In honor of International Chocolate Day, it’s only fitting to show some love for chocolate. I consider chocolate a food group as my muse cannot function without the nourishment of milky chocolate decadence. There’s a stash in my desk at work, in a bowl on the kitchen counter, in a basket in the pantry, and a few other hidden locations (so my husband can’t find it). I never know when my muse needs a kickstart, so better to be prepared than caught empty-handed!
My favorite chocolate candies tend be of the plainer variety, because I don’t like a lot of interference with my chocolate. However, peanut butter is the one exception to that rule. There’s nothing quite as tasty as creamy peanut butter and smooth milk chocolate. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
Before my drooling gets out of control, here’s my list of Top Ten favorite chocolate candies:
10. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
No muss. No fuss. Just plain chocolate at it’s best.
9 . Kit-Kat (full size and bites)
For a lighter dose of chocolate this candy bar is perfect. Plus, it’s fun to break it apart!
8. Cadbury Double Decker
I first experienced this mammoth of a candy bar while in London. The bottom is lined with biscuit pieces which serve as the anchor for a thick layer of chewy, creamy nougat. Then, a nice layer of chocolate holds it all together. Yummy on (literally) so many levels.
7. Dove Promises Silky Smooth Caramel Milk Chocolate
The name says it all. These little pieces of chocolate covered liquid caramel melt in your mouth. And who doesn’t love the quotes inside the wrappers?? Yesterday, I got one that read: Love fearlessly. Now, those are words to live by!
6. Hershey Nuggets – Almond and English Toffee
This is one of the rare occurrences where I like nuts mixed into my chocolate. The almond, toffee, and chocolate work together to make the perfect salty/sweet snack.
5. Godiva chocolate truffle
It’s Godiva. Enough said.
4. Cadbury Dairy Milk
Another U.K. delight, Cadbury Dairy Milk has a different texture from U.S. chocolate. Instead of a silky smooth finish, it’s thick and takes longer to melt. The taste, however, is absolutely fantastic. There’s nothing like it!
3. Hershey’s Candy Coated Milk Chocolate Eggs
These tasty eggs only come out at Easter. I inhale them until they pull them off the shelves. They are like giant M&Ms with a perfect chocolate/candy shell ratio.
2. Mint M&Ms (Holiday Version)
When I’m not inhaling chocolate eggs, I’m eating too many mint M&Ms. The milk chocolate variety of Mint M&Ms only comes out at Christmas, which means I load up on large bags so I snack on them all year long.
1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
Hands down, my favorite candy. I love all varieties of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, from the teeny tiny to the Big Cup. There’s something special about the flavor of the peanut butter and the perfect amount of chocolate. Best. Candy. Ever.
– – –
What’s your favorite chocolate or candy? (or snack?)
– – –
c.b.w. 2013
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup! 🙂
LikeLike
Shocker!
LikeLike
Reese’s of course. But those dove melty peanut butter and milk chocolate are pretty good too.
LikeLike
I know you love your peanut butter! 🙂
LikeLike
I think Cadbury buttons are my favourites. Just something about their shape makes them more appealing. Then it’s the Mars Bar for me. I am a bit of a chocolate fan though 🙂
LikeLike
I love chocolate that has a cute shape. 🙂 I think that’s part of why I like Hershey chocolate eggs so much. They are kinda cute!
LikeLike
There’s an International Chocolate Day? I’ll have to raid my stash to celebrate! : )
My favorite, hands down, is dark. (Though you can’t beat a Hershey bar or Cadbury chocolate.) Not the 80% cocoa that my mom and brother adore, but somewhere around the 60% range. When I feel a little crazy, I love the ones with the sea salt added to it. Sounds ridiculous, but it adds the same sort of salty/sweet delight that peanut butter or chocolate covered pretzels have.
LikeLike
Salty sweet is sooo good! I’ll have to try your dark chocolate and salt trick. 🙂
LikeLike
These people in Durness. They started their business in a derelict Ministry Of Defence hut. The do mail order by the way.
http://www.cocoamountain.co.uk/
Second choice (because the set-up is a tad more meretricious) is this guy
http://highlandchocolatier.com/
Who has a tie-in with this lovely coffee shop
http://www.legendsofgrandtully.com/Pages/default.aspx
Cadbury’s is currently running a prize promotion via their ‘Wispa’ chocolate bar. Inside the wrapper is a chance to win a gold bar the size of a Wispa, but there are some minor prizes too. I recently won a free bar of chocolate, only when I entered the code on their site to get the voucher, the pdf file was blank and printed out as a blank piece of paper. Swiz! 😦
LikeLike
There is nothing better than homemade chocolate and fudge. I wish there were more local shops around that offered such delectable treats! :_)
Best of luck on the Cadbury contest. I’d be pretty happy for a free bar, too. Hope you get that code to work.
LikeLike
There is no remedy but to contact the company, but they are ignoring my emails. 😦
LikeLike
Mmmmm. Chocolate. My favorite? There’s a chocolate shop in the next town over, and if I am going to splurge, I buy an assortment of their handmade goodies including chocolate covered marzipan, ginger, orange peel, and always caramels!
LikeLike
Mmmmm! Sounds good.
There was a candy shop in Northern Wisconsin I went to all the time as a kid. They made chocolate covered fudge on a stick. I haven’t had one in years, but I’ll never forget how tasty there were!
LikeLike
Chocolate, what’s not to love? I’m a Cadbury fan, too, big on Caramellos. Usually I eat dark chocolate though, the lightest dark, around 56% with almonds and sea salt. It’s super chocately without being super sweet. Addictive stuff.
LikeLike
Oooo, I forgot about Caramellos! 🙂
LikeLike
I was unaware there was an International Chocolate Day. Sorry I missed it! I like my chocolate straight, but dark. Milk chocolate is okay, but I prefer the slight tartness of the darker varieties. I also adore it with almonds, peanut butter and/or caramel! Come to think of it, I’ll take dark chocolate in just about any combination! 🙂
If you love chocolate and since you travel a lot, you might be interested in a book by a local (to me, anyway) author, Doreen Pendgracs. Her book, Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate, “takes readers around the world in search of the best chocolate, most innovative chocolate makers, exciting chocolate events, and enticing chocolate destinations.” I plan on picking up a copy for the next time we travel. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh, that sounds like a fantastic read! I’m going to see if I can find it! 🙂
LikeLike
Chocolate…YUM!
LikeLike
I know! 🙂
LikeLike
I am a dark chocolate lover. Dark chocolate is as important to my music life as my tuner and harp tuning key. Finding chocolate without dairy or soy lethicin ingredients has been the most challenging part of my food plan. I went eight weeks without any chocolate (even I don’t believe I could do that!) before finding soy and dairy-free chocolate at Whole Foods. Whew!
LikeLike
Your strength is truly astounding! I don’t think I could ever give up chocolate for any length of time. It’s a full-time addiction!
LikeLike