Wildwood Chocolate - Salted Brown Butter Texas Pecan Brittle 70% Cacao (bar) - July 18, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Wildwood Chocolate
Salted Brown Butter Texas Pecan Brittle 70% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $14.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Salt Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate & Nuts Theme Week.

Today's Salted Brown Butter Texas Pecan Brittle 70% Cacao (bar) was from Wildwood Chocolate (Portland, OR). The company specializes in fine chocolates with flavors/ingredients inspired by the Pacific Northwest. But, today's bar took us closer to Texas.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, faint salted toffee and nut. 

Texture: fudge-y, smooth and buttery dark chocolate was piled high with pecan-studded (toffee-style) brittle hunks (think gold-hued rock candy)--creating a visually substantial look, and a multi-layered tasting experience. 

The toffee brittle was in the Goldilocks zone (texture-wise). It was wasn't too sticky-hard (it didn't yank out a dental filling) and it wasn't too soft and crumbly. 

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (fudge nut brownie, slightly earthy cocoa) topped with crystalline hunks of brittle candy and pieces of pecan.

This was a well executed bar and true to a big Texas experience. Toffee/brittle lovers will enjoy this bar; whereas I would've preferred smaller flecks of toffee. The vanilla level seemed just right, offering a touch of baked goods warmth.

I liked the complementary flavors and the slightly buttery (real butter) flavor. The salt balanced the dark chocolate and brittle, and vice versa. (The whole blend/bar tasted a bit better than the individual elements, a tribute to the bar's creator.)

Ingredients: "Bittersweet Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Pecan Brittle (sugar, pecans, butter (cream (milk), natural flavor), organic vanilla extract (water, organic alcohol (35%), organic vanilla bean extractives), sea salt, cream of tartar), Sea Salt."

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Milk, Tree Nuts (Pecans) and Soy. May contain traces of the following if not listed above due to shared equipment: peanuts, wheat or eggs."

Goodnow Farms - Winter Maple with Spiced Brown Butter (bar) - May 10, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Goodnow Farms
Winter Maple with Spiced Brown Butter (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Warm Spices, and Day #3 of Bees and Trees Theme Week--including several chocolates flavored or sweetened with honey, maple and/or dates.

Today's Winter Maple with Spiced Brown Butter (bar) was from Goodnow Farms Chocolate (Sudbury, MA).

Aroma and tasting notes included: warming spices (ginger, cardamom); dark milk chocolate; and maple sugar and butter caramel. (Note: there was no ginger in this chocolate; but there was cardamom.)

Texture: very smooth, buttery texture and melt. The maple sugar and spices were fully incorporated into the bar (no spice grit, thank you!)

I enjoyed the sweet flavors (spices, butter caramel, maple) and texture. It was rich enough to be satisfying after a few bites. I could also see a chef choosing this chocolate to make a very rich, sophisticated chocolate dessert (mousse, tart, truffle).

Ingredients: Single Origin Cacao Beans, Maple Sugar, Single Origin Cocoa Butter, Butter, Cardamom

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk.

White Label - Salted Brown Butter Milk 58% (bar) - July 28, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

White Label 
Salted Brown Butter Milk 58% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 178 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ Missing information
Purchased from: Mutari Chocolate, Santa Cruz, CA 

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Uganda Theme Week.

Today's White Label Salted Brown Butter Milk 58% dark chocolate (bar) was made in Santa Cruz, CA.* The company is committed to transparent sharing of information and "beyond fair trade cacao." 

This micro-batch bar--and Good Food Awards Winner--was crafted using Forastero variety cacao, grown on small farms in the Semuliki Forest, close to Bundibugyo, in Western Uganda near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Aroma notes for this chocolate included: light caramel, milk chocolate, and very faint buttered and salted sauteed green vegetables (celery, green beans).

The texture was unique and almost sinfully addictive. The bar had a luxurious creamy melt and thick velvety (authentic butter) mouthfeel. It was so rich, it was like gnawing softly on a sweet stick of firm, room temperature butter that just happened to have chocolate in it too. 

Flavor notes included balanced, ultra-creamy milk chocolate with sparkles of salt. Brown sugar and browned butter resulted in rich flavor depth; although some of the cacao nuances may have been muffled a bit by the butter. There was also a brief, fleeting, very faint green  (light, almost floral, pleasing green tea) note in the finish.

This 58% cacao chocolate was, happily, not overly sweet (thank you!); and yet there was enough sugar, salt and fat(s) to trigger addiction-level cravings. Warning: You may find yourself eating more than you planned. (You'd think after 15 years of chocolate, I would be immune to this; but this is not the case.)

The maker's dedication to transparency could be seen in the detailed notes and cacao source facts provided (on the back of the package). The Forastero (Upper Amazon and Amelonado) Uganda cacao that was the basis for today's chocolate was grown by farmers on smallholder farms of 1-3 acres; and this cacao was harvested in 2019/2020, during the September to February growing season. The producer was Latitude Trade Co. 

Maker's tasting notes/description of this bar: "Caramel, cream, milk chocolate, salt." 

Ingredients: Cacao beans, brown sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic milk powders, browned butter, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging that I could find.) 

*Note: the White Label kitchen/small-batch factory and shop on Front Street in Santa Cruz, CA, closed earlier in 2022. Sadly, their old building (and other small businesses in the same block) looked like they were being torn down, as part of a very large mixed housing and commercial project.

As of spring 2022, White Label chocolate was being made in Watsonville, CA, and the chocolate makers are hoping to find/open a new retail location in Santa Cruz.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Brown Butter Rum Bar - June 26, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

SOMA chocolatemaker 
Brown Butter Rum Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Jamaica Theme Week.

Today's Brown Butter Rum Bar was from SOMA chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada). 

The cacao used to make this bar came from Desmond Judasingh at Bachelor's Hall Estate (farm), located in St. Thomas Parish, Jamaica. The "Dark Waters" rum was a single barrel release by Kinsip (a small distillery in Ontario, Canada). 

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included fleeting floral, butterscotch, butter cream, butter rum, very mild nut (cashew, pili*), and honey-vanilla butterscotch brownie (or butterscotch milk chocolate fudge) notes.

The texture of this sweet milk chocolate was light and very creamy, with an easy, velvety, buttery melt. A friendly, flavorful bar to satisfy a sweet tooth. (Organic cane sugar was the number one ingredient.) 

I'd love to try a slightly less sweet version of this chocolate that allows some of the high-quality flavors to shine through a bit more. But, I am a dark chocolate fan; so this fantasy is to be expected.

Speaking of being creative, the range of SOMA high-quality chocolate flavors and formats over time continues to be impressive; and the company's choice of artwork (pressed into the chocolate bars and on the outside packaging) is always inspired. 

I spent time in the San Francisco Bay marshlands today; and the bedazzled mallard duck (painting/illustration) on today's chocolate bar package was a perfect match for this local duck and shorebird-rich outdoor setting.

Maker's tasting notes: "cashews, butterscotch, honey, oak, fudge"

Ingredients: Organic cane sugar, cacao nibs, skim milk powder, cocoa butter, rum, soy lecithin, natural vanilla, sea salt, butter.

Allergen-related information: "May contain trace amounts of peanuts and tree nuts. Contains dairy and Alcohol. Store in a cool, dry place."

*Pili nuts are popular in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia and South Pacific island nations (e.g. Papua New Guinea). The ivory colored nuts have a very mild, buttery flavor.

 

Dick Taylor - Brown Butter Nibs and Sea Salt bar - Oct. 31, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dick Taylor 

Brown Butter Nibs and Sea Salt bar

Good ++

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar

Calories: 170 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $8.50 (plus shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Dick Taylor, online order

Happy Halloween to all, and welcome to Day #10 of South American Chocolate Week.

Trick or treat...Today's Brown Butter Nibs and Sea Salt bar, made by Dick Taylor (Eureka, CA), was definitely a decadent Treat.

The makers described their handsomely-dressed bar as follows: "Browned butter from Humboldt Creamery paired with our 73% Northerner blend* (and) hand-sprinkled with roasted cacao nibs and sea salt."

The works: rich butter, crunchy cocoa nibs, a touch of sea salt, all in one bar. And best of all, it was based on the company's very well-executed Northerner blend of cacao, grown in Madagascar and Brazil.

See also last week's review of the Dick Taylor Northerner Blend bar without flavor inclusions. I'd prefer the plain version of this bar for my morning dose of dark; but this Brown Butter and Nibs bar would be great for special occasions.

Cabruca - Brown Butter and Pink Pepper - April 11, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cabruca Chocolates
Brown Butter and Pink Pepper
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $34.00 for 15-piece assortment box (includes shipping)
Purchased from: Cabruca Chocolates, online order

Bem-vindo!* to Day #4 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Weeks.

Today's Brown Butter and Pink Pepper was created by Juliana Bounds at Cabruca Chocolates (Winchester, OR). Juliana grew up in Brazil, and incorporates Brazil-inspired flavors into her line of Brigadeiro and Caramel Ganache truffles, as well as several traditional filled chocolates.

This generously-sized chocolate covered square was filled with dark chocolate and caramel ganache (made with brown butter), and sprinkled with tiny flecks of pink peppercorn (baies roses de Bourbon, aka Brazilian pepper, from Brazil). Creamy chocolate caramel and brown butter textures and flavors dominated this confection.

*Bem-vindo means welcome in Portugese.

Brown Butter Caramels - March 5, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fruition Chocolate
Brown Butter Bourbon Caramels
Very Good
Weight: .866 oz. (24.6 g.) in 3 pieces / 2.6 oz. (74 g.) total 9-piece tin
Calories: 129 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $25.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today's wonderfully complex, Brown Butter Bourbon Caramels were crafted by a small-batch, bean-to-bar "workshop" -- Fruition Chocolate (Shokan, NY).

I used the word "complex," and by that I mean: overlapping layers of slightly smoky, coffee bean and bourbon flavor notes, infused into a rich, brown butter, caramel.

The 66% chocolate couverture was decorated with black and white airbrushed cocoa butter dibbles and dabbles, and contained a wonderful, soft caramel center. The chocolate was thick enough to prevent caramel "leaks" but not so thick as to seem overly candlewax-like (the occasional result if chocolate "walls" are made too thick to contain a precious or gooey center).

Founder Bryan Graham and team start with organic, fair trade cacao beans, that are roasted and stone-ground and eventually made into well executed bars and confections, most often using 66% cacao Peruvian chocolate.

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.