"Kisses" news and stories

Well it looks like sales are down at Hershey's for their famous kiss. The chocolate giant has seen sales drop by four percent just this year, despite the huge chocolate holiday that just passed. Of course this cannot be tolerated.

The company plans on revamping one of it's oldest products. They're going to look into new packaging and new marketing strategies. Apparently celebrating the Kisses' 100th birthday with postage stamps and "other festivities" wasn't enough. (By the way, either it wasn't effective or I was buried under a rock. I had no idea this happened).

I know how Hershey's can improve sales on their Kisses. They can improve the quality of the product. I can name five chocolates off the top of my head that I'd rather put into my mouth. Work on the quality and then we'll talk about sales.

[Via topixfood]

Way back in 2005, Cybele reviewed Orange Creme Hershey's Kisses at Candyblog. The orange-flavored white chocolate kisses didn't last too long at the time, but Hershey's has just re-released them, labeled as a "limited edition" offering for their year-long 100th anniversary celebration.

The original review noted - and I completely agree - that these chocolates taste a lot like orange creamsicles in the way that they blend orange and vanilla. The chocolate has a tempting orange scent and melts into your mouth smoothly and easily when you bite into one. Unfortunately, these kisses also have an almost overpowering sweetness to them that makes it difficult to eat any more than one at a time without having something to wash them down with.

The concept for these kisses is a good one. I'd try mixing these up with dark chocolate kisses (or other dark chocolates) for some variety and to subdue the sugar.

The bag makes no mention of how long the release will last, but I wouldn't be surprised if they stick around at least until Easter at the beginning of April.

Still looking for some chocolaty Valentine's Day gift ideas? Why not try some kisses? We're not talking about Hershey's Kisses, although they are offering plenty of Valentine's themed candies, including Chocolate Truffle-filled kisses and Cherry Cordial Creme kisses. We're talking about upmarket kisses from Jacques Torres.

This Valentine's Day, Jacques Torres is offering a lot of sweet treats for lovers. In his stores, the offerings will include Jolie Kiss Chocolate Boxes (pictured) which are hollow kisses in dark, milk and white chocolate filled with chocolate X's, O's, hearts and mini kisses. He will also have Champagne Kiss Truffles, which are made with Taittinger Rosé champagne and chocolate ganache, then topped with a pink lip graphic. For those doing their shopping online, the Champagne Kiss truffles can also be purchased here.

Other, non-kiss treats include heart-shaped boxes filled with romance bonbons and other lovely truffles, three types of body butters - Love Tonic, Caramel Body Butter, and Raspberry Body Paint - to share with your significant other, and a huge basket called the Sweetheart collection for those who can't narrow down their options.

Hershey's brand new, limited edition Dark Chocolate Raspberry Kisses are clearly intended to be for Valentine's Day, as the little red hearts decorating their wrappers are a reliable indicator of the holiday that they are affiliated with, despite the fact that they aren't mentioned on the Hershey's Valentine site. When I first saw them, I expected these candies to be a dark chocolate shell with a raspberry filling of some kind, either a jam or a cream. The combination of raspberries and dark chocolate is right up there with strawberries and chocolates, so the prospect seemed promising and I hurriedly opened the bag when I got home.

Meringue kisses are very easy cookies to make but can be tricky to get right. Helene, from Tartelette, made these Holiday Meringue Kisses to give away as part of some holiday gift baskets and provided a great tip to anyone who wants to try making them at home. The secret to achieving crisp meringue cookies that won't turn to grainy mush from moisture accumulation is to let them cool overnight in the oven by simply turning the oven off once they have baked. The residual heat continues to very gently cook the meringues, drying them to a lovely, light crispness. I have tried this technique myself a few times with good results, although I would warn everyone to put a note on the oven as a reminder that something is in there. I have had other people turn on the oven without checking it (and have foolishly done it myself, as well), only to smell burning meringues a few minutes later.

Helene tinted hers red and green for a Christmas-y look, but you can also try other small additions, such as adding peppermint extract to the cookies before baking or drizzling them with a bit of melted chocolate when they are done.

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