For the second year in a row, Niko’s Bakery & Cafe’s Amoretti cookies will be featured in the Kentucky Advent Calendar created by Delicious Food Delivered. The gift box features 24 hand-picked, locally sourced foods that highlight businesses specific to Kentucky. Limited boxes remain available, though Niko’s cookies can be purchased daily at the bakery.
Niko’s owner Matt Weafer said Delicious Food Delivered reached out to the bakery in the summer of 2022 for last year’s box.
“They asked for something that represented us as a business, so they kind of left it up to us. We picked our Amoretti cookie. That’s one of my favorite cookies. It’s a classic Italian cookie, and it’s designed to keep for a long time. It’s an almond flour cookie and it’s pretty traditional for Christmas time. We fill it with an apricot jam, and they’re really good,” Weafer said.
Weafer said they were honored to be chosen again to represent Kentucky.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s a little bit of recognition that gets our name out to the state,” he said. “We’re honored and humbled at the same time because they could have called just about anybody.”
Niko’s also sells both a lemon and chocolate version of the cookie. Weafer said the cookies are available daily all year.
Niko’s is the only Owensboro business featured in Kentucky’s gift box. The box costs $159 and is available here. All items in the advent calendar are non-perishable, and refrigeration is not needed upon receipt of the box. Included in Kentucky’s box are:
- Elmwood Inn’s (Danville, KY | 4 Sachets of Tea)
- Yankee Doodle Deli (Covington, KY | Pack of 4 Zolos)
- Whelpdale Chocolate (Louisville, KY | Buttons in a Bag)
- Kentucky Chocolate Co. (Louisville, KY | Chocolate Cups)
- Grateful Grahams (Newport, KY |1.6 ounce bag of Graham Crackers)
- Louisville Vegan Jerky (Louisville, KY | 3 Oz. Vegan Jerky)
- Muth’s Candies (Louisville, KY | Horseshoe Molded Chocolate)
- Kentucky Nut Corp, (Hickman, KY | 2 Oz. Muchin Pecans)
- Rebecca Ruth (Frankfort, KY | 2 bourbon balls)
- Ruth Hunt (Mt. Sterling, KY | Blue Monday Bar)
- Bauer’s Candy (Lawrenceburg, KY | Modjeskas)
- Made by Mavis (Covington, KY | Mini Jar Honey Pear Jam)
- Sweet Ace Cakes (Fort Thomas, KY | Schlurpy Hot Chocolate With Schmallow)
- Laughing Bees Honey (Covington, KY | Honey Rice Krispie)
- Chocomania (Georgetown, KY | 2 truffles)
- Niko’s Bakery (Owensboro, KY | 3 Amaretti Cookies)
- South 4 Farms (Scottsville, KY | 2 pack Maple Candy)
- Bourbon Bon Bons (Lexington-Fayette, KY | 2 Bon Bons)
- Bourbon Barrel Foods (Louisville, KY | .5 ounce tin Mint Julep Sugar)
- Mandies Candies (Burnside, KY | 2 Chocolate Covered Oreos)
Delicious Food Delivered is run by Theresa Nemetz and her team, the same group behind Milwaukee Food & City Tours and Chicago Food Tours.
“When the pandemic shut everything down in 2020, creating advent calendars of delicious locally sourced products not only saved our tour business, it saved hundreds of other small businesses and food producers with some essential income,” a statement from Nemetz on the company website says.
Their first box was the Delicious Wisconsin box, and it sold out in 48 hours. The company renamed its gift box business in 2021 and expanded, and now delivering unique advent calendars for several states. (See all the boxes available here.)
