I’m not sure how long the Vosges brand Mo’s Bacon Bar has been available, but when I first heard about it last year I knew I had to keep an eye out. The bar is said to have been an inspiration of chocolatier Katrina Markoff, who drew on her childhood experience of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon.

I was really interested to see how this would be pulled off. Bacon is yummy, chocolate is yummy, but together?

I found a bar at Cost Plus not too long ago and picked it up for about $6. A hefty price tag for 3oz of chocolate!

The bar is wrapped inside a foil pouch and packaged in a thin cardboard box. There isn’t much of a scent when the pouch is first opened, though there is a slight smokey smell if you get up close enough.

I had my bar in the fridge for about half an hour before I opened to make sure it didn’t melt all over me. It was slightly above room temperature when I opened it up and had a satisfying snap when I broke a square off.

That was about where anything good ended. Well, that’s not entirely true – the chocolate was smooth except for the bits of bacon throughout. And granted, there wasn’t a lot of bacon. But the “applewood smoked bacon” just did not work for me. It was really disappointing because I wanted to like this, but I could barely get through the one corner I bit off. I gave it a minute to get over it, thinking maybe it was just because I wasn’t used to bacon and chocolate and I’d be more receptive after a second bite. No go. In fact, that one went into a paper towel.

Overall, the smokey bacon flavor was just way too overpowering. The chocolate tried to poke through but failed miserably, and – even though my package said it’s good until next January – the bacon tasted stale and old and was so much a part of the chocolate that I can’t even say the chocolate was any good.

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Another trip down the candy aisle at Sam’s Club recently turned up this large bag of Limited Edition Neapolitan Hershey Kisses. I love neapolitan ice cream so I had high hopes for these!

The bag I found is 24 oz and I picked it up for about $7. Each candy is wrapped in the standard Kisses foil, and like all the other Limited Editions these have their own special design of silver, brown and fuchsia with a little flag that says “Neapolitan.”

Neapolitan consists of three layers containing chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Hershey’s pulled this off with chocolate on the bottom, a larger strawberry layer in the middle, and a small vanilla tip.

At room temperature these had a waxy mouth feel and even after being in the fridge for a bit to firm up they just kind of coat your mouth. Strawberry is definitely the dominant flavor — even upon just opening the bag it’s all you smell. The chocolate and vanilla are totally lost to the point that you wonder if they’re strawberry flavored too and just colored for the sake of being able to be called Neapolitan Kisses and not straight-up Strawberry Kisses.

Overall I wasn’t terribly impressed with this limited edition release, and the kids weren’t either which is saying something!

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There are few chocolate combinations I like as much as chocolate with almonds – probably second only to chocolate with walnuts (and not even counting chocolate by itself!).

Tomorrow is yet another chocolate “holiday” – National Chocolate with Almonds Day! If you’re not able to get your hands on a delicious chocolate bar or bag of chocolate-covered almonds, you can always make some yourself!

And as always, don’t forget the e-cards!

Chocolate Almond Bark

1 (12 oz) package chocolate chips (milk or semi, your preference!)
1 tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 c chopped toasted almonds

Optional:
1/2 c raisins
or 1/2 c crispy rice cereal

Combine the chocolate and vegetable shortening in double-boiler or microwave until melted. Stir until chocolate and shortening are combined and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup almonds and/or the raisins or crispy rice cereal.

Spread into wax-paper lined 9 x 13 inch baking pan (paper should overlap ends so that candy can be easily lifted out). Sprinkle remaining almonds on top. Chill about 30 minutes. Before serving, break into bite-size pieces. Yields about 1 pound.

[image: sxc]

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My husband recently discovered that one of his co-workers is a distributor for Xocai Healthy Gourmet Chocolate. I hadn’t heard of the company before but when his co-worker offered to let me try some of course I was more than happy to!

Overall I really liked the chocolate and would love to get my daily fill of vitamins and fiber from it! Though I did get some reading material included with the samples I still don’t know much about the company itself – I didn’t want marketing to interfere with my reviews, so I only referred to the pamphlet that contained information about the products I tried.

The chocolate is made from cold press cacao beans harvested from family-owned and operated farms on the Ivory Coast, and açaí berries, which seem to be the newest health food rage. Açaí berries are a high-energy fruit harvested from an amazonian palm tree. A lot of juices and snack mixes are including the berry in their ingredients lists now.

I received a few samples, and the above is the Xocai Nugget. It has a high cacao content combined with the açaí berry and blueberries, and is about the size of a Hershey Nugget, though any other comparisons end there! It’s a little bit dry at first bite, but after just a few seconds and a chance to warm up it becomes smooth and fruity and really very good. There’s no bitterness and though I can’t pick out just the açaí berry or blueberry flavors it does leave a pleasant, fruity aftertaste. A serving size is one nugget (12 grams) and each nugget is 70% cacao, caffeine-free and is even ok for diabetics.

The next one I tried is the Xocai X Power Squares. Each 6 gram wafer is just over 1″x1″ and is touted as being the most “powerful, health-promoting chocolate ever produced.” A serving size of three squares claims to be the equivalent of 12 lbs of tomatoes, or 1.9 pounds of spinach, or 2 pounds of raspberries. They’re loaded with epicatechins, catechins, and flavonoids.

These have a nice snap when bitten – exactly what you’d expect from a wafer – and a very smooth taste. There isn’t as much of a fruity flavor in these, it’s all dark chocolate with a surprisingly light aftertaste.

Next I tried the Omega Bar, and right when I opened it I got a pleasant orange whiff. This bar is a little dry at first bite as well, but smooths out quickly, and the orange and acai berries in this one are very present. There’s a slight crispness to it from flaxseed, which I was surprised to see listed and which offers up the benefit of omega-3 to the mix. The orange leaves a dominant aftertaste the becomes slightly bitter after a few minutes.

At first bite I was conflicted on the Protein Bar. It’s about what I’d expect from a health food bar – even with the unprocessed cocoa, acai berries and “other anti-oxidant rich berries” the dense bar tastes very vitamin-y. I actually like protein and health bars but I can’t quite pinpoint what it is about this one that I’m not crazy about – possibly the low-glycemic-index sweetener used? I’m not sure.

Last but not least I tried the Powerhouse Cookie, an “extreme dark chocolate chip cookie.” It was very moist, and at first bite I got more tangy than chocolatey. The cookie claims to provide your entire daily requirement of flavonoids and has 7 grams of fiber. It’s also said to be suitable for vegetarians and vegans, using only whole wheat flour, whole cacao beans, cocoa butter and natural sweeteners. I didn’t find anything outstanding about the cookie though I did enjoy it.

Like I said at the beginning, overall I really liked all the products and think it’s great that chocolate can be used as the vehicle for some seemingly great health benefits! If you have questions or are interested in the company, please feel free to contact my husband’s co-worker, he’d be more than happy to answer any further questions!

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I love playing around with my ice cream maker lately. I only wish we’d gotten one sooner! Last night I made chocolate chip malted ice cream. It tastes just like a malt – delicious!

You can chop the chocolate chips up a little bit finer but I don’t mind them frozen at their regular size.

Chocolate Chip Malted Ice Cream

2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup Egg Beaters)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/3 cup malt powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet, your pick)

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl for about one minute until light and fluffy, add sugar a little bit at a time until disolved and continue whisking another minute. Pour in cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add vanilla and malt powder and whisk well, then let sit for about 10 minutes.

Give it one more good stir to get the malt off the bottom and pour into prepared ice cream maker and freeze to manufacturer’s directions. About two minutes before it’s finished add in the chocolate chips.

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Yay, it’s National Chocolate Pudding Day! You can even send an e-card.

I’ll admit that I have yet to make pudding from scratch. I’ve always used a packet for either the cooked type or instant, and of course they’ve always turned out great. But here is a recipe for making your own instant pudding mix!

Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
3 ounces Dutch-processed cocoa, approximately 1 cup
2 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/2 cup
6 ounces confectioners’ sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 1/2 ounces instant non-fat dry milk, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl or plastic container with a lid, combine the cocoa, cornstarch, sugar, instant non-fat dry milk, and salt. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Yield: 3 1/2 cups dry mix.

Preparation
1 3/4 cups Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix, recipe follows
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place 1 3/4 cups of dry pudding mix into a medium saucepan. Add milk and heavy cream and whisk to combine. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, continuously whisking gently. Reduce heat to low and cook for 4 minutes while continuing to whisk. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour the mixture through a sieve and into individual dishes or a 1 1/2-quart serving dish. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill completely before serving, approximately 4 hours.

[image: sxc]

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We took a trip to Cost Plus World Market last week to stock up on some more good chocolate (they finally have Tim Tams! And Aero Bars!).

I got a nice little pile of chocolate I’ve been wanting to try and my husband went right for this one, which is saying a lot because he’s not really into sweets. I think it was the packaging that got him, though – all those almonds and chocolate, really? We had to give it a try and see!

First off, this bar is huge! I took a shot of it with my hand to show you just how big it is, weighing in at 8.75oz. Valor Chocolates is made in Spain, and the dark chocolate with almonds is considered one of their premium bars.

When you first open the bar this is what you’re greeted with! My husband let me open it up for pictures while he was at work and I knew he was in for a treat – his favorite type of chocolate is chocolate combined with almonds!

From the front you can’t even tell what’s waiting for you inside!

As you can imagine, each bite is guaranteed to have several almonds. The chocolate is truly delicious – smooth, not bitter, and very satisfying. The almonds taste fresh with a very nice crunch and neither of us came across any that had gone rancid.

At room temperature the chocolate is just slightly soft (hence the fingerprints, which I didn’t think about until I’d already handled it!), and melts perfectly in the mouth. Needless to say, as soon as he gets back from his current business trip I think we’ll be heading back to the store to stock up!

I highly recommend this bar if you happen to come across it!

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While at the store the other day I realized it had been a while since I’d bought any peanut butter chips. I grabbed a bag thinking I could add them to some homemade ice cream. That is, until I saw the recipe on the bag for cookies!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Reese’s peanut butter chips

Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

YUM!

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What better way to celebrate the first day of summer than with some adorable little peanut butter chocolate bumblebees? And what’s even better is that they’re no-bake and easy for kids to help with!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bumblebees

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 square semi-sweet baking chocolate, or 1/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds

Beat butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add cracker crumbs and mix well. Shape tablespoonful of butter mixture into 1-inch oval to resemble body of bumblebee. Repeat with remaining butter mixture for additional bees.

Melt chocolate carefully in the microwave, checking often so it doesn’t burn. Drizzle in lines on top of bees to resemble bees’ stripes. Insert almonds into both sides of each body for wings. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days.

[image: allrecipes]

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Yesterday was National Chocolate Fudge Day, and oddly enough I came in a day late last month with Nutty Fudge Day too!

Below is another recipe from Alton Brown. Alton rarely lets me down and this is one of only two fudge recipes that have worked for me and comes out consistently good every time I make it.

Chocolate Fudge

2 3/4 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped, roasted nuts, optional

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with butter. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes.

Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F. Add vanilla and nuts, if desired, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte. Pour into the prepared pan.

Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

[image: flickr]

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