The Painted Pretzel, Scottsdale

These pretzels aren't just covered in chocolate. They're painted in chocolate, as if founder Raven Thomas still handcrafts each sweet-and-savory morsel herself. At one point she did, dipping pretzels into chocolate, butterscotch, and other sweet solutions, but after an appearance on Season 3 of ABC's Shark Tank—and a subsequent deal with Mark Cuban—Raven was able to expand The Painted Pretzel to fill orders nationwide.

At the online store, The Painted Pretzel combines salty snacks and candy coatings into a variety of delectable combinations. The signature item, Pretzel Bark, coats crispy pretzels in white, dark, or milk chocolate, while toppings such as pecans, chocolate chips, and M&Ms snuggle half-covered pretzel rods. All of The Painted Pretzel's items come in simple, elegant packaging, from see-through canisters tied with ribbons to boxes overflowing with enough samplers to last a single Mother's Day morning.