ChocolateBet: December 23, 2011

Chocolates of the Day:

2 pieces
Vosges Haut Chocolat

1.) Marrone Pistachio 
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.)/ 6.4 oz. (181 g.) total 16-pc. assortment box
Calories: 60 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ part of a larger holiday assortment box
Purchased from: Vosges, Chicago, IL

2.) Eggnog and Jamaican Rum
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.)/ 6.4 oz. (181 g.) total 16-pc. assortment box
Calories: 60 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ part of a larger holiday assortment box
Purchased from: Vosges, Chicago, IL

Today I jumped off the chocolate and candy cane theme week bandwagon, but stayed in the holiday spirit with these two truffles plucked from a Vosges (Chicago, IL) assortment box.

The Eggnog truffle (probably my favorite of the two) contained Appleton Estate Rum, Grenadian nutmeg, ginger, and Dominican Republic white chocolate. While this smooth, pretty holiday sweet lacked the cocoa solids to meet my definition of "real" chocolate, it was nice to try something different. The rum and very subtle spice blend made for a nice overall eggnog-inspired flavor.

The Vosges Marrone Pistachio truffle was made with Italian Chestnuts, Sicilian Pistachios and 45% cacao deep milk chocolate. Like so many Vosges chocolates with colorful origin stories, it sounded like there was some helpful field research behind this one. I don't recall sampling many chocolates that incorporate the subtle flavor and interesting texture of chestnuts, so this was a treat.

ChocolateBet: December 22, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Vosges Haut Chocolat
Peppermint Candy Cane Truffle
Good+
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.) / 6.4 oz. (181 g.) total 16-piece assortment box
Calories: 60 calories
Cost: $part of a larger ($43) holiday truffle assortment box
Purchased from: Vosges, Chicago, IL

Happy holidays to all. I've been building up to a candy cane and chocolate crescendo before Christmas this year. Today's chocolate, a  candy cane truffle from Vosges (Chicago, IL), made with 65% dark chocolate, arrived nestled in an attractive, holiday assortment box.

Even though the candy cane bits on top had started to fuse together/melt -- perhaps due to holiday excitement and/or being shipped halfway across the U.S. -- the smooth, dark filling helped pull together the tasting experience.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Peppermint Candy Cane Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: December 21, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Theo Chocolate
Peppermint Stick - Dark Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.)/ 3 oz. (84 g.) total bar
Calories: 210 calories
Cost: $4.49 total bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Peppermint Candy Cane Theme Week.
This organic, fair trade, Theo Chocolate dark (70% cacao) bar flavored with peppermint had just the right level of sweetness -- not enough to obscure flavors, not overly sweet.

This bar was just thin enough to make the peppermint and chocolate flavors more accessible (important during winter weather when temperatures, and chocolate, may be colder). The dark "bite" that often marks single origin chocolates with more pronounced flavors/notes arrived later in the tasting curve.

ChocolateBet: December 20, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 small cup
WestSoy
Chocolate Peppermint Stick Soy Beverage
Good - Good +
Weight: 3.5 oz. (99 g.)/ 32 fl. oz. (1 Qt.)(946 mL) total container
Calories: 85 calories (estimate)
Cost: $3.29 total container
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Peppermint Candy Cane Theme Week - and today's chocolate came in the form of a chocolate (soy) beverage, flavored with peppermint and a mini candy cane garnish. The chocolate WestSoy beverage was creamy and, as advertised, good chilled or warm. I tried both.

ChocolateBet: December 19, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Godiva
Peppermint in Dark Chocolate bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.15 (with store coupon)
Purchased from: Kohl's, in Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Peppermint Candy Cane Theme Week. Santa's elves were presumably hard at work whipping up candy cane flecks -- from the canes shown on the wrapper -- to create the light pink peppermint filling for these dark chocolate truffle bars. Each of the four squares marked off on this bar were branded with the distinctive letter "G" for Godiva.

I liked that this bar was not too sugary sweet. The texture of the chocolate was what I'll call fudge clay like -- but not in a bad way. The chocolate was substantial enough to prevent any peppermint filling from leaking out of the bar, without being too hard and waxy as overly thick molded coverture chocolate can be. Eminently practical if you're packing this bar for a snack in the cold mornings or the warmer afternoons.

ChocolateBet: December 18, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 sundae
Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream
Peppermint ice cream hot fudge sundae
Good+
Weight: Small size
Calories: 290 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Peppermint Candy Cane Theme Week. There are lots of interesting peppermint ice creams out there -- all good candidates for hot fudge sundaes.

Rick's Rather Rich is a great, local ice cream parlor down the road from my house, so I'm a frequent customer there. I dolled up this fresh-tasting Rick's Peppermint ice cream sundae with whipped cream, hot fudge and a cherry in my car -- with a few mini Bob's Candy Canes. OK, it was a bit of a mess, but now it really feels like the holidays.

Russell Stover - Candy Cane Snowman - December 17, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

1 snowman
Russell Stover
Candy Cane Marshmallow Snowman
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.)
Calories: 110 calories
Cost: $0.50 for 1 Santa
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

When candy canes start to appear everywhere, images of snowy landscapes and Christmas generally follow. And where there is snow, there are snowmen and snow creatures.

Today's chocolate, Russell Stover's Candy Cane Marshmallow Snowman,  captured all these themes in one gooey, crunchy treat. A pink peppermint marshmallow center was coated with chocolate, and then topped with crushed candy cane pieces.

Once unwrapped, the snowman did look rather forlorn without a hat, eyes, nose, and other features. So, the least I could do was pop some googly eyes on the poor fellow, before taking a bite out of him.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Peppermint Candy Cane Theme Week.