Korean Pine Nuts

I got these from my brother-in-law; he didn't even know what they were, he bought them in China in Beijing. Oddly enough, the picture on the package led me to believe that they were hazelnuts; well, very odd hazelnuts. Perhaps even cob nuts? Then it struck me that they looked like pine nuts, once I cracked the shell, anyways.

It turns out that they are Korean pine nuts, a popular nut grown in Northeastern China. They might even be the pine nuts you buy in the store here in North America. They are difficult to crack, takes a fair amount of work to extract the small seeds; I can see why they are expensive. They are tasty, though, my daughter even likes them.

Nestle Sublime

My colleague brought this back from Peru the other week, it's a favourite in Peru. It's essentially a chocolate bar with peanuts, and fairly good tasting if the chocolate is a little sweet, somewhat offset by the saltiness of the peanuts. Interesting, but not and no way my favourite.

Toblerone Fruit and Nut

i like chocolate bars with fruit and nuts (raisins or currants and almonds or hazelnuts). What the people at Toblerone have done with this bar, is to add raisins to their regular and very popular chocolate nougat triangle bar. The raisins I found to be very small, though it did make the toblerone a little tastier. Give it a try, if you like toblerone, and want something a little different.

Toblerone Tobelle

This is the latest from Toblerone. Essentially, they've taken their normal long bar and sliced them very thin. There are 20 pieces within this box. Good, if you don't want to eat too much at one time.

Sweets from the Earth Flourless Cashew Cookies

I liked these the first time I tried them, later I picked up this box at Whole Foods. Sweets from the Earth makes a number of healthier baked goods - the list is very long - all natural; gluten free; 100% vegan; dairy free; egg free; cholesterol free; lactose free; 0 trans fats; low in sodium; no refined sugars; low in saturated fat; GMO free; nothing artificial; no preservatives. These cookies are flourless, and eggless (they use tofu instead of an egg), and have only a few ingredients - cashew butter, evaporated cane juice, tofu, baking soda and salt (the evaporated cane juice and tofu are Organic).

But healthy doesn't necessarily mean not decadent or tasty, these certainly are quite tasty. They remind me very much like a peanut butter cookie, with a similar flavour, though different. Something I hope to enjoy often - I might even have found a recipe to make them myself.

Lindt Excellence Roasted Almond

This bar is one of the newest from Lindt, it features dark chocolate, though only the minimum to make the grade) and roasted almonds. The cacao content is at 47%. The ingredient listing is fair (high sugar and butter fat are the culprits), sugar, cocoa mass, almonds, cocoa butter, butter fat, soya lecithin and vanilla.

How does it taste? There is definitely the taste of roasted almonds in this bar, and the almonds are fairly small pieces (but at least noticeable when chewing). My beautiful Bride, who likes almonds, doesn’t care much for the small pieces of almond. I concur, and we likely won’t buy this one again.

Mesquite Pistachio Cocoa Nib Cookies

I’ve seen mesquite pod meal now in quite a few places, before it was really unknown in Canada. I like the smell of the mesquite baking, it gives kind of a smokiness to the cookie. This is a variation on a honey based chocolate chip cookie recipe that is one of my favourites. This is the second of two desserts I baked today, with pistachios and cocoa nibs. The raw cocoa powder kind of disappeared, it certainly didn’t turn the dough brown; perhaps I had to add more.

Mesquite Pistachio Cocoa Nib Cookies
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup mesquite pod meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp raw cocoa powder
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup light muscovado sugar
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Combine flours, soda, cocoa powder and salt and whisk together.

Cream together butter and sugars. Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and honey.

Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture in two additions. Stir in cocoa nibs and pistachios.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies all golden all over.

Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a rack.

More "Adult" Carob-Quinoa Chews

I made a more traditional version of this recipe earlier, substituting carob for cocoa and quinoa puffs for millet puffs. The recipe I took this from is called Cocoa Millet Chews, from Health by Chocolate by Victoria Laine, which contains a number of more healthy recipes that are made from chocolate. I mean more adult, in the sense of, I think these would be less likely to be eaten by young children; the adult ingredients are pistachios, cocoa nibs and currants. Thinking about it now, I could even have added some Frangelico to it, to make it even more “adult”. Otherwise, they still taste good, a chewy, crunchy bite; the cashew butter is tasty too. They were well received at work.

More “Adult” Carob-Quinoa Chews
adapted from a recipe from Health by Chocolate by Victoria Laine
1 cup cashew butter (almond or other nut butter)
1 cup honey (pure maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup carob powder (cocoa powder)
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1/4 cup dried currants
1 to 1-1/2 cups puffed quinoa cereal (millet)

Heat cashew butter and honey on medium heat or double boiler, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to bubble (about 2-3 minutes).

Take off heat and stir in vanilla.

Mix in sifted carob powder and puffed cereal. Add nuts and cocoa nibs and mix well. Cool several minutes.

Mold into balls. Cool on counter or in refrigerator until firm.

Everybody's Nuts Pistachios European Roast

The American Company Everybody's Nuts sells roasted large California pistachios (and has a guarantee which states if you find an unopened roasted nut, you can send it in for a free bag - though, I found one, and can't get it - it's only open to Residents of the U.S.). They have several flavours, No Salt, Salt and Pepper, South of the Border (spicy) and European Roast (which I chose). European Roast is flavoured with salt and malt vinegar, and tastes fairly good (though I don't like some of the extra ingredients that make the flavour, including fructose and modified food starch). Next time I'll buy the No Salt ones (all the other ones have similar ingredient listings).

Lindt Fruhlings Mandeln

These dark chocolate covered almonds from Lindt I also got from Germany, I've never seen them in Canada (Fruhlings Mandeln means Spring Almonds). On the package these look like they are very sugar-coated; inside they do not look like that (fortunately, as I thought that there would be lots of sugar). The ingredient listing is a little high on the sugar content, despite being dark chocolate, cacao mass, sugar, almonds (15%), clarified butter, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, wheat starch, natural flavour and vanilla extract.

How do they taste? Pretty good, my beautiful Bride liked them as well. The chocolate coating is soft, it's more like a chocolate cream; the almonds are crunchy and seem to be sugar-coated. I don't really have a source for them, but would buy them again.

Le Chocolate Milk and Dark Chocolate with Nuts

This is another of Shopper DrugMart's Le Chocolat series, this one features milk and dark chocolate (1/2 a bar of each). The nuts in question are pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews. The ingredient listing looks okay, the cacao content of the dark chocolate being 70%.

How did it taste? Not bad, the nuts were fairly tasty and crunchy, the chocolate was smooth and flavourful. Overall, I think this bar is just okay, and it was fairly inexpensive.

Governor's Choice Dark Chocolate with Raisins, Hazelnuts and Almonds

We got this chocolate bar at Zeller's, it is Swiss chocolate imported for Hudson's Bay Company (of which Zeller's is a part). It features hazelnuts, my favourite, and almonds, my beautiful Bride's favourite, and is at 44% cacao content. The ingredient listing is not bad, sugar, chocolate liquor, dry raisins, hazelnuts, cocoa butter, almonds, butter oil (I guess to replace cocoa butter?!), soy lecithin and artificial flavours.

How did it taste? Not bad, though I found out after eating the whole bar, I was waiting at an airport, that it was expired. The nuts at least were still crunchy, though I was more aware of the almonds than the hazelnuts. It was under two dollars, and I doubt that I would buy it again.

President's Choice Dark Chocolate with Almonds

Another chocolate bar we got for Christmas, along with the Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts is Dark Chocolate with Almonds (of course, I wish they would switch the two). There is no indication of the cacao content, so it's likely to just meet the qualifications of being called Dark (> 50%). The ingredient listing is good, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, almonds, cocoa butter, canola lecithin and vanilla flavour.

How did it taste? It's a little better than the milk chocolate hazelnut one, the chocolate itself is quite hard, almost as crunchy as the large pieces of almonds. Overall, I still prefer the hazelnut version, despite it being milk, or at least I enjoy the hazelnuts, but this one isn't bad, the almonds are tasty and the chocolate was okay.

Brimfield's Fine Confections Dark Chocolate Almonds

I've enjoyed the US chocolatier Brimfield's Fine Confections Dark Ginger several times before. I wish I had a good source for their products, Winners or Home Sense seem to be hit or miss, leaning towards the miss, in availability. This is their Dark Chocolate Almonds offering. The cacao content is at 70%. The ingredient listing is okay (the dark chocolate is good, as is the almonds; the rest not so much), dark chocolate (made from chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin and vanilla), almonds (roasted in cottonseed oil), shellac (confectioner's glaze), gum Arabic and corn syrup.

How does it taste? The dark chocolate is good and similar to the ginger one. The almonds are crunchy and tasty. Overall, I prefer their ginger still, but this one would be good as well. My beautiful Bride likes them.

Kashi Dark Mocha Almond Granola Bar

Kashi makes a number of granola bars that I like, this is one of their new ones, which features, along with its signature seven whole grains and sesame blend, salted roasted almonds, dark chocolate and natural coffee extract. The mocha coffee flavour is not too strong, and the dark chocolate is good, while the almonds are crunchy. I would say that this is another granola bar that I like, and would buy again.

Kashi Raspberry Chocolate Granola Bar

This is the other new flavour of granola bar by Kashi, this one features raspberry puree along with the dates mixed with chocolate layer. The bar, like the Dark Chocolate Coconut one, is shorter yet taller than the normal granola bars. This bar I liked better than the Dark Chocolate Coconut, the raspberry flavour is quite good and pairs well with the chocolate. My beautiful Bride agrees. I think I would buy this again.

Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bar

Kashi makes some pretty good tasting granola bars with their sevn whole grain blend, this is one of their new flavours that I recently found at Loblaws. The bar is shorter than their previous versions (which my Beautiful Bride pointed out to me); on the other hand, it is taller, with the chocolate layer and the coconut and walnuts. I was a little disconcerted by the graininess of the chocolate, I thought it was badly tempered chocolate perhaps, but it appears that there are dates mixed in with the chocolate. The walnuts are small pieces and the coconut flakes on the top provide little if any added flavour. Overall, this is an okay bar, I still prefer their Dark Chocolate and Cherry one.

Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds

This bar from Endangered Species features the Gray Wolf, an animal that is thought, incorrectly, to prey on farmer's livestock and is thus hunted and/or killed. They are also threatened by human encroachment which leads to habitat and prey loss. The Gray Wolf is making somewhat of a comeback in the United States. The bar itself features cranberries and almonds, and is a Dark chocolate, at 72% cacao content.

How did it taste? The chocolate was pretty good, up to Endangered Species standards, but the almonds were very small (really almost non-existent in flavour and texture); the cranberries were not bad. This is a bar that I would not choose again.

Lindt Excellence Intense Blueberry

I had not seen this chocolate bar until now, though I have eaten other flavours in that line. Liking blueberries, I thought I'd give it a good try - not having liked the other bars, and not having particularly thought they were "intense". This is a Dark chocolate bar, at 47% cacao content. At first, I didn't realize that this is a Blueberry and Almond chocolate bar; silly me, I thought it was a Blueberry Intense bar. The ingredient listing looks okay, sugar, cocoa mass, almonds, cocoa butter, butter fat, blueberry, apple, pineapple, soya lecithin, natural and artificial flavour, calcium orthophosphate, sodium alginate, citric acid and vegetable anthocyane.

How does it taste? Still, I don't think this is a particularly intense chocolate bar, though I do like the blueberry flavour. The almonds are there but very background, and the chocolate is up to Lindt standards. I don't think I would buy this again.

Elevate Me! Cocoa Coconut Cluster

This protein and fruit energy bar from PROSnack Natural Foods Inc. I've seen in several health food stores, at various prices (and I bought this one on sale at one place, and later found it at regular price for less at another - go figure), and it intrigued me, because of the combination of cacao and coconut. The bar contains 16 g protein (which it gets from whey protein isolate), 6 g of fiber and is a raw bar (not baked). The ingredient listing is as follows, whey protein isolate, dates, raisins (Organic), apples, cranberries (cranberries, cane sugar and sunflower oil), almonds, coconut (Organic) and cacao (Fair Trade and Organic).

How does it taste? I was pleased to see that, despite the two featured ingredients were also at the bottom of the list, the bar did taste of both, and less like the dates. There are 3 pieces in the bar. I would say, that if I was interested in increasing the amount of protein in my diet, and I wanted to pay the premium price for these kinds of bars, that this would be a good one.