However, on days (usually weekends) where I do have the chance to spend the extra time, I like to make it from scratch. And though we don’t mind our hot chocolate plain, there are a lot of other yummy things you can add — or even make it from — to it to give it a bit of a boost, like peanut butter candy bars.

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

2 cups milk
4 oz. Butterfinger or Crispy Crunch (Canada) bar, broken into small pieces (add more to taste, if desired)
Vanilla syrup to taste
Top with whipped cream and nut chips for mini marshmallows

~ Heat milk gently over medium-high heat in a medium size pan to scalding — do not boil.

~ In a separate pan or heat-proof bowl, slowly pour milk over chopped chocolate bar, whisking to a froth. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream or marshmallows, if desired.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

I was sent some king-sized packs to try out, and each pack has two separate bars in it, each bar about 3 inches long. It’s been a long time since I bought a king-sized Butterfinger, but I do know the last time I did it was one gigantic bar, which I could never finish in one sitting. Having two separate bars was pretty nice since each serving (1 piece) was the perfect size.

I didn’t hesitate when I opened the first pack — I love Butterfingers and really wanted to see if there was a difference between these caffeinated bars and the originals! And I actually couldn’t tell any difference in taste. Sometimes the hyped-up versions will have almost a vitamin-y aftertaste and be somewhat bitter, I didn’t notice it with these. There was a lingering aftertaste but to me it wasn’t unpleasant.

Really the only difference I saw — and unfortunately I don’t have a regular bar on hand to tell for sure — is that the crispy peanut butter inside of the Buzz seems to be a bit of a darker orange than the original. Butterfingers always seem to be a bit battered right out of the package, so that didn’t bother me, though these looked like they’d been through a cement mixer.

The chocolate tastes the same, melting on my fingers before I finished and not impressive overall (though let’s face it, Butterfinger is probably one of the few candy bars I don’t buy for the chocolate), and the “crispety, crunchety” peanut butter inside was perfect, getting stuck in my teeth just like always.

Now what sets the Buzz apart is that it’s supposedly loaded with as much caffeine as “the leading energy drink,” which I take to mean a Red Bull or Monster or whatever. Each individual bar contains 40 mg of caffeine and, as the package says, is “not recommended for pregnant women, children or persons sensitive to caffeine.” I’ve never had an energy drink so I can’t compare and I really didn’t notice an energy boost. If I ate both bars I probably would have, but I can’t down two candy bars in one sitting so I have yet to see!

Overall, a good candy bar but I’m going to have to take Nestle’s word about the energy boost.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

So imagine how stoked I was when I got an email recently that Nestle is launching a new caffeinated candy bar — Butterfinger Buzz! I adore Butterfingers and can’t wait to try this one out.

The new bar will have “the caffeine kick of the leading energy drink along with the delicious taste of a Butterfinger.” It’ll be available through April 2009 (only two short months!) at Walgreens, 7-Eleven and wherever candy is sold.

Also, if you’re going to be in either New York, Chicago or L.A. over the next week, stop in at the following locations for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas, a $2,500 gift card and a year’s worth of Butterfinger bars! Only fans who are willing to get a buzz haircut with a temporary spray application of the Butterfinger Buzz logo on their head in Butterfinger orange will be eligible to win!

The hair-raising events will take place from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. on February 10 at Oakley’s Barbershop in Los Angeles and from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. on February 12 at Astor Place Hair in New York and at Chicago Buzz in Chicago.

[image used with permission]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

I tried a Butterfinger Stixx for the first time this afternoon. I didn’t know how much I’d like it because I’m not a big Butterfinger fan — anything that makes me work for a few minutes after I’ve eaten it (ie removing hard bits from between my teeth) tends to make me a little annoyed. I was very pleasantly surprised with the Stixx, though. The center was more like the Butterfinger Crisp and required no grumpiness afterward. The outer chocolate coating was thin and had little bits of Butterfinger.

Not a lot of chocolate, just what was coating it, but I’m glad there are five more in the box!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes