When I think of Italian cookies in Rochester, Savoia Pastry Shoppe is the first to come to mind. Originally opened in 1929, the shoppe was purchased in 2005 by Kathy and George Privitera with sisters, Lisa and Kristen, now running the show. They were able to keep most of the decades loyal employees: the bakers, cake decorators and clerks, so it’s truly a family style business.
I met with Lisa and Kristen and when talking about the bakery, their eyes lit up with enthusiasm. They both left other careers to take over the family business, so seldom these days, since many family businesses are closing because new generations are not interested in the tradition. “I left teaching, which I miss, but I’m passionate about this business”, Lisa said. And you can see it’s genuine. 
But we’re here to talk about cookies. Turns out there are different classifications of cookies: Tea and Italian. Pictured above is an Italian cookie assortment of sesame, ricci, S biscuit, anise and my all-time favorite, meatball. Those sweet balls of goodness come in chocolate, lemon and strawberry with mouthful bites covered in a sugar glaze. I asked for the recipe, but no luck.
Tea cookies are those with frosting, decorations and jelly filled. Think butter cookies with chocolate and brightly colored vanilla frosting on top. Cucidati are rolled fig filled cookies with frosting and sprinkles on top. Raspberry Tea are butter cookies filled with fresh delectable raspberry jelly.
Their #1 seller? The frosted butter cookies and the good news is that all the cookies can be shipped in the US. People have reported that the shipment arrived without a crumb.They sell cookie trays and one order they were working on today was for 750 pieces for 500 people. My crowd would need double.
And then there are the Cannolis, their #2 seller. For those of you who are unfamiliar, a cannoli is a sweet flaky rolled shell filled with custard or sweetened ricotta cheese. Pictured are the traditional flavors dipped in green colored coconut filed with custard; chocolate dipped and plain filled with sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate chips. The shells are so flaky and delicate that it’s hard to eat just one. Seriously.
I normally don’t accept free product, since I want to stay objective, but did so today and there’s no need to stop the accolades.
As Kristen said, “nothing is more rewarding than keeping the products, that people love, the same”.
Contact the shoppe here: http://savoiapastry.com/contact/
Opinions of the author are her own and products were purchased for discussion or otherwise noted. I welcome your comments and suggestions for food and specialty items from upstate New York and can be reached at: linda@anexpatreturns.com
