The holiday is usually celebrated over two days, November 1st and 2nd, and it’s believed that over these two days it’s easier for the souls of the dead to communicate with those still living. A common symbol of the holiday is the skull, and celebrants use sugar and chocolate skulls to give as gifts to both the living and the dead, usually inscribed with the name of a deceased loved one on the forehead.

While searching around for more information on chocolate skulls, I came across a selection that Vosges chocolates has. Available in dark chocolate, milk chocolate and blanca (white), the 2.2 ounce chocolate skulls have black salt-coated eyes. The dark chocolate also contains ancho and chipotle chillies and Ceylon cinnamon, the milk chocolate has hickory smoked almonds and grey sea salt, and the blanca is a single-origin Venezuelan white chocolate.

All three skulls are available together for $21, or separately for $8 each.

To learn more about the Day of the Dead, check out Day of the Dead history, History & Origins, and Day of the Dead holiday guide.

[image: vosges]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Instead of the traditional upright or crouching bunnies that show up in Easter baskets, these bunnies have cute floppy ears that are appealing to kids and adults alike.

And Vosges doesn’t do just regular chocolate — the bunnies are available in Red Fire (Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon and 55% dark chocolate), Gianduja (almonds, caramelized hazelnut paste and milk chocolate), and Barcelona (hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and 41% deep milk chocolate). They’re currently available through the Vosges website for $12 each until April 10.

[image: vosgeschocolate.com]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes