Schär Gluten Free Ladyfingers, 5.3 oz

Ladyfingers, known in Italy as savoiardi, are the dry finger-shaped sponge biscuits that tiramisu is built on. They are made to take up liquid without collapsing, which is why the standard recipe dips them in espresso and layers them under mascarpone cream. Schar's version does the same job without wheat, so a household cooking gluten free doesn't have to skip the dessert or attempt the sponge from scratch.

Schar is a South Tyrolean company that has worked in gluten free baking since the early 1980s, and this is a specialty item rather than a general cookie. The 5.3 oz box is sized for a single dessert, roughly what a tiramisu in a loaf pan or an eight-inch dish calls for. They are certified gluten free.

Past tiramisu, they layer into charlottes and trifles, or go plain alongside coffee or a dessert wine, where the light, crisp texture is the whole point.