First, a confession: I am not a chocoholic. I don't generally crave the stuff. Faced with a typical assorted box, I can stop after just one. But when the right chocolate product comes along, I morph into both fiend and pusher. Here are three of my very favorite indulgences, all available for purchase online.- See's Candy Toffee-Ettes. The ultimate bite-sized morsel. At the center, Danish butter toffee, perfectly salted, encases toasted whole almonds. Around that is a layer of luscious milk chocolate. Then the whole tiny chocolate parcel is rolled in more coarsely chopped almonds. By now, See's, which began in Los Angeles, has much more than a cult following; in my opinion, they could have made their name on the strength of Toffee-Ettes alone. Fifteen bucks for a pound.
- poco dolce Aztec Chili Bittersweet Tiles. Another California find. If See's is all about down-home comfort, poco dolce appeals to the more uptown or Continental area of the taste bud map. Grey sea salt, roasted pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and an swift kick of ground chili all meld beautifully with the silky dark chocolate. The price is a bit more uptown, too, at $18 for a box of eight tiles.
- sweetriot Cacao Nibs. A Slashfood colleague wrote about these two Decembers ago, so I will defer to her thorough description. I have only these three words to add: Perfect. Stocking. Stuffer.
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