March 26, 2010

Easter Chocolates: Vosges Haut Chocolat, Exotic Bunnies - Deep Discounts

Wow, Vosges never ceases to amaze and intrigue with its inventive combos. From the Naga candy bar (curry, coconut flakes, Belgian chocolate) to the Red Fire (dark chocolate, cinnamon, ancho and chipotle chili peppers), these are not your father's Easter candies.

And who can forget the bacon chocolates...c'mon that's awesome!

Even better, these are on deep discount:

Red Fire Exotic Bunny - $8 (normally $12) - Check it out

Gianduja Exotic Bunny - $8 (normally $12) - Check it out

Comfort Easter Tower - $24 (normally $40) - Check it out

Exotic Easter Tower - $28 (normally $51) - Check it out

Mini Bacon Candy Bar Library - $16 (normally $25) - Check it out

More Vosges Easter Chocolates

Read More in: Easter Candy | Gourmet Candy

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March 25, 2010

Easter Chocolates: Knipschildt Chocolatier, 50% Off Retail

Fan of milk chocolate? Good to hear. If so, you're going to go crazy over Knipschildt's bite-size Giandujas. They have a blend of ganache, mocha and hazelnut-infused gianduja. Cacao snobs might like the strawberry-champagne options better.

All Knipschildt chocolates are made from 71% Ecuadorian single-bean dark chocolate.

And even better, these Easter candies are deeply discounted, check it out:

Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate Enrobed Eggs - $16 (normally $25) - Check it out

Milk Chocolate Quail Eggs - $16 (normally $25) - Check it out

Strawberry Champagne Truffles - $28 (normally $60) - Check it out

Gianduja Truffles - $28 (normally $60) - Check it out

Coconut Truffles - $28 (normally $60) - Check it out

Dark Chocolate Truffles - $28 (normally $60) - Check it out

Read More in: Easter Candy | Gourmet Candy

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March 14, 2010

Lenten Reflections - Or, Why Do We Eat So Much Candy at Easter?

Did you ever wonder how Easter gained the status of second biggest candy holiday? I always suspected it had something to do with giving up sugar or chocolate for lent -- at the end of your candy "fast" you hit the payload... Well, that's just my theory.

As we're compiling the various and sundry treats for our Easter gift guide, I thought I'd share some Easter candy trivia. You can find the full article at Infoplease:

Sweet Easter Facts by David Johnson

Ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year.

Chocolate Bunnies
should be eaten ears first, according to 76% of Americans. Five percent said bunnies should be eaten feet first, while 4% favored eating the tail first.

Millions of Peeps

Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps
, shaped like chicks, as well as Marshmallow Bunnies
and Marshmallow Eggs, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.

As many as 4.2 million Marshmallow Peeps, bunnies, and other shapes can be made each day.

In 1953, it took 27 hours to create a Marshmallow Peep. Today it takes six minutes.

Jellybeans Could Circle the Globe

Americans consume 16 billion jelly beans
at Easter, many of them hidden in baskets. If all the Easter jellybeans were lined end to end, they would circle the globe nearly three times.

Jellybeans were probably first made in America by Boston candy maker William Schrafft, who ran advertisements urging people to send jellybeans to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. They did not become an Easter tradition until the 1930s.

70% of kids aged 6-11 say they prefer to eat Easter jellybeans one at a time, while 23% report eating several at once. Boys (29%) were more apt to eat a handful than girls (18%).

Older Traditions

Hot cross buns were among the earliest Easter treats, made by European monks and given to the poor during Lent.

Pretzels were originally associated with Easter. The twists of a pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossed in prayer.

Images from Amazon

Read More in: Candy History | Easter Candy

Noël Wallace Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This |

February 1, 2010

CandySnob's Monthly Roundup for January 2010

Monthly Roundups

CandySnob's Monthly Roundup for December 2009

January 4, 2010

CandySnob's Monthly Roundup for December 2009

Gift Guides

Monthly Roundups

CandySnob's Monthly Roundup for November 2009

December 12, 2009

See's Candies - Sweet Holiday Traditions

It seems the older I get the more I want to relive the experiences of my youth around the holiday season. That is particularly true when it comes to food... I want my house to smell like the gingerbread wafting from my grandmother's oven and I want her homemade brittle in my candy dish. This year I found three traditional treats from See's Candies that make me feel like maybe you can go home again.

See's Peppermint Twists
I was never a big fan of peppermints... you know the small round peppermints that you get at restaurants. As they melt on your tongue the sharp minty ravines cut little slits in your taste buds. And I never had the patience to get through the candy canes in my stocking. A few errant licks and my sticky sticks found themselves unceremoniously attached to the slipcover on the sofa or adhered to the shag carpet in the living room. Ahh... but See's cheery little gems have changed my minty mind forever. They are something of a cross between a butter mint and a soft peppermint stick. Soft enough to bite into but still firm and smooth, the texture of these twists is perfectly married with bright minty freshness and no cloying sweetness that you get from canes and hard mints. I suppose you could let it melt in your mouth but I like the bite. My new holiday addiction, they are perfectly pop-able bits of Christmas joy.

See's Dark Chocolate Foil Balls
Once again, I am amazed and impressed. These are not your run-of-the-mill stocking stuffer balls. Unwrap one of these festive foils and you are greeted by a smooth, dark marble that is wonderfully aromatic. The texture is firm and the flavor is all chocolatey goodness: rich cocoa with just the right amount of sweetness and no bitter bite or aftertaste. In fact the cocoa flavor lingers on your palate for a bit and just when you think you need to pop another to get the taste back, you get a wee hint of cinnamon.

See's Chanukah Peanut Brittle
One of the many fun and festive Chanukah candies from See's, I intentionally saved this one for last. Peanut brittle is tough thing to get just right. You have to take care not to scorch the brittle as it can turn dark and almost nutty and overpower the nuts. Of course you also need to make sure you don't burn the peanuts, lest you overwhelm the sweet buttery goodness of the brittle. My grandmother always seemed to get it just right and so does See's. I don't know where to begin... what comes first? The brittle or the nuts? Okay, lets just say the nuts are great. They are most definitely NOT burned and their sweet nutty goodness truly enhances the texture of the brittle. But ahhhh, the brittle... so rich and buttery... great caramelly flavor with a crunchy, yet slightly flakey texture that is so soul satisfying. I could smell it for days. I could eat it until I am sick. It is ridiculously, dangerously good.

Stayed tuned: I've decided to experiment with my Christmas treats. Let's see how See's brittle tastes dipped in their melted dark chocolate balls...

December 11, 2009

CandySnob Holiday Candy Gift Pick: Santa Candy Dispenser

Sweet Santa Candy Dispenser
What kid (or candy addict) wouldn't love this as annual holiday decoration. The Santa dispenses Jelly Beans into his bag, giving it a little interactivity before you devour the goodies.

Read More in: Gift Guides

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December 9, 2009

CandySnob Holiday Candy Gift Pick: Snowman Sack of Nostalgic Candy

Snowman Sack of Nostalgic Candy
Snowmen...Candy...two of our favorite things!

The Snowman contains Candy Buttons, Candy Cigarettes, Wax Fangs, Double Bubble, Jaw Breakers, Mary Janes, Candy Necklace, Cinnamon Fire-Pix, Atomic Fire Balls, Chick-o-stik, Sugar Daddy, Lemon Heads, Boston Baked Beans, Licorice Pipe & Root Beer Barrels.

Read More in: Gift Guides

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December 8, 2009

CandySnob Holiday Candy Gift Pick: Holiday Vanilla Marshmallows with Dark Choc. Coating & Red & Green Drizzle

Holiday Vanilla Marshmallows with Dark Chocolate Coating & Red & Green Drizzle
Just the name of this treat makes our mouth water. If you have never had a homemade marshmallow, you don't know what you're missing. Made with egg whites, Hawaiian cane sugar, gelatin and pure Madagascar vanilla, Choclatique's light and fluffy vanilla marshmallows are enrobed in rich dark chocolate and drizzled with holiday-inspired chocolate.

Read More in: Gift Guides

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December 7, 2009

CandySnob Holiday Candy Gift Pick: Let It Snow Holiday Pail

Let It Snow Holiday PailA great gift for neighbors, friends or as a sweet treat under the tree, this collectible pail is filled with Fluffy Stuff Snow Balls, Sno Caps, Snow canes and Lindt Snowman Truffles.

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December 1, 2009

CandySnob's Monthly Roundup for November 2009

Gift Guides

Candy Snob's Holiday Gift Guide

Gourmet Candy

Candy Snob's Holiday Gift Guide

November 27, 2009

Candy Snob's Holiday Gift Guide

The Gift for the Kid in All of Us

Ultimate Dark Advent Calendar
All the excitement of childhood Christmases captured in seriously good dark chocolate. Also available in Milk Chocolateand Truffles.

A Rather Great Candy Gift for the Holidays

Rather Large Cracker
Spectacularly crammed with 40 chocolates just waiting to tumble out! Filled with a balanced selection of 40 chocolates to suit absolutely everyone. And including 12 Holiday hats and jokes, full chocolate menu indicating those chocolates with and without alcohol. Cracker measures a staggering 25in across.

Pure Liquid Happiness for the Holidays

Winter Liquid Chocolat
No...not THAT kind of liquid...chocolate! Easy-to-melt flakes of chocolate for a drinking chocolate like no other, brimming with deeply authentic and warming cocoa flavors.

What's In the Box!

Mahogany Chocolate Box
The Holy Grail of Pure Gourmet Chocolate.Take someone?s breath away with this dazzling assortment of 45 supreme hand-made French chocolates that sit in a beautifully decorated mahogany box. True to its name the sinfully delicious morsels that grace the interior of this case shall not remain there for long. As the eye-catching exterior and alluring aroma of each desirable creation begs to linger in your mouth you will quickly discover what makes our master chocolatiers world-renowned. This amazing collection is a testament to their genius and unbridled passion for the fine art of chocolate.

A Candy Gift for the Hipster in Your Life

Trendy Steel Colored Chocolate Box With Velcro Lock
Great chocolate and great stye, the perfect holiday candy gift combo. This sleek shimmering metallic colored box is a dazzling selection of 29 handmade French to-die-for chocolate confections. An epic temptation as all these divine chocolates were created by small artisan chocolate makers virtuosos of their craft. Each masterpiece will seduce your senses with an array of alluring aromas incomparable flavors and tempting textures. You can even select each and every chocolate for the ultimate personalized bliss.

Richart Balsamic Petit Richart Collection
Michel RICHART creates chocolates that are designed to develop and pursue the "Art of Tasting". While his chocolates seduce the eye, they are no less a revelation and complete pleasure for the palate. Flavors from the seven aromatic families are presented in a systematic way, which make this both a delicious and educational experience.

Read More in: Gift Guides | Gourmet Candy

Noël Wallace Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This |

September 16, 2009

Importation Abomination - Imported Cadbury bars are from Hershey's

Many chocolate lovers have figured this importation abomination, according to the Wall Street Journal. And they are determined to seek out imports from the U.K.

From Consumerist