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!
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.
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!
4 comments:
Hi Denise,
Just a little hint for the "mysterious jaffa jam":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes
Jaffa cakes are rather popular in the UK (and Germany, as far as I know)
Take care - keep on munching and happy Easter!
Susie
Hi Susie! Thanks so much for the link and the comment. Have you ever tried any? After liking it in those weird coconut snowmallows, I'd love to try it in something else. Happy Easetr to you too!! : )
Hi Denise,
Yes, I have tried them - but that must have been at least 25 years ago. Great stuff, though.. Back at my grandmother´s house - aah, those were the days. Secretly digging in her candy drawer.. ;-)
Ah Susie - you are definitely one of my tribe! : )
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