The holidays are one of the most delicious times of year, but for home cooks, they can also be a ton of work. And if you’re not an experienced home baker, whipping up special-occasion desserts and sweet treats for a crowd might be a little outside your comfort zone.

It’s the season for gratitude, and we can be thankful we live in Maine, a veritable cornucopia of top-quality professional bakers, chocolatiers and other talented food producers. Whether you need Thanksgiving pies, a centerpiece dessert for Christmas, giftable items like festive Hanukkah sweets or desserty cocktail mixes for some extra holiday cheer, this guide has you covered. Many of these items are in great demand — and limited supply — so order soon.

25 DAYS OF CHOCOLATE

Chocolats Passion, 175 Spring St., Suite D, Portland. (207) 536-0496,  chocolatspassion.com

The goods: Chocolats Passion 2025 Advent Calendar, $94

Remember the chocolate advent calendars you had when you were a kid, with the waxy chocolates, some of them maybe even stale or covered in dusty bloom? But you loved it anyway, because when you’re little, there’s no such thing as bad chocolate.

The Chocolats Passion advent calendar is not one of those. The artisanal chocolates tucked inside the tastefully designed box feature sophisticated, nuanced flavorings not usually offered in the store, like spiced pear chocolate, ginger caramel, French chocolate nougat, and dark chocolate with orange and hazelnuts, a fancy riff on the Terry’s chocolate orange.

Made from top-quality, Fair Trade chocolate formed into playful shapes — penguins, bears, stars — these treats are a decidedly more grown-up pleasure, though Chocolats Passion keeps them kid-friendly, without added coffee or liqueurs.

The store made 450 calendars for 2025, and they they sell out every year. In fact, most are gone already (they’ve been for sale since September), but Chocolats Passion co-owner Sarah Burns said some are still available.

SWEET BITES FOR THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Dean’s Sweets, 475 Fore St., and 54 Cove St., Portland. (207) 899-3664, deanssweets.com

The goods: Hanukkah Chocolate Drops, $8.50/box of 25

The chocolatiers at Dean’s Sweets hand-pipe Callebaut chocolate onto a bed of crunchy blue and white non pareils to make these festive little bites, which are all nut and gluten-free. Most of the drops are either milk chocolate or 70% dark chocolate, with a few white chocolates mixed in for good measure. The drops come in a gift box tied with a gold bow, making it “kind of the perfect little gift” for Hanukkah, said Dean’s Sweets co-owner Kristin Thalheimer Bingham.

HOLIDAY TREATS WITH A SWISS TWIST

Edelweiss Pastry Shop, 5 Alfred St., Biddeford. (207) 770-6945, edelweisspastryshop.ch

The goods: Apple and Cranberry Kuchen, 9-inch, $35; Walnut Schnecken Cake, 7-inch, $30; Pear Streusel Kuchen, 9-inch, $25

This Swiss-style bakery has a few Thanksgiving baked goods on offer, including a dazzling Apple Cranberry Kuchen featuring almond cream filling studded with Maine cranberries and Cortland apples and brushed with glossy, sweet-tart apricot jam. Edelweiss also has Walnut Schnecken — rich, buttery spirals of laminated dough filled with walnuts, cinnamon and sugar and topped with vanilla glaze — and Pear Streusel Kuchen, a warm-spiced Bundt-shaped cake that just begs to be topped with vanilla ice cream.

Order deadline: Nov. 23, pickup Nov. 26

Keep in mind for Christmas: Starting the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Edelweiss rolls out its line of holiday bon bons ($3 each, also in packs of 4, 6 and 12) in flavors like gingerbread, fresh mint, and Grand Marnier. Their exquisite Gluhwein bon bons feature a caramel-milk chocolate ganache filling blended with mulled wine, and they paint the white chocolate shells with holiday-colored cocoa butter. Available for purchase in-store, no pre-order needed.

GLUTEN-FREE THANKSGIVING DESSERTS

Bam Bam Bakery, 125 Bucknam Road, Falmouth. (207) 804-0182, bambambakery.com

The goods: Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, 9-inch, $45

Order deadline: Nov. 21, available for pickup Nov. 24-26

Portland’s entirely gluten-free bakery has six pies on offer this Thanksgiving, including Apple Cranberry; Blackberry Blueberry; Pumpkin; and a vegan Chocolate Raspberry Tart. But owner-baker Tina Cromwell’s standout offering over the past five or so years is the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie. “It’s the one that people tend to freak out about and love to have included in their holiday tradition,” she said.

Gluten-, dairy-, soy- and nut-free, the filling has smooth sweet potato custard with rich, crunchy pecan pie filling (minus the pecans, of course) baked on top. “It’s like having the best of both worlds,” Cromwell said. “You get two pies in one.”

GO BIG AND GO HOME

Pastry Chef Georgia Macon, Durham. On Instagram @peachcoloredglasses, or email: [email protected]

The goods: Sweet Potato Pie, 9-inch, $50; Apple Butter Stack Cake, feeds 12-14, $60

Formerly the acclaimed pastry chef at Twelve, Georgia Macon recently left the Prentice Hospitality Group for some rest and family time before striking out on her own. Lucky for us, she can’t seem to stop baking.

Macon is offering two Thanksgiving desserts from her cottage kitchen. Her Appalachian-style stack cake features 5 inches of sorghum-sweetened spice cake layered with apple butter, all finished with whipped creme fraiche and a layer of caramel.

The creamy filling in her Sweet Potato Pie uses Goranson Farm spuds, topped with caramel creme anglaise ganache made from Valrhona 66% dark chocolate, all encased in graham flour puff pastry. And it’s a whopper, 3 inches high. “I’m Midwestern,” Macon explained. “We make ’em big.”

Order deadline: Nov. 21, available for pickup or delivery (for a fee). Place orders through Instagram or email.

ALL BUNDLED UP

Ragged Coast Chocolates, 869 Main St., Westbrook. (207) 887-9763, raggedcoastchocolates.com

The goods: Thanksgiving Chocolate Table Bundle, four complete boxed settings, $67.80

Ragged Coast’s Thanksgiving chocolate bundles instantly make a holiday tablescape all the more bountiful. Each box comes with a dark chocolate (56%) turkey, one package of dark chocolates covered in autumn leaf-colored non pareils, and one package with a selection of the Westbrook chocolatier’s popular Farm Market chocolates, flavored with local farm produce, including Cranberry Truffle; New England Pumpkin Pie Truffle; Northern Apple Truffle; and the Tree-to-Sea Maple Syrup Caramel topped with apple-smoked Maine sea salt.

Ragged Coast uses direct-trade, single origin chocolates from Latin America. Co-owner Kate Shaffer said people can put one of the bundle’s boxes at each place setting, or spread the goodies out for larger gatherings.

Order deadline: Nov. 17, for delivery in time for Thanksgiving

Keep in mind for Christmas: Eggnog and Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles (4-piece, $12.50; 16-piece, $47.75), white chocolate ganache filling spiced with fresh grated nutmeg and spiked with bourbon and rum. “The liquor flavor really comes through,” Shaffer said. Order by Dec. 6 for delivery in time for Christmas.

DESSERT YULE LOVE

Rosemont Market & Bakery, six locations in Greater Portland. Preorder at rosemontmarket.com

The goods: Yule Log Christmas cake, serves 6-8, $25.99; Tiramisu, $18.99, Holiday Cookie Box, 10 cookies, $14.99

Rosemont’s buche de Noel-style rolled cake features spongy chocolate Swiss roll filled with light buttercream and covered in velvety Callebaut chocolate ganache. This is their fourth Christmas offering the Yule Log — they’re making 250 for 2025 — and they sell out every year.

Rosemont Senior Product Manager Gabi Michaud, former pastry chef at Walter’s, said she’s particularly proud of her recipe for Rosemont’s tiramisu and its restrained sweetness. Another highlight of the market’s holiday sweets menu is their holiday cookie assortment in five styles: pecan sandies, creamy orange spritzes, chocolate-dipped almond cookies, spice cookies, and longtime favorite — the market’s spin on Oreos — peppermint “Roseos.”

Order deadline: Dec. 21

SWEET HOLIDAY SIPPERS

Vena’s Fizz House, 90 Bridge St., Westbrook. (207) 887-9618, venasfizzhouse.com

The goods: Espresso Martini Cocktail Pack, serves 5-8, $24.95

With Vena’s make-ahead espresso martini kit, craft cocktails come together in a snap at home. Just add your booze of choice into the jar of dry mix — flavored with Coffee By Design espresso beans, cinnamon and vanilla — let stand 2-3 days and strain into glasses. The pack comes with a 10-milliter vial of Vena’s coffee bitters, an instruction card, and a Vena’s coaster. You can also skip the spirits: Just add water and make it an equally delicious mocktail.

CLASSICS WITH A MAINE SPIN

Waxwing Bakery, 868 Roosevelt Trail, Windham. (207) 572-1156, waxwingbakery.com

The goods: 9-inch Thanksgiving pies: Apple Cranberry, $48; Pumpkin, $48; Chocolate Pudding, $50

Waxwing co-owner and head baker Hannah Buoye fills her buttery, flaky crusts with local farm produce: apples, pumpkin and squash from Snell Family Farm in Buxton, cranberries from Sparrow Farm in Pittston. She tops her Apple Cranberry pie with streusel made with Maine Grains Oats, and her sour cream and maple syrup-enriched pumpkin filling with whipped cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

The decadent Chocolate Pudding pie uses a touch of Tandem coffee to flavor chocolate from Tcho Chocolate in California. Waxwing’s Thanksgiving menu also includes Sweet Potato Cake, Pear and Apple Buckle, and a cookie box with four styles: chewy, dense Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip cookies; classic Ginger Molasses cookies; Cardamom Snickerdoodles; and Plum Rosemary Jam Bars.

Order deadline: Nov. 16, pickup Nov. 25-26