Oh! Caramels: Classic Milk and Dark Caramels

While underwhelmed by the chocolate-covered chocolate caramel by Oh! Chocolate that I described in yesterday’s post, I retained hope that others in the box may be better. Perhaps a traditional caramel would come across better. A traditional caramel such as the classic caramel covered in milk chocolate.

The milk chocolate shell is actually quite flavorful, with a hint of earthiness accompanying a pleasing creamy flavor and texture.

Sadly, the caramel inside is too sweet to appropriately contrast the sweet, creamy milk chocolate exterior, and is again too chewy. Lack of balance and a hard caramel make me an unhappy woman.

Is it possible that the dark chocolate version of this caramel is better? Possible, I suppose.

The chocolate itself has generic coffee notes, but is relatively smooth for a dark chocolate.

The caramel inside, however, is actually worse than the other caramels from this collection. It’s completely hard, dry, and offers nothing but some sugar and dental-work prying texture. It’s so bad that it’s difficult to appreciate the passable chocolate unless you pick off the chocolate and eat that alone.

Which is highly advisable.

Have you ever picked the chocolate off of something and eaten only the chocolate?

Oh! Caramels: Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Caramel

It’s honestly difficult to believe that my trip to Seattle, complete with visits to no fewer than three chocolate shops, was back in February. And yet, I still have yet to post several reviews of the chocolate I tasted from that trip.

Is it because I waited this long to try the chocolate? Ha. As if. No, no, dear reader, I ate my entire haul from Seattle within ten days of returning to DC, writing up reviews to post at a later date as I went along.

I wouldn’t want to review chocolate past its prime, now would I? That just wouldn’t be fair to the chocolatier, to those reading the reviews, or, most importantly, to me. And I like to be fair. Especially to caramels, such as this small collection from Oh! Chocolate in Mercer Island, WA.

Even though each caramel was covered in chocolate, there was an actual chocolate caramel. As in, a chocolate-infused caramel. Covered in chocolate. An obvious starting point.

The chocolate is smooth but breaks apart from the caramel. Not cool, folks, not cool. If I wanted to eat caramel and chocolate separately, I would buy some high-quality chocolate and some naked salted caramel.

The caramel itself is a bit dry and too chewy. The chocolate flavor barely noticeable, and adds just a tiny bit of bitterness to offset the sweet caramel. Because of that bitter addition, the salt on top is a bit unnecessary. Though it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, the flavors simply aren’t anything notable and it’s too chewy to be enjoyable. Not a dud, but not anything special.

How long does chocolate from a trip last in your house?

Hot Blondies Bakery: The End of the Box

Having found the best brownie ever, the s’mores brunette, in the box that Hot Blondies Bakery sent me, I nearly couldn’t face the last two bars in the box. It simply wasn’t fair to evaluate them after experiencing brownie nirvana.

I contemplated building a device that would transform the last two bars into s’mores brunettes to spare them this pain, but then realized it would probably be less expensive and faster to simply order more s’mores brunettes from Hot Blondies Bakery.

In the meantime, I settled on giving the oatmeal raisin blondie a shot.

The component ingredients, namely the nuts and raisins, are high-quality and well-treated. The raisins are big and juicy, and well-distributed throughout; the nuts are well-roasted, flavorful, and crispy, not falling victim to the soggy syndrome that some nuts suffer in dense baked goods. The blondie itself tastes like oatmeal cookie dough, with notable oatmeal, cinnamon, and vanilla flavors. With all these great flavors, I was a little disappointed by the drier, crumbly sides that made it difficult to get to the delicious center. While this bar was flavorful, if I hand-selected a box, I think that other blondies, such as the butterscotch white chocolate blondie and the classic blondie, are better bets.

Or more s’mores brunettes. Yes more. More.

Or not. As if that s’mores brunette lasted long in my presence. Ha. I checked out the nutella hazelnut brunette to see if it could measure up.

The chocolate flavor in this bar isn’t nearly as intense as that in the s’mores brunette; instead, a strong hazelnut flavor and a subtle dairy flavor are more apparent. The hazelnuts scattered throughout the bar are nice and crunchy, further enhancing the hazelnut flavor of the bar. The texture, though not as gooey and dense as the classic brunette or s’mores brunette, was a pleasing compromise between cakey and fudgy. Though I did enjoy the strong hazelnut flavor, I’d like a stronger chocolate flavor to come through with it. I enjoyed this take on the brunette, but it didn’t quite measure up to the mind-blowing taste and texture of the s’mores brunette.

Nothing does. Let’s just accept that and move on. And dive into a box of a dozen or two s’mores brunettes. I highly recommend it.

Do you like brownies to taste more like chocolate or more like the extras (nuts, fruit, etc.) in them?

Hot Blondies Bakery: Butterscotch Blondie and S'mores Brunette

Even though I’m a brownie lover, I did used to be blonde myself, so I have a true soft spot in my heart for blondies. This is why I’ve been happy to review the bondies as well as the brunettes from the box that Hot Blondies Bakery sent me. As a white chocolate lover, I was especially happy to check out the butterscotch white chocolate chip blondie.

Though I was most looking forward to checking out the white chocolate in this blondie, it was the butterscotch taste that dominated the bar, and not just with the chips – it was evident in every crumb of this bar. I rarely eat butterscotch treats, but do enjoy the flavor, so this was a pleasant surprise. Like the flavor, the texture is also uniform, and is soft yet dense throughout. The one minor drawback in this blondie was actually the part I was most looking forward to – the white chocolate chips, which were a big large for my tastes, resulting in some bites with no white chocolate and others dominated by the white chocolate. As the white chocolate is soft and high quality, I’d love to be able to experience some with each dense, butterscotch-flavored bite, even with this minor flaw, the bar is a wonderful, flavorful treat.

Though I’d managed to sample five bars from this box before zeroing in on the bar that intrigued me the most, I simply couldn’t put off digging into the marshmallow-topped s’mores brunette any longer.

Can you blame me? If that isn’t enough for you, check out the addition of a graham cracker crust at the bottom of this brunette.

Sometimes, when a treat is so visually and descriptively appealing, I build it up in my mind and get let down once I try it.

Not this time. Not even close. It was better than I could have ever, ever imagined. The brownie component on its own is simply divine: dense and fudgy, with an intense bittersweet chocolate flavors. While most brownies have a noticeable chocolate flavor, this one is explosive and long-lasting, nearly as intense as eating straight bittersweet chocolate. This contrasts nicely with the sweet marshmallow topping and graham cracker bottom, resulting in what very well may be the most perfect brownie within a thousand miles of me.

If you know where a better one is, send one. Please. Or just send me a dozen of the s’mores brunettes. Either works.

What’s the best brownie you’ve ever had?

Hot Blondies Bakery: Blondies and Brunettes get Dressed Up

While the classic brunette brownie that I discussed in yesterday’s post was truly incredible, my task of reviewing the entire box that Hot Blondies Bakery sent me loomed. Could any other bars measure up? I picked up the peanut butter chocolate chunk blondie to see.

The bar, which has a strong nutty aroma, features dark chocolate chunks throughout, which each pack an intense chocolate flavor to compliment the sweet bar.

And how sweet it is. It nearly tastes like peanut butter and brown sugar mixed together (if you go to your kitchen right now to mix those to see what it tastes like, I won’t judge you). This contrasts nicely with the dark chocolate, as well as with the bits of salted peanuts scattered throughout. That said, I would prefer that the chocolate chunks be a bit smaller to enhance this effect; I suppose the “take larger bites” approach would be one solution.

The texture of this bar is a tad drier than that of the classic blondie, and I didn’t happen upon the same doughy center effect that I did with the classic blondie. The peanut butter chocolate chunk blondie also trends a bit more towards cakey than the classic blondie, so while I enjoyed a better flavor balance in this bar, the texture of the classic blondie is a bit superior.

Split the difference. Get both. Obviously.

And then try another brownie, because life requires brownies. All the time. Perhaps you’d be interested in the white chocolate espresso brunette?

I’m generally not a fan of espresso-enhanced chocolates and baked goods, but in this case, the espresso flavor is apparent but subtle, and nicely offset by sweet, creamy white chocolate chips which are small and well-distributed throughout the brownie. The brownie is soft and trends towards fudgy, but isn’t quite as fudgy and gooey as the classic brunette. Intriguingly, I didn’t notice much chocolate flavor, with the creamy white chocolate and bitter espresso dominating the flavor. Though those flavors were nice, I’d like a bit more chocolate flavor to compliment this well-textured bar.

Do you like baked goods with strong espresso notes?

Hot Blondies Bakery: The Classics

Those who blog write blogs (duh). They also read blogs. Lots of blogs. For inspiration, community connection, and just plain for fun. As a blogger, I, too, read blogs. Including Lauren’s blog, which is how I discovered that she was lucky enough to be selected as a reviewer for Hot Blondies Bakery in New York City. Now, this is a difficult task, as you can see from her post reviewing these bars. But I figured I was up for it, too, and contacted Laura and Lorin, the brains and brawn behind these creations.

As you can see, they agreed that I had what it takes to check out their signature creations: four blondies and four brunettes (brownies). Before I even saw any of those beauties, I was truly impressed by their packaging job, which can be described as nothing but sexy.

I mean really. Leopard print tissue paper? Come hither, baked goods. I’m in love already.

Not one to be won over by packaging alone, I quickly dug into the box to see what awaited me. First up: the classic blondie, which features a bondie base and chocolate chunks.

The bar gives off a pleasing caramel aroma, and features very small chocolate chunks that are well-distributed. The texture is a bit dry on the outside, but pleasingly doughy on the inside. For those who enjoy raw cookie dough, the inside of this bar is like a gold mine. The bar is quite sweet, and it seems that just a pinch more salt would temper that a bit, but the chocolate does offset the sugary character just a bit. Though I’d enjoy a more consistent texture throughout, the bar was enjoyable and I was quite impressed with the even distribution of the chocolate in the bar.

Next, it was time to dive into something I’m an expert on: a brownie. We all know how I feel about brownies. Seriously, my copy of Nick Malgieri’s Chocolate opens right to the Supernatural Brownie recipe because I’ve made it so many times. With that expertise, the classic brunette was going to have to work hard to impress me.

This classic brunette captured by attention immediately with an intense cocoa aroma, and only got better when I bit into it: dense, chewy, and gooey. Certainly trending towards the fudgy type of brownie, which is my personal preference – come on, if you want a cakey brownie, just go eat, well, cake. But don’t eat this brownie. I’ll do that instead.

Aside from the impressive texture, the classic brunette is quite sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and this allows an intense chocolate flavor to linger through every bite. This intense chocolate flavor is enhanced by small bits of semi sweet chocolate that melt nicely if you heat up a bit of this bar (do it). This bar is spot on: perfect texture and mouthfeel with a nice blend of intense chocolate and a sweet cookie.

And that’s coming from a brownie critic. Honestly.

Given that honest assessment, if these nicely-crafted bar cookies intrigue you, go on over to Hot Blondies Bakery and order some yourself - use discount code HBBdistrict to save some dough.

Which do you prefer: blondies or brunettes? I’m talking about bar cookies, obviously.

Pimp My Easter Basket: Road Kill Easter Bunny Bar Cookies

You didn’t forget about the Pimp My Easter Basket challenge, did you? Well, if you did, never fear: You still have a week to craft something and send us a picture and/or blog post link. I, on the other hand, already have a submission. One that could help you disposition sub-par chocolate Easter candy that you may receive.

Roadkill Easter Bunny Bar Cookies. Perfect for little kids. Tell them that you baked the Easter Bunny into some bar cookies. They definitely won’t cry.

Now I know you’re thinking, “Victoria, what kind of sick, twisted ^$^(*& are you?”. The answer? The kind that makes outrageous-looking bar cookies. With sub-par Easter Candy.

Yes, Russell Stover “chocolate” sucks. It’s not even worth reviewing. But if you surround it with butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, it becomes more palatable.

And perversely humorous.

Roadkill Easter Bunny Bar Cookies (Inspired by Betty Crocker and my screwed up brain)

12 tablespoons butter, softened

3 egg yolks, or one whole egg and one egg yolk, room temperature

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter on medium speed in a stand mixer for about two minutes, then add sugars and cream for two to three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add egg yolks, salt and vanilla, beat an additional minute. Add flour and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Press dough into an 8-inch by 8-inch pan.

Place one nasty-tasting chocolate Easter Bunny in a spot on top of the dough.

Press it into the dough so that the edges are underneath part of the dough.

Manipulate the dough around the edges of the nasty-tasting chocolate Easter Bunny so that you get a seal around the chocolate – this prevents the chocolate from running all over the dough and helps maintain the Easter Bunny shape.

Repeat with more nasty-tasting chocolate Easter Bunnies.

Bake at 350° F for 25-30 minutes.

Share with your favorite children. Be sure to tell them that the Tooth Fairy was part of the hamburgers you had for dinner.

What do you do with bad Easter candy?