled cheese sandwiches. We love them as indulgent snacks: just us, the mozzarella rolls and a knife and fork. And maybe a crisp white wine.

Deck the halls with mozzarella. Photo courtesy Mozzarella Company.

• Purchase the holiday mozzarella basket and other wonderful cheese gifts at Mozzarella Company. The mozzarella basket is $85, shipping included.
• Read our review of Mozzarella Company cheeses, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.