Addendum: Best Chocolates with a Conscience

The Necco Door Neighbor left a comment the other day saying that she had ordered several boxes of John & Kira chocolates as Christmas presents for friends. I realized that I inadvertently left John & Kira's off of my 2010 Year in Review and they so deserve a place in the spotlight.
As you may recall, Father John gave me a box of John & Kira's chocolates at Halloween. Not only are they really delicious, but they also get props for using ingredients like honey and fruits from small farms, mint from student gardeners and coffee from farmers using sustainable practices. So John & Kira's, you get the "Best Chocolates with a Conscience" award.
If you check out their website now, you'll see that they're having a sale on some of their items. I love the raspberry and mint ladybugs. If I wasn't already stocked up on chocolates, I'd be tempted to order some for myself.

The Best Candy of 2010 (and the Worst, and the Strangest)

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Looking back at 2010, I feel like it was kind of a low-key candy year. There weren't a lot of new candy releases, and there wasn't much that totally rocked my world. But, having said that, there were some definite highlights to the year.
Worst Candy of 2010
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. Unfortunately, it's usually pretty easy for me to pick the year's worst candy, and 2010 was no exception.The Sugar Baby got a nasty expired Chick-o-Stick and Cow Tale in his trick-or-treat bag, although I can't really claim that was the worst, since it had everything to do with the date and nothing to do with the product. So the winner (or loser, I suppose) is Haviland Wintergreen Mint Patty. I don't feel too bad saying that, since the product has since been discontinued. Their Orange Mint Patties, however, are delicious.

Most Unusual
The most unusual candy I tried this year was a Shiitake Mushroom Truffle. What was even stranger than the truffle was the post I wrote about it.

Other candies of note that I tried this year included:

Some more deliciousness from Q.bel (which was the Best Candy of 2009).

I took one for the team and sampled some Sorbee Sugar Free Chocolate.

There were near-riots in the house between me, Mr. Goodbar and No-Nuts over See's Easter Truffles.

I was excited to try Toblerone Fruit and Nut.
I loved the whole concept and taste of South 'n France Bon Bons (especially the coconut ones).

Wonka impressed me with their new bars, Marvels and fruit jellies.

While not my all-time favorite M&M flavor, the Pretzel ones were fun to try and a good option for dieters.

A company I'd never even heard of before-- DeMet's-- surprised me with their yummy caramel Treasures, and the fact that they're made just a few towns away from me.

Best new packaging goes to Crown Nuggets Creme & Liquor-Filled Caramels.
People
2010 was a year for personalities. The Sugar Baby introduced me to "Mr. Candy," an invisible (hopefully) character in his life. He came up in several conversations before fading away.

I made some new friends this year. Kendra from Ontario, I still owe you some chocolates! I haven't forgotten. You're the sweetest!

The Candy Professor brought some real street cred to the candy world.

I was so psyched to be able to interview April Winchell, a.k.a. Helen Killer from Regretsy, about her father's role as the Tootsie Pop Owl voice.
And someone actually wanted to interview me! I love Jen's blog, My Morning Chocolate.

A fun event for me was a conversation about candy that actually turned into a three-part news story.

And what a way to end the year. Yumster Philly sent me a photo of a cupcake that she created from my drawing of Mr. Candy Corn! How awesome is that?!

Birthdays

2010 was the year of the big 4-0 for me and lots of my friends. Candy buffets and gifts were plentiful.
There was also the Sugar Baby's 4th birthday which was a candy theme.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. What was the best candy of 2010? I've narrowed it down to the following:

Green & Black's Organic Milk Chocolate Peanut: caramelized peanuts with sea salt in creamy milk chocolate.
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits: "a crunchy mix of almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, pistachios and sweet toffee. They're kettle cooked in small batches, then dipped in rich, dark chocolate and sprinkled with just a touch of Fleur de Sel, for a superbly sweet and slightly salty treat."
Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Strawberry Creme: Creamy, crunchy and tangy.
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Shortbread Stars: Lovely dark chocolate and crunchy cookies.
Trader Joe's Pound Plus Milk Chocolate: Seriously creamy, decadent milk chocolate.

Hmmm. Notice a trend here? Trader Joe's did a bang-up job this year in the confection department. I suppose I have to disqualify the chocolate stars, though, as they are really cookies. I loved the Ritter Sport Strawberry Creme, but I still prefer their Cornflake version, so that rules that one out. I think I have to say, based on taste, uniqueness and all-around good lovin', I'm going to choose Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits as the Best Candy of 2010. Would you believe I don't even have a picture? It just so happened that I tried these during a time when I was having camera woes. In any case, I would have preferred to choose a candy that is readily available throughout most of the U.S., so my apologies to you Yumsters who don't have a TJ's near you. Perhaps 2011 will be a more all-inclusive year.

Here's hoping that 2011 will be the sweetest year yet!

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!

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.)

The Best, The Worst and the Most Beautiful Candy of 2009

(L.A. Burdick's adorable Chocolate Mice)

In 2009, I tried some candy that was new on the market and some that has been in existence for decades. Some of my taste tests were outstanding, some were terrible, most were average. Here's a list of what I tried, in alphabetical order: (if you want to skip this, scroll down to read the Best Of)

Adam’s Sour Cherry Gum

American Heritage Chocolate

Anette's Chocolates "Winter Cabernet" chocolate truffle bar

Atkinson’s Coconut Longboy

British candy bars: Smart Alecs, Aero, Double Decker Bounty, Milky Bar, Lion, Lee's Chocolate Mint and Galaxy Caramel

Cadbury Picnic

Cherry Lemonade LifeSavers

Chewy Lemonhead & Friends

Choceur White Chocolate Almond Clusters

Chocolate-covered candy corn

Chocri (create-your-own candy bar)

Coconut Pocky

Cottage Delight Truffles

Cranberry Raisinets

Dove Caramel Promises

Dove Peppermint Bark Promises

Economy Candy’s line of candy bars

Fruitips Fruit Pastilles

Funley’s Stix in the Mud

Giant gummi bear

Goetze’s Strawberri Cream Bullseyes

Good & Fruity

Guinness Chocolate Truffle Bar

Gummy Candy Corns

Haribou Alphabet Letters

Hershey’s Thingamajig

Hughe’s Home Maid Chocolates

King Leo Puffs, Sticks and Patties

Kohler Truffles

L.A. Burdick’s

Lindt Excellence Touch of Sea Salt Chocolate

Lindt Raisin & Nuts

Lindt Straccitella

Lollyphile White Russian lollipops

M&Ms Premiums

Meiji Chocorooms

Mike & Ike Italian Ice

Necco Orange Crème Thin Mints

Neuhaus truffles

Now and Later Soft

Orbit gums

Organic Milk Chocolate with Macadamia Nuts and Hawaiian Pink Sea Salt

Pralines By Leon

Pucca

Q Bel

QBZ

Raspberry and Cherry 3 Musketeers

Reese’s Dark

Russell Stover Coconut Cream Santa

Seattle Chocolates Cappuccino Crunch

See’s Chocolates

Skittles Crazy Cores

Sweethearts Twilight

Trader Joe’s Blueberry Blast

Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Seeds

Trader Joe’s PB & J bar

Trident Layers

Tropical Chewy Lemonhead & Friends

Tropical Tootsie Roll Pops

Valor Dark Chocolate with Banana

Vanilla Whoppers Milk Shake

Various candies from China

Various Japanese candies, including banana Pocky

Various Mexican candies

Walgreen’s Candy Classics Australian Traditional Black Liquorice smothered in chocolate

Wazoo

Whitney’s Mint Trio

Wonka Puckerooms

Wonka Sluggles

Yummy Earth Organic Gummies and Lollipops

But what did I really think?

2009's Most Memorable Candies

Best Old School Candy: This is a close call. My PIC gave me a box of Chewy Lemonhead & Friends that she bought for four cents at CVS. They were the perfect blend of chewy, tart and sweet. But another delicious surprise was the Atkinson Coconut Longboy. I wouldn't put coconut or caramel at the top of my list of faves, but for some reason, these two work well together.

Biggest Letdown: While the thought of chocolate-covered candy corn was intriguing, the actual product was pretty disappointing. I had high hopes for Cranberry Raisinets, but in the end, they just didn't have enough oomph. But perhaps the biggest sense of sadness I felt, though, was when I finally got to try a Hershey's Thingamajig. Stale Cocoa Pebbles, anyone?

Most Beautiful: Kohler Truffles are almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.

Most Innovative: You've always wanted a white chocolate candy bar with pink peppercorns and banana chips? Search no more! With Chocri, you get to design your very own bar.

Most Surprising: I was all set to hate the Necco Orange Creme Thin Mints, but they were surprisingly good (and addictive). And for a dollar, a great bargain. But Necco, you're still on my #$% list.

Worst: Candy should not have the texture of chewy sawdust, nor should it have an indistinguishable fake chemical fruit flavor. Sorry, Goetze's Strawberri Cream Bullseyes, but you weren't worth the buck I paid.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for:

THE BEST CANDY OF 2009!

I thought I had this all figured out until I went back and looked at my list. Then I realized there were several outstanding contenders.

The aforementioned Chocri is a fun concept and a great-tasting product. It is, however, a pricey indulgence.

Lindt won my affections with two new products: Lindt Raisin & Nuts and Lindt Excellence Touch of Sea Salt Chocolate.

Meiji Chocorooms sent me swooning. And not just me. Everyone I gave them to agreed that they were addicting little buggers. Crispy, creamy and cute. I thought for sure that I was going to name this my number one bar. But in the end, I have to bestow the honors upon:




QBel. With no artificial flavors or colors, no hydrogenated oils and no corn syrup, these piqued my interest from the start. But I certainly wasn't prepared for the extreme yumminess they provided. Creamy chocolate, crispy wafers, salty peanut butter ... every different type (there are six in all) is delicious. At around $1.59 a package, these are not as inexpensive as say, a Snickers, but they're way more satisfying.

(For what it's worth, Mr. Goodbar voted the Lindt Excellence Touch of Sea Salt as his favorite, and No-Nuts went for the Valor 70% with Bananas.)

A big thanks to all the candy companies who sent samples my way. And an even bigger thanks to you, dear Yumsters, for making 2009 a fun-filled candylicious year. Here's to 2010 and even more sweet surprises!

Year in Review: 2009 at Candy Yum Yum

(Gratuitous picture of The Baron eating a mini Drumstick that actually had no cone.)

2009: It was the best of candy, it was the worst of candy. (Actually, it wasn't the worst; it doesn't get any worse than Rainbow Twizzlers.)
We started off the year with the inauguration of Barack Obama, and I fantasized about what a celebratory candy bar might look like. January was also the month when I discovered the giant Necco cardboard heart that said “YUM” on it and I began my obsession with claiming said heart as my own. Alas, my love went unrequited. Thanks a lot, Necco. See if I ever buy your damn wafers again.

In February, THE book arrived on my doorstep, thus becoming the Sugar Baby’s first actual obsession.

In real news, there was a peanut butter/salmonella crisis that made Reese’s lovers quake in their boots.

March came in like a lion with news of the kids today using Smarties as smoking material. Apparently it was a fad that came and went without any great trauma.

In April, I kicked off the popular occasional column called “Sweet Treat of the Week,” wherein I interviewed people of various levels of fame and age about their candy preferences. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Also in April, there was an increase in interest for white Circus Peanuts. Some detective work revealed that there was a cupcake recipe going around that utilized the white candies. In my research, I discovered a recipe for a Circus Peanut Margarita, which began a year-long trend of candy combined with booze. (Fun!)

And again, there was a tainted nut scare. This time it was pistachios.

April was also a sad month, creating yet another candy-associated memory.

In June, Mr. Goodbar revealed that he had been keeping a spread sheet of the statistical breakdown of M&Ms. Candy geeks everywhere rejoiced.

July brought a new look to Candy Yum Yum. The Connection created a new logo for the blog, and the official Candy Yum Yum swag store opened. (The tote bags are particularly nice, if I do say so myself.)

In August, we received the sad news that Kits and B.B. Bats, the well-known filling-ripper-outer candies, were going to be discontinued.

In happier news, passengers on Air Force One get special presidential M&Ms for the flight. Apparently my letter to Barack Obama went unheeded.

Closer to home, the Sugar Baby decided to wedge a Starburst in the lock of Grandpa’s new motorhome. All attempts to recover it were unsuccessful.

In September, something amazing happened. I discovered Chocorooms.

Continuing with the candy/booze theme, I found a recipe for a Candy Corn Cordial.

October: Halloween. Enough said.

Also of import, The Great New York Candy Extravaganza took place, in which I visited Economy Candy. (I still have candy from there to try.)

In cyber news, the FTC announces guidelines for bloggers, saying they must state when they’ve received payment or products in exchange for reviews. Bloggers everywhere are left scratching their heads wondering why magazines and newspapers aren’t made to be held to the same standards.

November saw the ultimate chocolate experience: a chocolate body scrub at the spa.

And once again, spirits were on the mind when I concocted my Marshmallow Cocoa Martini. The first time was pretty good. The second batch was nary so delicious.

As a last ditch attempt, I took some time in December to make Candy Cane Vodka (pretty color, but still reeked of bottom shelf liquor at a cheap nightclub).
And, in earth-shattering news, the Sugar Baby makes his own fudge and doesn’t even bother to tell me.

That was 2009 at Candy Yum Yum. How about you? What were the big candy stories in your life? Did you discover anything exciting? Or something particularly disgusting? Let me know!
Up next: a run-down of the year's new candies and the best, worst and most beautiful of 2009.