Easter Odds and Ends

I was lucky enough to go by Harry and David's candy tasting on Sunday and found these little babies on sale. My Harry and David store had so much extra Easter candy, they were allowed to mark it WAY down. This bag of milk chocolate chicks was originally $8.95. I got it for $1.97:

Pretty and colorful (although looking a little tropical for baby chickens):

Cute! No Peep, mind you, but still cute:

These guys are a solid milk chocolate choice. They are not as good as the milk chocolate rabbits below from The Chocolate Bear, but they melt in your mouth and are pretty darn good. (I'd put them somewhere between Hershey and Lindt.)

I also snagged this gift tower for $19.95 (I figure the boxes alone are adorable!):

There were a lot of different things inside. The most interesting were these larger than normal jelly beans:

These INDIVIDUALLY wrapped malted milk balls (who's ever seen that?):

And these spring pretzels:

They are billed as yogurt covered:

While these (Easter Pretzels) by the South Bend Chocolate Company, are coated in white chocolate:

I love those Easter eggs floating all over the bag! In the Catholic Church pretzels are historically associated with Easter and were hidden like Easter eggs. The Pennsylvania Dutch make pretzels and I toured a factory or two in PA. I like pretzels. Although I would have been bitter if my parents had hidden them instead of Easter Eggs. In fact, I probably would have grown up twisted. (Bwah, ha, ha!)

You know, both are really good and it's pretty hard to tell the two flavors apart, but the yogurt is a little lighter and I like it better. Both have about the same calories, so it provides no big health benefit. The best (or worst) thing about these is you can't stop eating them! It's the salty and sweet combo - delicious!

For the most part, I find those gift towers to be a rip off - $5 worth of stuff in $20 worth of packaging. But it was pretty and on sale, so what the hell.

This was the single most impressive Easter treat I got this year (drum roll please!) from our friends at L.A. Burdick:

Love the elegant label! And look at this fancy packaging!

This egg - about the size of a small football is inside:

See how big it is? It's a Rocher Egg - a dark chocolate egg coated with chocolate-covered, caramelized almond slivers AND:

Filled with assorted truffles! Can you say, "OMG!" Screw pretzels!

This is simply and extraordinary act of chocolate wizardry. Those almonds in that dark chocolate are to die for!! And the truffles inside are so rich (made in the French fashion with cocoa powder all over them) it's mind boggling. L.A. Burdick is an amazing chocolatier and one bite of this creation will convince you. These almonds were put to a much, much better use that marzipan - bah! A+++++ I will definitely be enjoying this for a while! And will order more treats from this amazing chocolatier!

This little guy (cute) was in Mast General Store. You don't see very many dark chocolate bunnies:

Made by Canipes Chocolates and Candies from Myrtle Beach, this dark chocolate was pretty sweet. Must be low on the cacao. Average at best.

I was completely prepared for these to be horrible:

Don't get me wrong, I love the way they look - the nostalgic scenes in great detail and color:

But I was convinced they would taste terrible. Yet again, I was wrong! The chocolate is much better than you would expect. The label says they are made with Belgian chocolate and that they are made for CVS, so I don't know who really made them, but they are unique as hell, very pretty, and they taste pretty damn good! Shut my mouth!

I saw this in The Chocolate Bear and when I read the sign - "Bunnies on the Half Shell" - I had to buy it. How hilarious is that?

The bunnies are dark, milk, white, pink and tan:

Dark is my favorite. White, pink and tan did nothing for me and after having the dark chocolate, I wasn't as excited about the milk chocolate. The half shell was festive but that horrible hard decorative edge (technically edible) is vile. But funny - damn funny! And great dark chocolate.

How cute is this delicate mini Easter basket?

A "big" milk chocolate bunny (maybe three inches tall - these guys are little), and a baby dark, white, and pink. Adorable - and all resting on Easter grass!

The milk chocolate one was delish - a nice milk chocolate with some depth - not too sugary. Dark was great - the other two - bleech. But adorable!

How's this for a creative combo also from The Chocolate Bear?

A painted cookie background (Easter egg) with a chocolate bunny on top. And you know what? It works! The cookie is good, but bland enough to suit the chocolate. Creative and delicious - the winning combination!

So what are the final thoughts?

Candy tastes better when you buy it on sale.

But glamour candy (L.A. Burdick) ROCKS!

I still can't be sure what will be good and what will be terrible from looking at it. Meaning I still can't judge the interior by the exterior.

Creative and funny (bunnies on the half shell) will always win my heart.

All those who experiment in chocolate, I salute you!!

Whoops! More Cookies!

Sorry, Gang! I found a few more cookies that we just HAD to know about! And I placed a mail order for L.A. Burdick Chocolates, so we have another chocolate bunny.

One of my seminar participants recommended I check these guys out. Their website http://www.burdickchocolate.com/ has tons of information about them and you can order there.
The owner, Larry Burdick started out in NYC making chocolates for the finer restaurants. And you know what they say - if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere!

I wanted to try an assortment of things so I ordered their Kid's Box of Easter treats which contained this cute bunny and the cookie below (there were two of those) and more treats you're going to hear about.

He's very cute! I love his happy face, his dark chocolate tummy, his pink bow and:


his cotton tail!!! Now, they didn't have to do that, but they did!! I love it!

This chocolate isn't as sugary sweet as most of the hollow milk chocolate bunnies. This is smooth and creamy, but more chocolate tasting - less of the other junk. You can actually detect some flavor notes like caramel. This is truly delicious.

It seems wrong to review a Palmer product next, but what can ya do? I adore this one for its artistry:

I found this guy in Cracker Barrel - a place I have now added to my regular candy runs:

Lots of different colors and they are in the right place, not vaguely slapped in the general area where they should be. Say what you want, but look at this detail!

You can see the damn blades of Easter grass and the cross hatching of the basket! I am astonished!! Palmer is the Michelangelo of chocolate! And this is a Double Crisp basket!

Okay - after eating the L.A. Burdick chocolate, this is honestly pretty bad. It's the infamous "mockolate" and has that horrifying waxiness. But I have to salute Palmer for making the best looking mass produced Easter candy out there. This is a really pretty confection. Bravo, Palmer, bravo!

What do you think will be inside this box when you look at the label? It reads, "sprinkled cookies in your favorite animal shapes!" It also says "Easter Cookies."

Do these look like any kind of Easter shape to you? Do you think of elephants, lions, hippos and wolves when you think of Easter? Do they look "sprinkled?"

Maybe some sprinkles were somehow involved - there seem to be some blobs of color - especially on the back.

I say BOOO!!! HISSSS!!! Made by Dairy State Foods in Milwaukee, WI. A cheap ploy to sell animal crackers as Easter Cookies. Surely they can do better than this.

I did eat all the cookies though.

I always like the way these heavily decorated cookies look:

Sometimes, however, they taste HORRIBLE! They can be hard as rocks and the frosting more like plaster. This one wasn't as bad - it's by The Wild Baker. While overall it was good, there was a slight aftertaste to the frosting. In the category they are pretty good, but overall, I'd have to say pass. (Although they are VERY festive!)

Speaking of festive, look at these:

By the Long Grove Confectionery Company - I love the adorable box (look at the legs on that egg) and the sprinkles are great!

There's also a good chocolate to cookie ratio. I think the cookie could be a little better - seems kind of bland and dry. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I like the Target sprinkle cookie better!! These will appeal to those who want more chocolate and less cookie taste.

This cookie was made by the master bakers at L.A. Burdick. The shortbread is that amazing buttery stuff that tastes homemade and delicious.

And those dots of dark chocolate offset the sweetness perfectly. This egg is an act of baking genius - the best of the entire lot. I wish I had a whole basket just of these!!

My friend Ruth Taylor suggested I try these - they are by Dare, a Canadian Company, and are billed as "Quebec's favorite since 1927:"

I like the raspberry flavor with the dark chocolate and the marshmallow very much. I would probably adore them if there was a little more cookie and the chocolate was the quality of Cadbury. But Ruth is right, these are good - they are the best of the marshmallow/cookie/chocolate combos so far! Thanks, Ruth!

I gotta tell ya, I was certain these would be horrible:

The container was weird. The description read "Jaffa Jam centred Mallow covered in White Chocolate Flavoured Coating and Coconut." They are made by Lee's of Scotland (found them in World Market). I didn't even know what Jaffa Jam was.

Apparently it's some kind of orange flavoured (we'll go with the Scottish spelling, what the hell) jam. But it was no where near as strong and overpowering as the orange in the Cadbury Easter Mallows. I think coconut lovers might really like these. For some reason I kind of liked them. I think I would have liked them better if milk chocolate had been involved instead of a "white chocolate flavoured coating" - which means not white chocolate at all. While I can't say rush out and buy these, I can resoundingly say they were far less horrifying than I thought.

The mysterious and actually quite tasty Jaffa Jam.

I know I am exhausting you all with all this Easter stuff, but I am having so much fun finding it and trying it! Writing about it is making me really notice what goes into things and how different flavor combinations work (or don't). It's given me a whole new appreciation for food, for candy and for the efforts companies must undergo to find something new.

I hope you all are having fun too and if you have any Easter candy you love, please let me know all about it!

No Autopsied Chocolate Bunnies!

As Kris pointed out, it's kind of bad to autopsy the cutest little chocolate bunny EVAH, so I promise - no such photos in today's post. Lots of bunnies, though. Lots and lots of bunnies.

In fact, I should warn you all that there is so much cuteness in this post that some of you are going to become physically ill. Spring is a time for cuteness - sorry!

Lindt had a special 25% off sale for their frequent shoppers (you can sign up for special deals and offers on their website http://www.lindtusa.com/) so I HAD to go in and redeem my coupon. If there's a special chocolate edition of Hoarders, I will be the star. I will blame it all on coupons. I won't say "The Devil made me do it." I'll say, "The coupons made me do it."

Here's a picture of heaven on earth:

Look at all those gorgeous gold bunnies. Doesn't it kind of make you giddy?

These two were huge. My Sorbet Sistah Sassy (who seems to always get dragged into chocolate shops with me) put the little guy up there for scale. He's about the size of your open hand. His BIG brothers are enormous and are $75!

I like tins because you have something after the chocolate is gone. Cute:

And look inside!! Eggs and the tiniest Lindt bunny - he's about the size of a silver dollar.

Isn't he just adorable? He's hollow and he's made out of that smooth, delicious, creamy Lindt milk chocolate. Ah the Swiss - they really do know how to make the most delicious chocolate. I think Lindt chocolate is much, much better than Godiva chocolate.

How cute are these little bugs and bees?

You'll hear more about this giant lady bug in a minute. Just soak up their Spring cuteness right now. I think the big one loves you.

I thought the Lindt bugs were solid milk chocolate. But NO! They are that delicious creamy milk chocolate filled with chocolate hazelnut cream and crisped rice. In other words - they are to DIE for! I wish I had bought more - they are truly delicious and the addition of the crisped rice to all that creaminess provides the perfect textural contrast. A+++ Snap these up!

I promised no autopsies today, but maybe I'll dissect one for you all before I eat them all.

I HAD to buy this in World Market just because there is so much crazy stuff inside:

I've reviewed Riegelein before. It's not Palmer chocolate and for all the fun you get, it's well worth it. I don't care for it as much as Lindt. If Palmer is a two and Lindt is a nine, I'd say Riegelein is a six. But look at what's in the bag!!

A whole happy bunny family! Love the colors and the details on the foil and the different sizes of all the bunnies! They all even have gifts in their paws for you! Awwww!!!

And look what else! Our giant lady bug, two chickens, three large eggs (two of which say Happy Easter in German - yay!), five small eggs, three flat solid bunnies, four chicken head balls, and two weird jelly things.

It's like the clown car at the circus - seeing all that stuff come out of there is hard to believe, fun and exciting. I love these guys!

I saw this weird and cute guy last year, Dove's Fairy Bunny:

I love the colors. But why a Fairy Bunny? What the hell is that? I wondered until I read this poem on the back of the box:

You might wonder how he does it,visits homes across the land.

Without any elves or reindeer to lend a helping hand.

You see, the Easter Bunny has his own crew of magic friends.

A full fleet of furry fairies, on whom he can depend. (I think that should be on which, but what the hell.)

Their vibrant wings are stunning, their eyes sparkle with a gleam,

they carry chocolate so exquisite, a luscious, smooth and silky dream.

So indulge your sense of wonder, along with your love of Dove Brand,

and you may spy a Fairy Bunny bringing joy from up above.

Apparently they abandoned the rhyming at the end. Martha must have been working on this. I would have closed with:

So indulge your sense of wonder and eat the best chocolate from Dove.

We prepare it like the Easter Bunny with our hearts full of love.

I mean really - a no brainer. Put me in, Coach!!!

I like Dove chocolate - the Fairy Bunny is hollow like all of these (except the Lindt Bugs), but the chocolate had a much richer flavor than the Riegelein. It's a less sweet flavor than Lindt, so it really comes down to personal preference. I have to say the Dove Fairy Bunny is much better than anything Palmer or Russell Stover are making and when it comes to mass produced hollow bunnies, they are the main competitors. Dove just has much, much, much better chocolate. Go Dove! Yay weird Fairy Bunny!

I bought this guy because I thought he was the prettiest chocolate rabbit ever with his cute blue coat. He's the blog's mascot this spring:

Look at his little paws and his nervous expression. You can almost see his little nose wiggling. He is a product of Chile (of all places) and is distributed by the Frankford Candy and Chocolate Company out of Philadelphia. After having a bite of Lindt and Dove chocolate, this guy had no chance. Not smooth and creamy, but over sweet and a little waxy like Palmer. Love the way this one looks, hate the way he tastes. (But he's so damn cute! Guess I pick my chocolate rabbits like I pick my men.)

Harry and David has some animals to share with us:

I really like the gorgeous egg package with the satin ribbon. Very pretty and classy.

Although I have to say I am disappointed with these. I usually like H & D chocolate - and I really like the fact that the rabbits are dark chocolate - nice to have some variety. The rabbits were better than the chicks, but they tasted slightly off - a slight odd taste that I couldn't identify. I can't quite put my finger on it. Hmmm......maybe a Fairy Bunny would know.

I found these in World Market:

They are little but are exquisitely molded with classic designs. Look how cute they are:

I love the middle bunny below - his eyes are closed because he's laughing so hard!
It's interesting how different the same mold can look with a different mix of chocolate:

These are made by GBS N.V. a Belgian Company. They are milk, white and dark chocolate with a creamy praline center. I love the designs, but here's the deal. I've had way better. I have some seashells (the traditional design for this type of confection) imported and packaged by A Southern Season and they are much better. These taste much less rich, more waxy. And the praline filling was drier. But I adore all the molded shapes!!

OMG - what a lot of cuteness! Remember spring is a time for rebirth - thus all the cute baby animals and eggs and so forth. It's a great time for renewal and growth. And that means for you too! 2010 is 25% over - what have you done so far? More importantly, what WILL you do? Remember, the Fairy Bunny is watching!