The candy aisle usually brims with an assortment of consumer grade candies and chocolates to tempt the toddler and mother duo, with mega size party packs recently becoming ever the more popular. In my experience, I have never come across fancy chocolates besides gift packs designed for the holidays during Christmas time, or at least, until now. And a fine chocolate it is, the Mousse Delicate from Nestle is a relatively up and coming variety to their bread and butter familiar names (think Coffee Crisp, Kit Kat, Aero and Smarties). While the appealing price certainly caught my eye, I was glad to take home a cello wrapped box filled with 10 pieces of light dark chocolate mousse enrobed in a smooth milk chocolate shell. It took me a minute as I had some trouble with unfastening the tightly wrapped plastic, slid out the glistening gold foiled tray, to expose the elegantly designed, uniformly shaped chocolates. I thoroughly enjoyed the melody of tastes as they blended together in my mouth, from the rich chocolate mousse whose bottom notes bear a resemblance to ganache with a slight hint of coffee, to the thin milk chocolate shell, gently complimenting the flavour without overpowering it on the whole. It is perfect for ending an evening meal on a sweet note. For those of us in search of a fine indulgence without the guilt, this pick is guaranteed to keep watch of your wallet as well as your health.

Beautiful packaging

Fit for grown-up tastes

Another view of the chocolate

A satisfied chocolatier!

During my weekly trip to the grocery store, I came into contact with a fancy looking box of cookies. Every time I go there, I always stop at the bakery, where they make fresh specialty breads, fruit tarts, birthday cakes, pastry rolls and coconut puffs. I would get my usual choice of plain bread or raisin buns, as that would always satisfy my palate. But today, I was looking for something more. Sitting there on the wooden tabletop were an assortment of sugary treats – Animal shaped cookies, cream horns, Japanese style red bean cakes, green tea infused biscuits. I picked the Mozac cookies because it contained the highest amount of chocolate.

Waves of people crowded about the little shop like ants on a farm hill on a Sunday evening. It was difficult to get around without bumping into someone or seeing a familiar face. It seemed as though the hungrier I got, the longer time it took to get past the cashier. Finally, I was relieved when I reached my car. I took out the keys, fumbled a little, as I was carrying two bagfuls of food and drinks. But I wouldn’t wait till I got home to have a taste of it. Like a vulcher whose been watching their pray, I was ready to attack at any moment. I ripped open the plastic cover and pounced on the cookie like I hadn’t had an ounce of food in forever. The cookie sang to me like a nightingale in courtship, and I melted along with it, the sweet, buttery, chocolaty, slightly burnt part of it. I was in heaven.

Update: On my return trip to the asian market, I later found out they came in a wide selection of patterns, including heart shaped and ballerina themed!

The smarties review will be posted shortly

Being a little curious with everybody’s taste in chocolate, I just had to poke around to find out what people think. Here are what some of my friends are saying:

Choco Kat says:
I need a little help with something… I’m putting together a chocolate poll, called “what’s your favourite chocolate”. Whats yours? It can be everyday store bought, in any shape or form, luxury, home made, or special edition holiday ones, etc.

Chris says:
Purdy’s dark bars

Choco Kat says:
And you have to give me a reason, why do you like it so much? – Why its your favourite – good ones please:

Chris says:
Lol I dunno, cuz they are good!

Choco Kat says:
Can you be more detailed? You can describe the look, the taste, if it triggers certain memories or special moments…

Chris says:
No memories or triggers, it just tastes the best to me. It’s their pure dark chocolate bars

Choco Kat says:
I need a better reason!
Maybe its how it makes you feel when you eat it?

Chris says:
Dunno, never thought about it. It just tastes good, and its not something I buy too often.

Choco Kat says:
Alright, any other reasons? What is it about this chocolate that tastes better than the other chocolates to you?

Chris says:
I dunno, I never thought about that too much either. I am not a chocolaet connoisseur. Chocolate that tastes chunky or too sweet, I do not like

Choco Kat says:
Nice
Thats why you picked the dark kind?

Chris says:
I guess

~More questions………..~

Choco Kat says: (a repeat of my ‘blurb’)

Terry says:
Is this spam or a legit message?

Choco Kat says:
No, this is me writing it, I just got weary of re-typing everything, is that ok with you?

Terry says:
Let’s see…It’s gotta be Aero…
Bubbles tingle my mouth, it brings me a smile. I also like body chocolate.

Choco Kat says:
You are such an oddball! Hehe

Terry says:
That’s me!
I gave u awesome answers

~More questions………..~

Choco Kat says:
Chocolate?

Ken — I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
Bernard Callebaut.
Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut.

Choco Kat says:
Okay, well can you be more specific with that? Like how does it taste? How does it feel to you?

Ken– I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
I’m actually limited in my taste because I’m vegan.
I can’t have meats, chicken, dairy. So I can only eat dark chocolate.
I prefer the chocolate to be bitter.

Choco Kat says:
That’s cool, a fresh answer. I’ve been getting a bunch of “don’t knows”…

Ken– I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
And the higher the percentage the better, percentage of cocoa.

Choco Kat says:
I think these are fantastic answers Ken!

Ken — I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
I’m surprised.
People don’t usually think.
When they buy stuff. They just buy buy buy

Choco Kat says:
Yeah, you can say that again…
You might want to try Lindt 99% cocoa dark, that’s also great for heart health.

Ken– I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
What’s this poll for?
A marketing research report?

Choco Kat says:
No, its for my web blog. I just wanted to see what everyone liked to eat.
It’s in the early stage, (blame it on me having nothing better to do)

Ken — I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
Hehe, at least you’re being productive.

Choco Kat says:
Nah, I don’t think so.

Ken — I’ve got a sweet tooth for licorice drops and jelly rolls. says:
Lol

~Final questions………..~

Choco Kat says:
Hey Karen

Karen says:
Hey Sup?

Choco Kat says:
(blurb)

Karen says:
Hmm….dark chocolate…?

Choco Kat says:
Which product?

Karen says:
Umm…..Godiva?

Choco Kat says:
Umm……okay……….whats this chocolate called that you like to have at godiva?

Karen says:
Hahaha, I dunno…
All of them?
Hey sorry, I have to head out now…
SOrry!!

Choco Kat says:
Okay, thanks Karen!

Thank you to all of my friends for putting up with all my questions!
Interviewees:
Chris, 24
Terry, 23
Karen, 21
Ken, 25

What’s your favourite Chocolate?
Comments are welcome below

Last month, I was delighted to find out that my favourite Easter treat will now be making it to the stores all year. At first I was skeptic, had March come so soon already? Had I let time slip so quickly that I completely lost my mind? To insure that I was not going insane, I asked the store attendant what day this was. Surely enough, I was right. (I was not crazy, but of course it made me do a double take.) I picked up a bag, but then got worried and hoped that the eggs were not old and expired, maybe even gone bad? Perhaps they were pushing sales of last year’s inventory and selling them now? To be frank, a small script on the package indicated it was being produced year round, though that had been apparently overlooked.

As I proceeded to make a purchase, I was ever-so-thankful that my fantasy had come true! I had been having a little mini-egg withdrawal, you know, the kind that smokers get when they need nicotine but are trying to quit. Anyhow, how can I live without my mini eggs? I do this every time! I like popping one in my mouth and letting the hard candy coated layer melt away to reveal the delicate milk chocolate flavour that is distinctly appealing to my palette. I would, almost absentmindedly; repeat this action until I’ve polished off a whole bag.

With any luck, I’ll go back and feed my mini chocolate egg obsession again. They’ve come up with 3 assorted sizes for convenience sake; I had gotten the one size offered at the time, but then realised that it was only a medium bag, and so on my very next opportunity, I took the liberty to splurge on the super-sized jumbo pack. No more waiting till the holidays!

Almost every shop I enter has a wide assortment of halloween candy on display, so happy halloween!

Will I be handing out chocolates? We’ll see, maybe…
Trick or treat!

Ingredients:

1 cup  (I prefer the Smooth kind) peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 bag of  M&M chocolates

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Mix all ingredients with large spoon until well blended.
2. Roll dough into mini 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Flatten with fork.
3. Add in M&M’s by pressing lightly on each centre of the flattened cookie.
4. Bake 15 min. or until lightly browned. (Do not overbake.)
5. Let Cool 5 min. on baking sheet or transfer to wire racks before consuming.

Step by step picture instructions:

   Simple ingredients

    Rolling the dough into sphere shape

  Flattening the balls with a fork

   Ready for the oven

 As you can see some are cracked, but most faired pretty well

The idea for the M&M’s candy we see today actually stemmed from the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s when founder Forrest Mars (now the founder of Mars Inc.) watched a number of solders enjoying chocolate pieces without creating a mess on their hands, despite the sizzling weather. Mars teamed up with another fellow, Bruce Murrie, who is the son of the long time Hershey president, as he did not have the means to make the candy himself; they decided to lovingly call the candy M&M’s. The candy came in brown, yellow, orange, green, red and violet. It came in a unique one-of-a-kind tube packaging (similar to Smarties at that time), but dissimilar to the customary boxed versions we find in our day.

M&M’s confectionary empire has come a long way since then, and I am bombarded by the vast assortment of chocolate candies and different colours it carries in its product line. I’ve always only enjoyed it in milk chocolate with plain or peanuts, but I heard that dark chocolate, caramel-filled and m&m minis versions are now being offered for purchase.

This day was no different. I entered the store with no intention of leaving with a bag of chocolates, but ended up making an impulse buy at the counter anyway. I just couldn’t resist that bright yellow bag of goodies, even if it wasn’t accounted for in my daily budget. (Yes, I have one)

There was a promotion, but my bag didn’t contain the golden M&M

Another view

M&M peanuts tends to fill me up faster than the ones without nuts, so I could not finish the super pack in one sitting. I do enjoy the full sensation it gives me after a couple handfuls. The crunchy candy shell is a big part of the make up of M&M’s, as far as the milk chocolate is concerned, does embody it’s sweetness, but because of the same reason I was slightly let down that I couldn’t taste the chocolate flavour further. This variation with peanuts definitely ups the ante by adding another dimension, contributing to an extra fun factor as well.

My M&M’s bowl

A close up

 
This leaves me with another hard decision to make. Because I refuse to let a fresh pack of chocolates go to waste, I came up with a better way to polish off the bag. Fifteen minutes later, I had a bakers dozen (that’s 13 for you people who aren’t sure what the difference is between a “regular” dozen and a “bakers” dozen) of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Yummmm! See Recipe

Special Note: A few years ago, the company opened an online store where you can now personalise M&M’s with your own face, favourite saying, club logo or buy them in fashionable colours like electric green, teal, black, silver, gold, and aqua.

Custom Print to Custom Colour M&M’s can be purchased at their web site here