Easter is this Sunday and I’m sure many people are excited to see what treats the Bunny has in store for them! Who am I kidding-aren’t they the same goodies every year?! Regardless, it’s still fun and yummy to indulge in the classic treats.
What is your Favorite Easter treat that you look forward to the most each year?
XOXO
On our first stop of TOURific Escapes Chocolate Decadence Tour, we stopped at Littlejohn’s English Toffee House in the Farmer’s Market at the Grove. They had an incredible display of Easter Chocolates that made us mirthful from the start (sorry I don’t have an incredible photo to show it!).
Then we all got to sample their famous English Toffee, which we could see being made through the window by John himself.
While perfectly executed, I find English Toffee to be just a little too sweet. I think it works better as a dessert accessory (like in vanilla ice cream, or chocolate cake) than it does as a stand alone treat. We also got to try their Caramel Covered Marshmallows,which looked super exciting.
Alas, the caramel was a little buttery and bland and when combined with the Marshmallow, it too became heavy handed on the sweet buds. A dash of sea salt would have significantly improved this candy for me.
While I have my criticism, I still highly recommend that you stop by this quaint little mom-and-pop shop in the heart of the Grove’s Farmer Market. The fudge looked absolutely divine (as did the Divinity) and their quality desserts are made with high end ingredients. Four Cherries for Littlejohn’s English Toffee House!
For more information on Littlejohn’s Enlighs Toffee House, click here.
Le Bon Garcon makes The BEST caramels that I have Ever had, hands down. Truly, I am swooning here. And I didn’t even think that I liked caramels that much (blame Kraft)! Alas, Le Bon Garcon uses all natural ingredients that are slowly hand stirred, resulting in a silky smooth treat that quite literally melts in your mouth. Unlike traditional caramels, like Kraft squares or Milk Duds, there is no awkward, sticky, chewiness to these dainty delights. My charming little box came with four flavors: a citrus Valentine’s addition called Caramour, Mango-Passion Fruit and my two dreamy favorites, Salted, and Macadamia Nut. I meant to have “a” bite and I ate nearly all of them. Yikes! If you want to treat a special someone to something other than chocolate this Valentine’s day, do check out Le Bon Garcon’s Golden Cherry Caramels!
For more info on on Le Bon Garcon, click here.
You may have seen my recent posts about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in our food and my deep sadness over how sick they are making our nation (for more, click here). When I was a kid I ate my share of sugary cereals and Candy Candy Candy everyday! Yes, everyday I would go to am-pm after school to buy a treat!! And then go home and eat Lucky Charms! And while it wasn’t “good” for me then, it wasn’t the same grade of poison that today’s candy is with its High Fructose Corn Syrup made from corn seeds that were cross-bread with insecticides by Monsanto’s scientists. Bleh! I wonder how I’ll feel someday, letting my future kids go trick-or-treating when I know how detrimental today’s candy is to their health. It really bums me out as Halloween is a holiday that is near and dear to a DD’s heart! In this vein I’ve kept my eyes peeled for candy that children can have now that won’t alarm their systems with a barrage of chemicals, artificial colors, unpronounceable substances, and GMOs. I came across these Organic, Gluten Free Gummy Bears by Yummy Earth at Whole Foods and they are totally delicious! They even have that perfect, tough consistency that a Haribo Gold-Bear has (my childhood favorite). Sure they don’t come in the same technicolor rainbow as other candies, but they also don’t have those toxic colors that contribute to ADHD (see here). I’m really glad that I found Yummy Earth. They carry other organic candies that I hear are phenominal… particularliy the lolipops. Yummy Earth is DD Approved with 5 Shiny Cherries!
Ps: I like to freeze my Gummy Bears. It takes longer to eat them and I enjoy how my mouth has to melt each one. 
Pps: Click here to ask the FDA to label foods with GMOs so that you don’t have to shop in the dark.
CRIKIES, is this CRACK!? A twitter friend sent me some seriously addicting toffee by Elaine’s Toffee Company and I CANNOT stop eating it. I think I have to march myself to the garbage can right Now and throw it away before I consume all 8 servings. Yikes, what to do?! It’s so yummy, crunchy, fresh and homemade. Can you blame me?! Ok, I’m wrapping up this post to hop on the elliptical machine. I’ve been indulging in way too much yumminess!
For more info on Elaine’s Toffee Company, click here!
I teased some of you on Twitter about this post and you were all chomping at the bit. So without further ado… My reviews on this season’s m&m flavors!
CHERRY CORDIAL M&Ms:
These solid milk chocolate m&ms tasted freakishly like real cherry cordials… but, you know, without the cherries. Lately I’ve been extra weary of Franken-foods, so I’m torn on my reaction to these treats. They’re Tasty! Like florescent-red-popsicle-cherry-flavor in a milk chocolate form Tasty!
Additionally, these are Large m&ms. (Cherry Cordial vs. regular below)
This greater size makes for a more chocolatey and enjoyable experience. Though, I can’t say much for the red and maroon color combination. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing scheme to pour into your crystal candy bowl. Not that I have any brilliant suggestions, but that IS the point of buying a large bag of seasonal m&ms around the holidays, right? To decorate your house with colorful bowls of candies?
CINNAMON M&Ms:
While the Cinnamon m&ms were far more subtle in flavor, they were the same monster size of solid milk chocolate as the Cherry Cordials. I’ve never been a huge fan of Mexican Chocolate (the cinnamon- chocolate combo), so I can’t say I leapt for joy over this holiday rendition. The color-combo, though, was a little more exciting with a third shade of brown to spruce things up.
Overall, I can’t say I’ll be going back for more. I enjoyed the larger portion of milk chocolate in each candy treat, but neither of these holiday flavors with their blah color schemes will be making it into my candy bowls.
How about you? What’s your favorite m&m flavor? Do you fill your bowls with m&ms?!
To see past reviews on other m&m flavors, click here for the index!
XOXO
I just returned from the awesome city of Istanbul, Turkey, where I sampled many unique and delicious treats. First off, if you’ve never been to Turkey or have even considered visiting, you must. Istanbul, in particular, is an incredible, ancient city on the water and has the loveliest people.
Above I’m displaying a Turkish Crepe that this lady made for me by rolling out a ball of dough and heating on the black surface to her right. I had Strawberries and Honey in my crepe while my friend had one with Chocolate syrup. It was a very warm, thin, and light dessert that allowed us to eat more goodies throughout the day! I have a video of this experience coming soon, so stay tuned!
Wow-wee! Look at his beautiful array of Turkish Delight below!
For those of you unfamiliar, Turkish Delight is a nutty, gelatinous treat that is dusted in powdered sugar, or coconut bits, and comes in distinctly exotic flavors like rose water, pistachio, and bitter orange. While the consistency of Turkish Delight may vary, the best pieces have the same resistance as a generic gummy bear (versus a Haribo bear, which is a bit tougher).
Above, I am holding another distinctly Turkish dessert called Asure, or “Noah’s Pudding.” This wheat pudding is about as tasty as it sounds (not really at all). With ingredients that include wheat kernels and chick peas, the story has it that when Noah and his animals were running out of food on the arc, they combined their remaining ingredients to created this dish.
But look at those amazing hunks of Torrone in the window! These very sweet and nut-packed nougat bars are also a staple in Italy (and one of my Dad’s favorite treats).
Finally, a glimpse into the bustling Spice Market of Istanbul above. Overall, I loved the Turkish Delight, but in general, I was not floored by the food in Turkey. I think I ate more puff pastry type carbs and Chicken in one week there than I have in one year here. But food aside, this incredible country is still a must-visit!
XOXO
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Oh how I remember the giddy anticipation of getting to dressed up and collecting as much candy as possible! Forget a small plastic pumpkin container, I’d collect a a full pillow case of loot! (which, in hindsight, is disgusting and my future children will do no such thing).
So today I ask you this- what was your Favorite candy to collect on Halloween night as a kid?
True Story- in middle school my best friend and I decided to go trick or treating the morning after Halloween night. At first parents were like, “what-the—-” , and then they were like, “Yes! Please take away this candy that my kids collected last night! We don’t need this much around the house!” We seriously scored that day. Just a tip, Ha! 
XOXO
The season of candy begins!!! I have been collecting some seriously adorable dessert ideas on Pinterest here. For just a quick sneak peak, check out these adorable Cake Pop Spiders from Etsy and these tempting Pretzel Kiss Treats by CakeInfo.
To see more fabulous ideas, click here! What Halloween desserts look the best to you??
XOXO
In addition to all of the fabulous baked goodies that you’ve been reading about these last few days, I had to throw in some store-bought treats to round out my dessert table for good measure. Mother’s Circus Animals are not only a childhood favorite, but also they were aesthetically perfect with their pink and white colors and joyful rainbow dots.
The Strawberry Milkshake Gummy Bottles that you see there on the left were a last minute addition that I threw in because a few friends were claiming that they love gummy candy. Trying to find gummy candy in the correct shades of pink and white proved nearly impossible, until I finally stumbled upon these milkshake bottles. Not many people tried them and the ones who did gave mixed reviews.
Well, that about rounds up the dessert table! But believe it or not, we had even more goodies than what you see at the Dessert Table! Alas, I’ve now written 6 posts into the wee hours of the night and I haven’t event packed for my honeymoon to Thailand yet! Yikes!
I hope that you enjoyed reading about the Dessert Table goodies and I’ll catch you up on the last sweet touches when I get home!
XOXO
