When I was a young, every summer my cousin Harlan would come to spend a few weeks with my family. He lived in Hawaii, so coming to Los Angeles or Portland seemed like a strange way for him to spend part of his summer vacation, but he seemed to enjoy it and I loved to see him, so everyone was happy. About a month before he was scheduled to arrive, we would start saving pickle juice for him, because he loved the stuff (you weren't expecting that one, were you?). I always thought it was gross, but he looked forward to the jars of briny, green-tinged liquid, so we kept doing it.

Apparently, Harlan isn't the only one out there who is partial to pickle juice. The Pickle Sickle is a pickle juice pop that you can drink from the tube or freeze it and enjoy it as you would a popsicle. The company that created this "treat" is selling it to schools as a way to move away from the corn syrup filled Otter Pops (and other sweet frozen desserts).

What do you guys think? Horrible idea or intriguing treat?

[via Fridge Magnet]

At Trader Joe's the other day, I picked up a container of Dark Chocolate Covered Dried Cherries on my way to the checkout. Unlike chocolate-covered raisins, each piece was huge and there was clearly a high chocolate-to-cherry ratio. Chocolate and cherries are a great combination as it is, but Trader Joe's tends to carry some high-quality brands (under their store name), so I didn't hesitate to put them in my cart. My immediate thought was that they would be good in a cookie, so I baked up a batch to share with some friends. I used one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes, which turns out cookies that are just sweet and buttery enough to be dangerously addictive, with a slightly chewy center and crispy edges. The cherries added some extra chew to the basic recipe and the chocolate brought it all together.

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.

Looking for a way to use up some leftover eggnog, I considered possibilities like eggnog cookies and eggnog cheesecake before deciding to make up a batch of eggnog popovers. A popover is made with an egg batter, very similar to crepe batter, that puffs up in the oven, literally popping over the top of the tin that it is made in. Since the batter is similar to pancake batter, I was hoping for something that would be appropriate for breakfast or dessert and that is exactly what I got.

The interior of these popovers is moist and tender, almost custardy, while the exterior is light and crisp. They're best when they're still hot or warm, but are still tasty at room temperature. You can really taste the eggnog flavor, boosted with a bit of nutmeg and vanilla, and they go wonderfully with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

Mendiants are small disks of chocolate that are studded with dried or candied fruits and nuts. Traditionally, they are part of the Christmas celebration in France, where the fruits and nuts on top of the chocolates were chosen to represent "the four mendicant monastic orders and the color of their robes." The original toppings were raisins for the Dominicans, hazelnuts for the Augustins, dried figs for the Franciscans and almonds for the Carmelites. Now, chocolatiers are just as likely to get creative with the toppings for these bite-sized treats as they are with any other confection.

You can always buy a batch that is already made, but making mendiants is a simple process. Start by assembling a selection of toppings, such as cacao nibs, nuts (pistachios, walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts), dried fruits (cranberries, raisins, cherries, candied orange peel) and anything else that pairs well with chocolate, like small chunks of butter cookies or fleur de sel , as recommended by Clotilde. Melt some good quality chocolate and drop spoonfuls of it onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper to make circles. Place a small assortment of toppings on each disc and set aside to harden. Peel off when ready to serve.

In an attempt to scare children into good behavior around Christmas, some parents would often tell their kids that Santa would fill their stockings with coal instead of presents on Christmas morning if they were naughty. And since the kids already knew that Santa knew just about everything, this strategy sometimes worked and the parents got a couple weeks of good behavior in winter. At least, it would work until the kids realized that their parents were putting them on about Santa delivering coal. To get back at your kids for less-than-perfect behavior this holiday season (not that we're implying that they're anything less than angelic!), you could actually give them some coal - Coal Gum. The box has 2.5 ounces of sweet, but black, gum.

In Italy, where the coal-in-stockings legend got started, parents can give their kids Carbone Dolce, or "sweet coal" as a treat on Christmas. It is basically a mixture of chocolate and puffed rice cereal that is melted together and left to harden into lumps of "coal."

It's that time of year again. I'm not talking about the holiday season or the fact that there is a whole new array of winter vegetables in the produce aisle. I'm talking about the fact that late fall is when Nabisco puts out Mallomars again. Mallomars are a cross between cookies and candy, with a fluffy marshmallow topping a crispy cookie, all covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. It is the chocolate layer, which hasn't been replaced with a chocolate-flavored, heat resistant substance, that makes Mallomars so vulnerable to destruction in warm weather. They are at the top of the snacking pyramid for marshmallow lovers and, as they are only readily available for a few weeks each year, they are quite the hot item, despite the fact that they can only be sold when the weather is cool.

They have been around since 1913, so they have nostalgic appeal in addition to generally being appealing to new, younger audiences. The place where Mallomars are the most popular is New York, which Kraft/Nabisco says makes of 70% of its annual sales of the treat. Not only that, but some of the vendors that carry it say it is their best selling cookie all year - probably because people are stocking up for the off season.

Jonathan was exactly right to point out that hot chocolate season is just picking up and, of course, there is no better way to get it started than with some new ideas for making some at home. Hot Chocolate: 50 Heavenly Cups of Comfort is a book full of indulgent renditions of a favorite treat, featuring high-quality chocolates and many twists that will keep the drink interesting night after night. At the beginning of the book there is some basic information to start you off on the right track, such as an overview of the basic types of chocolate and a reminder that cocoa is, in fact, good for you - just in case you were having any second thoughts about some of the richer recipes. The drinks include regional recipes, such as Ecuadorian Heirloom Hot Chocolate, spirited recipes that include Mint Julep Hot Chocolate and Hot Chocolate Nog, and ones that are just plain delicious, like Peanut Butter Dream Hot Chocolate, Vanilla Hot Chocolate and Classic American Hot Chocolate.

Don't forget the marshmallows!

This Halloween, parents across the country might try to limit their kids' intake of candy from their Halloween haul, forcing them to limit themselves to one or two pieces a day. But does this teach children the wrong lesson about food? Some experts say that it does. This practice raises up the candies above the level of normal foods and they become something special, something coveted, something to sneak pieces of and hide the evidence. Such habits can set a precedence that will last for the rest of kids' lives and lead to problems with compulsive eating in the future.

Instead of making candy into this exotic and much-desired item, some parents let their kids eat as much candy as they want on holidays like Halloween. They eat fairly balanced meals the rest of the time, but on those few special occasions the kids can go all-out if they want to. This teaches kids to regulate their own intake (especially if they accidentally eat themselves sick once) because they know that indulgence isn't something to constantly be sought out. The kids aren't focused for the whole day on that one piece they will be permitted after dinner and are much less likely to binge eat when they actually do have free-access to treats.

October 30th is National Candy Corn Day and while we've talked a little bit about what it tastes like, we haven't talked at all about its history at all.

Candy corn was created in the 1880s by the Wunderlee Candy Company and, by 1900, was being produced by the Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly), which has continuously produced it for more than a century. Candy corns get their name from the fact that they are shaped like a kernel of corn. Although they are often shown point-up, the yellow end is really the "top" of the corn. The design apparently made it popular with farmers when it first came out, but it was the fact that it had three colors - a really innovative idea - that catapulted it to popularity.

Originally, candy corn was made of sugar, corn syrup (not HFCS), fondant and marshmallow, among other things, and the hot mixture was poured into cornstarch molds, where it set up. This original mixture is probably where the name of the candy corn-like Mellocreme Pumpkins comes from. The recipe changed slightly over time and there are probably a few variations in recipes between candy companies, but the use of a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, gelatin and vanilla (as well as honey, in some brands) is the standard.

A serving of candy corn has about 22 pieces and contains 140 calories, no fat. While it is just about all sugar, the sweet can still be a better choice than a couple of mini candy bars or other Halloween treats that are high in both calories and in fat. Additionally, 22 pieces of candy corn will last a lot longer than one mini candy bar will.

Feeling crafty this Halloween? Not Martha came up with some really creepy creations that are perfect for a Halloween party. The little cakes use primarily ready-made ingredients, which not only take the pressure off a busy cook who already has more important dishes in the oven, but adds another level of scariness for those of you who are not inclined to consume packaged snack cakes on a regular basis. The bodies of the cake critters are all based on Twinkies, Glo Balls and Ding Dongs and can easily be made with other, similar cakes. The slightly moist surface allows colored sugar and sprinkles to stick readily if you want to change the color of the cake or add a design to the body. The legs are all made with Pocky and used a brilliant method of construction. Each Pocky was cut in two and then the two pieces were fused back together, at the appropriate angle, with chocolate. Matching the color/texture of the Pocky to that of the cakes will give you the most "realistic" outcome, but if your spiders end up with pink legs, you'll have fun putting them together anyway.

Moonstruck Chocolate Co. usually focuses on making some of the most beautiful confections that you're likely to see, with creation designs and precision artistry, but for Halloween, they do something a little different. In the spirit of the season, some of their seasonal offerings look more scary than sophisticated, which we love because it seems a little more appropriate for the holiday. The Halloween Horror Pizza is milk chocolate topped with a chocolate truffle eyeball and some gummy goodies that you wouldn't expect to find on any pizza. The Ivory Skull and Wormy Jack are both filled with gummy candies to give anyone who bites into the chocolate a Halloween trick, as well as a treat.

If you can't make up your mind as to which one you want, you can order a combo pack that contains one of each.

If, for some reason, you aren't familiar with the practice of giving candy out to costumed children on Halloween, you might want to take a look at the guide put together by Stuff Magazine explaining the best and worst things to give out. Eager trick or treaters look forward to participating in the ritual every year and we wouldn't want to disappoint them. The worst "treats" include:

• Apples -- They're tasty, but they're not candy. They're "disappointing as hell for a little kid expecting a Snickers."
• Marshmallows -- Yes, they're candy, but they don't usually come individually wrapped -- a must for Halloween treats.
• A bag of pennies -- "It's like giving away a gift certificate for a piece of gum." Save up all those pennies and buy a bag of the real thing.
• Smarties -- The U.S. Smarties are chalky and kids don't even seem to enjoy them, despite the fact that they sometimes eat them on the grounds that they still constitute candy. Try to get U.K. Smarties (similar to M&M's) or avoid the candy mixes that include these.
• Anything homemade -- "This one is alright if you only give them to kids with neglectful parents." Any responsible parent is going to dump something unwrapped as fast as possible. Save your energy.
• Raisins -- "People generally give them out under the pretense that they want to make kids healthier. In reality, they give them out because they hate fun." The boxed raisins never taste all that fresh anyway.

The best options would include "anything made by a real candy company," preferably king-sized versions.

After all, any resulting cavities aren't going to end up on your dental bill.

[Thanks, Patrick]

Homemade marshmallows are definitely one of my favorite candies. Unlike store-bought marshmallows, they are like little clouds of sweetness that are soft, tender and melt in your mouth. They are easy to eat, go perfectly with coffee, flavored coffee drinks and hot chocolate, and are ideal for making s'mores. They are also surprisingly easy to make, and very impressive when you bring them out to serve to friends or family. The only real drawback is that you really need a stand mixer to make them, as it allows you to keep your hands free while you're working and has a very large whisk (as opposed to the beaters of a hand-held mixer) that does the job quickly and efficiently.

I really recommend using vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean crush instead of plain vanilla extract because the tiny bean specks really look fantastic in the finished candy. Read on for the recipe, which I have made and enjoyed countless times:

Capogiro Gelato is a small artisanal gelateria based in Philadelphia. The family-run business works on a very small scale, producing gelato in batches of just 1-3 gallons using almost entirely locally sourced ingredients. Their milk comes from grass-fed, hormone free cows and the produce they use is hand picked, varying from season to season and delivered directly from farms and by growers. This seasonality means that the gelateria has more than 250 different flavors in its repertoire, all produced with the same devotion to high-quality that is applied when sourcing ingredients.

The attention to detail is well worth it. Capogiro Gelato makes some of the best that I can remember tasting.