This weekend is Easter, which means it’s time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with baskets full of edible molded-chocolate animals, marshmallows and pastel-colored candies stuffed in plastic-grass-lined baskets. Luckily, in Cincinnati we have a glut of local chocolatiers and candy makers who take seasonal sweets to the next level. From century-old traditional chocolates to exciting color and flavor combos, shopping local is one of the surest ways to make your collection of confections pop this weekend.
Aglamesis Bro.’s
3046 Madison Road, Oakley, 513-531-5196, aglamesis.com
Founded in 1908 by a family of Greek immigrants, Aglamesis Bro.’s is an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and candy manufacturer that originally began selling its hand-churned ice cream via horse-and-cart home delivery. Their flagship Oakley shop opened in 1913 with its now-iconic marble soda fountain, Tiffany lamps and pink hues, and is still a great place to stop for a scoop of strawberry ice cream or gourmet chocolate.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Muddy Chicks — A box of six yellow marshmallow Peeps that have taken a dip in the mud, aka milk chocolate. $5.75
- Caramarsh Eggs — Marshmallow eggs topped with homemade caramel and covered in milk or dark chocolate. Comes in a pack of four. $12.95
- Salted Caramel Eggs — A sophisticated sweet featuring milk or dark chocolate eggs, filled with homemade caramel and sprinkled with savory sea salt. Comes in a tray of eight. $14.50
Chocolats Latour/The Chocolate Bee
4037 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-591-0085, chocolatebeecincy.com
The Chocolate Bee is the storefront home of Bee Haven, which sells healthy products for home and self from the hive to the customer, and Chocolats Latour, the fair-trade small-batch chocolate company run by Shalini Latour. Latour uses local ingredients like herbs grown in her own garden, cream from Snowville Creamery and more to flavor interesting bar combos like the Bollywood, with curry, turmeric and mango, or the Ohio Valley, with spice berry and black walnuts. Her seasonal offerings are always flavorful and creative, including her adorable solid chocolate bunnies and hand-painted truffles.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Zombie bunnies — Cute and cuddly un-dead chocolate bunnies made of solid dark or milk chocolate and decorated with natural cocoa butter. 7 oz. $10
- Solid Easter bunnies — Of the non-dead variety. Made of fair-trade dark, milk or white chocolate, some of which are decorated with a modeling paste flower. 7 oz. $10
- Hand-painted truffles — Flavors like lemon ginger, mint julep and Turkish coffee are tucked inside adorable molds — like butterflies and bunnies — and hand-painted with additional decor to look like bees, ladybugs and flowers. Come in boxes of 2, 5, 10 and 16. $4.50-$29
Esther Price
7501 Montgomery Ave., Kenwood, 513-791-1833, estherprice.com
A classic candy shop that uses the same recipes developed by Esther Price herself more than 80 years ago. Inspired by fudge she made in a seventh grade home economics class, Price branched out into making chocolates and eventually opened her first storefront in Dayton, Ohio in 1952. Esther Price Candies are made with locally produced milk and butter, fancy grade almonds, pecans and cashews and are free of fillers or preservatives. Since 2006, the brand has been helmed by Jim Day, his three daughters, sons-in-law and granddaughters.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Solid chocolate rabbits — Individually wrapped 6 and 16 oz. milk and dark chocolate rabbits made with Esther Price’s time-tested recipe. (Milk chocolate 16 oz. rabbit out of stock.) $5.25-$13.25
- Ready-made Easter baskets — The large basket (for kids and adults) will most likely feature four 2 oz. cream eggs, one caramel bar, one 10 oz. solid milk chocolate bunny, an 8 oz. bag of jelly beans, an Easter Lollie, foiled eggs and a toy or extra egg for grown-ups. $36.50
Fawn Candy Company
4271 Harrison Ave., Western Hills, 513-574-9612, fawncandy.com
Since 1946, the Fawn Candy Company has been owned and operated by the local Guenther family. The daughters of original founders Paul "Pep" Guenther and his wife Jean run the business today, making confections the old-fashioned way and cooking many of them over an open fire. What started as a business dipping homemade ice cream for area residents became a candy-making venture, carrying on a tradition established by Jeans' Greek heritage.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Orange sherbet bunnies — Featuring orange cake and cream covered in orange chocolate; tastes just like a creamsicle! 12 count bag or ½ pound box. From $7
- Chocolate crosses — Milk, white or dark chocolate molded crosses in 1.5 or 2 oz. sizes. $1.75-$3.50 per cross
Graeter’s
1401 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-421-5300, graeters.com
Since 1868, when Louis Graeter moved to town to sell ice cream at neighborhood street markets, Graeter’s small-batch, hand-packed French Pot ice cream has become synonymous with Cincinnati. Warning: if you’re looking to the ice cream and candy maker for a full Easter spread, supplies are limited and bakery orders must be placed by 5 p.m. Thursday.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Marshmallow-covered eggs — Nine ounces of homemade fluffy marshmallow shaped into an egg and covered in a blend of milk, dark or assorted chocolate. $12.95
- Easter Nest box — Milk chocolate and dark chocolate eggs with rich and creamy centers flavored with a variety of choices, including black raspberry cream, sea salt caramel, coconut cream, opera cream, peanut butter and more. Comes 12 in a box. $16.95
Macaron Bar
1206 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, macaron-bar.com
Founded in 2014, Macaron Bar is the only local bakery dedicated to the art of the French macaron, the colorful almond meringue cookie sandwiched with a creamy flavored ganache center. Co-founder Nathan Sivitz studied macaron making at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica, Calif. and Ecole Lenôtre in Paris, France. Regular macaron flavors include salted caramel, black currant, pistachio, rose and Earl Grey tea. Bonus: Macarons are gluten free.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Macaron saisonniers — The bar is offering colorful seasonal macarons in springtime flavors, including honey lavender and chocolate orange blossom, to add to any Easter basket. Comes in a box of 6 or 12. $13-$25
Maverick Chocolate Co.
129 W. Elder St., Findlay Market, Over-the-Rhine, 513-381-0561, maverickchocolate.com
This family-owned bean-to-bar craft chocolatier in Over-the-Rhine has been making a splash in the local gourmet chocolate scene.They use ethically sourced cacao beans to hand-craft small batches of chocolate, from unique bars like the ever-popular Fahrenheit 513 dark chocolate bar made with toasted chiles and spices to their own drinking chocolate mix. Maverick's seasonal Easter offerings can only be found at the factory store at Findlay Market.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Bags of eggs — Dark, milk and white chocolate gourmet candy eggs.
- Solid bunnies — Dark, milk and white chocolate cellophane-wrapped bunnies.
Schneider’s Sweet Shop
420 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, Ky., 859-431-3545, schneiderscandies.com
This family-run old-time chocolate factory was founded in 1939 by the Schneider family. Now helmed by founder Robert Schneider’s son Jack and his wife Kathy, they still make candy with Robert’s tried-and-true recipes.
Unique Easter offerings:
- Hand-decorated cream eggs — These ¼-pound to 1-pound eggs come in three flavors: opera cream, coconut and peanut butter. All are dipped in a rich dark chocolate and come packaged in their own Easter box. Eggs may be personalized by phone order. Starts at $5.65
- Opera cream crosses — Opera creams are one of the shop’s most popular candies, made with a rich cream, milk and sugar center dipped in milk or dark chocolate — so named because the candy was developed by an old German maker for the Cincinnati Opera. A unique Tristate specialty, this seasonal twist features hand-decorated opera cream crosses. Box of six. $11.69
