Author: Chocolate Covered Weekly

Who couldn’t use a little extra chocolate in their lives? Adding chocolate sunflowers to your garden is a guilt-free way to do so. Plus, the rich, velvety, statuesque flowers will add a gorgeously dark and dramatic flair to your landscape. As a bonus, like other sunflower varieties, chocolate sunflowers are easy to come by and simple to grow. For more info, click, here.

Believe it or not, it’s not too early to start talking holiday varieties, and Dove has unveiled its new Milk Chocolate Toffee Almond Crunch. The limited-edition bite is made of silky-smooth milk chocolate and is filled with crunchy almond toffee pieces. The idea was to embrace the flavors of the season, and this chocolate certainly embodies that without going the classic peppermint route. You’ll be able to snag these new Dove Milk Chocolate Promises beginning in September 2021, a PR rep confirmed to Best Products. The chocolate will be available in a 7.94-ounce Laydown Bag for a limited time. Just look for the blue bag that features reindeer, ornaments, and “Merry & Bright.”

NuttZo, makers of the original multi-nut and seed butter, has launched a new keto-friendly offering this summer. The Chocolate Keto Seven Nut and Seed Butter is a new, sweet spin on NuttZo’s best-selling product, Original Keto butter. It features the brand’s trademark blend of nutrient-packed nuts and seeds so that fans ‘can expect a crunchy, rich chocolate blend with hints of rich pecan and nutty coconut, making it the perfect addition to toasts, fruit, baking recipes and smoothies’. Chocolate Keto is made paleo, Whole30, vegan and Kosher. It is an excellent source of protein (five grams per serving), fibre (three grams per serving), and healthy fats. It boasts just four grams of carbohydrates per serving and one gram of sugar per serving while remaining free of palm oil, gluten, soy, dairy and GMOs. Fans of Keto butter can ‘expect a crunchy, rich chocolate blend with hints of rich pecan and nutty coconut, making it the perfect addition to toasts, fruit, baking recipes and smoothies’. The product retails at $10.99 and is available in 12 oz. jars at Safeway. It is also available online at NuttZo.com, Thrive and Amazon. As part of giving back to the community, NuttZo donates portions of each sale to its sister nonprofit Project Left Behind, which benefits orphaned and underprivileged children worldwide.

While Russell Stover is a legend in the chocolate world, this new chocolate offering is a first for the company. Joy Bites is its first ever “no sugar added” treat. Described as “no added sugar chocolate bars with fillings,” these candies are perfect for people who are looking to reduce sugar, follow a keto-friendly lifestyle or just are looking for a different chocolate option. The Russell Stover Joy Bites are available in the following flavors, Caramel in Chocolate, Peanut Butter in Chocolate. Smooth Creamy Chocolate. Sea Salt Caramel in Dark Chocolate, and Roasted Almonds in Dark Chocolate. Russel Stover Joy Bites are available at various retailers, including Albertson’s, Safeway, Kroger, Meijer, and more retailers coming in the fall. The chocolate is also available at RussellStover.com.

When it comes to selecting gifts for your wedding party, there are so many options available. Sure, you could go with something monogrammed, but in terms of sheer enjoyment, consumables win the day. Enter the chocolate subscription box (also known as monthly bliss). There are tons of subscription boxes to choose from but this research team choose the best chocolate subscription boxes of 2021. These all offer variety, easy shipping, and variable terms depending on your budget and will surely bring a smile to any sweet tooth’s face. Click, here, to see them all.

Mars Wrigley offers fans a sneak peek at a new festive candy flavor for the upcoming 2021 holiday season: M&M’s White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs. Limited-edition M&M’S White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs feature a balance of salty and sweet flavors by combining a rich, white chocolate shell with a crunchy, pretzel-filled center. Developed exclusively for the 2021 holiday season, the newest M&M’s variety will be available in a Single 1.14 oz. size as well as a 2.83-oz Share Size, and 7.44-oz Laydown Bag.

Halo Top Ice Cream co-founder Doug Bouton has launched Gatsby Chocolate, a line of better-for-you chocolate bars made with Epogee’s EPG fat alternative ingredient. Epogee claims that its GMO-free, plant-based EPG can reduce up to 92% of calories from fat without affecting taste or eating experience. Gatsby’s chocolate bars, available in milk and dark chocolate styles, have less than half the calories of regular chocolate bars and roughly one-quarter of the sugar content, according to the company. The bars are launching at over 1,500 retail locations nationwide and are available online.

Queen Elizabeth’s favorites. Need we say more?! Find them on Amazon.com.

Known for its all-in-one soaps, Dr. Bronner’s new Magic All-One Chocolate line comes in six decadent flavors and supports regenerative agriculture and the livelihood of small farmers. The organic candy bars are made with fair-trade chocolate and will be available in six flavors: nut-accented bars Roasted Whole Hazelnuts and Salted Whole Almonds; nut-butter filled Crunchy Hazelnut Butter and Salted Almond Butter, and Smooth Coconut Praline (filled with a sweet praline made from coconuts). The new chocolate bars are made with 70 percent dark chocolate sourced from regenerative organic cocoa beans and sweetened with coconut sugar.

From cicada tattoos to sculptures and now chocolate, a Maryland candy company is finding success with the Brood X cicada invasion. While tons of cicadas are buzzing around outside, inside Chouquette Chocolates in Gaithersburg, cicadas are being air-fried and dipped in chocolate. If you want the chocolate-covered cicadas, you’ll have to special order them online. Click, HERE, for chocolate delicacies.

These almonds are simply dusted with a light cocoa powder, making them different than those chocolate-coated almonds that come in boxes near the checkout line at the grocery store. While those are delicious, they’re really more chocolate than almond. Blue Diamond’s dark chocolate almonds, on the other hand, actually just taste like almonds with a light cocoa taste. They’re great for people who don’t have much of a sweet tooth but occasionally want just a bit of chocolate. They also feel less like a dessert and more acceptable as a mid-day (or morning, or night) snack. They’re versatile. While good alone, they also make a light, crunchy add-on to a lot of favorite foods. They taste amazing chopped up in some yogurt and granola, or on top of ice cream or tossed into oatmeal. Not only are these filling—just a small handful staves away late-afternoon cravings—but they’re also incredibly satisfying. They have a tiny bit of sea salt sprinkled on them, so the sweet-salty taste gives the same satisfaction that chocolate covered pretzels do.

The best chocolate cake is not at your local bakery. You can find it in a carton of Blue Bell Ice Cream. Chocolate Sheet Cake Ice Cream arrives in stores now. Chocolate Sheet Cake contains Blue Bell Milk Chocolate Ice Cream combined with delicious chocolate sheet cake pieces, chopped pecans and a chocolate icing swirl. “A sheet cake is simple, but so delicious,” said Sara Schramm, marketing brand manager for Blue Bell. “It is the perfect cake to combine with our Milk Chocolate Ice Cream. Sprinkle in pecans, add a swirl of chocolate icing and you have one great-tasting new flavor.” In Texas, the home state of Blue Bell Ice Cream, a chocolate sheet cake is often referred to as a Texas Sheet Cake. “No one knows exactly why we have our own name for the cake in Texas,” Schramm said. “Some say it is because the cake is baked in a pan that is larger than normal, and well, we often say everything is bigger in Texas. You will notice on our Chocolate Sheet Cake cartons, just below the flavor description, we have added, “Inspired by a favorite Texas dessert”!” Chocolate Sheet Cake is available in the half gallon and pint sizes for a limited time.

If you can’t get enough of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you’re in luck. Mega fans of the classic candy can now customize the treats by cramming tasty add-ins into a massive one-pound version. Reese’s Stuff Your Cup, a new seasonal experience at Hershey’s Chocolate World in Pennsylvania, lets guests cram a giant peanut butter cup with more goodies. (Hershey’s Chocolate World)

This 6-inch chocolate cake is completely vegan and made with a handful of ingredients: oat milk, dark chocolate, vanilla paste, applesauce, flour, plant-based butter, sugar and salt. Pro tip: serve it with raspberry compote or fresh raspberries for a nice zing to balance the rich chocolate flavor. Buy it plantanationwide.com for $20.

Choose from a dozen different flavors to build your 4-pack of mini 4-inch pies, with chocolatey options including Petee’s signature Salty Chocolate Chess Chocolate and Coconut Chess. If you’re having trouble narrowing it down to just four flavors, they’re also selling 8- and 12-packs. Buy it, here, for $49 for a 4-pack.

The babka from Breads Bakery in New York City is legendary, and for good reason. They bake them all day, every day, using French cultured butter, Nutella and Belgian dark chocolate chips. These are shipped via Goldbelly just a few hours after they’re taken out of the oven, so that they arrive fresh. This 3-pack ensures you’ll have enough to gift at the family brunch and save one for yourself. Buy it, here, for $49.95 for a 3-pack.

Show someone special how much you love them, with this heart-shaped chocolate cake. The fluffy cake comes unfrosted with a spatula and a bag of rich chocolate frosting, so you can pop on the frosting, put it on a nice plate and no one will know you didn’t actually bake it yourself. Buy it at portillos.com for $43.99.

Need I say more? This boozy chocolatey, nutty pie from a gourmet pie shop in Norwalk, Connecticut is a National Pie Championship award winner. It has a flaky crust and a bourbon chocolate filling topped with chopped pecans held together with melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. Buy it, here, at $64.

This beautiful chocolate cake is gluten-free and dairy-free and can also be made vegan. Pinewood Kitchen is all about health-conscious, allergy friendly food that tastes delicious. This cake is made with PW flour, a gluten-free house flour that Pinewood uses in their baked goods. Find it at Pinewood Kitchen for $65.

This decadent dessert is a traditional specialty from Engadine, Switzerland. It’s made with roasted pecans and creamy caramel, which are baked between layers of buttery sugar dough. The torte is then sliced and covered in Swiss milk or dark chocolate. It’s a dessert that’s not commonly found in dessert shops in the U.S., and the version from André’s is definitely worth a try. Find it at Andreschocolates.com for $58.

Maman’s Nutty Chocolate Chip cookies are some of the best out there (gooey, chocolatey, delicious), and you can enjoy them straight out of the oven with this cookie dough set. You get two dough logs per package (enough to make 20-24 cookies) and you have the option to mix and match flavors like Nutty Chocolate Chip, Salted Nutella Crunch and Brown Butter Coconut Oatmeal. The cookie dough is made to order and this gift comes packaged in a cute blue and white box tied with twine. You can find it at mamannyc.com for $49.

Treat yourself to a brownie tasting that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home. The gift set includes four different single origin brownies, a bamboo tasting board and a tasting guide. The brownies are made with single origin, organic milk and dark chocolate from the Esmeraldas and Manabí provinces in Ecuador. Find them at KokakChocolates.com for $50.

Family-owned Guittard Chocolate Company, the San Francisco-based premium chocolate company with a more than 150-year history of crafting exceptional chocolate and cocoa, announces the launch of its new Beyond Sugar chocolate—a line designed to unite the artistry of chocolate making with evolving dietary awareness. The keto- and paleo-friendly line includes a new innovative baking chip sweetened with organic coconut sugar, in addition to a reimagined Guittard 100% cacao chocolate chip that celebrates cacao’s naturally bold character. Guittard’s Beyond Sugar line will be available for purchase directly through guittard.com beginning March 2021 and at Whole Foods Market stores and other retailers nationwide beginning this summer.