You know the person in your life that spoils their meals by munching on box chocolates or skipping dinner entirely to impale a dish of Perry’s cannoli gelato? If you were wondering, I’m absolutely the latter. Anyhow, December is prime season for dessert lovers, as nothing polishes off a Christmas ham like a strawberry-topped New York style cheesecake or completes a roasted duck like chocolate-covered maraschino cherries. Never tried the last combo? Don’t judge until you have!

Here are five local options for dessert lovers for the Christmas season:

1) Sweet Jenny’s peppermint ice cream: Peppermint or “white christmas” flavored ice creams were musts in the Tsujimoto household growing up, particularly if the concoction was bustling with chunks of peppermint. Williamsville-based Sweet Jenny’s—which specializes in dense, ultra-creamy ice cream—offers this delightful treat.

(photo of peppermint sticks from Sweet Jenny’s Facebook wall.)

2) Adam’s Apples apple crisp apple: Thanks to the Niagara Holiday Market for tipping me off to this one. Sure, one of their gourmet caramel apples runs for either $6 or $7, but hey, it’s the holidays—you can spend a little extra on something local and outside-the-box. Here’s the description: “caramel covered Granny Smith apple drenched in white chocolate then rolled in cinnamon and brown sugar.” Duh—there’s no better reason to head to Tonawanda.

3) Alethea’s “Share the Holiday Temptation.” Warning: this one may force you to drop a little of the Christmas bonus, as the dreaded “call for pricing” is listed on the website. No worries, you’ve started the fourth quarter with a bang. Honestly, the coolest thing about attacking a box of chocolates is when they’re all different—it’s an adventure in every bite. Will it be peanut butter or coconut? What if there’s no filling at all? Dessert life is exciting.

4) Holiday Yule Log from Butterwood Desserts: S.J. has brought up yule logs on several occasions since September. While you may think that’s a bit over the top—which is fair—there’s something about yule logs that make me stumble. Is it the shape? Is it the notion that you’re munching on a log? Is it Butterwood’s gloriously hand-crafted meringue mushroom decorations? ALL OF THE ABOVE. Who cares if it’s $60?!

5) Muscoreil’s “Holy Cannoli”: Fine, I’ve been on a cannoli kick lately. But Muscoreil’s in North Tonawanda fills those bad boys on the spot for you, and you get six large cannolis for $14.95! This may be the only holiday bargain on my list.

Cannoli photo not from Muscoreil’s but courtesy of Flickr / jeffreyw.
Header photo courtesy of Flickr / Tracy Hunter.