Y’all, I am so, so excited to be sharing this review and giveaway. Because it is delicious. And beautiful. And chocolatey.
And that is why I’m a McFatty Fail. Because I cannot say no to pretty little snacks all dipped in chocolate and gift-wrapped.
Say hello to Lily and Bird Baking, y’all.
(Seriously. Go look around that site. And if you gain five pounds just from looking or get a weird drool stain on your work clothes, I’m not responsible, mmkay?)
This little wonder company started out with Shannon, the owner and a great friend of mine, making goodie baskets for family and friends for holidays. Then, after having her deliriously adorable little boys, Georgie and Vinnie, she decided to launch Lily and Bird.
When Shannon decided to go public with Lily and Bird and launch an online store, I was eager to help her out. In part because that meant I got to sample her wares, but mostly because I believe in her company and in Shannon herself.
Shannon was kind enough to send me a sampler of her favorite goodies so that I could try them and report back to y’all on their yummy deliciousness. Grab a napkin and a glass of milk to wash all this down with.
If you click on that picture, you’ll see that Lily and Bird is based out of Riverside, CA. I do not live in Riverside, CA. You may not live in Riverside, CA either.
Never fear. These goodies are packed to withstand their cross-country trek to your belly.
Dan’s comments about the sampler?
It was packed for the third World War. Lots of bubble wrap, no noticeable shaking inside. This is crucial to unbroken goodies.
My husband is notorious for determining Christmas presents by shaking the box first. He’s ridiculously good at correctly guessing. I think he likes to shake boxes. So, it is no surprise to me that he shook this one. Plus, we had it delivered to him at work, and I had him open it up and take pictures with the work camera since ours wasn’t operational at the time.
The chocolate dipping on my goodies had melted just a bit in transit and rehardened once they cooled off. (And rehardened? Not so much a real word, I’m thinking.)
But y’all it’s one hundred million degrees here in October. And this sampler was sent to me in August. So it was two hundred million degrees then. (And yes, I’ve been working on this post since August. No kind of cookie lasts that long in this house.)
We received:
- two white chocolate dipped krispy squares
- two drizzled chocolate brownies
- two chocolate dipped butter cookies
- one mallow pop
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(I apologize for the quality of some of the pictures. My pictures do NOT do justice to the beauty of these treats. Not even close. Dan used his work camera and at home we used his iPhone.)
I have to say that of these yums, the mallow pop was my first favorite.
Why?
Because what’s not to love about chocolate dipped marshmallows, people?
Other than that, I couldn’t tell you. But that little chocolate-dipped mallow pop was the first thing I devoured. I didn’t even want to share it with Dan. And I’m not sure I did, come to think of it.
We rationed out the goodies and had one each night. Dan’s favorite was the brownie. You can taste the almond extract Shannon uses in the batter. Just a light little hint of nuttiness (which is, oddly enough, an actual word…).
The butter cookies? Buttery. And delicious. And I want some right now. They weren’t dry, but they weren’t overly chewy or moist. They were the perfect cookie consistency. And the chocolate on them? Such a great balance of flavor between the sweet of the chocolate and the simplicity of the cookie. Divine.
As for the Krispy bars, they were my least favorite ONLY because I am not the biggest fan of white chocolate. Had those been dipped in milk chocolate, I would’ve eaten them first. And I most definitely probably would NOT have shared with Dan. And then we would’ve ended up divorced because there is something about a krispy treat and us that causes us to devour them in record time. (Which is why I don’t make them. Because we eat them too quickly. They don’t last two days!) So the no-sharing thing would’ve been an epic battle for us.
One of the things I loved most about my sampler from Lily and Bird was the personal touch. You don’t get that in a corporate, mass-produced goodie basket. I mean, look at this note? And her handwriting? I die of jealousy.
If you send a Lily and Bird gift to someone, Shannon includes a free, personalized note. And there’s something so very Emily Post about a handwritten note that I just love. Especially in a time when people don’t even sign their own Christmas cards anymore and just have them printed instead. (Or when people don’t even COMMUNICATE via the written letter! ‘Nother story for another day…)
::sigh::
I’m sad that my goodies are gone. And have been for quite some time.
But, you know what I’m NOT sad about? I get to give one of YOU a delicious sampler of Lily and Bird goodies.
One lucky reader is going to win a Fall Basket containing:
- one half dozen chocolate caramel brownies
- one half dozen pumpkin spice iced cookies
- four decorated mallow pops
AAAAHHHHHH!!! I LOVE IT! And you will, too. I know it.
So, how can you enter?