It’s that time — See’s Candies have rolled out their holiday candy selection just in time for gift buying, and if you’re like me that can’t be done soon enough! From now until Friday, November 27th, you’ve got a shot to win a $25 gift card from See’s Candies. Use it on yourself, or use it to buy someone else a very tasty holiday treat. It also fits quite nicely in a stocking (I should know, my awesome husband puts a card in mine every year!). (Don’t forget to check out their great Thanksgiving candies, too!) To Enter: To enter this giveaway, leave a comment here telling me what your favorite part of the holiday season is. The music? The gifts (both giving and receiving!)? The family and friends... [Read more]

PETA thinks they have a good way of boosting the morale of U.S. troops, saying that they’re going to send them some vegan chocolate with an image of Osama bin Laden imprinted on the front. The “bin Laden Bites” are made by Harbor Candy, a chocolatier and long-time supporter of PETA, who say they were inspired to make them after reading an article about how hard it is for troops to get chocolate in Afghanistan. Biting off bin Laden’s head is just an added bonus, I guess. PETA says they’re using the chocolates as a way of protesting bin Laden’s “torture and killing” of animals in the days following the attacks on the U.S. in 2001 when the “guardians” of said animals were killed, leaving... [Read more]

Just in time for holiday and Christmas shopping (think hostess gifts, stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, etc!), Patric Chocolates is offering up free shipping on all orders until Thursday, November 26th (Thanksgiving Day). All orders of Patric’s yummy chocolate, whether it’s the bars, the drinking chocolate or baking nibs, made between now and Thanksgiving Day will receive the free shipping offer. Chocolate is the perfect gift for any occasion, but especially during the holidays when people you don’t expect to give you a gift actually do — just pull out a chocolate bar (maybe with a cute little gift bow) for one of those “Oh I got you a gift too!” moments Patric’s chocolate line-up includes: ~ Single... [Read more]

While perusing some of my favorite blogs yesterday, I came across this recipe for chocolate chip cookies made with olive oil instead of butter. I’ve made olive oil cake before, and I like using it when I make bread, so using it in cookies didn’t seem as weird to me as it might to some! I found these at Crepes of Wrath, and since I always have the supplies on hand to make chocolate chip cookies, I printed out the recipe and headed straight for the kitchen. They were easy enough to make, though the dough is a little different that what you’d normally be used to because the olive oil is liquid as opposed to the more solid butter, so there’s no creamed butter/sugar mix. I have to say, it does make a very pretty cookie! The... [Read more]

Would you believe there’s a Peanut Butter Fudge Day? This very specific holiday falls on November 20th, and if you start now you could probably perfect a batch just in time to send in to teachers or bring in to work so everyone can celebrate! This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and combines both chocolate and peanut butter for a perfect bite of fudge that you’ll want to make a whole lot more often than just once a year. It’s also very easy to assemble — you’ve probably already got everything in your pantry! Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge adapted from allrecipes.com 3 cups white sugar 1 cup evaporated milk 1/4 cup cocoa 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tablespoon butter ~ Butter one 9×9 inch pan. ~... [Read more]