Desserts

Day 1 of the Sweets and Snacks Expo is over, and I’m exhausted! I stayed up past my bedtime trying to get some science done, and then it was up again at 5AM to catch an early flight to Chicago, then straight from Midway to the Expo. Our first stop was the Ritter Sport importer booth, as they can always be counted on for exciting new products. They’ve got a new Cocoa Mousse with 9 squares instead of 16 (GASP!), a coconut, and a limited edition raspberry-cranberry yogurt (not pictured here, though I have a sample. Jim reviewed on Chocolate Mission). I love seeing all the different varieties of Ritter Sport in one place. I hate how it reminds me of what we don’t have access to here in the U.S. Caffeinated chocolate was a trend at this year’s expo. The Energy version of Good Day chocolate above was one of several brands who told me that X of their candy equaled X cups of coffee or X ounces of Red Bull. I’m going to be one jittery candy blogger once I get around to reviewing all those chocolates. The things I do for you, dear readers! Still, can’t be worse than that time I ate all that sugar free chocolate… Promotional licensing was rampant as usual (I saw Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Star Wars gummies; Jelly Belly’s got a new deal with Disney). Wild Ophelia, Vosges‘s little sister brand, has a line of Hunger Games bars that go beyond just slapping a logo and some characters on the packaging. Instead, the flavors of the bars are supposed to line up with the different districts. The lumber district is a smoked chipotle chili bar, mining has mined salt, and transportation has runner peanuts. As a Hunger Games fan, I loved that they brought thought and wit to the tie-in. T&H Organic Hard Candy was a new company in Innovation Alley that’s already been racking up awards. This year, like last, buzzwords like organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, nut-free, etc. are popular on the show floor. I tried a T&H blood orange hard candy, which was delicious. They have a grapefruit flavor that I can’t wait to try later. Hooray grapefruit candies! Another trend this year is miniaturized versions of well-known treats. There were mini Starbursts, mini Snickers, mini Kit Kats, mini Turtles… The list goes on and on. I think it’s an easy way for brands to capitalize on name recognition when introducing a new-ish product. This is not about candy, but I just have to share: Perky Jerky is definitely the most delicious jerky. Like last year, I’m so thankful for the salty snacks of the Expo to break up my palate fatigue and provide some protein to keep me going! I can’t imagine what it was like when it was just the All Candy Expo. I also asked Nelly a question during the Mike & Ike press conference (alas, it was neither “wanna go a take a ride wit me?” nor “how hot is it in herre?”), held a gold medal and had a fun chat with the very friendly U.S. women’s water polo team at Bare Fruit, and won a Tide pen from Airheads. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring! If you missed it, Emma’s been holding down the live updates on Twitter and Instagram. Check out her great camera work!

Strawberry season in Maryland is upon us! I recently joined my first fruit CSA, and I am super excited to receive an abundance of fruit each week. The first week I received several quarts of strawberries and a bunch of asparagus and the following week the farm added some rhubarb. So exciting! And these strawberries are to die for. I have never seen strawberries so red!

Here at Turkey Hill Dairy, we love sports and we love ice cream. That’s one reason why we’re so proud to be the official ice cream of the New York Yankees. It’s also why we love stories like this one: Nick D’Annibale is a 13-year-old Yankees fan who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011. He’s [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

When I’m mixing up a recipe in my kitchen, one of the tools that I use the most is a spatula. I use it to scrape the sides of bowls, fold together ingredients and scrape batters into waiting pans. Since I also use a whisk or a mixer, I often need to set my spatula down when I’m not using it. Most spatulas are flat, so anything on them – such as sticky batter or meringue - will end up on your counter if you need to set your spatula down unless you can find something to lean it against. This set of Elevate Spatulas are designed to avoid this problem and each has a small stand built into the handle that keeps the spatula head elevated and off the counter. It’s a small addition to the traditional design of a spatula, but it is one that makes so much sense! The spatulas otherwise work like traditional spatulas, with flexible silicone heads that are heat resistant up to 650F. They are sold as a set that includes three different sizes: small, large and spoon.

One of the keys to the gummy rise to candy greatness is the range of shapes it can take on. For a while I tried to collect photos of every single shape of gummy that I ever came across, but it was too big a task. Every time I step into a candy shop I discover a new shape, some are strange, some are pretty boring. This week's review looks at how shape is really becoming a crutch of gummy producers, and it seems like they may be missing the boat with flavour range.Again, today's review was provided to us from our great friends at sugarfina.com.Click here to read the review.CC

TidyMom.net is a place for easy recipes, household tips, crafts and products that  help women ease the chaos of everyday life – who doesn’t need that?!  Cheryl, the blog’s author and a personal friend of mine, is in the middle of a move and – as tidy people do – she’s planned ahead (always impressive to me) and asked friends to write guest posts on the blog. To give Cheryl’s readers a taste of what happens here at Cupcake Project, I created a cupcake that embodies my style of baking – pairing unusual flavors that unexpectedly work.  You’ll find more details and the recipe for these BBQ maple syrup cupcakes on TidyMom, but I bet you’ll end up finding ten other projects to work on while you’re there.

Your Cupcakes Take the Cake Correspondents Betsy Eves & Ashley Khawsy, along with 18 other bloggers have joined together with Carrie Middlemiss of Bella Cupcake Couture to bring you the Cupcake Couture Blog Party!This sweet party features 21 blogs, 20 cupcake recipes, 20 party displays and a Prize Pack worth $565!Make sure to visit all the blogs and check out the cupcakes and displays!An American Cupcake in London Bella Cupcake Couture Chronicles of a Foodie Crazy for CrustCreative Food Cupcakes Take the Cake Diary of a Mad Hausfrau Eat Your Heart Out Haniela's Hoosier Homemade In Katrina's Kitchen Inside BruCrew Life Java Cupcake Love From the OvenMake Bake Celebrate Not Just a Mommy Sugar Daze Sugar Swings! Serve Some The Baked Equation The Baking Cup The Decorated CookieThanks to our amazing Prize Pack sponsors for their generous donations! Please, visit their websites to see more of their fabulous products! Bella Cupcake CoutureCupcake StandJava CupcakeLil' Punkin CreationsSweets & Treats BoutiqueTo enter to WIN this Prize Pack, simply fill out the entry form below. Contest opens 21May13 at 0700 PST and closes 27May13 at 2359 PST. One winner will be chosen and announced within 24 hours of the contest ending. Winner will be contacted via email to claim their prize. This contest is open to residents of the USA and Europe only. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Arrgh! These are great cupcakes for a birthday party. .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }Pirate Cupcakes, originally uploaded by Julycupcakes.Via JulyCupcakes in Russia:

It’s been quite a while since I reviewed (or even ate) any Lindt chocolate, so I thought I would give this one a go. On reflection, it probably wasn’t the best idea. The name ‘Lindt Excellence Blueberry Intense’ should have been a clue. Blueberries are a lot of things, but one thing I wouldn’t describe them as is “intense”. A quick glance at the ingredients on the back of the packet confirms my worst fears. Not only is is a paltry 47% cocoa solids, but it’s also packed with other ingredients. Mmmmm, Vegetable Anthocyane E163! Feeling a little concerned about what I was about to let myself in for, I opened the pack. Rather than the pristine looking Lindt chocolate I had expected, this is what greeted me. It appears to be covered in ‘dents’, but I can only assume that those marks are some kind of moulding imperfection, as there are no marks on the packaging. It’s quite odd. Under the surface and on the underside of the bar, lots of bits of ‘fruit’ are visible, along with some fine slithers of almond. It’s not that it looks unappetising, it just looks like it’s been put together in a bit of a hurry. The chocolate itself is very soft. There’s no ‘snap’ to it, but it bends a little before it breaks. That’s partly because of the fruit, but the poor quality chocolate doesn’t help. The taste is overwhelmingly one of sugar and artificial fruit. There’s really nothing chocolatey here at all, unfortunately. Bizarrely, the fruit tastes more like apple than it does blueberry too. That long ingredients list have apple (and pineapple) on it, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The texture of the fruit pieces isn’t particularly pleasant either. They have a jelly like texture on the outside with a slightly crunchy, grainy texture in the middle. I’m not a fan. I always like to think of Lindt as a ‘stepping stone’ from confectionery chocolate to ‘real chocolate’, but this is so sweet and packed with unnecessary ingredients, I would have to put it firmly in the ‘candy’ category. Unless you really like the taste of sugar and artificial fruit, you should probably avoid it. Information Buy it online from: Lindt-Shop.co.uk Contains dark chocolate (47% cocoa solids). Filed under almond, blueberry, lindt. Tweet This The post Lindt Excellence Blueberry Intense appeared first on Chocablog.

My mother shared this speedy recipe with me. There are not a lot of ingredients, so these chewy treats are easy to fix in the microwave. —Annette Self, Junction City, Ohio