Favorite finds this week include edible gifts -- all from Georgia -- for those on your “nice” list.
One smart cookie
On the football field at Georgia Tech and in the NFL, Kent Hill played to win. Now, the 2001 Georgia Sports Hall of Famer makes winning chocolate chip cookies. Using a tweaked family recipe, Hill first shared his cookies as holiday gifts for family and neighbors. Word spread about his hearty, all-natural cookies. In 2006, Hill launched Kent’s Country Cookies. The Georgia Tech grad’s gourmet chocolate chip cookies come in five flavors. The pecan (also known as the “Yellow Jacket”) is a top seller, followed by plain (no nuts) and walnut chocolate chip. For holiday or year-round orders, visit www.kentscountrycookies.com. Each order ($18.50) contains 13 cookies (a country dozen) packaged in a simple but attractive gift box, which is great for giving or transporting. Find the cookies year-round at area Whole Foods stores and at seasonal farmers markets, such as the Dunwoody Green Market.
Tasty bites
Diane Pfeifer has been called the “Goddess of Grits.” But the Atlanta dynamo and Peachtree Hills resident has had many past lives. Over the years, Pfeifer has worked as a chemist, songwriter and backup singer with Tammy Wynette. In 1987, she published a popcorn cookbook. Its success prompted her to write other cookbooks, including “Gone With the Grits.” When cookbook fans told her they wanted something they can “open and eat,” Pfeifer came up with “Grits Bits.” Available in four flavors, the bite-size cheese straw biscuits are baked with grits for a corny crunch. Cheddar is a best-seller. Vidalia onion is a tasty second. Perfect for a party favor, the cheery, 3-ounce box is $4 (or $44 for 12 boxes). An 8-ounce tin is $13.50. Your Yankee friends might go for grits served this way. Visit www.gritsbits.com.
Go nuts
Pecans are often considered a holiday food, but the owners of the Orchards Gourmet Nuts, Candies and Gifts believe the nut should be enjoyed year-round. And why not? Georgia is the nation’s largest producer of pecans. The family-owned company in tiny Wrens, Ga., not only grows and shells its pecans. It also makes its candies from scratch. Chocolate pecans are the No. 1 seller. The award-winning praline pecans are a close second, followed by roasted and salted pecans. Try the classic pecan sampler and taste an assortment of the top pecan favorites. The tin is $25.95 at www.theorchardsgourmet.com.
Share your favorite finds
Do you have favorite finds from around the South that you give as gifts, buy for your home or rave about to friends? If, so please share them with us. Send suggestions to: ljerkins@bellsouth.net. In the subject line, write Southern Made. Include your name and a contact number.
Other Southern-made eats and treats to give or send
Southern Made has written about a variety of food items in the past year. Here are some of the websites for those companies.
Sweets
breadwinnerbreads.com
carolinescakes.com
davidjeffrieskitchen.com
dottiestoffee.com
emilygs.com
graffitizoo.com
normanloveconfections.com
stritascakes.com
susansnaps.com
Pickles and relish
phickles.com
simsfoods.com (Wickles)
smitherfamilykitchen.com
Barbecue and miscellaneous
buybonesuckin.com
dianasspecialties.com
jalopyfoods.com
lowcountryproduce.com
moderndaymasala.com
mscheesestraws.com
pimentocheese.com (Palmetto Cheese)
rayandjudybbq.com
thehotsqueeze.com
virginiawillis.com
williesrubbins.com
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