Chocolate Christmas Shopping

Tracy and I hit the stores on Saturday (I know - crazy, right?) and everyplace was pretty packed. Recession over? We're all just bored? Last minute panic? Who knows? But I was still looking for candy. (I mean, it ain't over till it's over!) And I found a few missing items I felt compelled to cover.

First there's another Christmas Whopper. This is just the regular old Whopper in a Christmas box. Not bad, not extraordinary - I like the Sno-balls better. And you know how I feel about the attempt to trick us by only changing the packaging. But this is pretty cute packaging and these would make a great stocking stuffer.

Where I really missed the sleigh was with peppermint. I don't really love peppermint and chocolate, but I can't escape it this time of year. First there's a new Bliss (at least new to me) and not specifically Christmas, but what the hell:

These were not my fav. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that I don't like these at all. There's some funky aftertaste. Toothpaste? Lighter fluid? Poison?

Tracy spotted these at Target, and they are pretty festive. Look how gorgeous:

There are four in the pack - and the best part? No Martha Stewart!!! Yay!!

They are really thin:

Wow! This is my favorite peppermint bark - love the thinness - making it not too chocolately and not too rich. Love the crunchy peppermint chunks on top and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how pretty it is! Also like the dark and white chocolate with the peppermint (rather than milk and white like Ghirardelli). And I almost didn't try it! Thanks, Tracy, for spotting it! Thanks, Dove, for making it! And thanks, Martha, for not ruining it with your lame advice.

And now I have some pics of my favorite peppermint/chocolate combo (other than the Dove bark -it's moved to the top spot for me!):

The Lindor truffle is just so amazingly smooth and creamy it's hard to beat. It has the best chocolate, but I really like those festive peppermint chunks on the Dove bark. I like the mix of textures and the Dove bark is just so damn pretty! If you see the Dove bark - get it - it's fantastic!!!

We also spotted these and I had to get them for my tree:

How great are those?? I love them! $1 at Target and they have candy in them. Now, don't get excited about the candy, this is all that in there:

That's pretty weak, huh? How about the TWO Tootsie Rolls? I mean, why even bother? But I really do like the ornaments - look for them in the stocking stuffer section of Target if you like them too.

I thought I'd leave you with some tips Martha might share:

Get to the stores early, they won't be as crowded.

Wear comfortable shoes while shopping so you don't get crabby.

Consider taking endless hours to make gifts by hand. Your time isn't worth nearly as much as mine, so you might as well waste it.

Don't scream obscenities or make rude hand gestures in the parking lot. Some of the women I met in prison have been released.

And finally,

If you are allergic to any foods, don't eat them.

Happy Shopping!!!!

Creativity, Peppermint and Chocolate

I really am not a big peppermint person. I like it and all, I'm not opposed to peppermint, but it doesn't rock my world. I like mint chocolate chip ice cream, I like those mint girl scout cookies, I'm not inhuman. But well, let's just say it's not peanut butter. It's not caramel either. It's above orange, but below almond. Neck and neck with raspberry. Kicks butt on lemon. That's my peppermint placement. Just so you know where I stand.

But what better flavor to kick off the Christmas postings? It's tradition! It's festive! It's decorative! And it's everywhere!

Real Simple Magazine made some great candy wreaths I want to share with you:

A little too weddingish for me, but very creative (and easy to make - the mag gives full instructions).

I'm glad someone finally found a use for those God-awful Goetze's caramel creams (glaack!).

And, my fav:

Very cool and contemporary. Like I said, full instructions are in the mag. I don't want to infringe on the copyright laws any further than I already have. If this posting disappears, you know I got busted.

Now I won't be making any of these wreaths - I am so NOT a hand crafter. A buyer, an admirer, but that's it. They did get me in search of Andes mints, however, and this is what I found:

LOVE the seasonal designs and the colorful wrappers. Although green was in short supply in this bag. However, the shapes don't seem to correspond to the color, so they might have been more evenly mixed. I have no plan to open them all to find out.

These are just like the standard Andes mint - always a solid, if not earth shattering, choice. BUT because of the extra chocolate used to form the Christmas designs, they are better! Stuff those stockings, Santa!

But Andes didn't stop there! Check these out:

Ah- ha! Very different!!! You all know how I like creativity for the holidays. Don't just be giving us the same old candy in some kind of festive wrapper. Show us something! Bring it!

These, unfortunately, remind me why I don't like peppermint. There's a fine line between tasting like candy and tasting like medicine. These cross over. I don't like 'em. Creative, yes. Good, no.

For comparison, here's Ghirardelli:

Another assortment - with Eggnog (apparently the least popular) and Pecan Pie. We'll review those another time. Peppermint is the star of this show.

Ghirardelli did very, very well. There was the crunch of peppermint, but it was prevented from becoming too strong by better white chocolate and a milk chocolate backing. So far, these are the clear winner in the festive peppermint category. But we are just getting started, dear readers! It is early in the game!

I had great hopes for these:

Don't they look awesome????

Here they are in real life:

They look a little different, huh? Those damn glamour shots!! Kind of like online dating pics.

But the important thing is the taste and I was pretty excited! I like the colors - the sprinkles! But the taste - GLAACK! Yucko! These have a weird aftertaste. What a let down! Skip these and buy peanut butter Oreos again. Why mess with genius? Roll the edges in red sprinkles if you want. But don't get these.

Creativity is good, but at the end of the day - it's about the flavor. Just like with people - a hot exterior is great, but who will be there when you need a new hip? Know what really matters and don't get distracted - it's too easy.