A disclosure before the list: we are on it. We make mandel bread in South Denver, so a roundup of Colorado food gifts written by us has an obvious bias, and we would rather name it than pretend otherwise. The rest of the list is here because it is genuinely good, including a couple of makers we technically compete with. Colorado's food makers grow the same audience together, and Grandma Jeanne, who packed her suitcase with desserts instead of clothes, believed there was always enough to go around.
Everything below is made in Colorado and gifts well.
Enstrom's Almond Toffee, Grand Junction
Start here if you want the safe bet. Enstrom's has been hand-making almond toffee on the Western Slope for generations, and it remains the state's default fancy food gift for a reason. Rich, buttery, and it ships beautifully.
Hammond's Candies, Denver
A Denver institution making ribbon candy and candy canes by hand for over a century, with a factory you can actually tour. Hammond's old-fashioned candy is nostalgia in a box, and December is their Super Bowl.
Chocolove, Boulder
Boulder-made chocolate bars with a love poem printed inside every wrapper. Widely available, reliably good, and the poem detail turns a chocolate bar into a gift without any extra effort from you.
Stranahan's Whiskey, Denver
Colorado's famous single malt, distilled in Denver. For the person on your list who would rather sip than snack, this is the state's signature bottle.
Rheinlander Bakery, Arvada
Yes, we are recommending another bakery. Family-run in Olde Town Arvada for decades, Rheinlander is a German bakery institution with strudel and old-world pastry worth the drive. Fresh bakery goods gift best locally rather than shipped, which is the honest tradeoff of the category.
Björn's Colorado Honey, Boulder
Colorado's high-altitude wildflower honey is quietly excellent, and Björn's is the jar we reach for: Boulder-based, from Colorado hives, packable and giftable. As we noted in our Rosh Hashanah guide, honey with a story beats honey from a shelf. Your local farmers market apiary is the honorable backup.
Dazbog Coffee, Denver
Denver's own roaster, founded by two brothers who immigrated from Russia. A bag of Dazbog beans is the easy, useful half of any Colorado gift box, and the one thing on this list the recipient will finish within the month.
Our mandel bread, South Denver
The bias, disclosed again, and the case made briefly: a twice-baked cookie from a four-generation family recipe, a softer biscotti with a delicate crunch outside and a soft middle. Handmade in South Denver, carried at Denver International Airport, and built to ship, because it was built to travel two hundred years before shipping existed. The gift boxes go anywhere in the U.S. through Goldbelly, and Denver locals can order right on our site, since we ship locally too.
How to build a Colorado gift box of your own
The formula that works: one sweet, one sip, one keepsake. Toffee or mandel bread, a Chocolove bar or a bag of Dazbog, a jar of Björn's honey. Everything above except the fresh bakery goods survives shipping, which makes a mixed Colorado box one of the easier state-pride gifts in the country to assemble.
Frequently asked questions
What food gifts is Colorado known for?
Almond toffee from Enstrom's, handmade candy from Hammond's, Boulder chocolate, Denver whiskey and Denver-roasted coffee, high-altitude honey, and a growing bench of small makers, including Denver-made mandel bread.
What Colorado food gifts ship well?
Toffee, chocolate, hard candy, honey, coffee, whiskey, and twice-baked goods like mandel bread. Fresh bakery items are best given locally.
Why would a bakery recommend its competitors?
Because the list is only useful if it is honest, and because Colorado's food makers grow the same audience together.