John Kelly - Orange Truffle Fudge Bar - Feb. 7, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

John Kelly Foods, Inc.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Orange Truffle Fudge Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 255 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pebble Beach Market, Pebble Beach, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Orange Series.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Orange Truffle Fudge bar from John Kelly Foods, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)

Their Truffle Fudge bars are constructed more like truffles than bars -- in that they have a soft, relatively light but also fudgey chocolate ganache-like filling.

Today's Semi-Sweet Orange Truffle Fudge bar wrapped in gold foil was no exception. Though small in size, it was very satisfying in taste and smooth, satisfying texture—like eating a giant truffle. This bar contained subtle orange flavoring.

Theo Chocolate - Cranberry Orange 55% bar - Feb. 6, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Theo Chocolate
Cranberry Orange bar
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Orange Series.

Today's item was a festive Cranberry Orange bar, from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA) that was bought at the tail-end of the Christmas holidays. Its seasonal sparkle brought cheer into a dark, rainy day.

This 55% dark chocolate bar had an appealing balance of tart, fruity (freeze-dried cranberries, orange oil) flavor and slightly chewy texture.

Most dark chocolates below 70% cacao solids tend to taste too sweet to me. but the tart cranberries helped balance the sweetness.

The base chocolate was made with USDA Organic, Fair for Life and Non-GMO Project Certified cacao. In fact, all of the ingredients in this bar were organic, and 98% were fair trade certified.

Theo Chocolate was an early proponent, and adopter, of ingredients that were compliant with organic and fair trade standards—particularly for items obtained from outside the U.S. where labor and environmental standards may be more variable.

While the case can be made that individual farmers in some countries find it tough to pay for annual certifications, co-ops (or situations where costs might be shared) seem to be able to supply much of the demand for certified ingredients.

Trader Joe's - Milk Chocolate Orange bar - Feb. 5, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Orange bar
Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 12.72 oz. (360 g.) in total box of 12 bars
Calories: 170 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.99 (estimate) for 1 box of 12 bars
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of a Series of Chocolate and Orange items.

Today's Orange bar was part of a Milk Chocolate Portfolio assortment box of 12 individually-wrapped milk chocolate bars (2 bars each of 6 different flavors), from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).

This small, but substantial (thick) bar delivered sweet milk chocolate flavor and texture, with a hint of orange.

Hershey's Kisses; Trader Joe's Cocoa Kettle Corn - Feb. 4, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

The Hershey Company
Hershey's Kisses
Good
Weight: .725 oz. (20.5 g.) / 1.45 oz. (41 g.) total piece
Calories: 105 calories in 1/2 Kiss
Cost: $missing information for 1 kiss
Purchased from: missing information, CA

Hello and welcome to Day #9 of DEFGHIJK Theme Week. We've covered previous letters of this alphabet series this past week, and today we'll finish up with the letter "k."

Today, "K" is for Hershey's Kisses and Trader Joe's Cocoa Drizzled Kettle Corn—two sweets with a long history in the U.S.

Hershey's Kisses
The Hershey Company* (gluten free) drop-shaped chocolate Kisses were first introduced in 1907. Today's larger-sized Hershey's Kiss was solid milk chocolate and wrapped in silver foil. It was fairly sweet, as one would expect with milk chocolate; and it was similar in taste to a Hershey's milk chocolate bar.

Kettle Corn
Kettle corn is a popped corn-based treat that's salty and sweet. Dutch settlers to the U.S made mention of it as early as 1776.

Later, another new world food (cocoa) was incorporated. Today's Cocoa Drizzled Kettle Corn from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) lacked the sugary varnish that often accompanies sweet popcorn treats. (Thank you!).

This kettle corn maintained a crunchy, salty-sweet balance. The application of the chocolate flavored confectionery coating (sugar, palm kernel oil, cocoa...) was restrained and, again, well balanced. And the cocoa coating tasted like chocolate.

*The Hershey Company (formerly known as Hershey Foods Corporation and/or Hershey's) was founded in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey in Derry Township, PA.

John Kelly - Semi-sweet Coconut Truffle Fudge Bar - Feb. 3, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

John Kelly Chocolates
Semi-sweet Chocolate Coconut Truffle Fudge Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.7 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 255 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pebble Beach Market, Pebble Beach, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of DEFGHIJK Theme Week.

The letter "J" is for John Kelly, Michael Jackson and Jam. What do these three people/nouns have in common? Why, chocolates and the letter J of course.

Today's Semi-sweet Chocolate Coconut Truffle Fudge Bar from John Kelly Chocolates* delivered. Wrapped in gold foil, this smaller, chunkier bar had a satisfying, soft chocolate center infused with just the right amount of coconut (not too little, not too much).

Choc Stars
Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 175 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $7.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pebble Beach Market, Pebble Beach, CA

I'm including this dark (50% cacao - from Ecuador) chocolate bar from Choc Stars (UK) for fun. This line of bars came packaged in a variety of clever wrappers, featuring feline or canine likenesses of famous people, including pop stars. This pooch does look an awful lot like Michael Jackson, doesn't it?

This novelty chocolate, designed for gift-giving, was fairly smooth and creamy, but a bit too sweet for me. (Sugar was the first ingredient listed, followed by cocoa mass, cocoa butter, GMO-free soy lecithin (emulsifier) and vanilla flavor. (Note: "May contain nuts, milk and gluten.")

I later snacked on a final chocolate with some fruit jam and nut butter (no photos).  Three chocolates is enough for one day; and now it's time to just go to bed.

*John Kelly Chocolates is based in the Los Angeles area, with locations in Hollywood and Santa Monica.








This novelty chocolate, designed for gift-giving, was fairly smooth and creamy, but a bit too sweet for me. (Sugar was the first ingredient listed, followed by cocoa mass, cocoa butter, GMO-free soy lecithin (emulsifier) and vanilla flavor. "May contain nuts, milk and gluten.")

I later snacked on a final chocolate with some fruit jam and nut butter.  Three chocolates is enough for one day; and now it's time to just go to bed.

*John Kelly Chocolates is based in the Los Angeles area, with locations in Hollywood and Santa Monica.

Fran's - Dark Chocolate Imperiales - Feb. 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fran's Chocolates, Ltd.
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Imperiales
Very Good
Weight: .66 oz. (18.8 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total box of 6
Calories: 90 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $7.99 (estimate) for 1 box of 6 pieces
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of DEFGHIJK Theme Week, another opportunity to work our way through the alphabet with chocolate items.

Today features the letter "i" as in imperial—a word that conjures up images of royalty and fine food fit for an emperor. (The word has French and Roman roots.)

Add an "e" at the end, and you have today's attractively packaged, 6-piece box of Dark Chocolate Peppermint Imperiales from Fran's Chocolates, Ltd. (Seattle, WA). These dark chocolates were filled with soft, silken dark chocolate centers, infused with artfully balanced peppermint flavor, and sprinkled with bits of peppermint candy.

Perfect for entertaining royal guests, or for you as a special treat. Alas these may be a seasonal (holiday) item. I hope they'll be back next year. I believe Fran's may also produce a cocoa nib version.

Delighted by Hummus - Brownie Batter Hummus - Feb. 1, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Delighted By (Dessert Hummus)
Brownie Batter Hummus
Good
Weight: 2 Tablespoons
Calories: 80 calories (estimate) in 2 TB serving
Cost: $1.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA


Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and DEFGHIJK Theme Week, and H is for hummus. What?

I've featured black bean brownies before. So I shouldn't have been surprised to have found* Brownie Batter Hummus, from Delighted By Dessert Hummus in stores.

Created by Makenzie Marzluff, this garbanzo based spread also comes in least four (gluten free, vegan, Non-GMO) flavors. Current flavors listed on their website: Snickerdoodle, Orange Dreamsicle, Vanilla Bean, and today's Brownie Batter Hummus.

Sweetened with a bit of turbinado sugar and made creamier with coconut milk, this dessert hummus looks a bit like traditional, savory hummus, but it's all dessert. Anything you might dip into chocolate fondue would probably work as a pairing with this spread. I spread mine on a rice cake and ate it with fruit.

And fear not, there is no garlic and onion, so it's not like your mole sauce fell into your brownie batter.

*Thank you to Ramona Beville who first alerted me to the fact that chocolate hummus existed last year.