Italian Christmas Necessities

One of Italy’s greatest gift to the Christmas season besides the Neapolitan carol

“Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle” is Panettone. 

No traditional Italian Christmas would be complete without this light, sweet-smelling, fruit-studded, cake-like bread. It has a long history in Italian cuisine: most trace it to the courts of the dukes of Milan. Our Panettone follows the traditions of the Piedmont region of Italy, is lower in height than the Milanese version, and has the distinctive baked on icing or “glassa”. Many consider this to be finest. It is perfect when paired with a glass of prosecco and is often served with mascarpone or custards.

Pandoro or literally “golden bread” may not be as famous as Panettone but is certainly the most beautiful of Christmas cakes. Dramatically high, star-shaped and of golden hue, this light cake-like bread is traditionally dusted with powdered sugar. Similar to Panettone in taste but without any candied fruit and with a finer crumb it traces its origins to Verona and the Venetian region. Rich in butter and eggs, it was a staple of the nobility of these regions. Perfectly paired with prosecco, sparkling wine (also of Venetian origin) it is often served with fruit preserves and custards.

Panforte Margaretta or literally “strong bread” of Siena may in fact be the mother of all fruit cakes. This dense almond-studded, sugar-dusted cake is embedded with the highest quality candied orange peel, honey, spices, and just enough flour to hold it all together, with a thin wafer bottom. Panforte traces its birth to the beautiful Tuscan city of Siena in the 12 th -century, and was a staple for the Crusaders. The modern Panforte Margherita was reformulated and named in honor of the first queen of Italy, Margherita di Savoia. It is classically served sliced in thin wedges with the celebrated Vin Santo wine of Tuscany. Modern enthusiasts have paired it with a cheese course as well.

Torta di Frutta

This Italian Fruit Cake is bursting with dates, whole California walnuts, sweet glacé cherries and just enough cake batter to hold it all together. Cake and confection merge into one in this dense, rich cake, beautifully presented in a clear, ribbon-tied box.

A SOFI ™ award nominee from The Specialty Food Association, this soft nougat of whipped honey is studded with toasted almonds and Sicilian Bronte pistachios, and then folded into an edible wafer. This is a baker’s version of candy. Imported directly by our family from the heart of our native Abruzzo, where soft torrone was invented.

A soft chocolate nougat that is embedded with hazelnuts and wrapped in an edible wafer.

For centuries the finest Italian confetti candy has come from the ancient city of Sulmona, in the heart of the Abruzzo region, birthplace of the Roman poet Ovid, and this remarkably enduring candy. The sugared almonds of Sulmona have graced the great celebrations of Italy. Nearly addictive, these almonds are toasted to perfection and then coated with a perfect, thin, sweet-smelling candy shell. Revered for centuries, one taste and you will realize why. A remarkable difference awaits you if you have only sampled domestic Jordan Almonds. This is where candy was born.

What Christmas would be complete without cookies? Our tinned assortments are ready to bring to the table in attractive canisters, following in that great European tradition of annual Christmas cookies.

Delightfully arranged, in separate compartments, are nine varieties of our biscotti, shortbreads, cookies and cookie confections, approximately forty-four confections in all. This biscotti/cookie mosaic is table-ready and is beautifully contained in a keepsake tin designed using our award-winning, original art collection. A strikingly beautiful tin that is sure to be a constant reminder of the elegant and delicious assortment it contained.

The fruit illustration on this U.S. made tin is from original DiCamillo artwork. Four separate compartments hold four of the DiCamillo family’s most celebrated biscotti: Traditional Almond Biscotti Di Prato, Chocolate Biscotti Di Prato, Biscotti Amaretti and Chocolate Dipped Biscotti Di Prato. This colorful keepsake tin is filled to capacity and will become a tin classic for generations.

This charming colorful keepsake tin features a deluxe assortment of four classic biscotti and cookies: almond biscotti, butter cookies, almond macaroons, and chocolate-covered biscotti. The perfect size tin to tastefully say, “Thank you”.

These attractive fiber-board canisters in three varieties play host to our three most popular biscotti and make charming gift when sold in pairs. These completely authentic biscotti are free of any added fats and true to their noble history. A beautiful renaissance keepsake canister, in warm gold coloring, makes for a lasting gift.

Hand-made and hand-painted in the Tuscan village of Montelupo, world famous for their ceramic production. These beautiful generous jars play host to an equally generous assortment of individually-wrapped biscotti, almond macaroons and chocolate-covered biscotti. These jars will be make an unforgettable gift and will hold a place of honor in any home.

It is hard to imagine any celebration without a special assortment of cookies. This charming ribbon-tied box opens just like a book and has an assortment of four of our classic biscotti, cookies, shortbread and almond macaroons. A perfect thinking of you; gift for a small family.

These boxes offer the greatest protection to our most celebrated biscotti and cookies. Ribbon-sealed, they make an attractive gift when grouped together and are available in ten varieties.

Each dried fig is stuffed with a whole toasted-almond and glacé orange peel before being totally covered in pure, dark chocolate. Inspired by Calabrian cuisine, these confections combine fruit, nuts, and pure dark chocolate into a nearly perfect confection!

Our award-winning soft coconut macaroons have a rich, coconut custard-like taste. We have individually-wrapped twelve of them. If you know someone who loves coconut, these macaroons are the perfect gift. Presented in a hand-wrapped, ribbon-tied box with a note card.

These small baby-brioche cakes are soaked in a rum-alcohol syrup. Infused with rum syrup, these moist, petite cakes are the mother of all liquor cakes. Completely authentic, this centuries-old Neapolitan traditional dessert is expertly-preserved in jars and ready to bring to the table. They are an intoxicatingly delicious dessert—and for adults only.