Godiva, Schmiva

Yesterday I walked a mile! Oh yeah, baby!! Today I decided I could venture out into the world. St. Tracy carted me to run some errands, and you know I had to secure some chocolate! The Godiva Holiday stars weren't out when I went into the hospital and I didn't want to miss them like I missed some of their Halloween pieces. Am I dedicated to chocolate or what? I do it all for you, dear readers! ; )

But first, let me show you what I found in the grocery store by the Christmas candy:

Andes is at it again! Now it doesn't say these are new or are for Christmas, but I've never seen them before. Let me tell you, these put the mint Girl Scout Cookies to shame!

Like the green layer! These are really, really good. These would be great as a stocking stuffer, an office gifts - less formal than the original Andes mints - and guaranteed to be a hit. Would be fab crumpled over ice cream or dunked in milk. A+++

Now let's check out the outrageously priced Godiva offerings:

Definitely gorgeous - love, love, love the way they look. At $2.25 each, however, they ain't cheap. They are about the size of a 50 cent piece.

The red one is Aztec Hot Chocolate - a chocolate ganache with a hint of habanaro oil in dark chocolate:

There's a very slight hint of habanaro. I think a hint of cinnamon too would have made this better. The ganache is smooth and creamy, but it needs a little more ole'.

Green is Twilight Mint - chocolate mint ganache in dark chocolate:

A nice, sophisticated mint taste - like a real mint sprig. But as I said in the last post, mint doesn't rock my world, so this is only okay to me. Pretty though, very pretty.

Gold is Holiday Spice - chocolate ganache with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger in milk chocolate. Sounds awesome!!!

Hmmm......apparently my eyes see the world differently than the eyes of the Godiva people. That sure don't look like chocolate ganache to me! This is an interesting flavor - I think it would have been better if that were chocolate ganache. It's really sweet and the spices are there, but they need to be stronger or this mystery ganache needs to be a little less cloying.

And the one I have the highest hopes for - Almond Shortbread - almond shortbread cookies combined with creamy ganache in dark chocolate:

Okay - WTF? Dark chocolate? I don't think so! Godiva must have changed these after they printed their Chocolate Menu. The closest thing these taste like is sugar cookie dough. I don't taste almond at all. And there is kind of a slight aftertaste. Boo! What a let down!

For the price - remember $2.25 each - these are not worth it. Unless you have money to burn and want to use them to impress people. They do look pretty cool and I would be impressed if someone gave them to me and I didn't have to pay the $2.25! Or if they were on my plate after dinner. Maybe if I crash an event at the White House...

Let's see if their holiday truffles are any better:

Peppermint is already sold out at the shop we stopped by. What do I think? Toothpastey - needs some milk chocolate. And maybe some peppermint crumbles. Ghirardelli kicks Godiva's behiney on this one. I don't have a picture of a Lindt truffle, but Lindt does too. They have a dark chocolate Lindor truffle filled with creamy peppermint and it is AMAZING! Godiva is starting to become my high end Russell Stover. If I only had a golf club....

Next is Egg Nog:

I dunno - ZZZZZZZ. This was boring to me. I don't really think egg nog is the greatest thing ever, so maybe if you love eggnog, you'll love this. I'd rather have a Reese's Tree.

Now I'm excited about the gingerbread truffle - I love gingerbread!

This was my favorite of the truffles. It was very good, but I'd rather have gingerbread. But it was a great attempt and I would recommend it. I wouldn't go to the mall with a recently replaced hip for it, but if you are in the mall anyway, really like ginger bread, and are craving a bit of chocolate - get it, baby!!

Woohoo! Are you getting in the holiday spirit? I sure am this year! St. Tracy insisted I have a Christmas tree and went out and got one and decorated it for me. I love sitting here with my sparkly tree. I'm so grateful the surgery went so well, and I'm so lucky I have friends who were there for me. What are you grateful for this year? What fun can you have? What new things will you try and what old traditions will you share? If I have one wish for you it is that you not be too hard on yourself - you don't try to be perfect or do too much - that you take time to feel the joy and the fun. And to eat some chocolate!!