Joy to the World

Let's go back to Harry and David (I'm just going to call them HD from here on out). It will be like Harley Davidson, we'll be cool. As you saw, I thought their truffles were good, but they really didn't rock my world. But their pumpkin spice malt balls - woowee!! Let's check out some of their other chocolates.

Okay, I can only eat so many in one sitting so we're just going to do a few of these. Let's start with their HD trademark pear. This one is a creme brulee chocolate pear described as "custard-like vanilla creme, inside our signature chocolate pear.

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Okay this one was moving around on the autopsy table, so things got a little messy. This was a good confection, but it had a thick base. It would have been better with a thinner base and more filling. The milk chocolate overpowered the filling, but it is still a great tasting piece. And I like the fact that it mirrors their trademark pears. It would have been really cool if it had a pear flavored filling! YUM!

Above and to the right of the pear is classic caramel - described as "rich, buttery, kettle-cooked caramel, covered in fine milk chocolate":

I love HD caramel - it's the perfect degree of chewiness and softness and has a great flavor. The milk chocolate, however, is only okay. But it looks great (see the first pic? mouthwatering, right?) and the caramel is really delicious.

Right above the pear is cinnamon creme described as "sweet, spicy fondant inside a bittersweet chocolate shell."

See those layers of dark chocolate within the filling? Pretty fancy, huh? The cinnamon was subtle but good and its flavor developed as I ate the chocolate. Pretty good and interesting to eat. But, I'm just not loving their chocolate - I would like it to be a little smoother and creamier.

And last for this post is the piece at the top left (the blob, really). this is a coconut haystack - "moist, fluffy macaroon, drenched in pure dark chocolate."

Okay - this one I didn't like. The coconut wasn't moist enough - there are just too many better alternatives. Heck, I even like Almond Joy better!

So far the vote is mixed - more to come!!!

I can't tell you all how much fun I have checking out all these crazy chocolates and sharing the results with you! Everybody needs to have some fun hobby away from work - it can be something simple (like eating chocolate) or something complicated (like raising children).

We are so hard on ourselves and we work so much that sometimes we forget to have fun. The holidays are coming!! Make some time for fun - remember what Emerson said - we are always getting ready to live, and never living. Live this holiday season - spend time with the people you really love (not those you visit because you feel guilty), do the things you want to do (including eating some Christmas cookies rather than always dieting), and take the time to feel the joy.

And make it Almond Joy while you're at it.