Caramel apples have come a long way since I was a kid. Back then the only thing we thought to do with them was dip them in caramel, which was just fine, of course, and it means I get to try the fun new ideas with my own kids!

Even though caramel has always been the default dip, chocolate is also an excellent option, and even better is chocolate with caramel!
Chocolate Caramel Apples
adapted from Food Network
12 Granny Smith apples
12 lollipop sticks
1 pound caramels
plastic wrap
melted dark, white or milk chocolate
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup M&M’s or favorite candy topping
waxed paper
~ Wash and dry …read more

Chocolate with a spicy kick has been a trend for a couple of years now, and though it’s nothing new in some parts of the world, the novelty for the rest of us still hasn’t worn off!
This video is from a news station in Wisconsin that featured a segment with pastry chef Lindsay Brooks. Her recipe is a silky chocolate mousse with chipotle caramel sauce, and as soon as I find some chipotle powder I’m making this for my husband!
Lindsay managed to come up with a chocolate mousse that is both sugar- and egg-free, but her version does contain …read more

I stumbled across this video of the award-winning Chocolate California Goldrush Cake while searching for something else, and I was immediately hooked.
The award competition was sponsored by Ghirardelli, so you know some good chocolate was going into these creations!
The method for the cake is actually pretty simple and looks amazingly delicious: two melted bars of Ghirardelli 100% cacao bars, butter, flour, salt, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Once everything is mixed into a batter, she puts about half of it into a bundt pan, and then layers Ghirardelli caramel squares, toasted pecans, and then the rest of the batter on …read more

It’s been soo many years since I’ve had a Caramello. I remember having my first one in high school and being hooked instantly. I’ve never been a huge caramel fan, which is why it took me so long to bother trying one, but Caramellos have the the perfect amount, and the chocolate was pretty darn good too!
That picture above… oh boy, I don’t have the time to run to the grocery store right now. But I’m thinking about it!
[image: flickr]

I saw the commercial for Werther’s Original Caramel Chocolate several weeks ago and knew I had to give them a try. I love Werther’s caramels and was glad to see them expand their line with a non-hard candy caramel chocolate combo!

My first impression of the candies were how small they are – they look much bigger in the commercial, maybe about half the size of your palm, at least a couple of bites. I don’t know if they did that on purpose in the commercial or if they decided to make them smaller after the fact, but these are tiny! …read more

I’ve been looking for these everywhere and finally found a box last week!
Snickers Charged is a limited edition 1.83oz bar that includes 60 milligrams of caffeine as well as taurine and B-vitamins in addition to the milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel and nougat of a regular bar.
The packaging, which I assume is supposed to portray power and energy, is silver with a charging rhino. My first impression was that it was leaning a little too much toward a power bar look, something I’m not interested in, so it didn’t appeal to me much at all. If it weren’t for …read more