It’s that time — See’s Candies have rolled out their holiday candy selection just in time for gift buying, and if you’re like me that can’t be done soon enough!

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 …read more

Would you believe there’s a Peanut Butter Fudge Day? This very specific holiday falls on November 20th, and if you start now you could probably perfect a batch just in time to send in to teachers or bring in to work so everyone can celebrate!

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 …read more

I found a lot of delicious, warm, chocolaty links this week, from baked goodies to warm syrupy treats and even a savory rub. There’s something for everyone!

~ 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 …read more

Just in time for the cooler weather, Caribou Coffee is introducing a new line of chocolate coffee drinks, made with all-natural Guittard chocolate!

Beginning November 12, guests at the Caribou Coffeehouses can have their mochas, chocolate lattes, hot chocolates, specialty beverages and cold beverages made with either white, milk or dark Guittard chocolate at all Caribou Coffee locations nationwide. Caribou Coffee team members will steam real pieces of premium chocolate into milk to make the handcrafted hot beverages such as mochas, chocolate lattes and hot chocolates.
This reformulation marks a major difference from other coffeehouse operators because almost all coffeehouses, including …read more

It’s hard to believe that today is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, and one Parisian chocolatier has been planning his celebration for several months already!
Award-winning chocolatier Patrick Roger has been working for the past four weeks to create a replica of the Berlin Wall made entirely of chocolate! The monument, made of “black chocolate,” has been constructed in sections, spans 15 meters (nearly 50 feet) and weighs about 1,984 pounds.
Roger has paid great attention to the detail of the original wall, with replicas of the drawings like “the fraternal kiss” between the …read more

We’ve warmed up again this week (boo!) and while I’m still in a baking mood I’ve kept my eye out for some non-typical autumn treats for this week’s chocolaty blog link round-up.

~ S’Mores Cookies from Framed
~ The Twilight Saga: New Moon Heart’s Desire Sky Bar Review at Candy Blog
~ Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars from Elizabeth’s Edible Experience
~ Old Fashioned Chestnut Cake at Menu Turistico
~ Chocolate Custard Tarts from Almost Bourdain
~ Earl Gray Truffles at Shortbread
~ Chocolate Cream Caramel from Blog Resipi
~ Chocolate Pumpkin and Pecan Brownies at The Good Mood Food Blog
~ ‘Throw it all in’ Chocolate Fudge from …read more

This is a fun little afternoon project that I remember doing as a kid but totally forgot about until I came across it again recently in a back issue of Family Fun magazine.

These would be a great project to do a day or so before Thanksgiving and then use them to prop up some cute, handmade place cards for your guests. See the final product here.
Chocolate Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats
from Family Fun magazine
24 chocolate-striped shortbread cookies
12-ounce package of chocolate chips
24 marshmallows
tube of yellow decorators’ frosting
~ Set the chocolate-striped cookies stripes down on a wax-paper-covered tray, spacing them apart.
~ Melt the chocolate …read more

I tried a chocolate banana bread recipe last month, and since I had overripe bananas on my counter again this week I decided to see if I could dig up another recipe to try.

This one is from Daydreamer Desserts, and while the recipes are somewhat similar, this new one included the addition of sour cream. I have to admit that I couldn’t really taste the sour cream when the bread was finished, but it did help make for a light and fluffy batter when I was mixing it up!
Though this recipe was good, I did end up having to keep …read more

We know that research is being done on how chocolate can help in the recovery from a heart attack, how chocolate milk can help sore muscles heal, how it could prevent malaria, protect against dementia, keep your bones healthy, and help with headaches, and now we can add one more to this ever-growing list: wrinkles!

Research published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology is showing that the same antioxidants that are good for your heart are also good for your skin, and that a daily dose of dark chocolate could very well keep you looking younger. Sounds like my kind of …read more

I’m all for eating chocolate, of course, but it can also be fun to decorate with it (temporarily!) for the upcoming holidays!

This gigantic chocolate turkey from Bissinger’s is touted as a “centerpiece” decoration for your Thanksgiving table. The semi-solid piece is made from milk chocolate with some nice darker chocolate accents, and stands at nine inches tall by 8.5 inches wide. It’s also gluten-free!
Though the real turkey and sides are the stars of the meal, I have to admit I’d be eyeballing the chocolate version if it were on my table!
Bissinger’s also has a lot of other Thanksgiving-related chocolate and …read more