*The original store is in Beverly Hills. There are outposts in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Newport Beach, Phoenix/Scottsdale and Palo Alto, with 16 additional locations on the boards (see the website).

If you’re looking for a better cupcake than what you can buy…if you’re tired of trying recipes, only to find that they’re not what you were hoping for…we hope that your search, like ours, has come to an end. Your new favorite gourmet cake mix purveyor is Candace Nelson, co-founder (with her husband) of Sprinkles Cupcakes. Some day we’ll get to a Sprinkles bakery; until then, we can only judge the cupcakes made from the mixes as A to A+.

The best cupcakes in town are at your house,
with Sprinkles cupcake mixes. Photo by Victoria Pearson | Sprinkles.

• Read the full review to discover our favorites and how to make the best cupcakes in town.
• Find more of our favorite cupcakes and recipes in THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Cakes Section.

A bowl of tomato soup garnished with crab-meat, fresh basil, shredded Grana Padano cheese and snipped chives (photo © Wisconsin Dairy)..

Remember when a garnish meant parsley? Today, part of the creativity in cooking is the choice of edible garniture. Just a bit of glamorous garnishing makes any plate look better.

Try whole or halved cherry or grape tomatoes or actual grapes, caperberries with stems (or scatter small capers on the plate), beads of whitefish caviar, edible flowers…

There are dozens of tasty choices whether your course is sweet or savory.

So whether you’re presenting the turkey, yams, stuffing, cranberries, or other dishes tomorrow, consider whether sprigs of rosemary, orange peel, dill, or other garnish (yes, even parsley) can make them even more of a visual “wow.”

> For a cornucopia of ideas, see our article on glamorous garnishes.

While many cookie bouquets are sugar cookies—hard and pretty flavorless—Corso’s Cookies produces softer, higher-quality shortbread, made with butter and almond flavoring. Even after a big lunch, they were popular with our group of Nibblers.

If you’ve missed the opportunity to send a Thanksgiving bouquet prior to the big day, there’s still time to send some for weekend enjoyment—or a Thank You bouquet to your dinner host. And of course, there are Happy Anything Else, Congratulations Get Well and many more cookie greetings. With the skyrocketing cost of paper greeting, cookie bouquets may become the new standard way of messaging.

We gobbled them up! Photo courtesy CorsosCookies.com.

• See our favorite cookies and recipes in THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Cookies Section.
• Should you freeze or refrigerate an overload of cookies? Read our cookie storage tips.

[1] Here’s a different pumpkin pie for your holiday: made with pumpkin ice cream or frozen yogurt.

If you’re looking for something special beyond the traditional pumpkin pie, how about an ice cream or frozen yogurt pumpkin pie? This recipe, created by Louise McLane, comes to us from one of our favorite frozen yogurt purveyors, Sweet Scoops. The stores are filled with ice cream and yogurt in seasonal flavors.

Just scoop the frozen delight into a pie shell and top it with toffee bits, chopped nuts, and a chocolate and/or caramel drizzle.

Of course, the pie will taste that much better if you use the gingersnap crumb crust below.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN ICE CREAM PIE

The best nuts to use in this recipe are hazelnut, pecans or walnuts. If you want to omit the nuts, substitute unshelled pumpkin seeds.

We added some raisins to the mix, for a flavor counterpoint.
 
Ingredients For The Filling

 
For The Gingersnap Crumb Crust

 
For The Chocolate Glaze

 
Preparation

1. BAKE the crust. Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. LIGHTLY BUTTER a 9″ pie pan. Stir together all crust ingredients in a bowl and press evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.

3. BAKE until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature. As it cools, set the ice cream on the counter to soften.

4. SPOON the softened ice cream evenly into the cooled pie shell. Place in the freezer while you prepare the topping.

5. MIX together the nuts and toffee bits. Sprinkle liberally and evenly on top of the pie. Press them slightly into the surface to adhere. Return the pie to the freezer while you prepare the glaze.

6. MELT the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or a small bowl over a pan of hot water on moderate heat. Either way, do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Stir until completely smooth.

7. USE a spoon to drizzle spoonfuls of the glaze over the pie in a zigzag pattern.

8. RETURN the pie to the freezer before serving, for a half-hour or until the glaze starts to look dull.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM

> THE HISTORY OF PUMPKIN PIE

> THE HISTORY OF PUMPKIN

A a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week (read the review and see close-up photos), Superseedz, a Gallo Prize Winner, are artisan-roasted and flavored with cinnamon, curry, sea salt or spice. Besides being iron-rich, healthy, snackilicious and guilt-free, there’s no spitting required: It’s all part of the Superseedz magic. Even if you don’t win, you should order up a bunch of bags for stocking stuffers (the small bags are just $2.00).

The Prize: A Gift Basket Of Superseedz Flavored Pumpkin Seeds

One winner will receive six large bags and four small bags of Superseedz Flavored Pumpkin Seeds in each of the four flavors: Cinnamon & Sugar, Original Curry, Sea Salt and Somewhat Spicy. The pumpkin seeds will arrive in a gift basket prepared by Well Baskets, a specialist in healthy gourmet gift baskets. Approximate Retail Value: $55.00.

Always be prepared at snack time with a tasty, healthy bag of pumpkin seeds!

To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway:

• See THE NIBBLE’S Gourmet Snacks Section, where you’ll discover more of our favorite snacks.
• Click on the link at the bottom of the page by noon on Monday, November 30th, to enter your email address for the prize drawing. (Privacy is observed; your email address will not be used for any other purpose.)