It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Ho, ho, ho! Here we are, just a little over a week away from Christmas and if you're like most people, you're just not feeling the holiday spirit. Am I right? Well, here's something to bring the magic alive.

What do you mean, what is it? It's Santa. Can't you tell?

At least that's what Russell Stover would have us believe. Just because you can't see Santa doesn't mean he doesn't exist.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Yumsters! I hope you all had wonderful holidays with lots of candy goodness. Here's a picture of some mini "donuts" made from Cheerios that we left for Santa's elves. (After all, they do all the work while Santa reaps all the cookie benefits.)
I wanted to check in and let you know that Candy Yum Yum will probably be a bit sporadic for a while. As I mentioned before, I've been dealing with some crazy vertigo and-- well, I'm just going to come out and say it-- I'm cutting back on the sugar to see if my diet will change anything. Believe me, I am not thrilled at the prospect of cutting chocolate out of my daily food plan, but if it will stop the spins, then I have to do it. I hope you'll check back from time to time and drop me a note if you see anything exciting, unusual or distressing in the candy world.

Candy Empire State Building!

I'm not exactly sure why I thought going to the top of the Empire State Building last weekend was a good idea, considering I've had vertigo for four months and it was one of the busiest weekends in the city all year. Nevertheless, up we went. It was great and all, but the real treasure was at the bottom. A candy replica of the sky scraper! So very cool.

Christmas Gift Idea #2: Made in the U.S.A. candy canes!

You've heard me complain about candy made in China before and at this time of year I always seem to get a few e-mails from people asking about candy canes. I was so excited when I received a press release yesterday about a new candy cane on the market. Check this out: True Blue Candy Canes are red, white and blue candy canes for a cause. Twenty-five percent of profits from the candy canes benefit the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, which assists children who have lost a parent in the Marine Corps by allowing them to pursue higher education.

In 2009, Alexander Lynn—just 18 at the time—vowed to help families of U.S. service members after his cousin returned home from a nine-year assignment in the Marine Corps. It was just two weeks before Christmas, and Alexander glanced at his Christmas tree laden with candy canes, and the idea of True Blue Candy Canes dawned on him.

Each True Blue Candy Cane is handcrafted by Hammond’s Candies of Denver. True Blue Candy Canes can be purchased online at truebluecandycanes.com. 

 

Now, as is usually the case, these are more expensive than made-in-China candy canes. They're $9.99 for a box of three (don't choke!), but it should be noted that these are big and substantial. (I haven't tried them, so I can't comment on the taste.) And, of course, $2.50 goes directly to the charity. So it all comes down to how strong your political leanings are.

Let the giving begin!

Let the countdown to Christmas begin! I'm going to start posting some ideas for holiday gifts here, so let me know if you have any ideas or are looking for something specific. In the meantime, here's Gift Idea #1 for Christmas 2011:

Lindt Bear
I think these bears are adorable and make great gifts because a) they're good-quality chocolate, so they feel like a real gift rather than just some last-minute purchase and b) they're a nice price (around $4 for the big bear). I was sent some samples from the company, and I fully intended on putting the little bears in the Sugar Baby's stocking. (You know, in case Santa forgets the chocolate.) But one night I heard the sweet Siren call of the chocolate bears and I couldn't resist. Oh yes, there was plenty of chocolate in the house, but for some reason, a little hollow bear seemed to be just the thing I needed. I was quite surprised when I peeled back the foil and was just overcome with the most perfect, intense chocolate aroma. It was like the good old days at the chocolate shop when I'd come home from work and sniff my hair which was permeated with the smell of cocoa. I thoroughly enjoyed my little bear, so much so that there aren't any left. Looks like Santa had better remember to bring some more with him. 

My New Obsession: Dark Chocolate Stars

My P.I.C. and I decided that, this year, instead of getting gifts for each others' kids, we'd splurge and give presents to each other. Nothing big, just something fun. Well, howdy doo, guess what I got? A veritable candy feast of Trader Joe's goodies. There's Fleur de Sel caramels, chocolate-covered edamame, chocolate-covered peppermint Joe Joe's and-- hold onto your hats-- dark chocolate-covered shortbread stars.
Back in November, there was a woman behind me in line at TJ's who was buying a whole bunch of boxes of the stars. She said she learned her lesson last year when they sold out. I didn't think much of it, because I'm not a huge shortbread fan. But these are beyond compare. They really don't taste like shortbread. They don't have that huge butter taste and are more thin and crunchy than thick and crumbly. The chocolate is delicious. If these were a candy, they just might be voted the best of 2010. Now I know. Next year I will hoard them.
What about you? What treats did you get for Christmas?

A Candy Yum Yum Christmas Message

Merry Christmas Yumsters! I hope you're still with me, as I seem to be experiencing some domain problems. Please stand by; I will resolve this in due time. Meanwhile, enjoy all your holiday goodies and get ready ... the Candy Year in Review will be coming up shortly!

Giveaway Time! Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark

It's time for another giveaway, don't you think? How about some Limited Edition Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark? I love this stuff. It's so festive and you can do so much with it... eat it right out of the bag or bake with it. So, if you'd like a chance to win some bars and bags, leave a comment here telling me what your favorite Christmas cookie is. Could be anything, from your grandma's famous prune cookies to your BFF's whiskey balls. I'll pick one lucky person at random on December 14 at approximately 1:45 p.m., give or take a few minutes. Remember to leave a way for me to contact you. You can't win if you're anonymous!

Cocoa with 6 Grams of Fiber?!

A few more Trader Joe's updates. First, they have "Coins of the World" which are much cooler than the regular old drugstore bag of geld. Here, the Sugar Baby has made a Christmas tree out of his (after he won all of my coins in a rousing game of dreidel).Second, check this out. Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate. Sounds delish, right? Well check out the nutritional info, too: 6 grams of fiber, baby! I'm not sure how that's even possible, given that the ingredients are cocoa powder, cane sugar, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter. Any nutritionists want to give us some insight on that? Because I'm all about six grams of fiber.

Minty Mallows and ... Announcing My New Gig!

It's that time of year again ... the time when I can't go to Trader Joe's with an empty sugar tooth because they have all their holiday yummy things out. They have cute snowflakes made out of milk, white and dark chocolate; holiday jelly beans in red, green and white (with no artifical colors or flavors); lots of truffles and fleur de sel caramels, chocolate-covered Joe-Joe's ... it goes on and on. I decided to go for the Dark Chocolate Minty Mallows. Want to know more? You know you do! Check out my new food blog, EatDrinkShopCook! I've accepted a gig as the food writer for a group of local papers, which means my postings here may be a bit sparse for a while, until I get my bearings over there.

Holiday Gifts #2 & 3: Stocking Stuffers

I love the new Wonka Exceptionals products. It's like they take a typical candy and tweak it just a bit to make it different. Such is the case with their Peppermint Shortbread Chocolate Pieces. Each little piece is wrapped in foil like a present and the candy is milk chocolate with shortbread cookie and peppermint candy pieces. A new twist on peppermint bark.
I was very excited to see these limited edition Paul Frank Nestle Crunch bars. Who doesn't love a monkey with their chocolate? The package is actually a cardboard box/card. The only disappointing thing is that I expected the actual chocolate to have a monkey on it, but it was just a regular King Size Crunch. Still fun though. Love the packaging. The Paul Frank bars are only available at Target, by the way.

Get Ready for Christmas Baking With Hershey's!

Oh my, we're quickly descending into holiday season, aren't we? Here's something cool that Hershey's is offering. From now until Nov. 15, you can visit www.HersheysCookies.com to apply for a chance to host a Hershey's Cookie Exchange Party. If you're chosen, you'll get a big box of baking goodies, like Kisses, Hershey's Cocoa, Baking Chips, Toffee Bits and more. Even better, when you visit the site you can enter the Bake Share and Win promotion, where one lucky grand prize winner will get a kitchen makeover for themselves and a friend. Man, I'd love that. I think they'd first have to bring in an exorcist to rid my kitchen of its evil karma, though, and I'm not sure that's part of the package.

Christmas is Saved! Creme Drops to the Rescue!

Lookee what showed up on my doorstep today! The good folks at Zachary heard my desperate call for some of their Creme Drops. (As you may recall, we've looked high and low for these Christmas favorites.) I've never had them myself, but they were exactly what I thought. The center is an odd texture; definitely not creamy, but not chewy, either. Kind of like the filling in a York Peppermint Pattie, except that it's thicker and crumblier and, of course, vanilla-flavored, not mint.
Needless to say, the Sugar Baby heard the doorbell when the UPS man rang it, so there was no hiding these from him. I went the bribe route: if he took a nap, he could have one when he woke up. Guess what? It worked.

That's a Wrap

It's time to totally wrap up 2009, so I thought I'd share some of my Christmas goodies with you. After trying See's Candies, I went to their website and was drooling over the different chocolates they have. I bought a box of Molasses Chips for my mom and a box of Awesome Peanut Brittle Bars for my dad. My parents generously shared. I wasn't so keen on the Molasses Chips (although my mom liked them), but the Peanut Brittle Bar was mighty tasty. A nice combination of salty peanuts, crunchy toffee and chocolate.I tried my hand at making Grandma Judy's Cashew Brittle, but I kind of burned it. It was still edible, though, and the Baron made his way through most of the tin. The Sugar Baby is working on the rest of it.
For the Necco Door Neighbor, who prefers salty snacks, I got some chocolate-covered potato chips. Oh, how I love those. I had to get them out of my house fast, lest I unwrap and eat them myself.
On December 23, I got a message from my father-in-law. "Could you pick up some chocolate drops for Shirley? You know, cream-filled chocolate drops? We can't find any here and I'd like to surprise her, so don't call back."
Yeah, uh, sure, except I had no idea what chocolate drops were.
I listened to the message a couple of times, hoping for more clues. Okay, they're chocolate. They're filled with cream. Maybe he was just talking about an assorted box of chocolate creams? I went to Munson's, where I worked in college, and bought a big box of chocolate-covered soft centers.When the in-laws arrived, I pulled F-I-L aside and said, "What the heck are chocolate drops?"
Turns out, he meant these:Yep. These candies that you see everywhere. Except they aren't everywhere. I checked the Zachary website, and they're supposedly available at all sorts of places, but I have yet to find them. What's up with that? I'm still on the hunt, so if anyone has any clues, let me know!
While I was at Munson's, I couldn't help but get the Sugar Baby a box of his very own truffles: chocolate, orange, raspberry and caramel. He was in heaven. So much so, that it became an issue. He carried them around the house. He lined them up in the box. Yes, he even slept with them. When they were gone, he started having meltdowns. "We need truffles today!" he yelled. This led to the Great Candy Purge. Yes, believe it or not, we cleared the house of all candy. Mr. Goodbar took it all to work (I couldn't watch-- it was too painful), but for the good of the Sugar Baby's diet, we needed to get him back on track. And now I'm starting off 2010 with a (mostly) candy-free house. (Remember, there's always the nightstand.)

Wacky Candies! Chocolate-Covered Pomegranate Seeds and Blueberry Yogurt Discs

One of the good things about Christmas is that I'm more apt to "splurge" on little things that I wouldn't necessarily buy on a normal day. Little Gretl von Schokolat loves pomegranates, so naturally when I saw these chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds at Trader Joe's, I had to get them. She doesn't like dark chocolate, but she said they were really good. "First it tastes like dark chocolate," she said, "but then you get this pomegranate burst."
I asked The Baron what he thought about them and he said he didn't like them, but then admitted that he was just shoving fistfuls of them in his mouth and not really enjoying the pomegranate experience. I still have no sense of taste, so I can't give my two cents. I have a feeling that, as a novelty for a pom lover, these are fun, but if you're looking for some serious chocolate, these wouldn't satisfy the need.The other thing of interest was this tin of Blueberry Blast yogurt candies. I bought these for the Sugar Baby because a) He's into planets (especially Saturn, but who isn't, really?); b) he loves blueberries; and c) I thought the tin was cute.
I actually thought these were going to be little dried blueberries with a yogurt couverture, but nope, they were so not that. I really think the front of the tin should give some indication that you're getting actual candy, not something yogurt-covered. They were little compressed sugar disks, like miniature Sweettarts. If you like blueberry, you'll love these. The berry taste was right on and the yogurt gave it a nice tang. I don't have the package here next to me, and to be quite honest, I'm just too lazy to go upstairs and get it, but if you're looking for a compressed candy that has no artificial flavors or colors, this is for you. I'd love to see these in other flavors, like orange or lime. In any case, the Sugar Baby chowed them all down in one sitting. Portion control is not his strong suit.

The Perfect Gift for the Reese's Kid

I went onto the Hershey's website in early December and tried ordering the World's Largest Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for the Reese's kid. Suffice it to say that it was a nightmare process (all sorts of pain in the neck issues) and I had all but given up on the idea. But then I gave it one more try and successfully sent two 1-pound packages to the Reese's kid and his big brother. As you can see, he is visibly excited by the thought of 16 ounces of pure chocolatey peanut buttery goodness.
In other peanut butter and chocolate news, a friend sent me a big bag of homemade peanut butter cups for Christmas. They lasted all of about five minutes on Christmas Eve.
What kind of candy did you have at Christmas?

Maid with Love: Chocolates from Wisconsin

Hello? Santa? Anyone? What happened to Christmas? Apparently Christmas came and went here at the House of Yum. I kind of remember some presents being opened, but that's about it. I was attacked head-on by a sinus and ear infection that knocked the Christmas past, present and future out of me. Good times.
I'm two days into a course of antibiotics and now I can at least sit up without feeling like my head is going to explode so it's time to start reporting on all the holiday goodies that were sampled around here.
Like these-- a gift from Aunt and Uncle Subtle. Check these babies out. Oh, oops, sorry. They were eaten before I had a chance to take a picture. In any case, these were chocolate creams and toffees from Hughes' Home Maid Chocolates. (One has to wonder about the name. Does that mean the maid made them? Or that there's some old maid stirring chocolate in her spinster kitchen? Or is it simply a case of TYPO?!) I'm typically not a big toffee fan, but oh yeah, these were some good eatin. The thing with toffee is that often it is too sweet. These were perfect. Just the right amount of sweetness coupled with the perfect delicate crunch. I'd like to say that everyone else ate them, but I fear that it was probably all my own evil doing.
Stay tuned. More Christmas candy goodness to follow.

Last Minute Gifts: Candy Cane Vodka!

Hey kids! Want a cheap, easy, last-minute gift? Well No-Nuts did, so just follow her lead:
1) Tell Aunt you need to have four gifts by tomorrow
2) Look around and see what Aunt has
3) Assemble stuff gathered from around Aunt's house into coffee mugs and wrap with Aunt's festive cellophane bags while simultaneously texting, talking and baking cookies

Actually, her gifts came out really cute. She filled coffee mugs with candy canes (mine), hot chocolate (mine), Hershey Kisses (hers) and little bottles of my homemade Candy Cane Vodka* (mine). The vodka looked really pretty-- it was a nice pink color, and I even had some peppermint candy labels that were perfect. ("Candy Cane Vodka?" you're saying.) Why yes. Here's the recipe:

Candy Cane Vodka
Crush up five to ten mini candy canes and combine in a container with plain vodka. Note: do not use bottom-shelf vodka, or you'll end up with something that smells like a cross between Christmas trees and divey bars. Let vodka sit until candy canes disintegrate (a couple of days). Strain using a sifter and a coffee filter. Pour into bottles and attach cute labels. Add to hot chocolate, or make a martini rimmed with crushed candy canes.

*Yes, she's 21.

Candy Canes & Mistletoe

Dear Santa, All I Really Want is Something with the CVS Logo on It

Sometimes you see something in a store and you wonder, now who the heck would buy that? Like those ceramic statuettes of cupids and doves you see at the dollar store meant as wedding favors, or $12 "fancy" pasta sauce next to the Ragu. But just as there is someone for everyone, so there is also some*thing* for everyone. When my partner in crime saw this, she knew it was meant for me:
Yes, my friends. A CVS truck Pez dispenser. Who on this great earth would want this? What kid wants to wake up on Christmas morning to find one of these in his stocking?
I think I can safely say that I'm perhaps one of just a handful of people in the world who loves this. Back in high school, I worked at CVS. At one point, I got "promoted" to "3rd key," which means I was the third person, behind the manager and the assistant manager, to have a set of keys to the store. (I promptly lost my keys and the company had to send out a locksmith to change all the locks in the store. Oops. My bad.) In any case, I was on my way to a high-flying career with Consumer Value Stores! But then things started to kind of suck there-- we were robbed at gunpoint at 2 in the afternoon; I had to haul my butt out of bed at 3 a.m. for a truck delivery; and one of the cashiers constantly referred to me as Missy. I quit for a while, then I went back. Then my partner in crime started working there and things got fun again, but then she left to go to college and I was a big loser left to stake out my future in health and beauty aids. Eventually I got my act together and went on to get my degree in the lucrative fields of English and Fine Art. But to this day, whenever I'm feeling stressed or anxious, I have a recurring nightmare: I have to go back to work at CVS and I don't know when I'm on the schedule and I don't really want to work there, but I'm afraid I'll get fired.
I know. I have issues. But I also have a CVS eighteen-wheeler Pez. And I'm all the better for it.