Chocolate pretzel gift basket

Mail order munchables

You can never give too many tempting sweets or savories during the holiday season. The treats you'd never buy for yourself because they're an indulgence make perfect presents for the special people in your life. When someone says "Oh, you shouldn't have," they really mean, "I can't wait to try it."

Although you can find ample gift inspiration at your local gourmet shop, you'll also enjoy unearthing a rare ingredient or luscious edible that's seldom available on food shelves. Thanks to the Internet, the hunt for the appropriate morsel is easier than ever. Most purveyors have Web sites you can browse for the product of your choice.

Here are some of the gems I recommend for giving and for getting. Prices exclude tax and shipping costs, and may change with availability.

Heavenly Toffee Cookies from Goodness Gracie Inc. are every bit as scrumptious as the name suggests. Imagine crisp, roasted pecans run through an intense butter cookie dough and you begin to get the idea. The cookies, which are flat and rectangularlike crackers, come in tins or stand-up bags. The Wilmington, N.C., company also sells salted pecans. A 24-ounce tin of toffee cookies sells for $29.75; a 6- ounce tin goes for $9.75, and a 16-ounce tin of salted pecans is $23.50. For information or to order, visit www.goodnessgracie.com or call (910) 792-0800.

Ginger Wasabi Sauce from the Robert Rothschild Farm has been racking up awards in professional food competitions, and no wonder. The combination of hot and sweet flavors is irresistible served with smoked salmon or brushed on pork tenderloin. A 9.8-ounce jar sells for $6.89.

The Urbana, Ohio, company also offers a Favorites from the Farm basket assortment including Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip, Red Raspberry Preserves, Hot Pepper Peach Preserves, Raspberry Salsa, Onion Blossom Horseradish Dip, Southwest Dip, Raspberry Wasabi Dipping Mustard, Raspberry Dressing, Roasted Portabella and Roma Tomato Spicy Pasta Sauce, Chocolate Mint Dessert Sauce and Dip, as well as one bag each of Gourmet Dipping Sticks, Chocolate Dipping Pretzels and Honey Cinnamon Dipping Pretzels. The price is $79.99. For information or to order, visit www.robertrothschild. com or call (937) 653-7397 or (800) 356-8933.

The line of Octavia Tea products, with such flavors as Pineapple Bliss and Tropical Garden, is so fragrant and enticing you'll feel the tea's soothing effects even before you brew a cup. The Jasmine Pearl flavor is perfumed with night-blooming jasmine and the Orange Flower with jasmine and lavender.

The tea is packaged in attractive tins that yield about 50 servings and sell for about $10 to $13, depending on the variety. You also can buy a set of four small tins of varied teas for $25.50 from the Batavia, Ill., company. For information or to order, visit www.OctaviaTea. com or call (866) 506-6387.

Terry's Toffee may change the way you think about this old- fashioned confection. With such flavors as Peppermint Pistachio Crunch, Cran-Orange Passion and Lemon Paradise, this is not the toffee you had as a child.

The sophisticated and delightful made-in-Chicago candy is available starting at $12.95 for an 8-ounce package. Prices vary according to packaging options, as well. For more information or to order, visit www.terrystoffee. com or call (773) 728-5228.

Dancing Deer Baking Co. in Boston is known for its chunky, chewy and simply great cookies. This year's holiday offering is no different. The Cherry Almond Ginger Chews are spicy, sweet and satisfying. Get a gift box with 18 cookies for $14.50. For more information or to order, visit www.dancingdeer.com or call (617) 442- 7300.

ChefShop.com is a Seattle-based online food store for the armchair gourmet. It's worth a visit any time, but this year the hot chocolate offerings are worth a special mention. Swiss Grand Cru Drinking Chocolate from Switzerland is made from beans from one of Venezuela's top plantations. It has a hint of vanilla and sugar added.

A 1-pound bag sells for $12.99. Fran's Shaved Chocolate, from the famous Seattle chocolatier, is a rich combination of dark chocolate, sugar and vanilla. An 8.5-ounce container sells for $12.99.

Eric Girerd, a chocolate maker in New York City, is renowned for his boxed chocolates, which ChefShop.com sells. But Girerd also makes an exquisite drinking chocolate. It comes in a 16-ounce bag for $19.99. For more information or to order, visit www.chefshop.com or call (877) 337-2491.

American Kobe Beef, as tender and succulent as you might imagine, is available from Snake River Farms in Boise, Idaho. The cattle are fed a diet of barley, alfalfa and Idaho potatoes. Cuts include American Kobe Beef filet mignon at four (6-ounce) portions for $199.98 or American Kobe Beef rib-eye steaks at four (10-ounce) portions for $134.98. For more information or to order, visit www.snakeriverfarms.com or call (800) 657-6305.

Perini Ranch Mesquite Peppered Beef Tenderloin is just the thing for food-loving friends who don't cook. The meat is fully cooked, vacuum-sealed and flash frozen before sending. The Texas beef sells through Sally's Place, an online food community, for $88 for a 2- to 21/2-pound portion. Visit www.sallys-place.com/food.htm. Click on Chef's Corner Menu and follow the link to Products Sally Recommends for more information. The beef also can be purchased through the Perini Ranch Web site, www.periniranch.com, or by calling (325) 572- 3339.

Los Angeles Times Syndicate