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The Ultimate Gift Guide for Valentine’s Day

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)

Friday, February 10th, 2012

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I have ALL your bases covered with this ULTIMATE Gift-Giving Guide! Have a sweet one xoxo

1. For Him:

Though it’s traditional for the lady to receive chocolates, our men need a little recognition too. John Kelly Chocolates makes the most delicious truffle fudge bites that quite literally melt in your mouth and send you to Heaven. John Kelly’s packaging is masculine and sleek, making it the perfect present to gift your guy.

2. For Her:

Gentleman, if you want to score some serious points with your lady this Valentine’s Day, invest in a gorgeous box of chocolates by K Chocolatier. Intoxicate her with the delicious vodka balls, or delight her with the dark chocolate truffles that were once hand-made for Jackie O. When the chocolate’s all gone, the box with paper mache roses can be used for keepsakes for years to come.

3. For the Kids:

Teuscher Chocolates from Switzerland not only makes some of the most delectable chocolates, but also they boast the most whimsical and playful packaging. Treat your daughter to a small ladybug box, or your son to a lion box. But don’t forget to treat yourself to their famous, signature champagne truffles first! Totally divine.

4. For the Health Nut:

Not everyone is excited to sink their teeth into butter and sugar. Fear not, now health nuts can receive sweet love this Valentine’s day too with a box of Benchic Chocolates. These homemade, raw, organic, and vegan treats are made with only six simple ingredients that are all actually good for you! And the craziest part? The even taste extraordinary.

5.For Mom:

No one deserves a little TLC more than Mom. Honor her with these delicious and gorgeous gems of chocolates by Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates.

6. For Dad:

Let Dad know he’ll always be your first Prince Charming with some exquisite chocolates from La Maison du Chocolate. These fine treats are shipped in daily from France and come in these sweet and masculine book boxes.

7. For Your Girlfriends:

Whether your friends are in relationships or not, show that they are loved with darling, cellophane-wrapped baggies of these delicious mini-cookies by Baking Betty’s. Each treat is baked from scratch and made to order. Their signature cookies sport soft and sweet marshmallows that make them effortlessly light and totally enjoyable!

8. For Your Guy Friends:

Yes, even your platonic guy friend or brother can partake in this holiday thanks to your thoughtfulness. Be their hero with a box of Cookies By Joey. These massive cookies are legendary for their extreme deliciousness. Indeed, they may be the best cookies he’ll ever have. Make sure he shares though or his friend status will be seriously jeopardized.

9. For the Office:

There’s something for everyone in a box for Fairtytale Brownies. These individually wrapped gourmet, Belgium brownies are soft, rich, and divine. With flavors like peanut butter, mint, walnut, toffee, and more, you’re sure to have a happy ending.

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Shari’s Berries, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for a Special Treat

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)

Monday, January 30th, 2012

With Valentine’s day around the corner, I thought I’d try some chocolate dipped Shari’s Berries. These treats impressed me with their juicy, high quality strawberries and equally delicious chocolate coating. The stark white chocolate made me nervous at first, since chocolate that blanched can taste like toxic wax. However, this white chocolate was simply sweet and delicious. The only gripe from my book club friends was that Shari’s is a bit heavy-handed on the chocolate. They would have preferred a more delicate treatment. I for one, am never one to complain about too much chocolate, but if you’re looking for a healthy substitute to chocolate truffles, these berries are probably not it. Overall, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries are tricky treats to pull off well and Shari’s does an excellent job.

For more info on Shari’s Berries, click here.

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Organic Gummy Bears by Yummy Earth, DD Approved!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

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.

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Kozy Shack Pudding

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Compared to bold and popular ice cream, pudding is an overlooked and unassuming treat. That said, it can be equally soothing and delightful when done right. For store bought varieties, Kozy Shack does pudding best. With all natural ingredients, they dominate in every arena, covering rice, tapioca, flan, chocolate, and even soy and sugar-free options. I especially enjoy getting the single serving sizes to help with portion control.

Mmmm, 5 Cherries to Kozy Shack for all around excellence!

For more info on Kozy Shack, click here.

XOXO

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Design Your Own Cookies with The Mason Jar Cookie Company

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

I love this concept! The Mason Jar Cookie Company allows you to custom design your own cookie mix which they then ship to you in a darling mason jar. These jars not only make super cute gifts, but also, they make it incredibly easy for you to whip up your own batch of sumptuous cookies.

I designed a batch called DD’s Winter White which consisted of traditional cookie base with white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and marshmallows. I love how you get to even give it your own title!

The cookies were a cinch to make and the dough was some of the most utterly, delicious substance I have ever consumed (Yes, I eat raw cookie dough- Lots of it. I can’t help myself!) Check Charlie out.. how jealous is he!?

And finally, the cookies turned out to be a huge success. I brought them to my girlfriends who insisted that they were the Best (I was a bit too cookie-doughed out myself to really know left from right by that point.)!

These darling mason jars would make the perfect hostess gift or personal indulgence.

I just got word that they are closed for shop during the holidays, but in the new year, you get 10% OFF by being my reader and using the code: TENOFF Woo! The code expires Jan 31.

To build your own custom mix in 2012, visit The Mason Jar Cookie Company (or click here now just for fun ).

XOXO

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Éclat Chocolate Wine Lover’s Gift Box from Williams-Sonoma. Divine~

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Mmmmmm- dreamy, heavenly, delightful. These thoughts ring through my head every time I pass by the Éclat Chocolate Wine Lover’s Gift Box on my kitchen counter. I’ve been working my way through this box for days now and have finally polished off the last luxurious confection (sniff). These delicate but decadent truffles boast deep chocolate shells with silky, smooth ganache fillings infused with Shiraz and Champagne. These handsome truffles would be the perfect treat for that special someone in your life.

For more on the Éclat Chocolate Wine Lover’s Gift Box purchased at Williams-Sonoma, click here.

XOXO

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Levain Bakery versus Jaque Torres Cookies: Battle of the Upper West Side

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)

Monday, December 19th, 2011

I marched my way through blustering winds in NYC to try the legendary cookies at Levain Bakery. Indeed, these colossal cookies were epic in nature. Really, they weren’t cookies so much as giant, chocolate chip truffles, each featuring a thin, crispy cookie shell encasing a soft, chewy center of hot doughy goodness. A Levain cookie feels much like a weighty pita-pocket in your hand. While this delightful play on size and texture titillated me, I can’t say that the flavors entirely inspired me.

The chocolate chip was great, but lacked a little of that salty butter, brown sugar taste. The chocolate cookie reminded of the ones I made here using a low-fat recipe.. which is clearly preferable, and the oatmeal raisin was disappointingly bland.

On my way back, I encountered Jacque Torres Chocolate shop and decided that I should buy one of his chocolate chip cookies for a good ol’ compare and contrast. The differences in these cookies were striking. Jacque’s cookie was thin and flat with a rubbery texture that resembled chewing old gum. That said, the flavors were delicious with a slightly salty edge that always enhances a cookie experience.

Ultimately these were both fine cookies with distinct hits and misses. However, Levain’s chocolate chip cookies just nearly edge out the competition with their unique texture and composition. 4.5 Cherries for Levain and 4 cherries for Jacque Torres!

Jacques Torres and Levain Bakery Cookies

For more info on Levain Bakery, click here.

For more info on Jacques Torres Chocolate, click here.

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Cherry Cordial M&Ms and Cinnamon M&Ms – Ho Ho Holiday M&M time!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)

Friday, December 16th, 2011

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

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Kathy Casey’s Dish D’Lish Fruit Cake with Maker’s Mark

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Fruit Cake has long since been the laughing stock of Christmas jokes. Perhaps for this reason, we hardly see it during the holidays now. I recently got an e-mail advertising “Over 21″ Fruit Cakes made with Maker’s Mark. This sounded intriguing so I ordered the Dish D’Lish Fruitcake online.

It just arrived today and I have to say… it’s still fruitcake. While the cake is clearly made with fine butter and hints of that lovely Maker’s Mark, its totally invaded by mountains of nuts and gelatinous, zingy fruit blobs. Like no ice cream can really be bad ice cream, no fruit cake can really be good fruit cake. I am a purist who rarely likes fruit near my desserts as it is.

Perhaps I wouldn’t begrudge the treat so much if it were labled “Holiday Trailnut Bread,” but calling it cake?! That’s just an assault on the English language.

For mor information on Dish D’Lish’s fruitcake by Kathy Casey, click here.

XOXO

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Payard Chocolate Stars, Heavenly Indeed~

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

I ordered these heavenly chocolate stars by Payard on GILT Taste and can’t believe that such tempting luxury can come in the mail (yes, I’ve been a little obsessed with online ordering lately!). Wow-wow-wee! These delicate, bite-sized stars literally melt in your mouth with their thin chocolate shells and rich ganache filling. The flecks of hand harvested sea salt and chocolate shavings on top add a hint of texture while the Mexican vanilla bean tempers the rich and deep chocolate flavoring. These little stars would make the perfect addition to your holiday soiree.

For more information on Payard Chocolates, click here.

To see the GILT Taste deal, click here.

XOXO

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Archive for New York, NY – Page 2

The Ultimate Gift Guide for Valentine’s Day

1. For Him:

2. For Her:

3. For the Kids:

4. For the Health Nut:

5.For Mom:

6. For Dad:

7. For Your Girlfriends:

8. For Your Guy Friends:

9. For the Office:

Shari’s Berries, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for a Special Treat

Organic Gummy Bears by Yummy Earth, DD Approved!

Kozy Shack Pudding

Éclat Chocolate Wine Lover’s Gift Box from Williams-Sonoma. Divine~

Levain Bakery versus Jaque Torres Cookies: Battle of the Upper West Side

Cherry Cordial M&Ms and Cinnamon M&Ms – Ho Ho Holiday M&M time!

Kathy Casey’s Dish D’Lish Fruit Cake with Maker’s Mark

Payard Chocolate Stars, Heavenly Indeed~

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