Easter Guide 2015

Seems like I'm not the only one who is sick of mediocre mass-market egg and bunny shaped chocolate. It's everywhere. "Hey look, this solid milk chocolate bunny is only a dollar!" But there's a REASON it's only a dollar...it is gross. I am reminded of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode in which Monica has to make "Mockolate" products. 

Anyway, in an effort to guide you to accessible delicious Easter chocolate, here are my top picks to fill those Easter baskets:

 

1. chuao hopping popping bunny bars - $7.95 - To replace the overpriced, low quality chocolate bunny. I know I picked some popping hearts for the Valentine's Day Guide, but I really don't think Chuao can over do it with the popping candy. 
2. lindt chocolate carrots - $8.00/4pc  (also at many grocery and drug stores, including Central Market) - To replace the carrots you may leave out for the Easter Bunny. Nuff said.
3. godiva beaded egg with wrapped chocolates - $30.00 (online only and unfortunately out of stock) - To replace plastic eggs or glam up an Easter Basket. I love this egg for the same reason I loved the godiva bling box for Valentine's Day. Also, like the bling box, it is unfortunately out of stock. So I guess you can tuck this idea away for next year!
4. lindt gold bunny and friends - up to $20.49 (this assortment available at amazon.com, but 5 packs are at many grocery/drug stores including Central Market for around $4/pack)  - To replace filled mini bunnies. 
5. see's candies peanut butter egg - $6.20/4oz egg (online or in stores)  - To replace the beloved Reese's Peanut Butter Egg. I know, I know...I may get egged for merely suggesting the Reese's PB egg be replaced...but trust me...it's not the Reese's that makes you love the candy...it's the combo of pb and chocolate. Just try a higher quality pb and chocolate combo like this, and you will see what I mean...or rather TASTE what I mean. 
6. seattle chocolates spring bars - $3.50 (online, $2.99 at Central Market) - To replace everything OR to use in addition to everything else. Check out my power rankings of these bars. They are a welcome addition to any basket.
7. see's candies milk chocolate or dark chocolate eggs- $7.00/8oz bag (online or in stores) - To replace various other low quality mini eggs. The Easter Bunny is bringing us Lindt mini eggs. Godiva has some also. Any of these options are solid. Pun intended.
8. cadbury creme eggs from the UK- $8.50/6pack (Amazon) - To replace the horrible knock off version Hershey's produces here in the US. I have beef with Hershey's about their beef with Cadbury among other reasons which merit an entirely different post. In any case, I have eaten both British Cadbury and American Cadbury (Hershey's has the license to manufacture under the same name with a different recipe). It's different. British Cadbury is milkier, smoother, less chemically. Do yourself a favor, and try the original stuff. Eggs from the UK are wrapped in purple and red only, there is no blue on the wrapper. Also, the nutrition facts are listed per 100g rather than per serving. ENJOY! 

So there you have it. A guide to help you overhaul your Easter baskets this year. HAPPY EASTER!!!

Cheers!

Power Rankings #8: Seattle Chocolates BONUS

Spring has sprung and so have a few new bars from Seattle Chocolates. They were on sale, like the others, for 2 for $4 (through the end of March). I just noticed them in the Easter section of Central Market the other day when I was out chocolate shopping and decided I had to try them and rank them. Ok...that's not really true...what really happened is that I bought them with the intention of surrendering them to the Easter Bunny to add to our Easter baskets. But when I got home...I wanted to eat them. So I asked the hubby if he thought I should just eat them or save them for Easter. He didn't really care either way...so I ripped right into them! This is not the first time my seasonal chocolate purchases have not made it to the actual holiday they were intended for...but hey, no regrets. I didn't think they really fit in with the regular bars since they are seasonal. So here are some bonus power rankings! 

1.***SPRING SURPRISE - coconut, almonds and sea salt dark chocolate truffle bar - Go figure that my favorite of these bars is the DARK chocolate one...People keep telling me that I should prefer dark...but I just plain don't. This bar however, is perfection. Ate it all in one sitting.

2.***FRESH MINT - milk chocolate truffle bar with mint cookie chunks - Did you not buy enough boxes of Thin Mints this year from the girl scout down the street? Have no fear, FRESH MINT is here! The flavor balance is much like the normal MELTAWAY MINT bar, but the cookie chunks kick it up a notch! I always love some crunchy texture. 

3.*FLUFFY TOFFEE - milk chocolate truffle bar with marshmallows & toffee - Don't read too much into the single star status of this bar. Toffee is just too sweet. Marshmallows and milk chocolate and toffee is just too much sweetness for my mouth. Sugar overload. 

Hopefully my chocolate impatience is your gain and you pick up one of these delicious bars for YOUR Easter baskets. But hey, if they don't make it...no judgement here. :)

CHEERS!

Power Rankings #7: Seattle Chocolates

"what happiness tastes like"

...what a perfect description of chocolate.

I had high hopes of getting this post published earlier in the month (since they are on sale till the end of the month), but obviously...that didn't happen. We did some traveling and have been pretty busy lately. BUT, don't worry...I have a few posts and an Easter Shopping Guide in the works. So get excited!

But, on to the subject of this post...

I purchased these Seattle Chocolates bars at Central Market in Mill Creek. They were on sale for 2/$4 (reg $2.99 each). All are vegan except denoted by "^". 
 

1.***PERFECT PEANUT BUTTER^ - dark chocolate truffle bar with roasted peanuts - Quite a bit of cocoa butter bloom on the back of this bar. Couldn't stop eating it though. Thought it was strange that the first ingredient was white chocolate, maybe it's in the peanut butter filling though... 

2.***MELTAWAY MINT*^ - milk chocolate truffle bar with peppermint infusion - The first thing I noticed was the aroma-almost an after-dinner mint flavor. Sweet mint and definitely melty. This is a fantastic flavor combo. I bet the coconut oil really enhances this bar also.

3.***SALTED ALMOND* - dark chocolate truffle bar with almonds and sea salt - This bar is perfection. One of these days I will have to power rank the salted almond bars. Great balance of salt and almond. Wouldn't mind a little more chunky, but great flavor all around. 

4.***COCONUT MACAROON* - dark chocolate truffle bar with coconut and sea salt - Love the sea salt in this coconut bar. Also a great flavor combo. 

5.**/***SAN JUAN SEA SALT*^ - milk chocolate truffle bar with sea salt and toffee - The flavor masks the not up to par quality of the milk chocolate. There is a nice amount of salt which balances out the extra sweet of the toffee.

6.**EXTREME DARK* - dark chocolate truffle bar with roasted cocoa nibs - I like the nuttiness that the nibs bring into this bar.

7.**WHIDBEY WILDBERRY - dark chocolate truffle bar with cherries and strawberries - the fruity berries work well with the dark chocolate in this bar. I like that it's not just cherries, because I'm not a huge cherry fan. The mix is brilliant. 

8.*RAINIER CHERRY* - dark chocolate truffle bar with praline pecans and cherries - I noticed the "truffle bar" ness on this bar especially, the bottom of the outer shell kept sliding around and breaking off. The nuts didn't taste great. Not the best bar, in my opinion. 

9.*MILK CHOCOLATE*^ - milk chocolate truffle bar - definitely beats a Hershey milk "chocolate" bar. I know that the flavor and quality is not sufficient when I don't devour the whole milk bar in one sitting. Still decent.

10.*DARK CHOCOLATE* - dark chocolate truffle bar - the flavor really reminds me of mass market dark chocolate. It's not BAD. But it's not GREAT. At least not as a standalone bar. Obviously, with other flavors to mask the lower quality it's quite delicious. And as I said before, much better than Hershey's.

Overall this was a delicious chocolate tasting experience. The bars were lovely. Very rich. The perceived size is deceiving. The bars are THICK. There are 4 sections in each bar, a serving is only two sections...which kinda makes you laugh at first...but then after the second one...it kinda makes sense. 

Looking beyond flavor and taste...a few thoughts on quality. I think these bars are priced well for their quality. They are good quality. Just not GREAT quality. The ingredients list is evidence of this. There's "non-hydrogenated coconut oil" in most of these bars (deonted by "*"). That could be a contribution to the characteristic silky texture and smooth finish of this brand. Another evidence of the mid grade quality is that that straight chocolate bars are significantly not as good as the inclusion bars. You can taste the difference. 

These may become a "go-to" brand for me considering their affordability and overall taste. So go check out "what happiness tastes like."

Cheers!