6 Nashville-made sweets for your last-minute Valentine
If you're scrambling to dig up a last-minute Valentine's Day gift in the Nashville area, you've got options. Here are some delicious baked goods, craft chocolates and other sweets for your sweet you can still grab locally if you're not really so great at planning ahead (and please, for the love of love, step away from the mass-produced grocery store chocolates).
Feast by Louisa Chocolate Bars
Nashville-based Persian chef Louisa Shafia partnered with Poppy and Peep to make these utterly luxurious chocolate bars inspired by flavors in the Iranian culinary canon. Saffron Pistachio White Chocolate, for example, is modeled after classic bastani, a Persian saffron ice cream flavored with pistachios and rose. The bars are finished with a little sprinkle of sea salt and edible gold leaf.
"You know, Iranians, we love a little bling," Shafia said.
Cardamom Fruit and Nut Dark Chocolate is an ode to Iran's fragrant fruit and nut mixes. The dark chocolate bar also includes fresh-ground cardamom, Persian green raisins, pomegranate seeds and pistachios. Pomegranate and Walnut Dark Chocolate nods to the classic Iranian flavor combination, adding also tart cherries, cinnamon and sea salt.
Perhaps the most creative is the Crispy Rice and Saffron Dark Chocolate. The bar riffs off the crisp-bottomed rice dish tahdig, which means "bottom of the pot" in Persian. It evokes tahdig's flavors and textures with puffed rice and potato chips and a dusting of saffron salt.
Find the bars online at feastbylouisa.com or, for a more immediate shopping experience, at Welcome Home (1882 Eastland Ave.); The Getalong (700A Fatherland St.); and Suraj Spices & Teas (943 Fourth Ave. S.).
Goo Goo Clusters
Sure, you can find standard Goo Goo Clusters in a variety of retail stores, but there's something extra special about crafting your very own. Choose from a variety of fillings, including Nutella and salted caramel, then add delicious extras from fruity pebbles to real roasted hazelnut pieces. Plus, each extra-large handcrafted Goo Goo comes in a fancy box. You can make them online at googoo.com or, for speedier pickup, drop by the store in downtown Nashville at Goo Goo Chocolate Co., 116 Third Ave. S.
Olive and Sinclair
This bean-to-bar chocolate factory sells gorgeous chocolate bars with old-school wrappers that look like they belong on the set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Find also creative caramels, brittle and other confections in the antique-peppered East Nashville shop at 1628 Fatherland St.
Colts Chocolate Co.
This Nashville-based dessert company specializes in creative confections including the Colts Bolts, made with natural peanut butter, roasted almonds and chocolate. Find also pecan and caramel "Bumble Bees," heart-shaped brownies and other craft-made sweets. Shop online at coltschocolates.com or at the factory store at 3611 Gallatin Pike.
Baked on 8th
Visit the website of the locally grown bakeshop at www.bakedon8th.com to order a slew of Valentine's Day treats for pickup at 1512 Eighth Ave. S.
V-day inventory currently includes lovey-dovey treats such as heart-shaped iced cookies, adorable cupcakes, teddy bear cookies, strawberry-topped brownies and more.
Poppy & Peep
This most-adorable father and daughter confectionary turns out just as sweet desserts including exquisitely adorned bonbons in flavors including caramel pretzel and ruby passion.
You can also find chocolate-covered fruits and nuts, hand-crafted meringues and creative chocolate bars (Nashville hot chicken, anyone?). Order online at poppyandpeep.com and select local pickup (delivery is also an option, with conditions) at checkout if you live in Nashville. Pickup is at 374-6 Herron Drive.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Valentine's Day: 6 last-minute, Nashville-made sweets to give as gifts
