Junior Mints - Peppermint Crunch - Jan. 15, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tootsie Roll Industries, LLC
Junior Mints - Peppermint Crunch
Good
Weight: .93 oz. (26.4 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) total package/box
Calories: 113 calories in 10 pieces
Cost: $0.99 (sale) for 1 package/box
Purchased from: Jo-Ann (Fabric and Craft Stores), Mountain View, CA

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

Today's handful of Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints from Tootsie Roll Industries, LLC (Chicago, IL) provided a sweet peppermint rocket ride with a hint of semi-sweet chocolate.


I think the milky, creamy white center might have been liquid peppermint sugar. It's a candy after all, and sweeter than most chocolates I've been eating. (It's been several years since I've featured the original Junior Mints on this site.)

How were these different than regular Junior Mints? Red flecks and peppermint flavor mostly. I also remember Junior Mints center being soft, but slightly more solid than these, but I could be wrong.

The box and the pieces themselves looked fairly generously sized, but, again, I didn't have any original Junior Mints to compare them with. (What kind of chocolate mad scientist am I? For shame.)

These Junior Mints were made in a facility that "does not use peanuts, tree nuts, or gluten."

Just Born - Candy Cane Peeps with chocolate - Jan. 14, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Just Born, Inc.
Peeps
Candy Cane Flavored Marshmallows Dipped in Chocolate
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 1.5 oz. (42 g.) in total package of 3
Calories: 113.3 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $1.49 (sale) for 1 package of 3
Purchased from: Jo-Ann (Fabric and Craft Stores), Mountain View, CA

Greetings, and welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Peppermint Theme Week.

How does one explain Peeps marshmallow candy?

Have you ever watched someone become magically transformed by a happy childhood food memory? A fleeting expression of joy and wonder may cross their face, and the cares of their adult world seem to temporarily melt away.

I've witnessed some of the staunchest fine chocolate experts go giddy over a childhood confection, that wouldn't have been given a second glance if first encountered later in adulthood. This explains part of the lasting popularity of Peeps and certain chocolate candies.

Marshmallow Peeps from Just Born, Inc.* (Bethlehem, PA) are slightly amorphous (usually bird- or animal-shaped) marshmallows, often glued together at the hip in a row. They're tied to Easter basket candy and other fond and playful childhood memories for many who grew up in the U.S.

The chocolate tasted quite real (it contained both chocolate liquor and real cocoa butter).

Oh, and (artificial flavor and red color not withstanding) did I mention these were gluten free?

Today's Candy Cane with Chocolate Peeps were surprisingly good. They were refreshingly peppermint flavored, sweet marshmallows sitting in their own dark chocolate base (or nest perhaps). You won't find these new born chicks outside in the grass and bushes (like I first did on Easter Egg hunts), but they're still fun all the same.

*Just Born, a third-generation, family-run candy company (that has an interesting history of its own, dating back to 1910 with Sam Born), acquired the Peeps brand and original marshmallow chick product line when they bought Rodda Candy Company in 1953.

Little Secrets - Peppermint Dark Candies - Jan. 13, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Little Secrets
Peppermint Dark Chocolate Candies
Good+ - Good ++
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 5 oz. (142 g.) total package
Calories: 95 calories in 1/2 serving (12 pieces)
Cost: $5.29 for 1 package
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Peppermint Theme Week.

Today's Peppermint Dark Chocolate Candies from Little Secrets, LLC (Boulder, CO) were made with (Fair Trade) 55% Cocoa.

These festive red and white chocolate mint discs with crunchy candy shells contained "over 74% Fair Trade ingredients" overall, and no artificial colors or flavors. (The company used/uses fruit and vegetable extracts for coloring.)

The refreshing peppermint flavor was nicely balanced with the dark chocolate centers.

These would seem to be a perfect transition candy between Christmas and Valentines Day, if you can still find them on the shelves in January or February.

Amella - Peppermint Caramels - Jan. 12, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amella Caramels
Peppermint Caramels (Limited Edition)
Good +++
Weight: 1.38 oz. (39 g.) / 2.33 oz. (66 g.) in total box of 5 pieces
Calories: 190 calories in 3 caramels
Cost: $6.99 for 1 box of 5 caramels
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Los Altos, CA

Happy Day #9 of Chocolate and Peppermint Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Peppermint Caramels from Amella Caramels (El Segundo, CA) were rich and refreshing.

Inside the long cardboard box were five, individually wrapped, dark chocolate enrobed caramels, decorated with a toss of peppermint candy bits.

The chocolate caramel filling with a creamy melt was made with sugar, cream, organic honey, organic tapioca syrup, butter, cocoa and cocoa butter.

These satisfying confections were certified gluten free.

Trader Joe's - Peppermint Chocolate Bar, Bark - Jan. 11, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Peppermint Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 4.25 oz. (120 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1 oz. piece
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Alameda, CA

Trader Joe's
Peppermint Bark
Good ++
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) / 16 oz. (453 g.) in total tin
Calories: 440 calories in 1 large square
Cost: $9.99 for 1 16 oz. tin
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Alameda, CA

Today we stretched time a bit and extended the holidays by a few more weeks. We went into chocolate peppermint overdrive with a layered Peppermint Chocolate Bar, and pieces of Peppermint Bark from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).

Peppermint Chocolate Bar
Trader Joe's Peppermint Chocolate bar was a dark chocolate bar infused with peppermint oil, then hand decorated with white chocolate swirls and topped with a generous sprinkle of peppermint candy bits.

Peppermint Bark 
Trader Joe's Peppermint Bark was pre-cut into generously sized squares—layered with dark and white chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint bits. (One serving is 1/2 square but, these pieces might be tough to cut apart. They were quick thick. I managed to eat a whole square with no problem, but I was was careful with each bite.

The end result: these pepped me up and got me back in the holiday spirit—away from winter doldrums and ready to face the day.

dark?

Theo - Chocolate Covered Peppermint Marshmallows - Jan. 10, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Theo Chocolate
Chocolate Covered Peppermint Marshmallows
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.98 oz. (56 g.) / 3.95 oz. (112 g.) in total package
Calories: 200 calories in 4 pieces
Cost: $7.95 for 1 package of 8 pieces
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

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

Peppermint is most commonly used when making mint-flavored chocolates in the U.S. Sadly, we sometimes have to wait until December holidays to find limited edition peppermint chocolates. I loaded up on several this holiday season so I could enjoy and share them in the new year.

Today's Peppermint Marshmallows with 70% Dark Chocolate from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA) were flavored with organic peppermint essential oil and were quite good. They made me wish I could find these year-round. (I understand we need pepping up in the dark days. (It's so dark and drizzly outside today my photos are barely visible.) But wouldn't cooling peppermint also be enjoyable in the summer?

These Theo Chocolate high-end, handmade treats would be, I was assured, right "at home floating on hot chocolate." I'm sure that's true. However, I enjoyed them unadulterated.

Face it, when you're talking marshmallows you're talking sugar, and lots of it. However, these marshmallows were very pleasantly fresh and fluffy, yet firm enough to hold a bold, rich, fruity 70% dark chocolate coating. And they weren't as sticky sweet as I expected.

Marshmallow history
Previous research I did pointed to marshmallow ancestors made from marsh mallows (the plant). To create a firmer, fluffier confection gelatin eventually replaced the mallow goo. And, while I'm curious to sample one of these early plant-based confections, I was very happy to find today's treats with a simple, short list of high-quality ingredients.

In my childhood marshmallows were often stale, artificially flavored and colored gobs that lived in a plastic bag that had been opened back in the dinosaur age. For me today's marshmallows epitomized a return to quality that's taken place in the last decade or so. Progress, after all, can mean a return to simpler, more authentic roots.

Whole Foods 365 Organic Pink Peppermint Ice Cream bar - Jan. 9, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Whole Foods
365 Organic Pink Peppermint Ice Cream Bars
Good +
Weight: 3 fl. oz. (89 mL) / 9 fl. oz. (267 mL) in total box of 3 bars
Calories: 230 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 box of 3 bars
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Peppermint Theme Week.

I bought today's 365 Organic Pink Peppermint Limited Edition ice cream bars from Whole Foods (Austin, TX) over the holidays at a local Whole Foods Market.

Their refreshingly minty, organic peppermint ice cream centers were coated in organic dark chocolate.