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 coming together? Or how about the food and yummy treats? There is no wrong answer!

….

~ Contest ends Friday, November 27 at 5:00pm PST. One winner will be randomly drawn and notified by email, and will have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

~ Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

~ One winner will receive one $25 See’s gift card.

[images used with permission from See's Candies]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 the animals to die of starvation, toxic fumes and dehydration. And oh yeah, they oppose the attacks too.

Whew, talk about reaching.

Anyway, you can pick up the dairy-free vegan chocolate for $15 a pop at PETA.org, though they won’t ship until January.

[image: peta.org]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 Estate Madagascar 67% bar
~ Single Estate Madagascar 70% bar
~ Single Estate Madagascar 70% bar with Nibs
~ Single Estate Rio Caribe Superior 70% bar *NEW*
~ Single Estate Madagascar 75% bar
~ Single Estate Madagascar 100% Drinking Chocolate
~ Single Estate Madagascar 100% Roasted Cacao Nibs

[image: patric chocolate]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 taste at first was a little underwhelming, but you can definitely tell they’re a bit different than a standard chocolate chip cookie, a little caramely, almost. They actually taste better the next day, and they stayed nice and chewy as well!

These would be great with a white chocolate chip, macadamia nut and craisin makeover, too!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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.

~ Combine the sugar, evaporated milk and cocoa in saucepan. Stir gently over high heat until mixture comes to a rolling boil (too much stirring will cause the fudge to be grainy). Lower heat to medium and continue cooking to a soft ball stage, about 7-8 minutes.

~ Remove from heat, add peanut butter, vanilla, and margarine. Beat by hand until creamy and the fudge has lost its sheen; pour into prepared pan. Allow to cool and cut into squares.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

~ Cinnamon Churros with Real Hot Chocolate at Almost Bourdain

~ Cocoa Brownies from Lemonpi

~ Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons at Piece of Cake

~ Dove’s Peppermint Bark Review from Candy Blog

~ Chocolate and Cookies Loaf Cake at Food & Cook

~ Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

~ Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bundt Cake at The Food Librarian

~ Pear and Dark Chocolate Jam from Flagrante Delicia

~ How to Make English Toffee at Eddy Van Damme

~ Oreo Balls from Peace of Cake

~ Black Bean Brownies at Every Food Fits

~ Cocoa and Chili Rubbed Pork Chops from Gimme Some Oven

~ Banana Split Pie at Big Red Kitchen

~ Chocolate Cookies with Cranberries and Pistachios from Trissalicious

~ Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake at Raccoon and Lobster

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

This recipe comes from Edhat.com, and is the perfect adult treat for a get-together or an evening at home. Top with a little whipped cream and some chocolate shavings for a fancier presentation.

Bourbon Chocolate Mousse

Half-cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
4 large egg whites at room temperature
Pinch of table salt

~ Chill 4 ramekins.

~ Boil the cream and sugar in a saucepan.

~ Add the bourbon and vanilla.

~ Add chocolate, let sit for 5 minutes (don’t stir).

~ Whisk until smooth. Set aside.

~ Beat egg whites and salt on high until they form stiff peaks.

~ Fold a quarter of the whites into the ganache, then add the rest with care.

~ Divide and refrigerate 1-24 hours before serving.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

The New Orleans-based confectioner Sucré is known for their delectable, hand-crafted chocolates as well as their delicious pastries and macarons (which are even Oprah-approved!). Located in the heart of the Garden District on Magazine Street, their home-made and hand-crafted chocolates and pastries are sold alongside a variety of gelatos, gourmet coffees and even champagne for in-store guests.

What makes this holiday season extra sweet, though, is that Sucré has teamed up with the Louisiana SPCA, and a portion of every dollar spent online will go directly to benefit the animals of the Louisiana SPCA. So, you can indulge guilt-free!

Sucré has extended two holiday discount coupons just for Chocolate Bytes readers! Simply get some holiday shopping done online at ShopSucre.com, and enter the coupon code at checkout:

~ FREE shipping ($9.95 value) on all orders over $70 per address; Code: BONBON

~ $10.00 off orders over $70; Code: SUCRE

Need some ideas? Sucre sent me this New Orleans box, and trust me when I say that anyone who gets this box for the holidays is going to feel very special — talk about indulgent!

They also have a gift box just for the holidays, as well as delicious French holiday macarons, Sugar & Spice chocolates, homemade marshmallows, drinking chocolate, and holiday candy cane bark.

[images used with permission from Sucré]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

It’s not that I didn’t want to try them, it’s that I’m always wary of purchasing a big container of something I haven’t tried before. What if we absolutely hate them? That $10 could have easily gone toward something else and I’d kick myself for having wasted it.

In this case, though, the $10 on the 38oz container was not wasted. As you can see from the picture above, the container that I bought Tuesday morning already has about 1/3 missing. My kids love them (they’ve request them for snacks and as today’s treat in their lunchboxes instead of a piece of Halloween candy), my husband loves them, and I’ve got it sitting next to me right now, for informational purposes, of course.

They’re roasted with the cocoa and not coated in chocolate, so the chocolate taste is very subtle and the sweetness, which the label says comes from sucralose, is very light (though sucralose always leaves a little bit of a weird aftertaste to me, I almost wish they’d just use sugar). To me, almonds can start tasting kind of bland after a few, but the cocoa bumps it up to more of a treat, and if I’m not careful I may be making an extra run out to Sam’s this month for another one!

Though I know they’re just covering their behinds, I always get a kick out of nut labels that declare the product contains nuts.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Post from: Chocolate Bytes