Final Goodbye to Summer Cookies

It's been insanely hot down here in North Cakalacky - this weekend the high was close to 100.  I almost melted at the Peanut Festival (but that's the next post!).  So it might as well still be summer.  The perfect time to finish up the summer treats.

Flathau's Fine Foods has more flavors of gourmet shortbread cookies.  Here is lemon:

Again, maybe a tad overcooked - see the darker brown at the base?  I so want to like these, but I find them a little bit dry and not that flavorful.  Sorry guys!  I really, really liked the folks from Flathau's so I hate to not love these. 

Another flavor is Key Lime:

The verdict is the same - just not that great.  I want them to be a little less dry - maybe undercooked?  And to have a little more sweetness and flavor.  I like the candy bits, but overall - these just don't do it for me.

I keep trying to like Dancing Deer cookies.  The packaging is cute, they use all natural ingredients.  They get a little too kumbayah with all their mindfulness (They say on the label "we think it's better to share a cookie than gobble one".  Whatever.) and community project stuff, but I do want to like them.  Unfortunately, most of the time, I'm disappointed.

These are adorable Lemon Daisy cookies:

And while not horrible, they sure aren't anything special.  Cute, but completely boring.

If you want a lemon flavor and a great shortbread - this is the cookie for you!  Walkers pure butter Shortbread Lemon Thins:

Nice design, buttery delicious taste, and a hint of lemon.  Walker's recommends serving with a tart lemon mousse and fresh cream. (They don't say anything about sharing or homelessness.)  I think they might work great with a raspberry something.  Or a blueberry something.  Or just handfuls out of the box.  Gobble, gobble.

Not to be left out, Harry and David is in the mix!  With their Tangy Citrus Shortbread:

There's lemon, orange and lime - all three in one box!  And let me tell you - you gotta love citrus to love these.  The flavor to me was overpowering - way too lemony, way too limey and even way too orangey.  More like a Starburst than a cookie.  The worst of the lot!  Harry and David - what the hell?

But, there's hope!  Check out these babies!!

Creme filled (and you can see - they aren't kidding around - look at all that filling!) shortbread in lemon, lime, orange and strawberry.  These are all good - the cookies are great - buttery and delish and the filling is - well, can you really go wrong with frosting?  Strawberry was by far my favorite - orange had a funky aftertaste.  Lemon and lime were both good.  But in all honesty, I like the fruit filling of the galettes better.  Those things are just so damn good!

And look at these - are they not the most adorable cookies evah??  (Snagged them on sale!  Of course, since the Halloween cookies are out now):

They are simple frosted sugar cookies, but I love the sugar cookie!  These are great, not rock hard - just perfect!  And the perfect size.  What a perfect end to summer.  Here's to fall!!!!  And the Peanut Festival!

Chocolate and Orange - I Say No

Godiva's orange sherbet concoction got me thinking about the whole chocolate/orange combo.  I like orange, I like chocolate.  But do they really need to be together?

This is Lindt's Arancia (Italian for orange) truffle:

Holy cow it's strong!  That filling tastes like Tang!  Whoa!  This might be a little too much.

This is the famous Lindor truffle in orange:

This is better - that great creamy Lindt chocolate with a taste of orange.  Is it my favorite combo?  (With peanut butter and hazelnut in the mix?)  Not really, but this is a better balance.

This is a awesome milk chocolate bar with creamy orange filling:

Now that filling doesn't really look like the filling in the picture, does it?  Taste wise, it's pretty heavy on the orange.  I gotta tell you, this combo just doesn't really work all that well for me.

New Tree has this combo - Bitter Orange and Crisped Rice:

While I like the crisped rice, I'm not a fan of bitter orange.

Chocolove has orange peel in dark chocolate:

I like the dark chocolate, but I don't think orange PEEL really adds anything.

Seattle Chocolates at least adds CANDIED orange peel:

Love the wonderful dark chocolate truffle bar - was not thrilled by the chewy orange peely chunks.
Look at this giant box of Orange Sticks:

The picture doesn't really show it, but that's a jellied orange center.  I don't really love those jellied centers, but these are scarily addictive.  If you like those creepy orange slices, you'll adore these.  By the Sweet Candy Company http://www.sweetcandy.com/.  I got the box at Candy Expo - thanks Sweet's!

This is by Harvest Sweets and after I ate some......

I discovered they were milk chocolate covered orange PEEL!  EWWW!!!  Too bitter and I don't like that peel texture.  Even a chocolate coating can't save these.  UGH!  The worst of the lot.

These just say Orange and are by Lindt:

Dark chocolate with a hint of orange - I liked these best.  More to the chocolate end of the spectrum than the orange and the chunks aren't so bitter.  Maybe they aren't orange PEEL.

This exotic bar is by B.T. McElrath Chocolatier and it is dark and white chocolates infused with passion fruit and tangerine:

Look how pretty!

I really wanted to like this bar - it's so pretty, the chocolates swirled together.  But......it really didn't do much for me.  Passion fruit tastes kinda weird to me and the flavor combos just didn't wow me.  For $5.00 I want a bar to wow me.

Chocolate and orange - I say no.  I think each is way better without the addition of the other.  Maybe a slight hint of orange in some confections, but overall - nah.  What do you think, dear readers?

And orange peel - really?  Just leave that be. 

Chocolate Versions of Ice Cream

Somethings really are better left alone.  I think ice cream is better as ice cream and chocolate shouldn't try to be ice cream.

I got these (by Turin) because peanut butter was included.  I think there should be real peanut butter ice cream.  But I've never seen it, so there must be a reason.  Maybe it's just no good.  It seems like it would be good.....

Well, I can say with certainty the peanut butter here was no good!  UGH!!!!!  Terrible!  The orange one in the lower right corner was supposed to be peanut butter.  HORRIBLE!

The tan one was coffee and that was much better.  Tasted like the coffee ice cream my Dad liked when I was a kid.  Faux ice cream in my book - I mean, really - coffee as an ice cream favor?  Even as an adult I don't like it.  As a kid I was convinced it was some kind of adult conspiracy.

Godiva produced a bunch of ice cream truffles - this one is pecan sundae:

Looks good with gooey caramel, vanilla and carmelized pecans on top.  But wasn't very extraordinary to me.  I think I'm the only person alive that thinks Godiva is totally overrated and completely overpriced. Zzzzzz.........

More Godiva ice cream flavors:

Pistachio:

I like the screaming green color and the layer of chocolate.  It was smooth and creamy, but I found the flavor weak.

This was supposed to be Neapolitan with strawberry and vanilla (notice the pink drizzle?):

No strawberry!  A total rip off - instead I got chocolate and vanilla.  Again smooth and creamy, but not very flavorful.

Ditto for this one which I think was supposed to be Rocky Road:

Zzzz.......

Hazelnut Gelato:

I love hazelnut and even this one was boring.  Totally disappointing.  Godiva is going to be my new Russell Stover.  I hate them both.  Although I might hate Russell less because he's so much cheaper.

Let's check out their $3.00 bars.  Here's Hazelnut Gelato again:

Look at those fancy G's - must stand for Gotcha!  or Gullible or Greedy:

I can see the hazelnut, but I can't taste much of it.  Tastes like a chocolate bar. Lame.

Here's Vanilla Sundae:

Boo!  What vanilla?  A nice dark chocolate (which completely overpowers the vanilla), but sure as hell nothing like a vanilla sundae.

And finally Oranges & Cream in white chocolate:

While heinously sweet, this actually resembles something like ice cream.  Remember those orange push-up things the ice cream man used to have?  My brother liked those.  Orange sherbet or some similar crap?  One step above SORBET?  That's what this tastes like.

When you are turning chocolate into sorbet you have lost all credibility as a chocolatier.  Like orange sherbet needs to be replicated in chocolate.  That's chocolate treason.

The Emperor really does have no clothes.  Maybe Lady Godiva really is a good image for them. 

Lessons?

Ah - they repeat so often!  Just because you CAN do it, doesn't mean you should.

A fancy wrapper and an expensive price don't mean a thing.  You really can't judge a chocolate bar by its wrapper.

Be who you are - ice cream should be ice cream and chocolate should be chocolate.  When you try to be something you 're not - we lose you.  And there's only one.