Nut 'n Bean - Chocolate Chip Cookie Almond Butter - June 3, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nut 'n Bean
Chocolate Chip Cookie Almond Butter
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3) g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total jar
Calories: 190 calories (estimate) in approx. 2 TB serving
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 jar
Purchased from: Nut 'n Bean table at Palo Alto Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

There are many kinds of butters. The nut butter selection has expanded considerably in the past several years where I live. So, one can buy not just almond butter, but many different kinds of almond butter now.

Today's Chocolate Chip Cookie Almond Butter from Nut 'n Bean (Hayward, CA), purchased at a local farmers market, did capture the flavors of a chocolate chip cookie with a hint of coconut. It was good spread on bread or toast (or, in my case, gluten free bread).

If you like these buttery cookie and coconut flavors, you can take this cookie on toast concept one step further by garnishing your toast with chopped organic coconut butter toffee and almonds. Too much? Perhaps. This isn't an episode of "pimp my toast" after all; however buttery flavors are seductive.

Patric Chocolate - Browned Butter Bar - June 2, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Patric Chocolate
Browned Butter Bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .766 oz. (11.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in 1/3 bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

Butter has become more popular in recent years, as reports have surfaced that margarine isn't as healthy as it was once thought to be, and fats were deemed to be perhaps not quite the death knell that they were made out to be either. But, then again, a good solid majority of Americans continued their love affair with butter, without paying much attention to grim warnings.

Butter lovers now have something else to celebrate -- some new butter and craft chocolate combinations, such as today's glossy Browned Butter Bar from Patric Chocolate (Columbia, MO).

Dark chocolate with browned butter, brown sugar and sea salt. That's it. This bar was well balanced with fruit acid and tangy flavors from the chocolate and brown sugar and rich brown butter notes.

Kohler Chocolates - Peanut Butter bar - June 1, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Kohler Original Recipe Chocolates
Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter bar
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Butter Theme Week.

This smooth (55% cacao) Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter bar from Kohler Co. (Kohler, WI) uniformly melded deep milk chocolate, peanut butter, sea salt and butter in every bite.

Nut 'n Bean - Bacon Chocolate Peanut Butter - May 31, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nut 'n Bean
Bacon Chocolate Peanut Butter
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) (estimate) / 8 oz. (227 g.) total jar
Calories: 190 calories (estimate) in 2 Tbsp.
Cost: $9.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Nut 'n Bean table at Palo Alto Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA

Holy breakfast on toast Batman. This peanut butter spread had it all, or at least all the good stuff, like bacon and chocolate. It was soft and easy to spread, and I liked the chewy bits of savory bacon that were interspersed throughout. The chocolate gave it an added richness, without making this peanut butter too sweet.

Gently trowel some of this spread onto your bread of choice, add a lettuce leaf and a slice of extra bacon), or some chopped peanuts. Serve with a small glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice on the side and you can talk yourself into calling this combination a balanced meal.

Ingredients: peanuts, grapeseed oil, dairy free 51% chocolate, bacon and sea salt.

Patric Chocolate - Spicy Thai Peanut bar - May 30, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Patric Chocolate
Spicy Thai Peanut bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 172 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Patric Chocolate (Columbia, MO) produces a line of bean-to-bar, craft chocolate, single origin and flavored bars -- including limited release bars like today's Spicy Thai Peanut bar that I bought from The Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto, CA.

The base chocolate for this bar -- made from organic cacao beans and organic cane sugar -- had bright, fruit/berry notes that managed to shine through, even with Thai-inspired flavor additions like ginger-infused sugar crystals, roasted peanuts and habanero sea salt, competing for attention. The bar was soy and gluten free.

I envisioned eating this bar with spicy peanut butter sauce over chicken and rice, with pad thai and mango salad on the side.

Safeway Peanut Butter Cup ice cream - May 29, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Safeway Select
Super Premium - Peanut Butter Cup ice cream
Good - Good+
Weight: 1/3 cup oz. (78 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 264 calories in 1/3 cup serving
Cost: $2.99 (estimate)
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week, and I celebrated with two different ice creams that incorporated peanut butter and chocolate. The Safeway Select ice cream (shown in dish at right) contained broken up chunks of peanut butter cups, evoking childhood memories of favorite chocolate candy.

The second ice cream was "What a Cluster" ice cream from Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream -- a company known for its clever product names. And, while What a Cluster did have a smidge of cocoa in it -- qualifying it as a chocolate item -- I chose this cold, sweet treat for its clever title. What a Cluster ice cream was a melange of peanut butter ice cream, caramel cluster pieces, marshmallow swirls and "peanut buttery swirls."

PB2 - Powdered Peanut Butter with Chocolate - May 28, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

PB2
Powdered Peanut Butter with premium chocolate
Good
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 90 calories in 1 package
Cost: $1.50 for 1 package
Purchased from: REI, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

What is powdered peanut butter? Made for Bell Plantation (Tifton, GA), this PB2 package contained a powder that was made from slow roasted and pressed peanuts. The pressing process removed 85 percent of the fat/oil, according to the information on the packaging. The list of ingredients was short: roasted peanuts, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.

Add water until you reach a creamy consistency and you have instant chocolate peanut butter that would be handy for multiple uses, including a topping for ice cream, camping trips, fancy sandwich making, or snacks on the go. I added water, stirred the resulting paste, and let it sit for a minute. Then I added a bit more water. The texture was smooth and creamy, the chocolate taste was very mild, and the sugar and salt seemed minimal -- to my liking.

I paired this gluten-free PB2 peanut butter with a gluten-free Picky Bar ("made for picky eaters on the go"). This Picky Bar ("Lauren's Mega Nuts - Peanut Butter Booyah") was very fruity tasting, and the PB2 peanut butter helped evoke a peanut butter and jelly sandwich flavor. And, there was still plenty of PB2 leftover to try eating plain, or tasting with small bits of other items (banana, cookie, apple).