With the end of the year upon us it’s always fun to look back at the previous 12 months!

Here are the most popular posts from Chocolate Bytes for 2008. Did I include your favorite?

• Make your own Oreos
• Two-minute microwave fudge
• Layered chocolate cheesecake bars
• Chocolate cake in five minutes
• How to check a label for expired candy
• Grilled chocolate bananas
• New chocolate biscuits baffle Brits
• Lindt Excellence Chili Bar
• Better Than WHAT Cake
• Homemade Oreo ice cream
• Flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
• Chocolate chip blondies

Last week the Lifestyles Channel shared the spot(s) they write from but I was still out of state and didn’t get a chance to participate, though I wanted to!

So here’s my desk. It’s located in the corner of our family room and is connected to my husband’s desk which is right behind me and faces the wall on the right (he custom-made it). We desperately need an office and hopefully that’ll be happening sooner than rather later!

As of my birthday last year (my husband got me a laptop) this is another spot I can now write from! As you can see it’s also popular with 1/3 of the pet population.

What does your writing space look like?

Easter is still over a month away but stores have had candy and decorations out for over a week now, so I figured I may as well too! Check out the poll over in the sidebar titled “Easter Chocolate Poll.” —>

Happy Valentine’s Day from Chocolate Bytes! I hope your day is filled with loved ones and chocolate!

[image: angelbake]

2007 brought a few shake-ups to the world of chocolate, probably the biggest being that The Chocolate Manufacturers Association tried to get the FDA to relax rules about what can be called chocolate and allow for the use of artificial fats instead of cocoa butter. Thankfully, that looks to have not passed thanks to sites like DontMessWithOurChocolate.com.

A few posts here at Chocolate Bytes touched on a few issues that were important to a lot of people as well:

~ Hands down the most popular post here this year is still Hershey’s planned move to Mexico [and part two]. A lot of people are outraged, some totally missed the point, and most decided to let Hershey’s know how they feel by not buying anymore Hershey products. The discussion is still ongoing if you want to jump in!

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~ One of the funnest posts was about a chocolate-swiping squirrel in Finland.

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~ It’s always nice to read that one of your favorite foods is also healthy and good for you, right?

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~ My quest for Tim Tams finally came to fruition when a sweet friend sent me some in the mail. Everyone seems to have a favorite way to eat these!

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~ My post for the then-Home and Dining channel project for Breast Cancer Awareness garnered the attention of a site that condemned us all for being so superficial and for not doing what she thought we should be doing for Breast Cancer Awareness. Who knew a little fun with pink chocolate products could spawn so much outrage? (Regardless, it was a really fun post to put together!)

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~ A lot of you love of you love your Ritter Sport and had some excellent recommendations on what to try and where to find it! (For which I am still grateful!)

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What were your favorite Chocolate Bytes posts of 2007?

Don’t forget, today is the last day to enter the T-shirt giveaway! You have until midnight tonight and the drawing will take place tomorrow.

Now, in case you missed them the first time around, check out a few previous posts that are still bringing in the hits and comments:

• The Hershey’s Move to Mexico post is still getting hit quite often, several months after I wrote about it. If you missed it the first time, go check it out and let us know what you think.
• 50 Easy Chocolate Snacks to Make
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe
• Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies