For those of you who subscribe to my e-mail updates, the last one didn't have the video link - so if you'd like to see it, please visit the blog at http://motivationbychocolate.blogspot.com/

For the rest of you - how funny are these Peep Kabobs?

They are so cute peeking out of their little box!

And this is a Peep Easter parade!!  Love those cuties! 

Since they come on a stick, they are perfect for roasting over a fire.  Yum!

Just Born is going crazy with the chocolate!  Last year they introduced chocolate covered Peeps, this year they've taken it to a whole new level with Peepsters.

Peepsters come in both dark and milk chocolate and Just Born is testing two packaging designs.  One is clearly trying to pattern itself after Dove and their Promises - chocolate as a luxury.  Rich, silky chocolate for grownups:

And then there's this packaging for the Peeps lover - see how big the trademark word Peeps is here?  Much smaller on the other package.

I love the Peep shaped window:

The bags are filled with these individually wrapped dark chocolate marshmallow filled treats:

What took me by surprise was how much more chocolate than marshmallow there was.  These taste way more like chocolate than marshmallow.  And they are really good!

They also come in milk chocolate:

These taste really good - nice chocolate and a slightly sweeter filling.  I couldn't even decide which one I liked the best = both the dark chocolate and the milk chocolate were delish.  Perfect little size - try them!!

Three Musketeers has a marshmallow Easter entry:

Would you believe the Three Musketeers is MORE marshmallowey than the Peepster?  It's a crazy chocolate world - where chocolate bars cross over to marshmallow and Peeps (of all things) go chocolate.

Just goes to show you - your past doesn't have to define your future.  This Easter (and the rest of your life) and be anything you make it. 

The Final Cherry

I know, I know - enough with the cherry already! But once I started seeing cherry, it was everywhere!! This is the last cherry posting for a long, long time, I promise!!

I first saw these at Candy Expo. The package says they are made with real cherry juice and are high in antioxidant vitamin C. (Um....yeah, just remember the first ingredient is sugar.) Gimbal's (http://www.gimbalscandy.com/) is another one of those smaller American candy companies - yay! The company was founded in 1898 and is based in San Francisco. They make jelly beans, these cherry things and other gummy, chewy candies.


Here's what's in the bag:


There are nine different cherry flavors in here!

But there are more of some than others (you know I like it when there's an even mix. Or at least close. I mean look at those hot pink ones! There are only two.) And some of these are hard to tell WHAT flavor they are - this division is my best guess.

The hot pink is cherry cola. Not bad - more subtle than I expected. But a not so great cola aftertaste. Now I'm glad that there are only two.

The maroon ones are black cherry - and these were really good. They are right in the middle of sweet and tart. Delicious!!!

The big group of bright red ones at the top middle are Bing cherry and wild cherry. The Bing ones are really red - these are sweeter than the black cherry and I didn't like them as much. They remind me of cherry lollipops. The wild cherry ones are a little less sweet and I like them better than the Bings, but not as much as the black cherry. (It was pretty hard to tell these apart as you see by my giant blob.)

The small group of five to the right of the Bing cherries are kiwi cherry (they have some green blobs on them). These didn't work for me at all - yuck. Nature didn't put these two together and neither should man.

The dark ones right below those are chocolate cherry - yay chocolate!! Whoa! These were good!!! I wish there were more of them! They are heavy on the chocolate and light on the cherry and they were really, really good!! Wow! I am astonished.

Right below the chocolate cherry is cherry daiquiri. These were good, but nothing extraordinary. Better than Bing - less sweet, but not as good as black cherry and chocolate.

In the bottom left corner, is cherry vanilla, a little too sweet for me. They are not bad, but again, not extraordinary. I pulled one some that seemed whiter than the others thinking they were a separate flavor, but I was wrong. (I'm starting to hope I never taste anything cherry again.)

And finally, those four pink ones with the red blobs are cherry cheesecake. These were good - better than cherry vanilla, but not something I would want to eat a ton of.

Bottom line - if you love cherry - check these out. I liked the chocolate and the black cherry the best. But for the rest of us - too much cherry!! I may be off cherry forever after all of this - what in God's name was I thinking??

I think this is something that should not be:

I really like the Three Musketeers Bar. I don't eat them that often, but there are times when nothing else will do. What I like about them is all that fluffy chocolateness and their giantness. They seem like so much chocolate for so few calories. This, however, is straight from Hell:

That pink is not from this world.

They are coated in dark chocolate rather than the usual milk, but that can't save them from this heinous over-powering cherry center. Get thee back, Satan!!!

I've been wanting to try some of Bissinger's chocolates. I saw these and had to continue the cherry roll:

Oooh - look how nice and fancy that packaging looks!

They are in both dark and milk chocolate:

They look good, but I have to say, I was disappointed. See the filling below? It's crystallized - like a layer of semi-crunchy sugar. I found the liquidy center of the Perugina Cherry better and the dark chocolate richer. Perugina is my top choice still.

Although I do appreciate the handmade quality of Bissinger's. Perugina's are clearly machine made. But in the end - taste rules!!!

Not cherry, but raspberry - there are Trader Joe's Chocolate Raspberry Sticks. I love most of what Trader Joe's makes, but these are kind of weird.

The dark chocolate is delicious, but it's coating a jellied raspberry stick. Not my favorite thing. I mean really, does anyone ever think, "I wish I had a jellied raspberry stick right now?" But here's the weird thing, if you leave these around, you will be compelled to eat them. What the hell? I don't even know what to say about that phenomenon. You'll have to try one for yourself.

These have a strange and mysterious power. They too must be the work of the Devil.

While not cherry, these were a great Valentine's Day goodie that I got on massive sale. And what a great idea they are! Chocolate covered fortune cookies! And they have lovey-dovey Valentine's Day messages in them. This one is kind of lame - "You are loved for your belief in the goodness of mankind." Okay - whatever. (And I thought Martha Stewart's Dove messages were pitiful.) I do love the cute Chinese take out box package:

The milk chocolate is delicious and who doesn't like fortune cookies? Emily's (http://www.emilyschocolates.com/) makes a lot of yummy looking goodies. I plan to try some more!!


These are very good and are the most creative offering I saw this Valentine's Day. Yay Emily's!

No more cherry - I swear. I'm going right now to chop down a cherry tree.

It Don't Mean a Thing if It Got that Fling!

I have found some new treats!! And I have also uncovered a fascinating marketing trail. We are SO doing candy CSI right now!

I spotted these a few days ago in Walgreen's:



They are good - light, crunchy. They taste like a layer of meringue with a whipped chocolate overlay all coated in milk chocolate. They are billed as "whipped-up chocolate truffle on a crisp layer enrobed in real milk chocolate." A real layer of WHAT? That's completely random. They don't really fill me up at all. If I'm gonna have chocolate, I'd rather have a regular Three Musketeers. But the crunch factor is kinda cool. You guys should try them and let me know what you think.

However, this is just a repackaging of what must have been a marketing disaster. The Fling bar:

It's tag line is "naughty, but not that naughty" and it actually has a slight pink shimmer (I kid you not). It's really had to see, but it's there.

Can you so tell this is exactly the same bar? The description here? "A delicate truffle on a subtle crisp layer enrobed in shimmering chocolate." (Still the random crisp layer.) Look at that crappy Fling lettering. That lame pink wrapper. I'm sure women were wondering - what the hell IS that? Birth control? Tampons? Packaging disaster.

And if we want to eat chocolate, we're going to eat it, dammit! Naughty? Please. This must have been thought up by a bunch of men - I can hear them now, "And let's make the chocolate shiny pink! Women like shiny pink things!" Either men or 13 year old girls. And if Mars is using 13 year old girls to design chocolate bars, then they deserve such a disaster.

The Fling was was unveiled at Candy Expo last year, and I liked it, but I haven't really seen much of it. I have to say, the repackaging is genius!! People know and love Three Musketeers, so maybe this will work. But I think women will choose the real Three Musketeers over this. It's just so much better. And so much more filling. I predict failure.

Now here's the real crime. Mars so ripped off this candy by the German company Bahlsen:

These are described as meringue biscuits (I KNEW it!)with cocoa creme filling and Swiss milk chocolate and they blow the stupid Fling/Three Musketeers Truffle Crisp out of the water. The chocolate is so much richer and creamier and it's no higher in calories (you get four of these little guys which is about the same size as two of the larger sticks). These have 160 calories, those have 170. Nice try, Mars! But I have uncovered your sneaky ways!!!

Now we're all familiar with the Milky Way bar:

I can take or leave the Milky Way. I think Snickers is so much better, that I never pick Milky Way. But it's not bad - I like the increased caramel.

But look what I found in Walgreen's:

It's ALL caramel. I like caramel, so I like this, but it is one rich bar. Holy smokes! I really felt like I needed some peanuts or something to break things up. Maybe a big glass of milk. Maybe a gallon of milk. Maybe a Holstein. Holy God. I actually think I like the regular Milky Way better.

I think this may also go the way of candy bars past. But I'd love to hear what you all think. Personally, my heart belongs to Snickers.

Okay - what have we learned?

Change your appearance and you might be able to change your life. I know - a million times I've talked about not judging a chocolate by its wrapper, but we do. Of course, if the bar really stinks, no wrapper will save it. But I can guarantee that new wrapper will sell a helluva lot more Fling bars than the old one. "Naughty, but not that naughty." Kill me.

Good ideas are everywhere. Somebody at Mars is checking out German cookies and got a new idea for a candy bar. I went to a Saints game and got a great idea for a sales meeting. Keep your eyes and ears open. Think. It's something we don't do as much as we should.

You can have too much of a good thing. Does the Milky Way really need at be ALL caramel? Reeses did the same thing with their Peanut Butter Lovers Cup. We need the chocolate - it really makes it work. That third trip to the buffet line ruins the other two. Moderation is a wise policy.

Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it. Shimmery pink chocolate bars? Does Mars not realize that chocolate itself is the most beautful sight in the world? Some things just don't need any decoration.

Can I get an Amen, Church of Chocolate?

Random Acts of Chocolate in the Spring

Still no luck in the dating arena - during my latest Match.com date, the guy didn't even crack a smile much less actually laugh. I am, however, pretty sure he was breathing. For his part, I'm sure he thought I needed to be put on Ritalin. The date gave new meaning to the phrase "one man show."

Springtime makes people do crazy things - fall in love, plan weddings, dig in the dirt. Apparently candy makers are also struck with Spring Fever. (I couldn't bring all those eggs on the road with me, so Eggstravaganza will pick back up in the next entry.) These aren't really Easter candy, although there are Easter Eggs on the Three Musketeers bag - right under the Limited Edition banner:

VERY festive - don't you think? Covered in dark chocolate and flavored with raspberry, these are a more subtle pink than those screaming red cherry ones I reviewed a few entries ago:

But again, I'm not digging the taste - there's something medicinal about it. Not so good. This edition needs to be kept limited, very limited.

Coconut seems to be a springtime favorite although I have absolutely no idea why. See's has a coconut egg, Russell Stover has a couple of coconut Easter things, Almond Joy does an Easter Egg. Why? I can see Summer - tropical - but Spring? Is there some politically correct Caribbean Easter Celebration? Is it the egg-like shape of the coconut? Anyway, check these out:

Coconut Creme Kisses - see the flowers? Springy.

I gotta tell you, I was skeptical here. I mean, how many damn flavors of Kisses do we need? How much coconut can you even fit in there? I just knew these were going to be gross. Well, I'll be damned if Hershey's didn't do it again! These are really good. There are actually coconut flakes in there! And, while I like coconut, I do not love it (coconut cake is not my favorite). But here, the chocolate coating created the perfect blend of flavors. These were surprisingly good. (Nothing on the Hershey wrapper about the coconuts being grown on a 500 year old coconut plantation, harvested by free-range natives with machetes sparkling in the sun, but they are GOOD.)

I like my chocolate like my friends - down to earth. Just be yourself. Don't go all prima donna on me. I mean, I do think these different sea salts are interesting and enjoy the creativity of the chocolatiers in using them, but when we start talking about how they sparkle in the sun, we have drunk WAY too much of the culinary Kool-Aid. At the end of the day, I just want my chocolate to taste good.

Hershey's is trying to get in on the higher end with their Truffle Kisses. I reviewed the cherry ones a few entries back and they were awesome. These chocolate truffle ones are good too:

These are made with a much better chocolate than the regular Kisses and they are larger. These were good, but nothing to really write home about. I liked the cherry ones better. Save your money and buy one grain of salt at Vosges.

So this spring - have fun, be yourself, and don't forget to laugh. And remember, Almond JOY is the nutty one - the world needs more joyous nuts!

How Do I Love Thee?

AAIIEEE! I have to save you from some possible Valentine's Day disasters.

If you see these, don't even touch them:

They look cute, right? GLAACK! They are marshmallow (according to the wrapper) but plain ol' Kraft marshmallows are WAY better. These are kind of hard and tasteless. If, however, you need something for a craft project, these might be just the thing!

I was so excited to find these!! And so disappointed to taste them.

If you really like cherry, you may really like these. But they are too cherry for me - I much prefer the regular 3 Musketeers. And look at how scary that pink is! Yeow!

But all is not lost (not by a LONG shot!). Solid winners:

If you haven't tried the dark chocolate peanut M & M's - they are terrific!

And you can't go wrong with a classic:

And these are just delicious:

Dark chocolate with almonds, heart shaped AND with romantic messages inside - the best of the lot. They could get a little more festive with the outside wrapper, but that is a very minor point.

The advice in these is mixed - good advice - "The best things in life are chocolate." Not so good advice - "Trust with your heart, not your head."

I would change that to "Trust, but verify."

Others I might include -

"Actions speak louder than words."

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."

"Love of chocolate is never unrequited."

"Don't put yourself last, everyone else will too."

Years ago I discovered the best way to have a great Valentine's Day. Buy yourself what you really want - flowers, chocolate, jewelry - whatever it is. If you don't get what you want from someone else, you'll still be happy. If you do get what you want - that's fantastic - a bonus! Valentine's Day shouldn't be about expectations. Expectations can lead to disappointment and ruin what would otherwise be a fun day.

Remember the last post? Hoping you get a good Valentine's Day gift is useless. Buying yourself a good Valentine's Day gift will make Cupid proud (and you happy).