My Chocolate Fantasy

It’s hard not to give in to the sweet temptations of Paris. After all, one can hardly walk a block without passing a patisserie (the French version of a bakery). Rows and rows of delicacies line the window. Macarons, éclairs, tartes, beignets and pain au chocolate. Even those without a sweet tooth easily find much to savor in Paris.

Some of the most famous tea salons in Paris offer up these tasty morsels with utter civility. Sit down at a table in Angelina on the rue de Rivoli, and you’ll be hard pressed to pass up on their famous L’Africain – the impossibly thick hot chocolate that is worth dying for. When coupled with a colorful (and flavorful macaron), you’ll know that you’ve found bliss in Paris. 

This rue de Rivoli institution (and not the actress) has been enticing Parisiens and visitors alike with its gourmet delicacies for over a century, including Coco Chanel, Proust and the Parisien aristocracy. Designed by the famous Belle Epoque architect Edouard-Jean Niermans, Angelina remains a testament to a more civilized era. Located just steps from the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, Angelina is the perfect place to stop for breakfast, lunch or just a delicious snack.

Another quintessential Paris tea salon is Ladurée. There are several locations throughout the city, but its original 1862 location on the rue Royale was a simple bakery. After that shop burned down in 1871, it was rebuilt as a pastry shop. Ladurée gained it’s true fame, however, in 1930, when the Louis-Ernest Ladurée invented the macaron: two mini cake shells joined by a layer of creamy ganache. He transformed the pastry shop into a tearoom, and a legend was born.

If ice cream is your flavor, then you can’t leave Paris without a visit to Berthillon on the Île Saint-Louis. Known around the world for its ice cream, Berthillon (pronounced bear-tee-yone) also has locations around Paris, but the one on the island is the original. People line up for a cone, a cup or, if they’re staying in an apartment, a gallon to take home with them.

A cheap sweet treat can be found on just about any street in Paris: a crêpe. While many Parisians consume crêpes as a fast food lunch (filled with meats and cheeses), a dessert crêpe is just divine. Filled with everything from Nutella to fruit to nuts (and sometimes a combination of all), a crêpe can be enjoyed on the go, or while sitting in one of the many parks and gardens found throughout Paris.

Who doesn’t have a sweet tooth from time to time?  Sometimes we just crave something sweet and it is usually at a time when we don’t have a lot of time for baking.  Here are a couple of recipes to the rescue.  Both are easy enough for beginners to make, they are tasty, and they are economical.  Peanut Butter Caramel Bars start with a cake mix, how easy is that!  And Ten Minute Fudge proves that making candy doesn’t have to be complicated.

PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL BARS

1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) yellow cake mix1/2 cup butter, softened1 egg20 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped2 tbsps cornstarch1 jar (12 1/4 oz) caramel ice cream topping1/4 cup peanut butter1/2 cup salted nutsTOPPING:1 can (16 oz) milk chocolate frosting1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine the dry cake mix, butter and egg; beat until no longer crumbly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter cups. Press into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine cornstarch, caramel topping, and peanut butter until smooth. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil, about 25 minutes. Cook and stir one to two minutes longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanuts. Spread evenly over the warm crust. Bake 6 to 7 minutes longer or until almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Spread with frosting and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

TEN MINUTE FUDGE

3 cups (18 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate, if you prefer)1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milkdash of salt1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, optional1 1/2 tsps vanilla extractIn a heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the milk and salt. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, if desired. Stir in the vanilla. Spread evenly into a waxed paper lined square pan. Chill two hours or until firm. Turn out onto a cutting board, remove the waxed papper and cut into squares. Store covered in the refrigerator.Variation: You can make Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Fudge by replacing the nuts with 3/4 cup peanut butter chips.

Enjoy these sweet treats and eat some for me.  Now that I am diabetic, I am trying to wean myself off these wonderful sweets.

If I asked you to name one thing that everyone loves, to name one thing that you can buy as a gift for almost any person you know…what would you say? Tough questions, right? Wrong! You know that everyone loves chocolate, some people can’t get enough of the most luscious treat in the world. So why not give chocolate as a wedding favor to the guests at your reception? Your guests will fall in love with your wedding reception when they sink their teeth into the chocolate bars and personalized candy treats that you leave for them. Chocolate releases natural endorphins that loosen everyone up and set the stage for an amazing, high energy wedding reception or any other event or celebration. With personalized wrappers and packages, your guests will always have a lasting keepsake even after they gobble up their sweet chocolate or delectable candies.
Below are some examples of personalized chocolates that can used to enhance the theme of your wedding and add some flavor to the party on your big day. So go ahead and butter up your guests with the titillating taste of fine chocolate and good times between friends and loved ones at your the most intimate gathering you will ever share.
Bride and Groom Chocolate Bars: Pictured on the heavenly white wrapper of this chocolate bar are the bride and groom dressed in their best for the wedding. You can personalize the wrapper by adding the first names of the bride and groom. Dark chocolate comes wrapped in a gold wrapper and milk chocolate is wrapped in silver. The back of the outer covering gives the message “Thank you for spending this special day with us.” These bride and groom chocolate bars are the perfect way to personally thank your guests for making your celebration worth the time you spent planning it.
Personalized Wedding Rings Wedding Favor Chocolate Candy Bars: These chocolate bars have a beautiful golden outer covering with several symbolic messages and images. Each bar can be personalized with the first names of the bride and groom and their wedding date sitting daintily in the corner. The main appeal of the elegant chocolate bars is the phrase “With this ring, I thee wed” written in sophisticated script next to two entwined rings that symbolize the eternal bond between the bride and groom. These romantic chocolate bars are an amazingly satisfying addition to your celebration and a great way to say thank you to your guests for helping you make everlasting memories on your special day.
In addition to the products mentioned above, Her Wedding Favors offers many candy bars wrapped in paper embellished with cultural images and messages that will make any wedding more profound and meaningful. These cultural chocolate bars include an italian flag, hindu symbols, african patterns, buddha hands, and japanese characters. All of these chocolate bars can be personalized, so take a look and bring your roots to your wedding celebration.
Remember everybody loves chocolate. So consider chocolate treats as wedding favor gifts for your guest.

A little bit of sinful indulgence in some hearty dark chocolates can work wonders for a throbbing heart. In fact, they are the perfect healthy treats which give holistic results. Ever since health and fitness have become the mantra for many people, some have shunned chocolates. There is no need as chocolate hearts are the perfect stress busters. Unless you are on an absolutely low calorie diet, chocolates can pep up the dark mood. Chocolates containing high content of cocoa beans are healthy. The flavonoids in it help in blood thinning. Milk chocolates have sugar and milk making them high in calories. But dark chocolates do not need sugar. Hence they are ideal as an occasional treat. It improves insulin immunity too. Premium versions of dark chocolate are heavenly in taste. Buy them as gifts or for self consumption. Either way there is a huge variety in the market. They work well for many occasions all year round.Chocolate can be molded into many shapes and sizes. Chocolate hearts are appealing, giving a literal meaning to ‘eat your heart out’! Chocolates hearts work like magic when presented at special events. Rich in taste and beautifully packed, they are perfect gourmet gifts for chocolate connoisseurs. Some of the most common menus offer a delectable assortment.* white chocolate,* milk chocolate,* dark chocolate, * hazelnut,* rum & raisin,* mint,* cookies & cream,* cinnamon,* Irish cream,* mocha coffee,Chocolate hearts are useful for special events and make them memorable. Mini hearts for kiddie birthdays so that they do not overeat and house warming parties are ideal, big ones for Valentine’s Day with personalized messages like “Love You” or “Marry Me”. The mouth-watering hearts are attractively wrapped in many metallic and matt foils. Pink is perfect to present the world’s best mom and new born baby girls. Similarly blue has choco hearts wrapped for a a baby boy. White chocolate hearts are just right for weddings or Mother’s day whereas cookies and cream hearts are wonderful for birthday parties. Hazelnut or rum & raisin hearts are popular with nut lovers and best for anniversaries. Cinnamon hearts are spicy sweet, just like different flavours of love. Chocolate heart dragees are luxury heart shaped milk chocolate pieces covered in a thin crisp sugar coated shell- very popular with kids! So, what kind of a chocolate heart are you?

Keeping morale high at work can be quite a challenge in the current economic downtown, especially with so many workers fearful about their future employment prospects. However, if you are an employer a great way to boost everyone’s happiness and produce smiles all round, whether in a factory or office, could be by treating your co-workers to chocolate treats every now and then. That’s because chocolate has been proven to contain certain mood-lifting substances that can brighten the day of anyone consuming it. It was South American civilizations that first harvested the cocoa bean almost 1,500 years ago and after turning it into a bitter beverage, discovered its impact as a mood enhancer. Both the Mayans and Aztecs worshipped the Cacao Tree, believing it to be a gift of the gods. From its cocoa beans they produced a bitter drink they then laced with chilli and which was drunk only by the wealthy elite, normally only at special religious ceremonies. Indeed, that bitter drink was considered so valuable that cocoa beans were used by the Aztecs as currency and they often went to war with neighbouring Mayans to acquire them. The Aztecs’ version of the Mayan drink was known as Xocolatl, which 16th century Spaniard conquistadors adapted to the easier-to-pronounce ‘chocolat’, further mutated to ‘chocolate’ once it reached English shores. Extensive recent research has proved that both the Mayans and Aztecs were right to value chocolate, as it is a source of phenylethlamine and serotonin, both of which are also chemicals naturally produced by the human body to lift moods. So, as it has been proven that imbibing chocolate drinks or eating chocolate bars produces an artificial boost of mood-lifting agents, giving a chocolate gift to employees or colleagues could certainly improve morale around the workplace! But, even though chocolate does engender the feelgood factor for the majority, not everyone appreciates its fine qualities. So, if you opt for this fairly cost-effective way of raising office or factory morale don’t let it backfire. Remember to have an alternative handy for anyone who doesn’t eat chocolate, thus avoiding any accusations that they have been marginalised; perhaps a pack of wine gums or for those who shun chocolates and sweets altogether, something savoury such as crisps, or whatever takes that particular employee’s fancy. The important thing is to get them to feel as good as their colleagues and co-workers who will be getting a natural lift from the chocolate.

Have you ever wondered about what goes into the making of a delicious fortune cookie? Fortune cookies have an uncanny ability to remind people of the most fun times of their childhood. Sharing their cookies with friends, swapping them at lunch, baking cookies with parents on a Sunday, and many such touching memories are associated with a bite of a fortune cookie, no matter how much time has passed in life.
Although these types of cookies can be made in almost any flavor that you can think of, many people agree that chocolate fortune cookies are among the most favored of all. An addicted bunch love the aroma of chocolate mixed with butter and baked fresh out of the oven! And, if it is a double chocolate cookie, then so much the better.
Whoever thought of adding oatmeal to cookie dough must have known how great it can taste, too. Some people even add canned fruit cubes or dried banana, orange, berry or raisin pieces to the fortune cookie dough to add that extra zing to the taste. A lot of people love to discover the nuts and fruits embedded in the fortune cookie while biting into them.
In addition, fortune cookies can also be covered in chocolate dips. These can be dark or white dips. As many people don’t have the time or the patience to make cookies at home, they often resort to the tinned versions of these cookies, too. Although some of these tinned cookies are pretty good, most of them tend to turn stale and hard, if they are kept on the shelf for a few months. One way to bring back some of the flavor and taste to these tinned cookies is to dip them in your own favorite flavor of chocolate and add a few pieces of nuts on the top. A lot of people also prefer using M&Ms, to stud them on the surface.
Fortune cookies, especially the chocolate dipped fortune cookies, are fast becoming the most popular form of special gift items. Not only are they easy to make and have a wide variety of options as far as packing and decorating them is concerned, they also bring a sense of romance and mystery with them, because of the fortune hidden inside each one.
You can use simple cellophane paper to wrap them, and tie them up with ribbons. Adding a personal message is definitely a great idea. There are beautiful Chinese gift boxes readily available in the market, that can be used to pack these fortune cookies.
The best thing about fortune cookies is that you can choose to make them in as many flavors as you want to. However, chocolate coated fortune cookies in white chocolate, orange, vanilla or caramel have proven to be popular crowd pleasers. A lot of people leave the edges of the cookie uncoated with the chocolate dip, so that it remains easier to crack open the cookie, allowing the fortune to be retrieved without having chocolate smeared all over the hands.
Using mint chips, candy or granola bars, peanut butter confections or dried berries for the fortune cookie is also a tasty idea. As long as you can keep each flavor distinct, and don’t go overboard with the taste, it is always fun to experiment with these delicious pieces of chocolate heaven. Like love, chocolate is also considered to evoke feelings of passion and happiness. Therefore, carefully decorated and customized chocolate dipped fortune cookies are simply great gifts for all types of occasions.