TC Paris Bakery

You know what makes the best Christmas presents? The edible and delicious kind. We've told you how much we love TC Paris Bakery but let us tell you how much we love it even more. Now that TC has its very own storefront and kitchens, they're offering more specialty confections. For the procrastinators out there, these local treats are the perfect last minute gifts or a great addition to your holiday dessert spread. 

Behold the Winter Cookie: a buttery shortbread cookie topped with crunchy toasted almonds, a chewy honey caramel, and orange zest dipped in Valrhona dark chocolate.  This cookie is a delightful combination of textures and the floral notes from the orange blossom honey is so unique. We're planning on bringing a 1lb tin to Christmas dinner, minus maybe a few cookies because yours truly couldn't wait to share. You might want to hurry up to get these Winter Cookies. In true Alsace French tradition, TC Paris is only making these cookies up until January 2nd and then they are gone until next year! It's a one of kind cookie! 

Just in time for the holidays are jars of French brandied cherries. We got a special taste of this holiday item and it was lick-the-spoon-clean good. Tart sour cherries imported from France are infused with brandy, cloves, and cinnamon. Chef tells us they would be a great addition to the bottom of a champagne glass. That's something we could toast to and so would your guests! 

There are also a variety of chocolate dipped fruits and confectionaries but you can't go wrong with a sleeve of TC Bakery's signature French macarons.  We're avid fans of flavors like salted caramel and earl grey but new flavors like the chocolate dipped strawberry macarons are quickly rising to the top of our favorites. A flavorful and creamy strawberry buttercream with a dollop of chocolate ganache is sandwiched between delicate crisp and chewy almond shells. These macarons would be a great gift alongside its fresh chocolate-dipped strawberry counterparts. 

Be sure to make TC Paris Bakery part of your holiday. It's well worth a trip to Saratoga Springs. These are beautiful, quality handmade items made from the best ingredients and crafted by talented bakers. Your guests will be in awe and don't forget to get a little something for yourself too (or a lot!). You deserve it :) 

The Charles F. Lucas Confectionery & Wine Bar

Not too long ago FUSSYlittleBLOG wrote about iced coffee at The Confectionery and as a coffee fiend, I had to try it for myself. My absolute favorite iced coffee joint from my NYC days is Abraco in the East Village. They hands down have the best iced coffee in town; it's stupidly strong yet uniquely tart and oddly enough, a bit sour. At the same time it's not too bitter and the ratio of ice to milk to sweetener is just magical. I shouldn't be comparing The Confectionery's iced coffee to Abraco's standards, but in my mind, nothing will ever top Abraco. The magic at Abraco is most likely in the beans but I was pretty happy with the Confection version. It's refreshingly tart yet not too bitter. I'm no stranger to chicory coffee; it's our go to Vietnamese style coffee (with condensed milk of course). Chicory does give the coffee blend a mellower flavor and while I favor a strong, dark roast I appreciate it just as much in iced coffee especially when it's a cold brew.

Iced coffees aside, The Lucas Confectionery is like an adult candyland. On our first trip, we

got there too late and missed out on Troyster Tuesdays and opted for a cheese and charcuterie board with a glass of Riesling of course. We ended up with some speck,prosciutto, and teahive cheese. The teahive is Cheddar style, cow's cheese hand rubbed with black tea and bergamot oil that imparts a unique floral undertone and was just delightful especially paired with a shortbread cookie. There's no doubt that The Confectionery is serving quality products. These paper thin cured meats are melt in your mouth unctious bites of salty fatty bites. I'm no connaiseur of wine pairings, but whatever I was drinking along was fine by me; the star was this slate of meat and cheese.