Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

Cookie Review of the Best Fresh Baked Chocolate Truffle Cookies

First of all, our chocolate truffle cookies are not to be confused with chocolate covered truffles. Truffles are a gourmet type of edible mushroom that grows mainly in France, Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia. They are rare, and fetch prices of $300-500 U.S. dollars per pound.

Our fresh baked chocolate truffle cookies on the other hand are a decadent but way more affordable treat. Our chocolate truffle cookies sort of look like real truffles in that they are walnut sized and potato like--round and irregular shaped with smooth or wrinkled skin--but they are actually balls of smooth brown fudge with bursts of chocolate chips, and dusted with contrasting white powdered sugar.

These chocolate truffle cookies are handmade and baked daily using only the finest ingredients such as fresh whole eggs, Ghiradelli(R) Chocolate semi sweet chocolate chips, and chocolate liquor. Each chocolate cookie arrives  packaged in individual plastic bags to keep it fresh and flavorful from the bakery to you. Upon arrival, you should refrigerate them immediately if not eaten. These cookies also freeze well up to 3 months.

I have personally reviewed and tasted these chocolate truffle cookies and I love them! I would definitely order them again. They taste like creamy brownie batter at room temperature, but taste wonderful and have a firmer chewy texture chilled or even frozen. I have been snacking on little pieces of frozen cookie because I can't wait to have it thaw out and I prefer cold sweets. These chocolate cookies also have just the right amount of sweetness with a big chocolate flavor.

One dozen chocolate truffle cookies come packaged in our exclusive red velvet keepsake jewelry box. These chocolate cookies are also available in our assorted fresh baked cookie baskets. Give them a try, you will not be disappointed.

Wine and Cheese--the Perfect Pairing in One Gift Basket

What is better than a bottle of wine as a gift? A bottle of wine in a basket filled with tasty treats that are carefully selected to enhance the wine. Hence the popularity of the wine gift basket. Some may consider the gift of wine as a fashionable and trendy way to show you care, while others may see it as a more traditional type of gift.

So this brings us to the ageless and time honored tradition of pairing wine with cheese. The reason people like to drink wine and eat cheese together is that the cheese enhances the flavor of the wine, and the wine in turn enhances the taste of the cheese. There are wine and cheese connoisseurs with an experienced palate and extensive knowledge of the many different brands and types of cheese and wine available, and what tastes the best with each other. This is the type of person who put the wine and cheese gift basket together that we are offering.

Our wine basket featuring a bottle of Woodbridge Chardonnay 2005. This is a fruity dry white wine that is made from Chardonnay grapes. The Woodbridge winery is located in the Lodi region, one of California's oldest wine making areas. The owner of this winery is Robert Mondavi, known for producing hand-crafted wines of a distinctive style. The people at Woodbridge use gentle hands-on techniques in the vineyards and winery that result in smooth, great tasting wines.

"This Chardonnay is a perfect balance between fresh citrus and apple notes interwoven with rich, ripe tropical fruit character. Hints of orange blossom and spice add interest to the enticing aromas, while the creamy, lingering finish is laced with warm oak tones." EveryWine.co.uk

The Woodbridge Winery’s Chardonnay 2005 in our wine gift basket is offered with a delicious assortment of gourmet cheeses, crackers, nuts and snacks. Includes chardonnay havarti flavored cheese spread, Spanish olive and pimento cheese spread, wheat and water crackers, garlic and black pepper dipping pretzels, cheese biscuits and more including Grilled Vegetable & Parmesan Savory Wine Biscuits.

Update: November 9, 2008

Lovers of wine will appreciate a fine wine and cheese gift basket. Please consider our Double Wine & Cheese Gift Basket for your next special occasion, as we no longer carry the Woodbridge Chardonnay wine gift basket. We also have several other pleasing wine gift baskets.

NEW! We now ship wine gift baskets to Hawaii and deliver wine gift baskets to Alaska with NO additional surcharges! One great shipping charge to deliver wine baskets and wine gifts to most of the U.S. states.

Double Brush has Added Many New All Occasion Gift Baskets

Double Brush has an online reputation since 1999 for offering unique handmade Hawaiian gifts, tropical flower bouquets, leis, pineapples, papayas, Kona coffee and Hawaiian gift baskets. We are now expanding our vision to include many other wonderful gift baskets that are suitable for all occasions.

It took many months of research in order to bring the most exciting and delicious gift basket offerings for our customers. We have been able to offer this service by partnering with the best and most reputable companies on the mainland.

We have added gourmet gift baskets, fresh baked gift baskets, wine gift baskets, chocolate gift baskets, organic fruit gift baskets, sports and hobby gift baskets, gift baskets for women, and gift baskets for men.

I will be writing more in depth posts about each type of gift basket, but I am most excited about our fresh baked cookie gift baskets. I sampled a good variety of the baked goods that we are offering before deciding to sell them on our site. I really tried to choose the best quality and value gift baskets from the many gift baskets that are out there.

We  plan to also add other gift baskets by occasion. Gift baskets are the perfect gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, congratulations, weddings, a new baby, & housewarming. Gift baskets are also popular as a get well gift or sympathy gift. I am still undecided if I want to include those categories because of the sad gift notes I will have to read that may accompany them. Do you think I should list them?

Hawaiian Lauhala Baskets Make Popular Gift Baskets

Many people who want a Hawaiian gift basket, want the Hawaiian gifts to be in a handwoven lauhala basket. A lauhala basket has come to symbolize Hawaii because of the ancient native Hawaiian tradition of weaving (the correct word is actually plaiting but most people say weaving) lauhala into numerous useful items. The Hawaiian people wove lauhala into canoe sails, wall thatchings, window shutters, roof linings, mats, and even clothing! Today most contemporary weavers make lauahala purses, placemats, napkin holders, and of course baskets.

What is lauhala and where does it come from? Before I tell you the correct answer, I was dismayed to see several online Hawaiian gift retailers mistakenly referring to lauhala as a lauhala grass, with their description of "lauhala grass basket". Lauhala does not come from a grass, it comes from the Hawaiian Hala tree. The Hawaiian word lau simply means leaf, so lauhala translates to the leaf from the Hala tree.

The Hawaiian Hala tree is a species of Pandanus, or screwpine, because the leaves grow in a screw pattern up the trunk of the tree. It is a wide spread native tree found growing on beaches as well as the mountains through out the Hawaiian Islands. The Hala tree has numerous long aerial prop roots, and long sturdy but flexible leaves with sharp razor like teeth or thorns on the edge of the leaves. It also has fruit that resemble a pineapple--creating a visual joke that locals have been playing on tourists since probably the start of tourism. Has anyone heard of pineapples coming from the "pineapple tree"?

Weaving a lauhala basket is a labor intensive process as the hala leaves need to be prepared and cleaned properly, then stripped into uniform strips before you can even begin to make the basket. View illustrated instructions on how to weave a lauhala basket.

If you don't want to make your own lauhala gift basket, please visit us if you are ever in the need for some great Hawaiian gifts packaged in lauhala gift baskets. We also do custom lauhala gift baskets where you can choose from any of our Hawaiian gifts to create a unique gift basket.

Give a Valentine's Day Gift--Hawaiian Breakfast in Bed

If you can't make it to a bed and breakfast place in Hawaii for Valentine's Day, why not get the next best thing for a Valentine's Day gift? Serve breakfast in bed to your valentine with our "Bed and Breakfast Hawaii Gift Tray."

Everything you need to create a gourmet Hawaiian breakfast in bed is included. We don't mess around with little single serving sizes of mixes, instead we include a one pound (16 ounces) size of authentic Tex's Drive In Malasada Mix (see our blog post about the famous Tex Drive In located in Honoka'a), a one pound mix of Hawaiian pancake & waffle mix, a large 10 ounce bottle of tropical coconut syrup, and a large 8 ounce bag of pure 100% Kona coffee. As a bonus we also include some Hawaiian macadamia nuts and a passion fruit butter spread.

All of these delicious treats are made in Hawaii on the Big Island (except for the Coconut syrup which is from Honolulu). These are a lot of goodies and weigh in at over 5 pounds once laden on the beautiful tropical wooden serving tray it is packaged on.

Our bed & breakfast Hawaii gift tray is wrapped in a Hawaiian print cello bag with a large Hibiscus silk flower, and tied with a raffia bow so it is ready for Valentine's Day gift giving, all for only $75.95 You can check around at other online Hawaii gift sites, but you will be hard pressed to find something as unique, original, and impressive that is made and shipped direct from the Big Island.

We also promise you will be 100 percent pleased with our products and service, read what our customers say about us.

Hawaiian Stress Release Gift Basket for the Holidays

The holiday season is upon us and if you are starting to feel a little stressed, treat yourself to our Hawaiian stress release spa gift basket. Our unique Hawaiian spa gift basket is filled with products to de-stress your life. This also make a nice gift for someone you know who could use a bit of relaxation.

Many gift baskets filled with spa products claiming to use an anti stress formula, or even regular gift baskets filled with bath and body type products--are made with chemical ingredients that are toxic or can cause allergic reactions. Our handwoven lauhala gift basket if filled with natural handmade on the Big Island products. Our vitamin rich moisturizing lotion and soothing bath salt crystals are infused with Hawaiian flower essences hand gathered in the rainforest on the Big Island of Hawaii. We also include a matching aromatherapy soap made with essential oils, and a natural clean burning soy wax votive candle made with a hemp wick.

Flower essences have been used by indigenous people the world over for centuries. This particular Hawaiian flower essence blend is a natural way to balance a person's energy by releasing stress and promoting relaxation. The Stress Free Formula blend is infused with the Hawaii rainforest flower essences of wild lehua, awapuhi-melemele, and kinehe. All of these naturals products are delicately scented with a refreshing blend of lemongrass, coconut and vanilla essential oils which are enjoyed by both men and women. Live stress free! Hawaiian Natural Spa Gift Baskets.