I seem to be on a s’mores kick lately. Maybe it’s the time of year, what with camping and cooler nights, etc.

Anyway, the above video shows how to make chocolate fondue s’mores with milk chocolate, marshmallow cream, and graham cracker crumbs. Yum!

I know it’s not really the time of year for hot chocolate, but the recipe for this one intrigued me and I wanted to share.

Rob, owner and chocolatier of Kingsbury Chocolates in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia shares his recipe for lavendar hot chocolate (complete with chopped pistachios on top!). I like that you can use any kind of milk, from whole to soy, and anything from dark chocolate to white chocolate!

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 the mention of caffeine on the box and wrapper I probably would have bypassed them altogether!

Anyway, I really enjoyed the bar itself! I’ve been disappointed with past limited edition chocolate and candy bars, but I liked the Snickers Charged. While I’ve never been a huge Snickers fan - if given a choice at the checkout or candy aisle I’ll usually go for some Reese’s - and it’s been a while since I’ve had a regular Snickers, it tasted pretty much what I remember Snickers tasting like in general - a, well, satisfying mix of smooth chocolate, peanuts, nougat and caramel.

I didn’t find it to have a metallic taste or bitter aftertaste and while caffeine doesn’t affect me to the point that I walk around wired I did notice a bit of a pick-me-up not longer after I was finished. In all, I really liked the Snickers Charged and think I might pick up another box next time I’m out before Mars yanks them from the shelves!

[images: personal collection; all rights reserved]

Milk Chocolate: A Love Story. Too cute!

Did you know Amazon has an entire Gourmet Chocolate section in their grocery area? Somehow, I didn’t either. Imagine ordering a box of chocolate (or three) and a couple of books at the same time and having them all delivered right to your doorstep. That’s my idea of heaven.

They’ve got chocolate assortments, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. And of course now is the perfect time to check out what they have for Valentine’s Day. No See’s (nobody’s perfect) but they do carry some of my new favorite, Emily’s Chocolates.

Don’t forget to vote in the new poll while you’re here.  Tell us what your favourite type of chocolate is.  You’ll find the poll on the right hand side in that chocolate coloured column right above the list of recent posts.