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Hotti Biscotti makes deeply delicious desserts in Hamilton

When it comes to spots popular among the sweet-tooths in Hamilton, Hotti Biscotti has cemented itself as an outstanding one for all sorts of handmade desserts; including the baking business’ signature biscotti, which are much softer to the bite than your standard version of the Italian treat. 

For founder and owner Debby Stroud, however, a career in the food industry felt like little more than a pipe dream for so many years. 

“I always loved baking but never thought I could make a living,” says Stroud, who already had a well-established career as an optician when the initial seeds of Hotti Biscotti were planted in her mind. 

As a single parent, the need for a stable career was strong. When Stroud’s son finished university and moved to Korea to teach, she found a bit of extra space to begin toying with the idea of launching her own baking business; and when her son moved back to Hamilton in 2009, he joined her in building the beginnings of what would eventually become Hotti Biscotti. 

Interest in Stroud’s blooming bakery popped up almost immediately when her son contacted The Hamilton Spectator and pitched them a story about Hotti Biscotti and Stroud’s commitment to launching a new business at middle age. 

When The Spectator featured Stroud, calls came rolling in from locals eager to place orders for her handmade desserts. Around the same time, she was laid off from her optician job; something she now considers a “blessing in disguise.” 

Suddenly, Stroud was all-in on Hotti Biscotti. 

True to its name, the centrepiece of Stroud’s baking business is her handmade biscotti, typically available in a variety of enticing flavours. Stroud uses a recipe inspired by Jewish dessert called mandel bread, which looks and tastes very similar to an Italian biscotti but has a different texture. 

Instead of the brittle crunch of a standard biscotti, Stroud’s have a chew similar to that of a sugar cookie: pleasantly soft, and far less likely to break your teeth while you indulge.

Flavours like Skor, vanilla birthday cake, Oreo cookie crunch, lemon cranberry almond, and Nutella are just a few of the favourites Stroud regularly produces, alongside seasonal and limited edition offerings, including festive flavours for fall and winter. 

After running Hotti Biscotti as a home business for the first few years, Stroud obtained a snug 200 square-foot space in Westdale Village back in 2011 to offer well over a dozen flavours of biscotti – and other newer treats like chocolate caramel pretzel sticks and peanut butter pops – in her own retail shop. 

Popularity continued to grow from there. Stroud seized every opportunity to promote her business – including earning the chance to provide treats in the VIP lounge for Oprah’s appearance at Hamilton Place – and decided in 2015 to move Hotti Biscotti from Westdale Village to the ever-growing James North strip in a larger, eye-catching pink storefront. 

A flourishing few years in the new location followed, but – with James North’s landscape shifting and the COVID-19 pandemic about to hit – Stroud decided in 2020 to move yet again to a sizeable stand on the upper floor of the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, where Hotti Biscotti has been ever since. 

The market stand has allowed Stroud the space and resources to produce all of the usual Hotti Biscotti favourites and well beyond, adding a more diverse range of treats including shortbread, cookie pies, chocolate covered Oreos, ice cream sandwiches, brownies, and much more for retail, catering, and charity efforts. 

For a small business like Hotti Biscotti to hold strong for well over a decade is a testament to both the quality of its offerings and to Stroud’s own hustle and determination. She’s living proof that it’s never too late to take a leap of faith into a brand new venture; and getting to do it in Hamilton has made that all the more meaningful. 

“Being part of the Hamilton food scene is everything to me,” she says. “The community is energetic and so supportive of small local businesses.” 

When your business makes desserts as delicious as Hotti Biscotti, it’s not hard to see why that community comes back again and again. 

See more about Hotti Biscotti on their website, and follow them on social media here.

Images courtesy of Hotti Biscotti

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