Hot tip! Godiva’s Seasonal Easter Candy Is on Sale

This is old news for those truly vigilant about seasonal candy movement in the Godiva chocolate scene. But if you’re not in-the-know, you will be soon, no doubt rushing to Godiva after reading this post. Every season, Godiva comes up with wonderful chocolates and confections, beautifully wrapped in holiday colors and ribbons. When the season ends, the prices often drop from 25% to 50% off. What a deal! Hey, it may be a chocolate *Easter* egg, but it is chocolate nonetheless. Now go forth and eat double the chocolate, people

Tags: Godiva

Godiva Introduces Ice Cream Parlor Truffles & Treats

Ice cream isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I hear “Godiva.” But no more. A cracked iPad 2 (/sigh) brought me to Westfield Valley Fair today. Little did I expect a new iPad 2 replacement (seriously…the only time I recall feeling such euphoria with the level of service was when I went to the ER for food poisoning years ago, and the nurse gave me blessed drugs to end the misery). I also didn’t expect a sweet new theme of chocolate treats at Godiva.

Godiva has introduced a new line of chocolates called Godiva Ice Cream Parlor Truffles and Treats.  These come in various classic ice cream shapes (e.g. lollipops, ice cream cones, and mini ice cream pints) and are based on various classic cream flavors (e.g. Pistachio, Neopolitan).

The packaging is absolutely adorable. You can buy mini pints modeled after your carton of Dreyer’s in the freezer. When opened, you’ll see a few “scoops” of round Truffle chocolates.

Want to customize your own? I love that you can create a custom pint as a gift. Unfortunately, this has been so popular that Godiva was sold out of the carton pints today

A classic chocolate lollipop:

How could you resist picking up one of these mini ice cream cones? They are made fresh, only to compete with Godiva’s fresh chocolate dipped strawberries.

Some flavors I tried:

• Pistachio. Good, but expect a very subtle flavor.
• Caramel Pecan. Very good. Like the sweet and salty combo, with a nice crunch of pecans.

Tags: Godiva, Truffles

Chocolate Grad Cap Pops

It’s graduation season again. Another year, another flock of bright-eyed dreamers released into the world. In this year’s cast is my sister, Camie, graduating from San Jose State University this Friday. Yay, Camie! Celebrating is snacking, naturally, so in a hunt for the perfect treat for this occasion, I came across these great recipes for Grad Cap Pops.

Here’s a recipe from scratch for graduation cake pops. I love the pretty arrangement too!

Looking for a quicker recipe? Check out this recipe from Bakerella using Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Godiva Chocolate squares, and sour belts.

On Flickr, nomnomcupcakes shares a delicious recipe variation. Instead of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, it’s double chocolate cake whipped with chocolate buttercream, molded by colored chocolate, and topped with a marshmallow tassel! I especially love the gold glints along the caps.

Happy graduation, Class of 2011!!

Tags: graduation cake pops, graduation dessert

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

I love pairing a sweet snack with a hot drink. Coffee and biscotti, tea and madeleines…there’s something so cozy and comforting about the pairing. And now, imagine the two as one! Introducing…hot chocolate cupcakes. Love love love love it, especially when sliced in half. Thank you to my friend, Chiu-Ki, for this delicious find! Read up Ladybird‘s Hot Chocolate Cupcake recipe with delectable Italian Merengue Icing.

Tags: Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Puffy Mystery Animal Treats

My friend, Rodrigo Soares, discovers the cutest things ever. Last week, he shared this picture of these adorable snacks. Someone has delicately painted on cute animal faces. Okay, the picture had no label or description, but I’m convinced they’re edible! Question is, what’s the texture…chewy, crumbly? What’s the level of sweetness (surely, they are sweet)? Is there a filling like red bean paste? If you can solve this mystery, please share with me! Thank you.

Tags: animal snacks

Angry Birds Cake Pops!

These days, it’s unthinkable to wait idly, even for two minutes. So you have to be prepared with a few good time-wasting apps on your phone like Angry Birds. It’s on my phone, of course. I love the bright and bold design of all the characters. And now, someone’s had the clever idea to translate their colorful, round, poofy bodies into…cake pops! Genius.

Image from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Lucky for us, The Girl Who Ate Everything apparently shares everything too! Read the Angry Birds Cake Pops recipe.

Tags: Angry Birds, cupcake pops

Hello Kitty Sweets in Taipei, Taiwan

Hello, Sweets. Hello Kitty Sweets. When my friend Amy told me about some cafe that specializes in Hello Kitty, in my wildest imagination, I couldn’t have guessed the extent of pink, frothy, glorious, kitty-liciousness that oozes from this ridiculously adorable cafe. Cakes are in the shape of Hello Kitty. Jello is in the shape of Hello Kitty. Burger buns are toasted with an imprint of Hello Kitty. Even the tops of your creme brulee is burned in the sillhouette of Hello Kitty. Surely, the furniture is carved from sugar cubes too? Could be, but the backs of the booths are definitely the shape of Hello Kitty. If this is the effect of looking at photos, I can’t imagine the endorphin rush I’d get by stepping foot into the cafe. It’s officially on my travel wish list.

Image from www.hellokittyjunkie.com

Image from www.hellokittyjunkie.com

Image from http://nicholasleong.net/2009/08/05/taiwan-have-a-taste-of-hello-kitty/

Hello Kitty Sweets is located in Taipei, Taiwan.

Visit Hello Kitty Sweets’ website

See reviews, map, and places near Hello Kitty Sweets

Tags: Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty Sweets

Google Loves Snacks Too

Last Sunday, I was delighted to go online and see a mouthwatering ice cream sundae greet me on the Google homepage! It was an attractive retro design, with a scrawl of seafoam-green colored font spelling out “Google.” Two heaping scoops of ice cream forming the oo’s perfectly. Google never seemed yummier.

Google Homepage on 4/3/11

Because of this unexpected design, it’s rumored that Ice Cream might be the code name for Google’s next Android update. Google’s previous updates were famously named, “Froyo” and “Gingerbread.” Not sure if Ice Cream is the codename, but it’s clear Google employs some serious snack lovers. I approve!

Tags: Android, Google

A Sweet Lesson: The Anatomy of a Cupcake

My love affair with all-things-cupcakes continues. Here’s a sweet lesson captured in a custom-made diagram, “Anatomy of a Cupcake.” It was made as a birthday gift to a friend (aw). You can also see a charming video of its creation (as well as purchase this fine art print) here.

The Anatomy of a Cupcake

Tags: cupcake prints

I Heart Chocolate Chip Cookies (Hold the Chocolate Chips)

I love a good chocolate chip cookie. Without the chocolate chips, that is. Or at least as fewww chocolate chips as possible. And only if they’re melted, not in whole chip form, if you please. Unlike most people, when the delightful aroma of fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies descends upon me, I poke around for the cookies that appear to have the fewest chocolate chips. That’s right–the FEWEST chocolate chips! Many of you are skeptical. Baffled. You are wondering, Well isn’t she describing a *Sugar* Cookie then? Actually, I am not. Sugar Cookies are made of a different dough than chocolate chip cookies. And it’s much more sugar-y (duh) and not as dense.

Back to my problem with chocolate chip cookies. I’m simply not much of a chocolate lover.  I find that the chocolate usually lends cookies an overpowering richness and super-sweetness I don’t care for. And it’s only getting in the way of the chewy, dough-y goodness of the cookie itself.

So I wonder how many other souls out there are just like me…seeking chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips? Is this how left-handed people feel in a right-handed world?

To be fair, I have to admit that I CAN enjoy a chocolate chip cookie. And the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had was a homemade recipe I got a several years ago that called for Trader Joe’s milk chocolate. I came across this at the law firm I worked at after college. Every so often, the wife of one of our partners would come by midday with a freshly baked batch of chocolate chip cookies. They were  amazingly delicious! I think the reason why I liked them so much is because they were 1) milky, 2) melted, and 3) without the sharp chocolate bursts that overpowers the taste of the cookie dough. yum. Oh, and the recipe called for lard too. I suppose that *might* have been another factor to the smooth cookie goodness.