5 Spots To Fill Your Easter Basket With Goodies

If your Easter basket recipient has a gluten-free requirement, chances are you know about Mariposa. A trip to the Ferry Building yields fabulous results at their shop selling artisan confectioneries made in small batches in the Oakland facility. All gluten-free Viennese tea cookies, molasses cookies and raspberry chocolate chunk cookies prettily wrapped up in packages of six are really something special for to show how much you care.

Good day. Cheery and bright, a new corner market in Upper Noe Valley stocks a well-curated inventory of flowers, fresh produce, prepared food, beer and wine, cheese, coffee and tea, pastries and sweets. Easter basket goodies from Kika's Treats include salted crunchy caramels and similar yummy goodies, always 100 percent all-natural and handmade in San Francisco. And, as for hyper-local in this neighborhood, you cannot get any closer to source than something sweet from Noe Valley Apiaries Honey.

If you're an upcoming guest on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," you'll find OCHO bars in the green room backstage. Or, you may stumble across an OCHO Candy Tasting afternoon at Bi-Rite. The organic chocolate bars ("O" for organic and "CHO" for chocolate) in their distinctive white wrappers stand out in a crowd. Best of all, every single bar is handmade in Oakland, filled with delicious centers and names like: Caramel & Peanut, Coconut, Mocha, Dark Coffee and Peanut Butter. A smaller version candy bar is perfect for Easter baskets, but the full size bar is certainly tempting. Co-owner Denis Ring informs that all flavors are gluten-free, too.

It's doubtful that anyone would regret making a prominent space in their Easter baskets for these special cupcakes. Perfectly-textured toppings of flower design or swirl decorate mini-sized or regular velvety cupcakes. Don't miss deliciousness on a stick, Elvia's own uniquely designed cakepops often steal the show when children are around. Elvia is a graduate of La Cocina, the San Francisco incubator kitchen supporting small business entrepreneurs, who believes in using fresh local ingredients in baking to achieve tasty, but not too sugary, treats.

Long before acquiring the "Mr. Espresso" moniker, Salerno native Carlo Di Ruocco began selling espresso equipment to Italian restaurateurs across the Bay Area. Enthusiastic reception meant that his business expanded into oak wood roasted beans. More than 35 years later, the Mr. Espresso family-run facility in Oakland roasts them still. Call into one of the three Coffee Bar locations (101 Montgomery and 433 Kearney streets) to purchase a flavorful bag of Organic Golden Gate or Neapolitan Espresso, Colombia Elias or Ethiopia Aramo Single Origin for an aromatic addition to an Easter basket. Tasting notes for these and other brews are found online at Mr. Espresso.