Exotic Chocolates

In Brazil, brigadeiros are a popular chocolate confection — akin to a truffle, yet in a league of their own. At New York City shop My Sweet Brigadeiro, a mixture of chocolate, condensed milk, and butter is cooked, cooled, molded into little balls and covered with nuts or sprinkles. The treats come in a wide range of flavors, including coconut, chili, peanut honey and pink salt.

Get it now: My Sweet Brigadeiros, eight-piece box from $15 to $19 at mysweet.com

Heirloom Beans

There are coffee geeks, wine geeks, chocolate geeks — so why not get serious about beans? Rancho Gordo is all about legumes — it celebrates a wide array of heirloom varieties. A pack with three types of the California-grown beauties includes the much-loved garbanzo for salads or hummus, the soup-worthy Hutterite and creamy yellow-eyed beans.

Get it now: Rancho Gordo heirloom beans, $16.50 for a three-bag set at joyus.com

Sweet & Savory Cookies

Chicago sweet shop Salted Caramel plays with savory and sweet elements in its carousel cookie. Made with aged English cheddar, dried plums and apricots, it’s an unusually delicious combination. The zing of the cheese melds with the sweetness of the fruit, for an adaptable edible that lends itself to dessert, or as an accompaniment to meat and cheese with wine.

Get it now: Salted Caramel’s carousel cookies, $8 for one dozen at saltedcaramel.net

Momofuku Cooking Sauces

Superstar chef David Chang takes the flavors of his popular Momofuku restaurant to the people. Williams-Sonoma carries his Asian braising sauce — a savory and sweet mix accented with pear and spice that may also be used for marinating. There’s also a clay pot sauce with lemongrass that is spiced with star anise, coriander and cinnamon recommended for soups or braising.

Get it now: Momofuku cooking sauces, $16.95 each at williams-sonoma.com

Handcrafted Potato Chips

Reward the discriminating snacker on your list with house-made potato chips from the Billy Goat Chip Company. The St. Louis-based operation uses russet potatoes and canola oil, and offers a regular and a spicy version (dubbed the Kicker).

Get it now: Billy Goat Chip Company’s potato chips, $18.95 for a two-pack combination at billygoatstl.com

Popcorn Flavoring Kit

Satisfy everyone’s palate with Urban Accents’ popcorn kit. The set includes a bottle of kernels and six flavorings, from salty to sweet. Seasoning canisters allow you to mix sea salt and vinegar, dill pickle, asiago cheese, white cheddar, caramel and kettle corn.

Get it now: Urban Accents popcorn kit, $15 at surlatable.com

Gingerbread Cake

When the holidays hit, it’s time to seek out gingerbread goodies. The spice of ginger, clove, cinnamon and a touch of coffee make this dark, moist gingerbread cake a smart wintry pick best enjoyed with cup of tea — or some eggnog.

Get it now: Dancing Deer Baking Company’s deep dark gingerbread cake, $19.99 at dancingdeer.com

Unique Brittles

Morning Glory Confections fashions its brittles using traditional methods, but takes flavor profiles in interesting directions. Unexpected flavors include Indian curry with pistachio, New Mexico chili with pumpkin seed and Thai curry and peanut. Chocolate brittles are imbued with seasonings such as herbes de Provence and almonds, and alder wood smoked salt with peanuts.

Get it now: Morning Glory Confections Indian curry and pistachio brittle, $5 to $10 at morninggloryconfections.com

Tea Flavored Candies

Give the tea lovers on your list a sophisticated candy infused with select blends from Parisian tea masters Mariage Frères. Bonbons take on the essence of fine Ceylon black tea, a warm spice holiday blend, Earl Grey and the company’s classic Marco Polo blend of Asian flowers and scented black tea.

Get it now: Mariage Frères tea flavored candy, $14 at deandeluca.com

Traditional Babkas

Forgo the fruitcake. Present a loaf of delicious cinnamon- or chocolate-swirled babka, sweet Jewish loaf cakes, from New York’s fabled Russ & Daughters. The price is so good, you can come bearing two.

Get it now: Russ & Daughters’ cinnamon or chocolate babka, $9.95 per loaf at russanddaughters.com

Cocktail (and Cooking) Syrups

The syrups from Morris Kitchen make for well-crafted cocktails. With four flavors, ginger syrup, spiced apple, rhubarb and preserved lemon, you can tackle all sorts of interesting drink recipes, or go from the bar to the kitchen and use them in dressings, to marinate or deglaze.

Get it now: Morris Kitchen flavored syrups, $12 each at morriskitchen.com

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

All the zesty character of lemon, but refined. Frog Hollow Farm creates its marmalade from Meyer lemons, which have a softer, more floral flavor than typical lemons. It’s a surefire way to jazz up toast.

Get it now: Frog Hollow Farm’s Meyer lemon marmalade, $9 at froghollow.com

Old World German Stollen

The Vermont Country Store sources its stollen from an old-fashioned bakery in Germany, which studs this baked sweet bread with candied orange, lemon peel and raisins, and adds a creamy almond marzipan center.

Get it now: Vermont Country Store’s marzipan stollen, $16.95 at vermontcountrystore.com

Afghani Chai

A warm, fragrant tea can be so inviting. To make their Afghani Chai, Brooklyn-based tea emporium Bellocq brings together Assam black tea with red poppy flowers and spices.

Get it now: Bellocq’s Afghani chai, from $15 at bellocq.com

Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Cookies

You might want to leave some other cookies out for Santa. Droga Chocolates dresses up gingerbread cookies in a coating of rich dark chocolate to create its “chookies.” The treats come in an attractive gift box adorned with festive holiday illustrations. Receive 10% off your entire order at Droga Chocolates by using the code iVillage through December 8.

Get it now: Droga Chocolates’ chookies, $16.95 for a nine-piece box at drogachocolates.com

Late Harvest Zinfandel Agrodolce Vinegar

This is no ordinary red wine vinegar. The folks at Katz and Company carefully craft this sweet and sour vinegar using organic zinfandel wine grapes California’s Suisun Valley. Once the grapes concentrate their sugars they are fermented, then aged in oak barrels. The final product has berry and plum notes and is versatile enough to flavor salads, vegetables or meats.

Get it now: Katz & Company’s late harvest zinfandel agrodolce vinegar, $11 at katzandco.com

Cranberry Chutneys

Sweet and fruity cranberry chutney can zip up sandwiches or act as a flavorful complement to meats. New England Cranberry bottles chutneys of straight-up cranberry, or a mixture of the fruit with mango, onion, apple or peach.

Get it now: New England Cranberry chutneys, two jar gift duo $14.99 at newenglandcranberry.com

French Macarons

Pretty, elegant, and tasty — you can’t beat a good macaron. And when the colorful meringue-like confections come from pastry chef François Payard, you’re sure to impress. Payard’s six-piece selection highlights flavors of vanilla, pistachio, coffee, passion fruit, chocolate with cocoa nibs and rose lychee. Give it an extra touch by adding a personal message to the label.

Get it now: François Payard’s macarons, $14 for a six-piece box at payard.com

Artisanal Italian Pasta

Who doesn’t like pasta? Made by hand in Puglia, the Marella family produces fine pasta in a myriad of traditional and inventive shapes — like zucchette, formed like a small squash — that you just won’t find on any old grocery store shelf. Extruded through bronze dies, the finished result has a texture that really grips sauce.

Get it now: Marella zucchette-shaped pasta, one pound bag $5.95 at italianharvest.com

Pumpkin Seed Salsa

Bring a different dip to the party. A seasonally fitting condiment, American Spoon’s pumpkin seed salsa combines toasted pumpkin seeds with chile, tomato and red bell peppers. With a medium heat, it will please just about everyone in the crowd.

Get it now: American Spoon’s pumpkin seed salsa, $10.95 at spoon.com