Chocolate Report

Nothing Says Valentine's Day Better Than Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I love chocolate covered strawberries and wouldn't mind receiving or making a few for Valentine's Day, which is less than a month away. With this delicious dessert you can indulge without worrying about any health related side effects. Read more about Nothing Says Valentine's Day Better Than Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Healthy chocolate? Yes please!

Many of us love chocolate and feel that life is not worth living without it. But what if you knew that chocolate was healthy for you and that it is good for you to eat. Well, it is! Just like anything, you do need to eat it in moderation or else it is no longer healthy for you. But here are the benefits you get from chocolate.

Flavonoids – This is a sub class of antioxidant which helps to lower your blood pressure as well as helping to protect with heart disease. For this reason, chocolate manufacturers are being pressured to develop a method of processing the cocoa beans to preserve this content. Current processes destroy up to three-quarters of the flavonoids

Fat – Unfortunately, you do need to remember that chocolate still contains a lot of fat. Forty grams of dark chocolate can contain 210 calories as well as 13 grams of fat of which 8 grams are saturated fat. Read more about Healthy chocolate? Yes please!

How to Purchase High-Quality Chocolate

"Use one or all of these tips the next time a craving for chocolate hits"

Ever taken a bite of chocolate and you just know it is good without realizing exactly why it melts in your mouth? I love chocolate and as such a self-confessed chocoholic, I have tried many types from different companies. What I've found is that a tell-tale pattern exists, giving me the ability to distinguish the good from the bad. Other not so known reasons that let you know whether or not the chocolate is high-quality includes the percentage of chocolate, the placement of ingredients and the type of wrapper used by the makers to place the candy in.

Check to see where the word “cocoa” appears on the ingredient list. Cocoa showing up at the beginning is a good indicator that what you're about to eat is considered high-quality chocolate. Cocoa that's listed further on down the list indicates that the candy you're about to consume contains a higher amount of sugar. The origin of the chocolate has no real bearing on its quality; however, it can alter the taste, depending on where it originated from.

Purchase chocolate that contains up to 60 percent of cocoa in it because; otherwise, you will find the candy has a bitter taste. Reserve chocolate with 80 percent cocoa for baking that requires a high percentage of cocoa.

Hershey's Air Delight

It's pretty tasty, but as consumers, we have to draw the line somewhere

I was pretty skeptical of this new form of Hershey's chocolate.

I am not a snob about Hershey's, mind you. I'm one of those oddball chocolate lovers who really enjoys a Hershey bar now and again. Ideally the kind with almonds, but just a regular old Hershey bar can be pretty darned satisfying.

No, I was skeptical about this "air bubbles" thing. No one has ever, to my knowledge, been eating a chocolate bar and thought, "What this thing needs is a bunch of air bubbles to make it feel kind of, like, FOAMY." Adding air bubbles is so clearly the work of a management committee. Who else would want chocolate that is - to use the word on the wrapper - "aerated"?

Chocolate and Bacon

Enough Said

Sir Francis Bacon might be the one who made chocolate bacon brittle popular in the gourmet grocery stores like Dean and Deluca, but now you can attempt to make your own. Check out this recipe for chocolate-dipped smoked almond-bacon brittle.

Makes 3 pounds.

Note: From "I Love Bacon," by Jayne Rockmill.

• 1/4 lb. bacon

• 2 c. smoked almonds

• 11/4 c. sugar

• 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. light corn syrup

• 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. water

• 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-in. cubes, at room temperature

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp. crushed pink peppercorns

• 8 oz. (60 percent cacao) chocolate, chopped

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Wake Up to a Chocolaty Good Breakfast

"What's Better than Indulgence First Thing in the Morning?"

Godiva | Love Affair With Chocolate

I love Godiva. I have since I was quite young, maybe 9 or 10. My mom worked for Vlasic Pickles in Farmington Hills, Michigan (shout out!), which was owned by Campbell’s Soup. Godiva and Pepperidge Farm cookies were also part of the brand at that time. She was always bringing home samples to try of new products from all four companies. In fact, she volunteered her time as a taste tester, just to get the free samples. She also stole those little creamers from every restaurant she every entered even though she took her coffee black, but that’s another story.

Six Reasons to ADD Chocolate to Your New Year's Resolutions

I absolutely love chocolate and I am psyched to have found several reasons to keep my favorite sweet treat on hand for my family and I to enjoy. I used to eat milk chocolate but, while I was pregnant and having to count carbs, I switched to dark chocolate because this form doesn't contain as much sugar as milk or white. Now that I know that dark chocolate is safer for me, while pregnant or otherwise, I want to understand the other benefits of enjoying my favorite sweet treat. Here are six reasons to go ahead and enjoy a bite:

One reason to enjoy a daily bite of dark chocolate is that the candy contains good-for-you vitamins including riboflavin, calcium and iron. Mix together dark chocolate with nuts and you get extra amounts of these vitamins, according to the California Academy of Sciences.

You don't have to worry about dark chocolate causing acne to form on your skin. Recent studies indicate that there is no direct evidence that supports the claim that chocolate, among other foods, causes acne.

There is Never a Wrong Time for a Whoopie Pie

Check Out This Recipe for Chocolate Ones

There is never a wrong time for a whoopie pie. Check out this recipe for Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream from La Mia Vita Dolce. The recipe yields 34.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

490 g (3½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda
90 g (¾ cup + 3 tablespoons) dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
110 ml (4 ounces) hot coffee
110 ml (4 ounces) hot water
350 g (1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons) firmly packed light brown sugar
170 ml (6 ounces) grapeseed (canola) oil (can be substituted with vegetable oil)
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
110 ml (4 ounces) buttermilk, room temperature, shaken