Caven Creations - Hey Honey! bar - Jan. 31, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Caven Creations
Hey Honey! bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate, Honey and Almonds Theme Week.

The Hey Honey! 82% cacao dark chocolate bar was from Caven Creations (Santa Cruz, CA).

This dairy and gluten free bar was made with 4 ingredients: raw, organic, Fair Trade Ecuadorian Rio Arriba cacao, raw organic honey, raw organic Tahitian vanilla beans, and Himalayan pink crystal salt.

The raw cacao bar had a faint dark chocolate aroma, and a relatively even dark chocolate flavor, with a few bites having a bit of an earthy flavor note. The sweet level was low in this ultra-dark bar; some bites had a bit more of a natural honey lilt. And tiny salt crystals provided some occasional texture.

This bar's wrapper was adorned with a picture of a caveman (with raised club). Accordingly, I enjoyed this bar with a paleolithic era-inspired plate that included: seed crackers, cacao nibs, berries, and of course honey and almonds.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Amella - Honey Chocolate Mint Caramels - Jan. 30, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amella
Honey Chocolate Mint Caramels
Good+
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in total box of 6 caramels
Calories: 150 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $ N/A
Purchased from: Amella,  El Segundo, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate, Honey and Almonds Theme Week.

Amella (El Segundo, CA) offers an award-winning variety of caramels—including agave-sweetened caramels, sea salt caramels, vegan and cocoa butter caramels, and honey caramels.

I found today's Honey Chocolate Mint honey caramel flavor at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco when I stopped by the Amella booth.

These individually wrapped, certified gluten free and kosher, caramels had a satisfying smooth, chewy melt.

The flavors were well balanced and these honey-sweetened caramels were not overly sweet (thank you). The peppermint was authentic, and not overpowering (thank you). The mint was also mellowed a bit by the cream (#1 ingredient) in these caramels. The honey flavor was pleasing; and the chocolate provided a rich flavor backdrop.

If you wanted to fancy things up, you could also unwrap these chocolate caramels, and include them in a dessert tapas plate with honey, almonds, fruit and mint leaves.

Previously I'd tried Amella Roasted Almond (agave) caramels with dark chocolate. I think these would be a nice complementary flavor on such a plate.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Toblerone - Swiss Milk Corn, Honey, Almond Nougat bar - Jan. 29, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Toblerone
(Mondelez Global LLC)
Swiss Milk Chocolate with Toasted Crushed Corn and Honey and Almond Nougat bar
Good
Weight: 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 540 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Honey and Almonds Theme Week.

Toblerone of Switzerland bars have a unique triangular shape—reminiscent of Swiss mountain peaks.

Today's Milk Chocolate with Toasted Crushed Corn and Honey and Almond Nougat bar—distributed by (Kraft Foods' snack division) Mondalez Global LLC (East Hanover, NJ)—was chock full of sweet, toasted corn crisps, almonds bits, sugar, honey, and a bit of vanilla. Egg whites helped bind and create a crunchy, nougat-like texture and flavor.

Looking at this bar made in Switzerland made me want to go trekking in the Swiss Alps. Until then...Eating an entire bar for breakfast fueled a walk around the neighborhood.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Vosges - Chestnut Honey Almond bar - Jan. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Vosges Haut-Chocolat
Chestnut Honey and Almond bar
Good +
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 285 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Honey and Almonds Theme Week.

Vosges Haut-Chocolat (Chicago, IL) offers chocolate bars with a wide variety of flavor inclusions—including honey and almonds.

Today's bar also incorporated a relatively unusual ingredient: chestnuts. These tree nuts have a sweet, nutty, mildly earthy baked potato flavor. My first chestnut memory: the aroma of roasted chestnuts in New York City, buying a small bag, peeling off the glossy brown shells, and enjoying the warm chestnuts on a winter day.

This gluten-free, dark 62% cacao filled bar was imbued with sweet almond (marzipan) flavor. The caramel-colored center was a soft blend of Italian chestnut puree, Swiss almond, amaretto liqueur, and raw Hawaiian white (Kiawe flower nectar) honey*.

*Tasting notes hint at slight pineapple and coconut flavor 

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

WB Kitchen - ONA Chocolate Chip Cookies - Jan. 27, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

WB Kitchen
ONA Cookies - Chocolate Chip Cookies
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total package
Calories: 80 calories in 1 cookie (1/2 package)
Cost: N/A
Purchased from: N/A - from ONA Cookies/WB Kitchen

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Gluten Free Cookie Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate, Honey and Almonds Theme Week.

Today's ONA Chocolate Chip Cookies, were distributed by WB Kitchen (Loveland, CO). They were part of a line of individually wrapped, certified gluten free and certified paleo, honey-sweetened bars and cookies.

Pictured at right is a sub-set of their products. (E.g., they also created a honey nut bar.)

The first ingredient in today's turquoise package of 2 slightly chewy rounds: almond flour. Second ingredient: honey. Number three ingredient: cacao nibs—that served as the chocolate chips.

Today's cookie also made good use of coconut (sugar, flour, oil and shredded coconut). It's hard to out-shout that much coconut, but maca powder, cinnamon and sea salt created some nice background flavor. These cookies felt substantial and satisfying.

If you're looking for gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free and/or paleo offerings that incorporate some cacao (nibs in this case), give them a try.

WB Kitchen's mission:
"WB Kitchen is dedicated to creating whole food sweet treats with the highest quality ingredients possible."

Winter Fancy Food Show - San Francisco
I met WB Kitchen president and founder, Chris Feuille, from Colorado, at the recent Winter Fancy Foods Show in San Francisco. I enjoyed speaking with him on the show floor. It was fortunate to have found them, amongst the 1,000s of people there.

There were more gluten-free and specialty health offerings like this than I remember seeing at this show before. (There were fewer confectioners with artificial and heavily processed ingredients (hurray).)

This show list included cacao/chocolate items to be sure—as well as many items that I was inspired to combine with chocolate, back home at my mad scientist chocolate lab. (Saffron spice blends, lassi, grass-fed everything, pork dust, rice cakes and matcha green tea from Japan, coconut palm sugar from the Philippines, gluten free wraps, honey, cheese, crickets, etc.) More about these in coming weeks.

Sweet or savory...the possibilities for cacao are truly endless.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Simple Mills - Gluten Free Almond Flour Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie - Jan. 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Simple Mills
Gluten Free Almond Flour Mix
Chocolate Chip Cookie (check name and date above in title)
Good - Good+
Weight: .95 oz. (27 g.) / 7.4 oz. (216 g.) total package of dry mix
Calories: 133.5 calories in 3 small cookies
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package of mix
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA


Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Gluten Free Cookies Theme Week.

Simple Mills (Chicago, IL) produces a family of Gluten Free Almond Flour mixes, including today's Chocolate Chip Cookie flavor.

Their line includes "No Refined Sugars," and is considered "Low-Glycemic, Paleo-Friendly, Non-GMO, Free of Grain, Gluten, Soy and Dairy."

These cookies had a subtle nutty, almond butter aroma, and a satisfying chew (and weren't too sweet* - thank you!). The melted organic chocolate chips and vanilla suffused these almond flour cookies with pleasing added flavor. A bit of organic coconut flour added a very slight coconut note.

*These cookies were sweetened with organic coconut nectar.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Gluten Free Klippy's - Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies - Jan. 25, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Gluten Free Klippy's LLC
Chocolate Sea Salt Cookie Dough
Good
Weight: 1.59 oz. (44.9 g.) / 12.7 oz. (360 g.) in total box of 8 cookies
Calories: 190 calories in 1 cookie
Cost: $7.99 for 1 box of 8 cookies
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's Markets, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Gluten-Free Cookies Theme Week.

Gluten-free cookie options are more numerous now than in years past.  Today's Chocolate Sea Salt cookie dough offering was from Gluten Free Klippy's LLC (Santa Clara, CA). The dough came packaged in pre-formed, frozen cookie form.

I placed the 8 frozen chocolate dough rounds on a cookie sheet, and baked them for 13-15 minutes. The results: fresh, hot cookies right out of the oven.

Each generously-sized cookie had a rich flavor and texture, and possessed an attractive crunchy-to-chewy ratio (65% crunchy, 35% chewy). The sea salt was very subtle.

This cookie dough was easier and faster than making cookies from scratch (or a mix), and offered a warm fresh cookie experience that already-baked cookies usually can't.

Also, the package size was practical. Eight cookies would be about the right number for most small households.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.