How To Eat Chocolate

Believe it or not, there is actually an art to eating chocolate (which must make us all artists!).  To maximize your chocolate-eating experience (as if you needed any help), either at home or on tour, here are a few tips:

1. Smell the chocolate.

Scent enhances the flavor. Before you take a bite, take a whiff to fully taste the flavor.

2. Snap the chocolate in half.

If there is a clean break, this is a sign that you are about to enjoy some excellent chocolate.

3. Let the chocolate melt in your mouth.

The M&M company has been saying it for years, but let the chocolate melt in your mouth and swirl it around to taste all of the chocolate’s complexities.

4. Cleanse your palette in between tastings with water.

When switching from dark chocolate to milk chocolate or a lavender truffle to a basil and sea salt truffle, refresh your palette with water.

5. Do not drink coffee with your chocolate.

Coffee, on the other hand, is not a good palette cleanser and can dull the taste of the chocolate.

6. Don’t eat too much chocolate at one time.

We’re definitely guilty of breaking this one regularly, but to avoid muddling all of the flavors together, it is best to only eat a few different tastes at a time.

7. Eat at room temperature.

When it comes to fine chocolate, eating it frozen is best left for ice cream.

8. Look for shine.

Chocolate should have a nice shine. If the coating is dull, it is not good chocolate.

9. Enjoy!

We know we don’t need to tell you twice.

Chocolate Chai Sandwich Cookies

We’re always looking for new recipes, especially for the summer when we have time to slow down and relax.  And one of the newest recipes we can’t wait to make is for Chocolate Chai Sandwich Cookies.

What You’ll Need

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-salt

-1 cup butter

-cinnamon

-vanilla extract

-granulated sugar

-2 cups chopped dark chocolate

-2 cups heavy cream

-4 teaspoons loose chocolate chai

Combine flour, cinnamon, and salt.  In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add vanilla extract.

Gradually add flour mixture.  Mix until lightly blended.  Chill mixture for one hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using two pieces of plastic wrap, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Create circular strips and place cookies on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake until cookies are pale gold, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the ganache.  Boil cream and stir in tea. Remove from heat and let tea sit in cream for five minutes.

Place chopped chocolate pieces in a bowl, and pour cream mixture over the chocolate. Stir until chocolate melts, and let cool.

Spoon ganache, as desired, onto half of the cookies. Pair with another cookie to create a sandwich.  Press together gently, and then let cool until ganache has firmed up, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy! And be sure to let us know what you think!

The History of Chocolate

We definitely love chocolate in all the forms it comes in today but long ago, chocolate wasn’t even sweet, much less produced to the extent it is today. We’v e got some fun facts on the history of our favorite food.

In 2007, anthropologists discovered residue from the cacao beans on pottery in Honduras, possibly dating back as far as 1400 B.C.E.  Based on the anthropological findings, it appears cacao was fermented into an alcoholic beverage during that time.

And it is pretty impressive that people thought to make something edible out of the cacao pods.  You certainly wouldn’t guess that chocolate would come from it!  This is what the inside of a cacao pod looks like:

In early Latin America, the cacao beans (each white section is a cacao bean) were traded as currency.  Mayans and Aztecs even believed that the cacao bean was magical (it is!) and was used in sacred rituals around birth, marriage, and death.

During sacrifice rituals, the chosen people were (understandably) glum about their future and did not want to participate in the “celebratory” dancing.  As a result, Aztecs often offered the victims chocolate, seasoned with the blood of previous sacrifice victims, to drink to cheer them up.  We love chocolate, but we’re not even sure chocolate could cheer US up in that situation!

Chocolate was traditionally bitter before it was sweetened into the final product we are used to today.  When chocolate first came to the Europeans, they were disgusted and considered the liquid cacao beans as a “bitter drink for pigs.”  However, it wasn’t long before they began adding honey and other sweetener and quickly changed their minds.

The first chocolate bar was invented by Joseph Fry in 1847.  They discovered a way to mix the butter that comes from the cacao beans, known as the cocoa butter we use in many beauty products, back in with the cacao beans.  He added sugar and created a paste that could be sculpted.  This was considered the world’s first chocolate bar.

And aren’t we glad! We can’t imagine chocolate any other way.

Grilled Chocolate Sandwiches

We’ve got a chocolate recipe that even we couldn’t have imagined.

Dessert Chef Alice Medrich was featured on Good Morning America yesterday with a recipe for grilled chocolate sandwiches.  Just like grilled cheese sandwiches, but with chocolate instead. Wow.

We’re not sure what to think, but they look delicious and we’re willing to give anything with chocolate a try.  Here is the recipe below. Try it out with us, and let us know what you think.

Ingredients

-4 slices sourdough French bread

-unsalted butter

-1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon

-1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Butter one side of each slice of bread liberally.  Place the bread butter side down in a skillet over medium heat and cook until lightly golden.

Cover two of the slices with chocolate chips and place another slice of bread on top, butter side up. Continue to cook until the chocolate is slightly melted, flipping the sandwich on both sides to make sure both sides are golden brown.

Remove from skillet, and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar and cinnamon.  Serve plain or with ice cream.

Chocolate Summer Treats

Memorial Day officially marks the beginning of summer, and with the warmer weather comes the craving for cooler treats.  While chocolate ice cream is always a good staple, we’ve got some tips on some refreshing and unique chocolate treats found around DC this summer.

Yola’s Chocolate Yogurt

We know what you’re thinking-chocolate frozen yogurt, right? But Yola is not your average yogurt place.  In fact, it isn’t frozen yogurt!

Yola is DC’s only yogurt bar. A favorite on our Dupont Circle Tour, Yola is managed by a father-daughter team who have brought fresh yogurt and refreshing ingredients to the States after seeing a similar concept in Europe.

For the summer, we absolutely recommend their chocolate yogurt.  Choose from an array of fruit and granola toppings to balance it out.  Or, if you’re looking for something else, try their smoothies. And Yola is committed to being green. No wonder they are a Dupont Tour favorite!

Serendipity 3′s Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

If you have heard of Serendipity, it is probably because you have seen the Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack movie.  Serendipity brought Serendipity 3 to life in New York City, where visitors can expect to wait up to a few hours for a seat.

But the good news is that you don’t have to travel that far to taste this delicious drink.  Serendipity 3 has recently opened up in Georgetown and is quickly becoming as popular as its counterpart. Known for its Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, Serendipity 3 offers a full menu, from casseroles to sandwiches, in case you are looking for a little nourishment before indulging.

As a choco-holic, we’re sure you can finish one of these off by yourself, but we think it is more fun to share with a friend, and may we recommend the Peanut Butter flavored Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. Yum!

Lush’s Ma Bar

After a long day in the sun, we know there is nothing we want more than to cool down in the bath.  And there is no reason we can’t add chocolate!

Lush is a popular stop on our Georgetown Tour because of its luxurious products for prime pampering, and Lush’s Ma Bar is no exception.  It is a chocolate-toffee bubble bath bar that was created for Mother’s Day a few years ago. However, it became so popular that it has become a staple at Lush stores!

The bar is half chocolate and half honey toffee with a brown sugar cube in the middle.  The brown sugar cube melts in the bath water, and you can crumble the rest of the bar into the bath for chocolatey bubbles. We’ve already got the bath water running!

Do you know of any good places around DC for great chocolate summer treats? Let us know!

Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!

It is one of our favorite days of the year.  Today is the day we celebrate the chocolate chip!

When we think of the chocolate chip, the first thing that comes to mind is the snack that never goes out of style: the classic chocolate chip cookie.  But one of our favorite twists in this classic is the chocolate chip cookie sandwich.  Two chocolate chip cookies with ice cream in the middle.  Yum!  And roll the middle in chocolate chips? A chocolate lover’s dream!

As summer approaches, there is no better treat than an ice cream sandwich, and some places have started to realize what a perfect dessert this is.  The Burger Bistro in New York City is known for its “make your own ice cream sandwiches.”  You pick the ice cream and you pick the cookies.  Double chocolate chip with Guinness ice cream? Delicious!  And there is even something for the (gasp!) non-chocolate lovers.

Another way to enjoy the simple but exquisite chocolate chip is the chocolate chip cannoli.  While the classic cannoli isn’t one of our faves (Who are we kidding? We always need chocolate.), a cannoli dipped in chocolate chips us has drooling.

One of the best chocolate chip cannolis we’ve ever had is at Mike’s Pastry in Boston’s North End. Mike’s Pastry is also a stop on the Boston Chocolate Tours, and what a delicious stop it is!  It even offers chocolate chip dipped cannolis with chocolate filling. You might have to fight your way to get to the counter but trust us, it is totally worth it!

Another way that chocolate chips have changed our lives for the better is at breakfast.  Chocolate chip pancakes are our brunch meal of choice!

And if you are making the pancakes at home, you can use whole wheat pancake mix.  Add the health benefits of chocolate to the benefits of your daily servings of whole grain, and we are feeling good about chocolate chip pancakes to start off our day!

The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, is home to Sabrina’s Cafe, which makes some of the most creative and delicious pancakes around.  The menu changes regularly and items are often entertainingly named.  This week, in keeping with the release of The Avengers movie, the menu features The Edible Hulk, Nick Fury’s Infinity Formula French Toast, and The Widow’s Bite Vegan Lunch.  Our personal favorite is the Cosmic Cube Cakes-pumpkin pancakes topped with peanut butter cake crumbles, chocolate chips, and peach-molasses syrup.  Mmm!

Everything is better with chocolate chips, and today we’re happy to celebrate these tasty morsels!

White Chocolate Fudge

Some people may argue that white chocolate isn’t really chocolate, but we don’t discriminate.  Whether chocolate is made from the actual cacao bean or the cacao butter, we think it is all delicious.

That is why our current obsession is white chocolate fudge.  And it is so easy to make from home, you’ll find yourself preferring to do dessert in instead of out!

What You’ll Need:

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• salt
• 12 oz white chocolate chips
• vanilla extract
• 1 jar marshmallow cream

1. Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

2. Mix butter, sour cream, salt, and sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until butter and sugar are melted.

3. Continue to stir until mixture boils. Once it boils, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Remove the pan from heat and add white chocolate chips and marshmallow cream. Stir quickly until chips are melted, and chips and cream are melted into mixture.  Add vanilla.

5. Pour fudge into 8×8 pan and let sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature to preserve for up to one week.

Bonus

When you add the chips and marshmallow cream, add any other additional ingredients you may want.  The white chocolate provides a great base to add a variety of options, including pistachios, walnuts, peanut butter, and our personal favorite, Oreo.

Enjoy!

Alcoholic Chocolate

We know alcohol and chocolate is a great pairing.  Wine and chocolate is one the most classic pairings of our favorite sweet treat.  Champagne and chocolate is a great way to bring in the New Year.  Sweet Revenge, a bakery in New York City, even offers cupcake and beer pairings.

But what we’re enjoying even more than these classic pairings is the combination.  Chocolate beer and chocolate wine make happy hour that much happier.

ChocoVine is the leading producer of chocolate wine.  They mix red wine and dark chocolate for an absolutely delicious dish.  And it even comes in different flavors: original, espresso, whipped cream, and raspberry.

As chocolate lovers, we were concerned that the wine wouldn’t taste chocolate-y enough, but our worry was unnecessary.  If we hadn’t been told it was wine, we would have believed we were drinking  liquid chocolate.

Cocoa di Vine is another producer of chocolate wine.  They blend chocolate with white wine grapes for those who would prefer something even sweeter.

For those who want their chocolate and alcohol but are not fans of wine, we recommend chocolate stouts.  One of the most recognizable labels is Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.

Unlike most beer, this beer is creamy.  It combines chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts.

Another favorite is the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout.  In addition to the coffee, red fruit is added to complement the flavors and the Belgian yeast.

Oscar adds oatmeal to the mix.  The oatmeal adds a nuttiness to the beer and enhances the richness of the chocolate flavor.

Be warned.  Chocolate beer is rich.  While you may drink the entire bottle of chocolate wine in one sitting, it will take you a little longer to sip the chocolate beer.  Chocolate beer is best consumed with a light beer.

When Friday Happy Hour comes around and your torn between alcohol and chocolate as your afternoon treat, don’t settle for one or the other.  Try your favorites combined!

Chocolate and Will Power

In 1998, Social Psychologist Roy Baumeister conducted an experiment to test will power using the most difficult of substances to say no to-chocolate.  He set out to deplete the will power of his participants with an unfulfilled promise of chocolate chip cookies.

For the first part of the experiment, Baumeister placed 67 participants in a room that smelled like chocolate chip cookies.  For some of the participants, he even showed them the freshly baked cookies.

Some of the participants were able to eat the cookies, while others were told they could not and were asked to eat a radish instead.  According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, those who ate the radish generally stared longingly at the cookies while they struggled to get down their less-than-appetizing vegetable.

For the second part of the experiment, Baumeister distributed a persistence-testing puzzle and did not let participants know the tests were at all related.  What he found was that those who had been forced to eat the radish devoted far less time and made significantly less of an effort to solve the puzzle versus those who were able to indulge and enjoy the cookie.  This experiment proved that self-control could be depleted and like a muscle, it can fatigue after use rather than being a skill that someone can master (though muscles can be exercised and subsequently strengthened).  It went on to serve in over 1,200 other studies, including explaining why people are more likely to go shopping when they are broken-hearted.

So, what is the lesson here?  Save your self control for when you really need it, and never say no to chocolate!

Easter Fun Facts

Forget the warm weather or the longer days.  Our favorite thing about this time of year is that there are chocolate bunnies EVERYWHERE!

So we’re sharing some fun facts about our favorite seasonal treat!

Did you know…

90 million Easter bunnies are made for Easter each year?

82 percent of Americans would prefer a chocolate bunny for Easter versus 4 percent who would prefer a live bunny?

76 percent of kids first grab for their chocolate bunnies when checking their Easter baskets?

42 percent of Americans prefer a solid chocolate bunny versus 21 percent who prefer a hollow chocolate bunny?

The largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and 8,968 lbs of chocolate and marshmallow?

76 percent of Americans prefer to eat the ears off the bunny first versus 5% who will eat the feet and 4% who will eat the tail?

Easy day throughout the year, 5 million chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter?

After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday?

That is a lot of chocolate!  And we can’t wait to celebrate!