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. 

Clif Bar - Hot Chocolate bar - Jan. 31, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Clif Bar

Hot Chocolate bar
OK++ - Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 125 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Iced Gingerbread bar
Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 125 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of DEFGHIJK Week.

Today's winter-themed Hot Chocolate and Iced Gingerbread bars from Clif Bar (Emeryville, CA) were released in time for the holidays last month.

Of these two bars, I enjoyed the gingerbread bar a bit more, largely due to the addition of molasses and gingerbread spices. Pictured, but not featured above, was the company's Spiced Pumpkin bars, which I also liked. It was relatively moist and, like the gingerbread bar, I liked the spices. (Neither the pumpkin nor the gingerbread bar contained chocolate.)

The first ingredient listed for all three bars was organic brown rice syrup, followed by organic rolled oats. These bars were a bit too sweet for me, but they provided a hearty, chewy snack. They also contained soy protein isolate (the third ingredient in Hot Chocolate bar).

I was not eating these while climbing snowy mountains. Fortunately, I was able to take a break from winter weather this week. Instead, I sampled these substantial bars before a walk in the Arizona desert sunshine.

BarkThins - Dark Chocolate Gingerbread - Jan. 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Manufactured for Ripple Brand Collective, LLC
barkThins - Dark Chocolate Gingerbread
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 9 oz. (255 g.) in total box
Calories: 220 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $8.99 for 1 box
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of DEFGHIJK Theme Week. Today is "G" day; and fortunately, there were several "g" possibilities, but one stood out. Anything with ginger.

Ginger and/or gingerbread are favorite pairings with dark chocolate here at ChocolateBanquet. If you like ginger and chocolate and haven't yet tried them together, I highly recommend trying this combination.

Today's Dark Chocolate Gingerbread barkThins were manufactured for Ripple Brand Collective, LLC (New York, NY).

These dark chocolate "snackable slivers" had an attractive, chocolate gingerbread aroma and a crunchy texture. The chocolate was made with Fair Trade USA certified (over 65%) and Non-GMO project verified ingredients.
And, the embedded gingerbread cookie bits were gluten free. Thank you!

More photos will be included later.

Gertrude's - Black Forest Torte - Jan. 29, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Gertrude's
Black Forest Torte
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown
Cost: $7.95 (estimate) for 1 serving
Purchased from: Gertrude's, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ

Paris Rendez-vous
Chocolate Fish - Peanut Butter
Macaron - Murre et Chocolat (a taste of the forest)
Purchased from: Paris Rendez-vous, Phoenix, AZ

Welcome to Day #3 of DEFGHIJK Theme Week. Today was "F" day.

I'm traveling this week and it wasn't practical to bring a container of chocolate fondue with me. So, I packed a chocolate frog mold and some fennel, in case I had to make my own chocolate on the fly. However, I needn't have worried.

I found two "forest"-oriented chocolates, and one "fish" chocolate to enjoy in the Phoenix area. This morning we enjoyed a Black Forest Torte from Gertrude's, a farm-to-table restaurant located at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. (Photos didn't do this dessert justice. It would've looked a lot lovelier on the original plate, vs. jostled around in the "to go" box. So, my apologies to Gertrude's.) And this modern take on black forest cake with dark chocolate curls was fantastic.

The second "taste of the forest" came in the form of a French macaron (murre et chocolat) from the Paris Rendez-vous, a French-style sweet shop in Phoenix, where I also found a chocolate Fish with a peanut butter filling.