ChocolateBet: November 30, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
The Hershey Company - Reese's
Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Pumpkin
Very Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 grams)
Calories: 170 calories
Cost: $?
Purchased from: ?

I celebrated the last day of November, and Day #7 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week, with a Reese's Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter filled pumpkin. For those on the creative side, you can design your own jack-o-lantern face on the blank milk chocolate surface.

And, yes, I do count the different Reese's novelty/seasonal items as different chocolates. This rule has allowed me to enjoy the classic Reese's peanut butter cup formula in different guises (trees, bunnies, pumpkins, etc.).

Tomorrow we slide into December and colder weather. Snow has arrived in the mountains further east. My reaction to this news was to schedule a chocolate and coconut theme week, starting tomorrow. I see coconut as the tropical equivalent of white snow. This helps me imagine that I'm on a warm island with palm trees and cacao trees, somewhere a bit closer to the equator.

ChocolateBet: November 29, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 pieces
Moonstruck Chocolatier/Moonstruck Chocolate Co.
From 6-piece Flavors of Fall Collection box

1.) Maple Walnut Mousse Truffle
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .515 oz. (14.6 g.) / 3.09 oz. (88 g.) total 6-piece box
Calories: 75 calories

Cost: $16.99 for total 6-piece box

Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

2.) Pfeffernusse Spice Truffle
Good
Weight: .515 oz. (14.6 g.) / 3.09 oz. (88 g.) total 6-piece box
Calories: 75 calories
Cost: $16.99 for total 6-piece box
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

The Maple Walnut Mousse Truffle was very attractive -- a perfect half walnut, perched on top of a molded chocolate, realistic-looking walnut half shell. And the maple filling blended well with both of these other elements.

I was less sure about the Pfeffernusse Spice Truffle. This acorn-shaped, all-chocolate truffle, was decorated with tiny chocolate pieces (dark vermicelli) at one end; and the chocolate filling was flavored with a spice combination that may have included cloves and black pepper. However, I am not familiar enough with Pfeffernusse items to judge whether it tasted "authentic" or not.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: November 28, 2010

 

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 pieces
Moonstruck Chocolatier/Moonstruck Chocolate Co.
From 6-piece Flavors of Fall Collection Box

1.) Harvest Almond Praline Truffle
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .515 oz. (14.6 g.) / 3.09 oz. (88 g.) total box
Calories: 75 calories
Cost: $16.99 for 6-piece box
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

2.) Pecan Pie Truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: .515 oz. (14.6 g.) / 3.09 oz. (88 g.) total box
Calories: 75 calories
Cost: $16.99 for 6-piece box
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week, and I tried two more chocolates from the Flavors of Fall Collection from Moonstruck Chocolatier/Moonstruck Chocolate Co. (based in Portland, OR).

I'm very fond of almonds in all forms, and I enjoyed Moonstruck's Harvest Almond Praline Truffle (multi-colored leaf shape). This chocolate combined a touch of almond praline, ground almonds and a whole roasted almond in the middle.

The Pecan Pie truffle sounded and looked like a tiny chocolate mousse on the outside. I was a little puzzled by the center, which was fluffy, white and sweet. I think I was expecting something resembling pecan pie filling.

ChocolateBet: November 27, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

2 pieces
Moonstruck Chocolatier/Moonstruck Chocolate Co.

1.) Molasses Plantation Caramel

Good +

Weight: .515 oz. (14.6 g.) / 3.09 oz. (88 g.) in 6-piece box

Calories: 75 calories (estimate)

Cost: $16.99 for 6-pc. Flavors of Fall Collection box

2.) Pumpkin Pie Truffle
Good +
Weight: .515 oz. (14.6 g.) / 3.09 oz. (88 g.) in 6-piece box
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)

Cost: $16.99 for 6-pc. Flavors of Fall Collection box

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week.

Time to celebrate and crack open a 6-piece box of "Flavors of Fall Collection" truffles. Both the Moonstruck Molasses Plantation Caramel (with orange decoration piped on top) and the Pumpkin Pie Truffle (front and center) were hearty, satisfying truffles. The Pumpkin Pie Truffle contained (and tasted like) real pumpkin (pie filling). I can't have pumpkin pie (no gluten for me), so this truffle was a fine post-Thanksgiving holiday bite-sized pie alternative.

ChocolateBet: November 26, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
3 truffles
gnosis chocolate
Pumpkin Spice Truffles
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) total box of 3 truffles
Calories: 205 calories (estimate)
Cost: $10.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: gnosis chocolate, New York City, New York

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week. Today's chocolate choice may be the healthiest one of the bunch this week.

I loved gnosis chocolate's handmade Pumpkin Spice truffles -- filled with pumpkin seed butter, lightly spiced, and covered with a glossy, raw dark chocolate shell. With no refined sugar added, these truffles were not overly sweet either. Yum, and poof! all three truffles in this little box were gone. Gnosis does a nice job with their raw, vegan chocolates. I prefer the texture or "mouth feel" of their offerings over some other raw chocolates I've tried.

ChocolateBet: November 25, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
B. T. McElrath Chocolatier
Sweet Potato Pave
OK+ - Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70.9 g.) total package of 5 pieces
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: $10.99 (estimate)
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week. Expect to see chocolate combined with pumpkins and other fall flavors this week.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Today was a day for giving thanks over turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin and pecan pie. Sampling a B.T. McElrath Sweet Potato Pave (pave is French for paving stone) was in order. I have to admit sweet potatoes are not my favorite food, but sometimes things do taste better when covered in dark chocolate.

ChocolateBet: November 24, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Michael Mischer Chocolates
Pumpkin Spice/Jack-O-Lantern filled chocolate
Very Good +
Weight: .45 oz. (12.7 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 65 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA; Michael Mischer Chocolates, based in Oakland, CA

It was delightful to bite into this grinning dark chocolate jack-o-lantern made by Michael Mischer Chocolates. It was filled with pumpkin (pie) spice(d) caramel. I loved the way that the two halves (front and back) of this molded chocolate pumpkin were perfectly put together.

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Fall Flavors Theme Week. And not a moment too soon to celebrate Fall as temperatures plummeted into the 30s (Farenheit) this week.