stories:
The Ten
Sweet Salvation
Mail-order chocolates
for last-minute
holiday gifts
There are countless places to buy chocolates online, but if you eliminate the ones with shoddy ordering systems or extortionary shipping fees, you narrow the field considerably. The confections that made this list were three things: easy to order, pretty to look at, and delightful to eat.
1. Recchiuti Holiday Motif Box ($18). Eight pieces of the signature burnt-caramel ganache are dipped in bittersweet chocolate and decorated with mod snowflakes, trees, and snowmen.
2. CocoaBella Custom Box Builder ($40–$75). Handpicking a box of 20 or 40 chocolates will ensure that even the most selective giftee can’t complain—and no half-eaten chocolates will languish in the box, either.
3. Fran’s Gray & Smoked Salt Caramels ($22). An assortment of 15 caramels covered in milk and dark chocolate and topped with crunchy bits of gray and smoked salt.
4. MarieBelle Hot Chocolate Lunchbox ($25). Six single-serve envelopes of the famed single-origin hot chocolate arrive in a cute blue and gold metal lunchbox.
5. Monete di Fiori Coin Assortment ($20). The Washington chocolatier makes four types of chocolate (two milks, two darks), which are transformed into festive coins, elegantly wrapped in foil, and shipped to lucky recipients.
6. L.A. Burdick Holiday Penguin Box ($32). Nothing spreads holiday cheer like biting the head off adorable chocolate and lemon ganache birdies. Well, maybe biting off their little almond wings.
7. Kaka’wa Cocoa Beans ($28). The chocolatiest chocolate of them all—whole cocoa beans covered in white, dark, and milk chocolate.
8. Coco Délice Caramelized Chocolate Hazelnuts ($16.95). Coco Délice caramelizes whole hazelnuts and coats them in semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder to make these crunchy delicacies.
9. Bissinger’s Pumpkin Bark ($16.75). Don’t let the bright orange swirls put you off—this pumpkin and milk chocolate bark is actually very subtle in flavor.
10. Teuscher Champagne Truffles ($36). Champagne cream–filled truffles get a snowy coating of powdered sugar for a festive treat.
Roxanne Webber is an associate editor at CHOW.
I heartily recommend a brand not on this list. Richard Donnelly and his brother own a small chocolate shop in Santa Cruz, California. http://www.donnellychocolates.com/
When I was in college at UCSC, I lived a five minute walk away, and would now and then go there for a truffle treat (just one every so often is good for what ails ya!)
Richard studied in Paris and Brussels, and just knows what he's doing. Truffles, bars, filled chocolates, a fabulous sauce and more, and it is now online, good for me, since I now live in LA!
I think this is a great list of items. If you're in the Toronto/GTA/Etobicoke area you should check out Sitting Around Eating BonBons ... fair trade, organic and delicious chocolate treats for everyone's taste. Even some items without dairy. :)
http://www.sittingaroundeatingbonbons...
Most likely too late now to order for Christmas but you should check out Lillie Belle Farms Chocolate of Jacksonville Oregon They just won the 2008 Scovie Awards for their Cayenne Caramel
taking first place in the Sweet Heat catagory
They also won the GRAND PRIZE AWARD beating 783 other entries for taste!!
Their truffles are made with the perfect combination of the Rogue Creamery's award winning Smokey Blue Cheese!
http://www.lilliebellefarms.com/
The BEST chocolate anywhere, anytime, hands down, is John and Kiras. It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny. There is absolutely no comparison to anything else...it is THAT GOOD!
I was lucky enough to receive a gift box for my birthday. My favorite is the pistachio...and the ginger....and the mint...you just can't go wrong with any of them.
http://www.johnandkiras.com
Another really good site for gourmet chocolates is http://www.someonespoilme.com/gifts/f... they have all the ones listed plus more.
I like the comment on the Donnelly chocolates, I have ordered from there and they're great. Teuscher champagne truffles are still the one to beat though. For the best online price try: http://www.teuscherboston.com
Leah's Pralines of New Orleans is best known for its delicious pralines, but they also sell a complete line of HANDMADE gourmet chocolates. www.leahspralines.com has a variety of chocolates to choose from.