Nuttyness - Hazelnut Marzipan bar - July 7, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Nuttyness LLC
Hazelnut Marzipan bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 270 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Marzipan. Kristian and Anis Salvesen, the founders of Nuttyness LLC (Oakland, CA), have been working on creative implementations and presentations of this traditionally European sweet, nutty confection for about 4+ years now.

Most notably they've incorporated "California flavors:" California almonds, pistachios, (citrus in the beginning) and other ingredients. It made sense to Kristian (an engineer), who grew up in Norway with marzipan as a holiday tradition, to use California almonds; as the Golden State is one of the largest nut producers in the World.

Today's substantial Hazelnut Marzipan bar was covered in smooth, flavorful dark chocolate and filled with ground almond and hazelnut marzipan, just like you might hope for—only nuttier.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Milk Chocolate Mini Bar Roasted Hazelnuts bar - July 6, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Milk Chocolate Mini Bar Roasted Hazelnuts bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's Milk Chocolate Mini Bar Roasted Hazelnuts bar from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada) was packed with goodness, beginning with the aroma of a high-quality chocolate hazelnut spread.

The milk bar was well-tempered, thin, creamy and flavorful and was accented with crunchy chunks of roasted hazelnuts.

This well-executed bar also contained the same lovely botanical design on one side that yesterday's dark chocolate version of this same bar had. Look closely, and you see cacao pods, plant sprigs, cacao flowers, a bird hieroglyphic (with shoe), and a "hidden" Canada maple leaf in the bottom right corner. Beautiful, delicious and clever. Who could ask for more?

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Dark Chocolate Mini Bar Roasted Hazelnuts - July 5, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Dark Chocolate Mini Bar Roasted Hazelnuts bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Mini Bar Roasted Hazelnuts bar from SOMA Chocolatemaker was slim but loaded with flavorful and eye-catching content, front and back.

A rich, dark chocolate base—embossed on one side with a cacao forest*—supported a generous tumble of roasted hazelnuts. The bar was well balanced; I could enjoy both chocolate and hazelnut flavors and textures, separately and together in each bite.

*And, if you look very closely at the cacao forest design you might be able to find a maple leaf from Canada, or a bird wearing shoes.

Alma with Jacobsen Salt Co. - The Sea Salt Hazelnut Crunch Bar - July 4, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alma Chocolate with Jacobsen Salt Co.
The Sea Salt Hazelnut Crunch Bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 116 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from:  Cacao at The Heathman, Portland, OR

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week. And Happy 4th of July to all who celebrate Independence Day.

The Sea Salt Hazelnut Crunch Bar was made by Alma Chocolate (Portland, OR) with Jacobsen Salt Company (with tasting rooms in Portland, OR and Tillamook, OR).

This bar was filled with a blend of Woodblock Chocolate (Portland, OR) (cocoa solids, sugar); hazelnuts; sugar; and Jacobsen's sea salt. The bar was covered with (Dominican) chocolate with protruding hunks of hazelnut and a sprinkle of sea salt.

The bar had a light, pleasing chocolate aroma, and was compact, complex and flavorful.

Instead of an overly sweet, nougat hazelnut center I half expected to encounter, the dense, rich crunchy center was bursting with dark cacao flavor complexity. A bonus for dark chocolate bean-to-bar fans.

NeoCocoa - Hazelnut Butter Dark Milk Truffles - July 3, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

NeoCocoa
Hazelnut Butter Dark Milk truffles
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.5 g.) / 2.4 oz. (69 g.) in total box of 6
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 truffle
Cost: $10.00 for 1 box of 6 truffles
Purchased from: NeoCocoa table at Palo Alto Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the first day of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

I'm always happy to sample new chocolate offerings from NeoCocoa (Belmont, CA). Today I enjoyed one of an immaculately sliced group (of 6) Hazelnut Butter Dark Milk truffles.

NeoCocoa Owner Christine Doerr perfected the "Hearts of Chocolate"truffle experience, and Amanda (who I met at the Farmers Market) was doing a great job helping to promote and fulfill this tradition.

Think of the most outstanding creamy ganache filling inside a chocolate covered truffle, and just leave out the harder chocolate couverture (covering). Today's dark milk truffles, flavored with a hint of hazelnut, were just like that.

Unfortunately for me, while wheat-free, these creamy truffles did contain a thin, slightly crunchy wafer layer at the bottom that contained barley malt flour. However, I'm hoping tasting one will be OK. Ah to be free from such concerns; but that's life.

Signature Select dark bar + Notable Bites Lemon Shortbread - July 2, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Signature Select
78% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 110 calories in 2 squares of bar (155.65 cals. per oz.)
Cost: $2.50 for 1 bar (2 for $5.00)
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate Cookie Theme Week.

The Signature Select 78% Cacao dark chocolate bar was slightly darker in color and flavor than I expected. The chocolate was smooth with a relatively firm, creamy texture and pleasant, earthy fudge flavor. (I will save the rest of this bar to make brownies later.)

So, where's the cookie part you might ask? I'm a fan of chocolate and lemon, so I paired today's dark chocolate bar with gluten-free Meyer lemon shortbread squares, which were rich and buttery, but also light and full of refreshing citrus flavor. In short, an interesting contrast to today's dark bar.

Notable Bites
The Meyer Lemon Shortbread mix was from a local Bay Area producer. Wendy's Notable Bites line includes both regular and gluten free cake and cookie mixes. Lemon is a specialty, and Wendy sells mixes and prepared Meyer lemon and almond bars and other baked goods at the Palo Alto Farmers Market (Palo Alto, CA). Eat these lemon squares fresh from the oven to experience the best (fragrant) results. The lemon flavors (from lemon peel and juice) were luscious and the texture was slightly fluffy, flaky and crumbly all at once. 

Nothin' But - Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola Cookies - July 1, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Distributed by Nothin' But Premium Foods
Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola Cookies
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 7 oz. (198 g.) in total package
Calories: 140 calories in 1 serving (2 cookies)
Cost: $6.89 for 1 package
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's Markets, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate Cookies Theme Week.

It's summer, and it's a great time for a picnic. Today's Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola Cookies from Nothin' But Premium Foods (Westport, CT), would be a great addition to a picnic basket or snack bag.

Substantial and crunchy, these oat and almond based cookies were not certified gluten free, but were wheat and egg free, and contained no butter or dairy ingredients that I could see.

Ingredients: Almonds, Oats, Semi-sweet chocolate, honey, coconut, organic can sugar, olive oil, oat flour, cinnamon, vanilla, sea salt, espresso powder.

As part of a mini chocolate picnic, I also enjoyed two Double Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies from Homefree LLC (Windham, NH).

These cute, little crunchy, bite-sized chocolate rounds were very similar to Homefree's Chocolate Chocolate Chip mini cookies I had back in 2011. They shared the plate with today's featured granola cookies. Homefree makes "allergy friendly" gluten free cookies that are also free of nuts, peanuts, dairy and soy. Perfect for a doll-house picnic for kids.