Sam's Club Holiday Leftovers 2010

The last place we visited to check out post-holiday sales before the New Year as Sam's Club where we've had a membership for many years now.  Originally we were on my parents account but then kept it.  We have a difficult relationship with the store since it the same company as Walmark and they are incredible anti-union and fair trade practices plus they no longer only buy American as I recall

Aldi Holiday Leftovers

Yesterday your Chocolate Priestess went with her husband, our Milk Chocolate Acolyte, and her friend Erica who accompanied us to the chocolate sculpture event we reported on back in November.  We visited two stores for basic supplies but also to check out their post-Christmas sales to see what they still had available in the chocolate category.

We went to Aldi because for basic canned goods,

Target Holiday Leftovers

Two days after Christmas, your Chocolate Priestess and the Milk Chocolate Acolyte went to do some post-holiday shopping to use up gift cards and just see what was available in the stores nearest them.




I found these three chocolaty treats in our near by Target store.  Frankly none of these are specifically Christmas as much as they are specifically winter time or winter flavors really so if

Guittard: Simply the Best of 2010

It isn't unusual for a chocolatier, retailer or company to send us several products to review at the same time.  It is less expensive in terms of shipping after all plus then they've done it and they won't get a follow up email from me a few months later asking if they were still interested in being reviewed.  However when that happens it creates a challenge for us here on The Chocolate Cult --

What Type of Chocolate Did You Use this Holiday Season?

From: http://hubpages.com/hub/Christmas-images
Your Chocolate Priestess saw that the Kelly School of Business, a branch of her local University, conducted a study that said the top two treats for 2010's Holiday season has been Chocolate and Candy Canes.  I want to know what you did for treats this year, Sisters and Brothers, regardless of the holiday you celebrated or will celebrate this winter

King Reese's Trees for Christmas

I grew up loving Reese's peanut butter cups and over the years there have been dozens of "new" products which are basically the cups in different forms with different chocolates. I've reviewed some of these since The Chocolate Cult started but when I recently went shopping I saw something new packaging one sale that I had to try.  The King Size package gave me two tree shaped Reese's for the

Chocolate Cherries and Nuts for the Holidays

Today is our last big pre-Christmas review because by next Saturday it will be Christmas.  Don't worry, what we are looking at today, Sisters and Brothers, you can still find or order if you hurry.  Plus don't forget Chocolate for New Year's Eve!  But first, I want to introduce you all to a new member of our Faith.

As you may recall, in order to practice Moderation and Purposefulness, your

Premium Chocolate Santa

There are some chocolates that look edible, you know what I mean, right, Sisters and Brothers, they just look like they want you to eat them.  Other chocolates are more artistic, you want to look at them but you also want to eat them.  Then others are beautiful and you wonder "Should I eat this?"  That's the problem your Chocolate Priestess had when she opened a box from Premium Chocolatiers. 

Russell Stover Christmas Treats 2010

Don't forget the current GIVEAWAY for FREE Chocolate & Frosting Mix.

Last year we looked at a few treats from Russell Stover that we found in our nearby Hallmark store, the place nearest us who sells small items from this company.  About two weeks ago, your Chocolate Priestess was in there buying a few cards and I saw a few treats we had yet to review.  Since there were only 59¢ a piece, I

WIN KIng Arthur Chocolate Cake

How many of you have heard of King Arthur Flour, Sisters and Brothers? 

I remember seeing it in stores as I was growing up and my mother saying "That's the best flour there is but we can't afford it" as she reached for another brand.  That feeling stuck with me throughout my life.  King Arthur was something I always looked at, wishing it were on sale and I had an amazing coupons.  I just didn't

Giveaway Chocolate Stocking Stuffer #2

As promised, Sisters and Brothers, this is your second chance to win a chocolate stocking stuffer for 2010.  Again this is a FAST giveaway and again the same number of entrants must be received so that 5 of your can win one of these bars.  Give it to someone you love or eat it yourself or better share it with another person this holiday season.  These bars from the Praim, LLC., company and they

Giveaway Chocolate Stocking Stuffer #1

Sisters and Brothers, hang out because we are about to impart on our most active Giveaway period yet here in The Chocolate Cult.  Remember, you can enter any giveaway no matter if you have won before but you MUST follow the guidelines for each giveaway or you will be disqualified.  Last giveaway saw half of all entries disqualified because they left out one of the steps.  Your Chocolate Priestess

Chocolate Coal

In some Christmas lore, Santa by whatever name he is called, leaves not only presents but also punishments for children.  Sometimes this is a spanking or sometimes it's coal though given the time period these folktales developed I have to wonder how much of a punishment coal truly was -- at least you could burn it for a bit of heat or to help you cook.  Today children are rarely punished at

December Chocolate Dates

December has several holidays, official, religious and just fun, that you can celebrate with Chocolate.  We're about to have a lot of Christmas specific Sacraments and more giveways starting on Saturday, Sisters and Brothers, so I though I should do this calendar post soon.


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Pareve Chocolate Cake

At the clearance table at my local Kroger recently, I found a Manischewitz cake mix on sale since Passover was finished.  However there are many holy days on the Jewish calendar plus anything that you keep pareve, meaning no animal or dairy products in it, can be used year round in a Kosher household.  I'd never had or made this type of cake so I decided to give it a try since Hanukkah starts

DOVE Discoveries for the Holidays

I'm sure all of you have heard of DOVE Chocolate, Sisters and Brothers, especially readers in the USA.  DOVE Discoveries are these online kiosks where you can order a much wider range of products made by the DOVE company but sold by independent boutique owners.  One of these owners, Kimberly Lucak, sent me a few samples that I want to reveal to you all today.  Here is a link to her boutique so

Chocolate Babka

Hanukkah starts in one week and so I thought this was the perfect time to review Aunt Ida's Chocolate Babka to you all, Sisters and Brothers.  I, being a Midwest Christian girl didn't know what a babka was when I was offered one so I did what any intelligent person should do: I asked questions.  A babka is a Russian style coffee cake to be simplistic.  This one has chocolate added to it so I was

French Chocolate History Tidbits

As you know, Sisters and Brothers, we like to celebrate the history of chocolate and it's role in the world here at The Chocolate Cult.  Your Chocolate Priestess was curious about when chocolate came to France and went and did some research among her chocolate books and online.

Chocolate made it's biggest impact in France with the marriage of Anne of Austria, the daughter of Philip II of Spain

Artisan Marshmallows & Giveaway

A friend of your Chocolate Priestess gave me some artisan marshmallows from an Indiana company called 240sweet back at the end of September.  She gave me the Chocolate Chocolate Chip kind and they are huge.  So  I contacted the company to let them know that one of my readers recommended them.  They responded  by not only sending me three samples but also offering my readers a gift.  We'll get to

Book Review: "Whoopie Pies"

Your Chocolate Priestess does book reviews for several places one of which is the Amazon.com Vine Program.  Back just as the seasons were turning to summer, I received whoopie pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell to review.   I make a point of not baking or using the oven much once the daily average is above 80 and it was above 90 far more often than normal this past summer.  So I only

Chocolate Walk 2010 Report

Your Chocolate Priestess feels great a few days after the Brown County Humane Society Chocolate Walk in Nashville, Indiana.  As you may recall, I mentioned this event, ways you could find accommodations to join us, and really talked up the charity it was supporting.

A fine group of cultists joined me on Saturday morning between 9 and 9:15 AM November 13, 2010.  Next year I'll tell everyone to

Make Your Chocolate Kit

With Christmas and other winter holidays approaching I know that some of you, Sisters and Brothers, are thinking of gifts.  What better gift than chocolate and time together?  So making chocolate or chocolate treats is almost an ideal present for any age group.  The folks from Glee Gum sent us a "Make Your Own Chocolate From Scratch Kit" and they are also going to give one of you a kit as well. 

Night of Sugar & Chocolate Sculpting

Last night a friend and I went to Nashville, Indiana, and visited their amazing public library to see Donia Justice and learn about sugar and chocolate sculpting.  The event was free and we had a lot of fun in an hour and a half.



There was a nice crowd, almost filling up the entire room which is in the basement.  From the front, we didn't realize how big the library is.  They have a lot more

Final 2010 Chocolate Walk Round Up

On Saturday, this coming Saturday, November 13, 2010, Sisters and Brothers, a group of chocolate lovers is gathering at your Chocolate Priestess' house to meet up and then carpool caravan over to Nashville, Indiana, to spend the day walking, eating chocolate, hanging out with like-minded folks, and helping animals in need.

The Chocolate Walk has some tickets left at $20 a piece for 31 different

LUXE Chocolate Revelations & Giveaway

Back for Valentine's Day 2010, the generous folks from Ghiradelli sent us samples of several of the holidays gifts you could get from them to give to your loved ones.  At that time the new LUXE like, a milk chocolate variety, was very new.  Later they contacted me about doing a review and hosting a contest to help them promote this LUXE line and since they didn't have anything specific for

Winners in Halloween Treat Challenge 2010

October was time for our Annual Halloween Treat Challenge here on The Chocolate Cult.

We had six categories but not every category produced a winner, there was no retailer entry this year though last year we did have a winning retailer.

Here are our categories and the winning chocolate companies.  Companies were judged on the specific Halloween nature of their treat, the ease of using said

Meet the Buttercream Cupcake Lady

A few months back, your Chocolate Priestess saw an article about a woman who created a company that sales cupcakes out of a truck and travels around her city, Philadelphia, selling freshly made cupcakes to people in different locations.  I found the woman behind Buttercream, the Buttercream Cupcake Lady herself, Kate Carrara, and she gladly agreed to do an email interview with me.  This is our

Last Chance Chocolate Walk

Today is the LAST day you can order your tickets to join our Pilgrimage on the Nashville, Indiana, Chocolate Walk.  Tomorrow the prices go up by $5 so hurry and get online this Halloween and order your tickets before the price goes up or they sell out.



Some of our Acolytes will be going with us and your Chocolate Priestess is setting up a time and place to meet to carpool or at least head off

Chocolate Fun Giveaway

Not long ago, CSN.com connected me to do another review or giveaway.  Your Chocolate Priestess thought they might now since the last product I reviewed didn't get much praise.  However it turns out that they are an honorable company and they want fully honest reviews.  That means something to me in this period rabid lying and political or religious dogma masquerading as the truth or objectivity.

Halloween Peeps 2010

When I think of Peeps, I think of marshmallow critters for Easter.  Colored marshmallows that always seemed a bit stale to me on those rare times that I had one.  They aren't something we seek out in my household nor did I really grow up with them as even a rare treat.

The folks Just Born, Inc, the makers of Peeps have been expanding their sales by expanding the holidays you can find their

Firefox Chocolate Options

Recently, users of Firefox could chose a persona for their browsing.  In this case, the persona is the top and bottom of your viewer window that you'll see with some pattern that shouldn't interfere with anything else on your screen.  Note: the links are for the US but I'm sure if you use Firefox else where you can quickly find these.

Of course, your Chocolate Priestess had to check this out

Godiva Halloween/Fall 2010

The second "gift" your Chocolate Priestess ordered this year for Halloween was from Godiva.com.  I have a membership there so I can keep up to date on their products and if I'm ever near one of their stores, I could get samples of products to review for you.  They had an offer for Halloween so since I was feeling generous and really want to keep my family and friends from the candy for the kids

Newman Double Chocolate Cookies

With Halloween fast approaching you might wonder why I'd be reviewing cookies you can find in many large grocery stores or local food co-ops.  They were on sale and I had a coupon at our local Kroger.  We ate them a while back but as you may not know, I do pre-write some of the regular product reviews.

These are the chocolate sandwich cookies with a chocolate cream filling.  My family loves all

Mrs. Fields Halloween

Your Chocolate Priestess had used a Discover Card cash back gift card to order a product from Mrs. Fields for that holiday to review for you all and so she thought she'd do the same for Halloween.  This is the "Grinning Gourd" I ordered because in order to use the e-certificate I had to place an order of at least $40 and inconveniently the prices jumped from $39.95 to $44.95. You see it in the

Dreams for Charity

As you know, Sisters and Brothers, we are concerned about more than just taste, texture, scent, sound, and looks when it comes to chocolate.  When we hear that a chocolatier or a chocolate product might be benefiting some charity, we want to look into that.  Our old friends at Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate (guess what they sale?) who were one of the first chocolate makers to send us samples for

"Good" Halloween Candy

When you go out to buy Halloween candy something we all think about is "do we like it" as well as "is this a good buy".

Other things might matter as well.  In one of our Halloween Sacraments we mentioned how supporting some brands is a way to support charities.  We often talk about fair trade, eco-friendly packaging, and sustainable agricultural practices.

A news report caught my eye on Tuesday

Chocolate Eyeballs Halloween 2010

Of all the things we received for our Halloween Treat Challenge this year, the most creepy in terms of looks had to be from Sweet Mona's in the form of their "I only have eyes for you" Truffles.  This 7.5oz box came to your Chocolate Priestess and I was excited to open it but first I wanted to think about the other "eyeballs" I'd seen all ready in the store for this holiday.  Without exception,

Halloween Advice from The Chocolate Cult

This is, in part, a recap of the advice your Chocolate Priestess laid out last year. 

I want to know if any of you, Sisters and Brothers, have been using this advice this year.

I also want to talk about how I followed -- or haven't yet followed -- this advice myself.

1.  Buy at least two types of candy if you are welcoming trick or treaters to your home.



Above is the pile of candy we ended

Chocolate Walk 2010 Price Increase Soon

A reminder that the Pilgrimage to the Nashville, Indiana, Chocolate Walk is soon to see an increase in the price.  Currently it is $15 a person to go and visit 31 different locations in the lovely artist colony.  You can even carpool and walk with other Sisters and Brothers, Acolytes and even your Chocolate Priestess at this event if you send an email telling us you want to do that.

Saturday,

Share More than Candy On Halloween

Last year one of the entries into our annual Halloween Treat Challenge as a chocolate which also gave back to charity.  This year another chocolatier, TerraSource, also sent us their charity "Share Squares" that help with the charity Solar Cookers International which enables people to cook more safely with little damage to the planet.  Unfortunately I don't see on the website how many little

Fall Must Mean Fudge

Ah one of the things about the fall and winter that I think of is fudge.  True, you can make fudge or buy it almost any time of year any more and as you may recall from a long photo post I did last year, some towns are full to overflowing with fudge shops.  When people come to the college town I live in though they don't think fudge and yet we have fudge shops if you know where to look.

My

Cookies & Blondies for Halloween

We've revealed products from The Protein Bakery before here on The Chocolate Cult.  They had a new fall flavor in two forms that they believe could be great Halloween treats so we will reveal their new cookies and blondies to you as part of our annual challenge.  These treats come in individual plastic wrapped treats that each contain one serving so no false sense of taking care of your health by

Celebrate Fiji Day with Chocolate

Fiji Day is the end of a week long festival in Fiji that marks the islands' liberation from English rule. Why am I mentioning this at all here on The Chocolate Cult?  Your Chocolate Priestess found out that one of their official symbols is the the cocoa pod.

The Fiji islands have a a tropical South Sea maritime climate which makes it perfect for growing cacao.  As you may recall from other posts

Brazillian Chocolate Treats

Chocolate is popular world-wide and I am always delighted when someone outside the lower 48 states sends us a sample or someone uses an older tradition or non-American or European approach to our Sacred Substance.  Thus when the folks from Obrigadeiro in Minnesota told me that they create a Brazilian treat they and decorate it for Halloween, I knew we had to try it.  It came in a fairly

Two Candy Favorites Falter

The Chocolate Priestess grew up eating m&ms and Reese's products like I'm sure several of you, Sisters and Brothers, did.  While these mass produced candies rarely please me as much as the small batch or higher quality chocolates, I still try to keep up on changes and share my opinions with you all.

Thus when I had a coupon to try the new pretzel variety of m&m's I took the opportunity to buy

Tiny Bites

Intemperantia is an organic gourmet chocolatier whose products are also often vegan. The chocolate they use is from Switzerland and their websites gives great information bout how various regions in that country have their own unique chocolates which this chocolatier blends to make a synthesis all their own.  No added fats or oils, only what comes from the cocoa bean itself is used so this is a

Simple Sweets Chocolate Creme Review

A while back, your Chocolate Priestess was shopping in her local Kroger store and saw that some of the frozen desserts were on clearance.  Now sometimes clearance means the store won't carry that product any more and sometimes it means that the product is getting a face lift and so they want to move the previous designed covers out of the way.  Several of the "Simple Sweets" selections from Sara

Dark Bites

Last year a retailer entered our annual Halloween Treat Challenge and sent us some products from two different companies they work with.  This year one of those chocolatiers, Sjaak's sent us their own samples. They sent us their bags of "Halloween Bites" in dark chocolate and peanut butter as well as dark chocolate and orange.  The photo is from their website with permission since the ice pack

October Chocolate "Holidays"

October has many fun food holidays you could celebrate with chocolate, Sisters and Brothers.  Since we are hosting our annual Halloween Treat Challenge, I wanted to get these out there to you so you can make some decisions about your monthly chocolate consumption.

Of course in the USA and a few other countries, Halloween is the big candy holiday in October. We will be looking at a few chocolate

Cupcake Birthday 2010

Your Chocolate Priestess had a great two day celebration of her 41st birthday this past weekend on both Saturday (her actual birthday) and then with a huge two-part party on Sunday.

I'm fine with cake but usually I don't think that cakes are as chocolaty as I really want them to be.  Brownies tend to taste more chocolaty to me and they can be made two ways: fudge or cake.  I think the fudge

Dark (Chocolate) Rituals

Finally, your Chocolate Priestess has figured out how to give this link to the pdf to all of you so you may read this lovely article.

Please do click the link and leave a comment here letting us and the magazine know what you think about it.

Magazine Article

Attune Your Body with Chocolate

Since today is technically your Chocolate Priestess's birthday and this means she'll be doing a lot and eating some rich but also some healthy food, I wanted to do a small Sacrament.  The people from Attune sent me a coupon for a free sample of their "Probiotic Chocolate Bar" which I found at our nearby co-op Bloomingfoods.

The bar was found in a end display with other small yogurt products. 

Dating, Gifts & Chocolate

Continuing the them from Wednesday, Sisters and Brothers, I want to share a few more gifts I've been given, why they were good or not so choices and a gift we gave ourselves last night.

As I hope you remember, a while back I gave you a little photo tour of a shop in my town which has an entire half aisle of chocolates from around the globe.  It's a great place to find products that are not

More Gifts for a Chocolate Priestess

Yesterday I talked about gift ideas, not just for me but for anyone who has a hobby or a passion.  Let's focus more on Chocolate today and take a closer look at some of the lovely gifts I've been given.

First, note that chocolate doesn't always need to be food or drink.  There are many items that use chocolate as a theme or a decoration.  These can be sheets for a twin bed set, or games, or

What to Give a Chocolate Priestess

A few of the gifts I've received in the past year.
Your Chocolate Priestess's birthday is coming up soon, September 25th to be exact.  As we get older it can be a challenge to choose a gift for someone when they seem to have everything.  Do you go with something they all ready seem to have so much of?  A gift certificate?  Something completely different you hope they'll like?

In my experience

Origin Makes the Difference at Cocoa Dolce

Do you remember Cocoa Dolce, Sisters and Brothers?  We reviewed them first back in July of this year but they sent us an entire mini suitcase of products so it will take four reviews to thoroughly cover them.  This is a side view of that mini suitcase since I showed you the front and back before.  The stickers are starting to come off even though I am storing them in a cool, dry place.  That

Chocolate Cult in Magazine

The issue of Spezzatino is out and the article about us is in it.

This is what the cover of the article looks like: 

I've been trying to figure out how to attach a pdf of the article, which the magazine said I could share here on blogspot as well as on my website.  I can't figure out how to do that right now and I've kept you all waiting for about two weeks all ready.

So this is what I'm

Chocolate Walk 2010

Sisters and Brothers, here is a reminder that if you would like to join The Chocolate Cult for the 3rd Chocolate Walk in Brown County Indiana, you need to get your tickets soon.  I promise these will sell out.  So go HERE and check it out.  Then once you have your tickets, leave a comment and we can start arranging carpools.

For those of you who live a bit further away, one of the hotels in

Halloween Treat Challenge 2010

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The Chocolate Cult is pleased to announce our 2nd annual Halloween Treats Challenge for chocolatiers, confectioners, bakers, and purveyors of cocoa related

International Chocolate Day 2010

If you've been here a year, Sisters and Brothers, you might recall that your Chocolate Priestess went on a search for readily available chocolate products not made in the USA.  This year I decided to focus on two countries in my review for today's fun food holiday.

Actually, this is more a nice convenience that happened when I went to my near by Saharamart (I've reviewed them in the past so look

Riot of Chocolate

The wonderful ladies of sweetriot sent us two types of products and today we're going to review two varieties of their unBar which looks like it is being re-marketed as the yumBar.  On their website we get this promise from sweetriot: "All natural, anti-oxidant-rich, dairy-free, kosher, gluten-free cacao with a mission."  I think that will interest most of you, Sisters and Brothers.

The bars are

Chocolate Fetish Winners

The wonderful folks at Kinky Barcelona have been watching the comments and enjoying them.  Even though we fell 10 entries short, they have been kind enough and told me to give the prizes away.

Our grand prize winner is mavido79 who will get a t-shirt. 






Our two tote bag winners are Sylvarose and J.Denae.









I will contact each of them and arrange for them to talk to the folks at

Aunt Millie's Muffins

Today is "National Muffin Day" Sisters and Brothers.  Here in The Chocolate Cult, you know this means muffins with chocolate or cocoa, something from our Sacred Substance.  Before I reveal two varieties I found from Aunt Millie's, I want to remind you all that this contest which ends Friday morning still needs entries.  Such a generous gift from a company -- three prizes -- deserves a lot of

Triple Delight Chocolate Bar

Don't forget to enter our latest giveaway if you live in the lower 48 United States. 

Today is "World Chocolate" Day, Sisters and Brothers.  I looked through the offerings we've received and found that I had a few treats from Cocoa Nymph, a Vancouver CANADA chocolatier.  To celebrate both this fun food holiday and do a Saturday Sacrament, they seemed just perfect.  I had two types of treats

Chocolate T-Shirt/Tote bag Giveaway

As you've seen, Sisters and Brothers, we've given away chocolates, chocolate vegan syrup, even hot chocolate makers, but this week we are giving away three products from a fairly new company called Kinky Barcelona.  I know the creative force behind this new company who told me that I, your Chocolate Priestess, inspired one of his creation.

This is what I inspired:


See the kitty on top has a

Forthcoming Magazine Article on The Chocolate Priestess

I just wanted to announce, Sisters and Brothers that there will be an article about your Chocolate Priestess and, of course, about us here on The Chocolate Cult in the online food magazine Spezzatino later this month.

I've seen a galley proof of it and it looks respectful and honest.  I hope it draws more readers to our flock and we keep spreading the love of and proper use of our Sacred

Cereal Bars Variations

Once more, for only the second time thus far, your Chocolate Priestess has a recipe to share.  Actually it is two recipes, minor variations on a very simple cereal bar that was enriched and made special through the use of Guittard 55% Cacao squares.  Guittard sent me 4, 24 square pallets of their chocolate along with samples of their new candy bars in the very early spring.  I've reviewed the

Van's Signature Assortment, Part Two

Sisters and Brothers, today your Chocolate Priestess will reveal the second half of Van's Chocolate large Signature Assortment which I previously expounded upon back on July 24, 2010.  Again this came in a large box that you can see to the right.  In this Sacrament we'll look at their nut clusters and their truffles in both milk and dark chocolate varieties.

First we have the milk chocolate

Thank an American Female Chocolatier Today

Today, August 26th, is "Women's Equality Day" here in the United States.  Earlier this week marked the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment which freed the right to vote from the constraints of gender or biological sex.

As a group, women are not equals to men in America yet.  As a group women are paid less in part because we still gender careers and social expectations which urges girls and

Sensory Explorations of Chocolate

A follower of The Chocolate Cult sent your Priestess a link to an article on a site called CHOW.   Here is the article if you want to look at it.

However as "new" as this article would like to make it's approach seem, we here in The Chocolate Cult know that every "Sacrament" that is revealed is always looked it in all five senses whether I'm doing it or an acolyte is working on this particular

National Waffle Day Chocolate Comparison

Today is "National Waffle Day" which marks the date that the first U.S.A patent for a waffle iron granted in 1869 to one Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York.   His was a device that was used in coal stoves to make the baked good by rotating it within a metal griddle with a closed lid within the hot stove.  What separates a waffle from a pancake is that the waffle is made between two layers of

Eco Friendly Plates Save Cacao

For a second week in a row, our Saturday Sacrament is not about chocolate itself but about other kitchen items that can be used with chocolate.  Our focus today is on a new type of disposable plate that you might chose to use for picnics or for big gatherings when using washable dishes seems overwhelming.  Remember every piece of trash we throw away could limit the land that can be used for cacao

Nabisco 100 Cal Chocolate Treats

I don't know about the stores where you shop, Sisters and Brothers, but my local grocery stores, the big chains, the small chain and the coop, rarely have their healthiest offerings on sale.  Generally it's the big names or the fatty foods I find with the best sales.  Recently when your Chocolate Priestess went shopping at her neighborhood Kroger she found some 100 calorie pack treats from

Double Ice Cream Maker

Once again the nice people at CSNStores.com contacted your Chocolate Priestess about teaming up with us to promote some of their products.  While a bathroom sink isn't really something that relates very well to chocolate, their range of stores includes a lot of items that can be used to create or enjoy our Sacred Substance.  Since they contacted me in July, National Ice Cream Month here in the

209th Birthday of John Cadbury

Sisters and Brothers, your Chocolate Priestess is sure you've heard the name Cadbury in association with chocolate.  I know that if you are in the UK you are very familiar with this brand of chocolate.  The Milk Chocolate Acolyte has a "Forgotten English" daily calendar by Jeffrey Kacirk which marked today, August 12, as the birthday of English chocolatier John Cadbury (1801-1889).  Using that

Tickets Available for Chocolate Walk 2010

Last year the Chocolate Coconut Acolyte and I went to Nashville Indiana to participate in their annual Chocolate Walk for the Brown County Humane Society which works to help pet owners and to find owners for pets.  The vent will happen on Saturday, November 13 from 10am to 5pm.


This is an excellent charity to support because they have a very high "out alive" rate which means they are saving

Microwave S'mores

Today is "National S'mores Day" and so to celebrate I wanted to treat my family to s'mores.  There are a few problems with my plan however.  We don't go camping.  Your Chocolate Priestess's allergies are so bad that this is just not possible let alone the fact that my family hates the idea of being without their precious internet connections.  We do have two fireplaces but they need repairs that

National S'mores Day

Tomorrow is "National S'mores Day" another fun holiday that uses chocolate and gives us, Sisters and Brothers, a reason to indulge in our Sacred Substance.  The "S'more" may go back to the Girl Scouts in the 1920s according to several online sources but none provided great documentation for these claims.  As to who declared this a "holiday" I could find no evidence either.

Today I'm going to

Mocha Satisfaction

One of the very first chocolatiers to submit their products to The Chocolate Cult was Wiseman House Chocolates by sending us three products.  Two were reviewed by your own Chocolate Priestess in 2009 but one needed an more discerning palate and so we handed it over to our Mocha Acolyte who then moved a bit too far away.  He has finished with his final review for us all and I want to send him off

Too Sweet for Chocolate

A few weeks back I saw a new product out from Little Debbie, a brand I grew up eating in my parents' house.  "Honey Buns" are a treat that the Milk Chocolate Acolyte has enjoyed ever since I've known him which is about 21 years now.  When I saw these at my nearby Kroger I knew I had to get them to try. Combining chocolate with the sweetness of the bun might be something he and I both could really

Join The Chocolate Cult on 2nd Pilgrimage

Sisters and Brothers, last year your Chocolate Priestess and Chocolate Coconut Acolyte went on our first official Chocolate Pilgrimage.  We want all of those who can join us this year to help us with a worthy charity to save the lives of animals in Brown County, Indiana.

That's right.  It's time for their Chocolate Walk!

This year it will on Saturday, November 13, 10am to 5pm.  It is a quite a

Turkey Hill Ice Cream Review #1

We'll this "National Ice Cream Month" of reviews by returning to scoops of ice cream. We've looked at a lot of fun bars and treats, creative flavor combinations, and even your Chocolate Priestess's first foray into making homemade ice cream by herself.  Today we turn to an easily found supermarket brand from her local Kroger: Turkey Hill.

Turkey Hill is a recent addition to my local grocery

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

After an entire month of celebrating ice cream, your Chocolate Priestess has to wonder why "National Ice Cream Sandwich Day" is Monday, August 2nd.   There are several newspaper articles cited in this 2004 report from the blog "The Big Apple" that use the term "ice cream sandwich" to describe various treats which were basically cookies with ice cream between them.  These are newspapers from New

National Cheesecake Day

Today is "National Cheesecake Day" and so in honor your Chocolate Priestess decided to try and make a cheesecake.  There's a story behind this if you'd care to continue reading.

The very first failure I ever had as a wife when it came to cooking was my first attempt at making a chocolate cheesecake.  You didn't think I'd make a plain cheesecake, did you?  Really?  No, no, no. I was a chocoholic

National Chocolate Milk Day

Today, July 28th, is "National Chocolate Milk Day" and in honor of it, your Chocolate Priestess is going to review "Horizon Organic Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk" which is a shelf stable product, meaning you can simply store it in the pantry until you use it.  This is a 8oz container that I purchased at Kroger in the organic foods section of our local store when it was on sale for $1.  Frankly that

Klondike No Sugar Vanilla Bar Review

This is the last Klondike bar review for July 2010.  The folks from Klondike have seen our honest reviews, the good, the bad, the middle of the road reactions, and sent us some coupons for free products so they will be some of our Sacraments for August in time for their final contest of the summer.

This is the vanilla, what I like to think of as the original Klondike flavor, of their "no sugar

Van's Signature Assortment, Part One

After a very busy spring and summer it is time to go back to some of the wonderful chocolatiers who have sent in products for your Chocolate Priestess and her Acolytes to reveal to you all.  I hope you all remember Van's Chocolates because we looked at their Assorted Selection back in January of 2010.  Now we'll look at the huge sample they sent us of their Signature Collection which includes a

Klondike Slim-a-Bear Krunch Bar Review

Two final Klondike bars to review in our July series, Sisters and Brothers, and it is time we turn to their "Slim-a-Bear" varieties.  The first up is the "No Sugar Added" Krunch bars which come in a silver, full coverage box but are wrapped in plain white plastic sleeves.  The name, "Slim-a-Bear" refers to the Klondike mascot of a polar bear.  In real life a polar bear would not be healthy if she

Klondike Dark Chocolate Bar Review

Your Chocolate Priestess's nearby Kroger supermarket also had the Klondike variety she had been hoping for: Dark Chocolate.  As followers will know, dark is her favorite general variety of chocolate but as I hope you have learned, that covers a wide range of cocoa contents.  I'm not sure how much cocoa content is in these but it isn't terribly high given the lack of any true bitterness in the

Survey on Chocolate

A fellow chocolate lover has let your Chocolate Priestess know about her PhD research study about economics, chocolate, ethics and the effects of an economic recession on all these issues.

If you have time, please do help her so we can learn more about ourselves and have an active voice in they study of chocolate.

Here is a LINK to the study.

Let me know if it works or does not work for you,

National Ice Cream Day

Today, Sisters and Brothers, is another "National Ice Cream Day" of which there appear to be several different days associated with.  Considering this is "National Ice Cream Month" I'm not sure why we need a particular day to mark this frozen treat or why the month didn't start off on this day.

Your Chocolate Priestess was planning to do a Special Sacramental Review of an ice cream maker and

A Foursome of Original Flavors

Fleurir Home Grown Chocolates makes at least 18 different flavors of truffles and they sent your Chocolate Priestess four of these.  These are preservative free so I was advised to eat them within a month.  I did so but more time has passed between that and the review you are seeing today.  It's great to be busy but sometimes it means the Sacraments you read, Sisters and Brothers, aren't written

Klondike Heath Bar Review

When your Chocolate Priestess found the Klondike bars on sale at her nearby Super Target, she saw varieties on the boxes that were not on the shelves.  A few days later while shopping in her nearby Kroger supermarket she found some other varieties of these frozen treats also on sale.  That means our reviews here are going to keep going to ease us through this entire month of ice cream celebrating

Klondike Double Chocolate Bar Review

The final Klondike variety your Chocolate Priestess found on sale at her nearby Super Target was the "Double Chocolate" variety. These are basically light ice cream made with process cocoa underneath a milk chocolate shell.  One bar has 250 calories with 11g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 1g fiber, 24g sugars, 3g protein, 6% vitamin A, 10% calcium, and 6% iron.  One thing I

Klondike Reese's Bar Review

Another Klondike variety your Chocolate Priestess found in her nearby Super Target was the Reese's variety.  Six bars are in one pack and these were around $2.50 for a box so a decent price I think.  These bars have three different parts to them.  The ice cream which includes Reese's peanut butter, the peanut butter cups pieces themselves which have milk chocolate, and the milk chocolate coating

Passport to Chocolates #1

I have been waiting for the chance to reveal the chocolatiers of Cocoa Dolce to you for months, Sisters and Brothers.  I ate these some time back and then had to work around all the various scheduling needs of those companies that share their products with us, holidays, and the needs of the chocolate to be eaten at a particular time.  Why did I want to share these?  Look the left at the adorable

Klondike Original Bar Review

Since July is "National Ice Cream Month" here in the USA, your Chocolate Priestess is going to do a higher number of ice cream reviews than she normally would do in a month.  As always I welcome your comments and would love to see a discussion break out among the followers.

Have you heard of a Klondike bar?  I won't quote the song from the commercials because of copyright issues but the odds are

Forthcoming Ice Cream Maker Review

As you know, Sisters and Brothers, I've teamed up with the folks from CSN before to do a review and giveaway a product.  This time around, in honor of July being "National Ice Cream Month" I'm being sent an ice cream maker to reveal to you all.

CSN has many different stores that sell everything from a bathroom sink to chairs to decorative pillows to baking pans and kitchen items of a wide

Black & White Fondue

Your Chocolate Priestess discovered this fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot several years ago on an academic trip to Arizona.  When we came back to Indiana we looked for it and found on up in the capital but that's about a 75 minute trek for us for going there is for special events or when we are in the area for another reason.  Supposedly there are two of these now in Indy but we went to

Trio of Cocoa Gifts from Harry & David

Have you heard of Harry & David?  They are a huge gift company that you can buy from online, over the phone, find in outlet malls, and whose products now also appear in Target as well.  For over 75 years they've been one of the biggest gift companies in the USA.  While they sell a wide range of food products and some kitchen gadgets to go with them, they also have chocolate and we're going to

E-Course about Women's Health & Fertility

As a woman, your Chocolate Priestess has had her share of ups and downs with her health.  I've recently learned about an online course designed to help women with questions and concerns about their fertility called Naturally Knocked Up.  While this has nothing to do with chocolate directly, I do talk about health concerns and this is an opportunity to let some of you know about a course that

"Creative Ice Cream Flavor" Day

As mentioned in yesterday's July listing of fun food holidays, today is one of these.  "Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day".  Your Chocolate Priestess will celebrate this after dinner tonight with her entire family as well as use this holiday to celebrate her latest book being successfully sent off to her publisher.

The store we plan to go to is called "Cold Stone Creamery" and they are currently

Chocolate in July

July is "National Ice Cream Month" in the USA.  Beyond that there are oddly several more chocolate holidays in this next month.  I saw odd because July is hot and as we know chocolate keeps best under limited temperatures and in moisture controlled situations.  I've never lived anywhere that I could just leave out some chocolate for even a half an hour and not have it melt.  But if you want to

International Chocolates Locally Found

Not far from your Chocolate Priestess's house, there is one of two branches of a local grocery store called Sahara Mart.  This particular branch opened within the past two years.  Normally we shop at our nearby Kroger or the Bloomingfoods because we are members of that coop.  However, after my birthday last year, I learned that I needed to check out Sahara Mart because several of the chocolate

More Angelic Chocolates

For our last Saturday Sacrament in May we looked at one half of the chocolates that The Chocolate Cult received from Island Angel Chocolates.  Today, one month later, we'll finish that review of the entire sample, all 24 flavors, they sent our way with the bottom 12 varieties on the bottom of the box they sent.  As with the first review these will not necessarily be covered in the order you see

National Chocolate Pudding Day is Tomorrow

Tomorrow, June 26, is "National Chocolate Pudding Day".  Since tomorrow is also our Sacred Day and no chocolatier sent me pudding in any form, today will have to be the day we address this fun food holiday, Sisters and Brothers.

I grew up with the instant and cooked variety of puddings that my mom bought in tiny boxes then finished making at home.  In your Chocolate Priestess's she's the only

Chocolate Éclairs are Difficult?

June 22, today, is "National Chocolate Éclair Day" here on the fun chocolate calendar we are creating over the years drawing upon many, many printed and online sources.  This day honoring a French creation with the addition of our Sacred Substance has an unknown history.  If you know anything at all about when this fun food holiday began or who created it, please leave a note with a link in the

E-Course to Learn Budget Cooking & Shopping

A few years ago, your Chocolate Priestess started to take more control over food in her life.  It is so easy to buy unhealthy food because it is cheap or fast but in the long run that can have much more expensive consequences for your body and mind.  As you know from reading my posts, I am concerned not just with your taste buds but also your wallet and your conscious when you purchase or use

Great Promise from New Chocolatier

Months ago, your Chocolate Priestess made a fine in a small South Dakota city called Watertown. The find was a place called Sweet Memories and I found it while looking for another store a friend of ours found online.  Sweet Memories does not currently have a website, only a Facebook account though I hope that changes soon.

The store inside was rather elegant looking and I could see their

Another Boxed Chocolate Option for Father's Day

Whitman's Samplers have been around for a long, long time.  One of the coolest things about them is that in the lid of the box they have vague shapes that represent the compartments that the candy sits in as you can see in this photo.  This lets you know what you are putting into your mouth before you do.  Your Chocolate Priestess has memories of eating these samplers with her parents and picking

Chocolate Oblivion

Your Chocolate Priestess is very lucky to live about half a mile from an amazing little bakehouse and cafe called The Scholar's Inn Bakehouse that she visits at least once a month with some female friends. Over the months she's had some great chocolate treats from them as well as some duds. This is not one of the duds.

This is a piece of the flourless cake that the Bakehouse offers called “

Daily Chocolate

TCHO may not be a name you know except in big cities but it is one you should know.  They sent The Chocolate Cult three samples to reveal to you as part of our Sacraments so today your Chocolate Priestess will look at their "TCHO-A-Day" product that came in a 14-day supply.  This review was exactly two weeks in the making so that I sampled it as it is supposed to be use, daily, to see if it

Monster Pancakes?

You're heard of monster cookies, right, Sisters and Brothers?  Nice big cookies with several types of additional ingredients often including chocolate chips, candy pieces, maybe nuts or peanuts and sometimes even some fruit.  I found this mix in our local Target and decided to give the idea of a monster pancake or waffle a try.  Here's how that turned out.

First, there were two options for

Russell Stover Truffle Gift Box

Normally we associate chocolate with gifts for women but the simple fact is as the men who follow, read and enter contests on The Chocolate Cult demonstrate our Sacred Substance has universal appeal not limited by biological sex.  Father's Day is approaching fast in the USA and your Chocolate Priestess has gifts of chocolate sent out to her two fathers.  Others of you might not have thought this

Chocolate Syrup Winner Announced

Our winner of the Santa Cruz Organic Chocolate Syrup is: Cacao-Me!

I will contact  him and let him know so I can get his address to ship this out to him later this week.

Thank you everyone who entered.

Keep spreading the word about The Chocolate Cult.

National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

Today, June 7th, is "National Chocolate Ice Cream Day".  Your Chocolate Priestess wants to review a store brand ice cream choice that is as good as the more expensive brand names available in our area of the woods -- South Central Indiana.  Kroger has a lot of brands ranging from the "Value" which tends to be poor quality at cut throat prices to the "President's Selection" that tends to be high

Chocolate Syrup for All of Us

"National Ice Cream Day" is just two days away on June 7th.  While we here in The Chocolate Cult might prefer our ice cream to have chocolate in it there are other options: Chocolate on ice cream.  One such possibility comes from Santa Cruz Organic and today your Chocolate Priestess wants to reveal their Chocolate Flavored Syrup that they sent us with you all.

Ah, but there is more.  They sent

Metaphysical Oreos

I'm sure many of my American readers will be familiar with the ice cream shop called Dairy Queen and their "Blizzard" treats.  The first was merely vanilla ice cream with crushed Oreos in it.  Now you can get a lot of different combinations and mix-in trend can be found in most ice cream stores as well as in the freezer section of your local grocery store.  Your Chocolate Priestess found a bag of

Versatile Chocolate Liquor Cups

June is the most common month for weddings in the USA.  Chocolate is making an appearance in weddings around the world.  I thought this would be a great time to reveal a special product from our friends at Astor Chocolate to you all not only for weddings but for other special events you might be considering.  We've looked at other chocolate products that they sell as edible containers before but

Chocolate In June, Mark Your Calendars

June has several chocolate "holidays" that we can celebrate here in The Chocolate Cult, Sisters and Brothers.  Some are straight forward in their use of our Sacred Substance while others we can use for our own purposes.  So you can celebrate all month long, make note of these dates.  If you know of others, please let a comment and let me know so we can add it to our collective knowledge base and

1/2 Angelic Chocolate

The wonderful folks from Island Angel Chocolates were exceedingly generous with their Offering to The Chocolate Cult, Sisters and Brothers.  So much so that your Chocolate Priestess has decided to split them into two Saturday Sacraments.  Today we will look at the top half of the box of chocolates they sent her, at the end of June we will reveal the bottom half of that same box to you all.  To do

Amazing Chocolate Brownie #1

A local bakery turned restaurant, cafe and Bed & Breakfast called The Scholar's Inn Bakehouse is located about six block from your Chocolate Priestess's house.  She visits them at least once a month to hang out with some other creative women she knows and over the course of almost a year of these meetings she'd tried a lot of chocolate baked goods.


This Bakehouse Brownie is a triangle of

M&M's Premiums Comparison

M&M put out a premium chocolate piece some time back but to be honest, your Chocolate Priestess had so many other things to try, test, and reveal to you all that she never got around to looking them.  Then one day while in her neighborhood Kroger she found four varieties of these on sale, prices deeply cut.  Oh, no!  Another product about to be canceled or at least no longer sold in this

Crimes of Chocolate

Last year your Chocolate Priestess reported on several crimes connected to chocolate where chocolate either was target of the crime (someone stealing chocolate) or used to help commit a crime (selling candy to get into a house to rob it).  Today I want to highlight another such misuse of our Sacred Substance.

This case, a man accused of using chocolate to smuggle in cocaine to the USA is

83 Years of Chocolate Expertise

Drew's Fork-Dipped Chocolates can be found in the small Iowa community of Dexter, not far from the state capital of Des Moines.  We previously reviewed some of their chocolates, which we purchased during a trip through Iowa, but today we want to reveal the three types of products they gave your Chocolate Priestess so that she could share their expertise with the world.  You can order these

Spice & Vegan Chocolate = Very Nice

Your Chocolate Priestess is never surprised at birthday or major holidays if she is given gifts of chocolate.  Indeed somethings I have to ask my friends and family to not give me chocolate as happened for Valentine's Day 2010 when I have a ton of offerings from chocolatiers around the nation sending me in products especially that last two weeks to reveal to you all.  However I love getting gifts

Silky Chocolate Drink

Your Chocolate Priestess has reviewed chocolate milk products before. Some were excellent and highly recommended while other were not worth your money and time.  Today I'm looking at a chocolate milk that could satisfy those of you who are dairy allergies or intolerances. 

Silk is a brand of soy milk that has several serving sizes and flavors.  I bought this "Light" Chocolate version when it

Fiber before Chocolate?

You as you may recall, Sisters and Brothers, your Chocolate Priestess really likes the cereal bars from Fiber One compared to many other breakfast, cereal and energy bars she's reviewed for you here on The Chocolate Cult.  Today I want to look at another product from Fiber One: "Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins" that you can find on the mass produced bakery shelves in many grocery stores.  I found

Chocolate for Adults & Kids

When your Chocolate Priestess was visiting South Dakota this past spring, she found two chocolate shops in one city after going for hundreds of miles without seeing any candy-dedicated stores that didn't just sell mass produced junk.  One of these chocolate shops, Watertown Confectionary, has treats designed for the entire family and donated some of their products to us, so today I want to

Never Too Hot for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tomorrow, May 15, is "National Chocolate Chip Day" and one way to celebrate is with chocolate chip cookies.  Recipes for these come in all varieties but what if you think it's just too hot to bake your own but you don't want dry mass produced cookies or bakery bought cookies either?  Is the "Warm Delights" product line from Betty Crocker a good choice if you are looking for a warm chocolate chip

Sinful Brownies Contest

It's time for another contest here on The Chocolate Cult.  This time I'm giving away one of the two bags of "Cindy's Sinfully Chocolate Brownie Mix" that I received when my order was messed up for one bag.  So you may get to benefit from the free bag that came my way.  This mix is part of the Women's Bean Project which helps women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment.  I received two bags,

Cocoa Nymph Tiny Truffles are a Treat

Cocoa Nymph Chocolates & Confections sent us three samples of their products back in February, and after a crazy March and April of multiple pre-written Sacraments and reviews your Chocolate Priestess is finally able to share one of these products with you.  8 samples of truffles came in their signature silver box.  You can also get truffles in boxes of 18 or 32, and the website shows photos of

Mole Made Easy

Back in January, we had our first "Everyday Chocolatier" interview and our featured cook, Bridget, shared her mole recipe with us.  You can find that post HERE.  Yesterday in honor of Cinco de Mayo The Chocolate Priestess's family had mole at home for the first time.  I wasn't fully recovered from my recent surgery so we used a store bought "ready to serve" mole that I found in Kroger.

This is

Cinco de Mayo & Chocolate Gifts

Happy Cinco de Mayo for all our Hispanic chocolate lovers out there!

As most of you know, I hope, Sisters and Brothers, it was in the area of modern day Mexico that cacao took on it's first cultural significance.  I won't give you a history lesson here you can easily learn in most chocolate cookbooks, on a fair number of chocolatiers' websites or even from a quick browsing of the Internet.  But

Chocolate In May, Mark Your Calendars

After an empty month of chocolate related holidays in April, May proves to have several potential cocoa related dates you may want to mark on your calendars, Sisters and Brothers.

First, the entire month is National Chocolate Custard Month.  I want to know how to make chocolate custard so I'm asking for those of you who do know to share your recipes and I'll try a few out this month.

May 1st

Brownie Like Triple Chocolate Mix

A lot of people pride themselves are making everything they eat from scratch.  Your Chocolate Priestess applauds them but frankly she's a busy woman and doesn't always have the time.  I love mixes because I can make them as is, play around with them, and use them in creative ways.   I did just that with this Duncan Hines "Triple Chocolate Chunk" muffin mix that I got on sale with a coupon at my

Fresh Chocolate from Madison

The offerings of chocolate sometimes don't slow down unless your Chocolate Priestess makes the effort to slow them down.  While on our mid-March trip, the White Chocolate Acolyte accepted a dark chocolate assortment from Gail Ambrosius, a chocolatier in Madison, Wisconsin.  I'll have to have the Mocha Acolyte check them out directly, since that's where he lives.

Until he can write a report for

Outlet Find #2

The second chocolate shop I found just really a chocolate shop unlike Harry & David's which sells a wide range of foods.  This was the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory outlet in the Tanger Outlet Center in Williamsburg, Iowa.  As you can see in the photo to the left it was night time when we visited this outlet mall and this shop is located at the end of the eastern side of the back strip of

Hershey's Special Dark Pieces Revealed

You've heard of Reese's Pieces, I'm sure, Sisters and Brothers.  You've heard of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bars.  Now you can get a bit of both as one of the new line of "pieces" candies from Hershey's.  I bought this with a coupon and when it was on sale.  I happen to like the Hershey's Special Dark bars though not as much as specialty dark chocolates I find it a solid choice that you can

Dark Version Health Comparison #3: Milky Way

I want to see a show of hands, or comments, Sisters and Brothers.  How many of you have had a Milky Way candy bar from Mars?  You know the "rich chocolate, creamy caramel, smooth nougat" on the label Milky Way.  How many of you have had the Milky Way Midnight Dark variation that came out a few years back just as the hype about darker chocolate being healthier was beginning?  I've had one a while

Famous Name Chocolate for Charity

Who has not heard of the actor Paul Newman?  Anyone reading this not heard of this?  Before his passing away in September 2008, he had more than 80 credits as an actor but also worked as a writer, director and producer plus over 30 awards as testament to his skill.  But he and his daughter also started a food company called Newman's Own which specialized in organic foods and donations to charity

Winner of Hot Chocolate Maker Announced

The winner of the Bonjour 32oz French Hot Chocolate Maker from CSN.com is: Cheap Ethnic Eats

I will contact her today if their email works.  If an email is not available I will randomly draw another winner and contact them until I can find someone to send this hot chocolate maker to.

Simply Divine Candy Shop

While on a trip recently, your Chocolate Priestess was on the lookout for chocolate shops and chocolatiers, and she found a lot of nothing, frankly, but that's for another post.  I did find a nice big candy shop in downtown Cedar Rapids Iowa called Simply Divine and went in for a visit.  "Pete," the shop owner, is a very vibrant lady who gave me some of their fudge to try, so I'll be revealing

White Chocolate & Peanut Butter Spread

Don't forget to enter this month's contest HERE.  Winner will be announced Sunday morning so you need to hurry.   A few months back, I reviewed a dark chocolate and peanut butter spread from Peanut Butter & Co.  Today I want to review the other chocolate and peanut butter spread I found in my local Kroger on sale one week: "White Chocolate, Wonderful" as it is called on the label.  Does it live

Earth Day & Chocolate

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day which was supposed to make us all more aware of the harm human beings can do to the planet.  As you know, Sisters and Brothers, I always mention when a company uses recycled materials, when they use chocolate and other ingredients that are produced through ecologically sounder methods, and if they support any charities through your purchases.

But today

Win Hot Chocolate Maker

Today, Sisters and Brothers and folks just looking at The Chocolate Cult, we are reviewing a product and hosting a contest for you to win a copy of this exact product for your own use.  First the review and then I'll tell you how you can win your own hot chocolate maker.

We use a lot of things in our homes ranging from barstools, to pillows, to cups, to clothing, to food.  As foodie bloggers and

Tiny Iowa Chocolatier Creates Delights

Divine Decadents in Shellsburg, Iowa, is a tiny chocolate shop, and they primarily work as a supplier to other chocolate shops and restaurants, but you can buy from them directly or stop in their store.   When I visited the store, I bought a few things, as I try to do when I physically visit a chocolatier, and they gave me some products as well.  Sacraments, as you may know, Sisters and Brothers,

South Dakota Chocolate #2

While up in Watertown, we happened to come across another local chocolatier making for two such shops in one South Dakato town.  This one is wonderfully named Sweet Memories and is downtown on East Kemp.  They don't currently have a website though the store owner, Randy H. Schliesman told me they are planning on creating one so you'll need to check out their Facebook page I've linked.  Randy is a

South Dakota Chocolate #1

On our spring trip, we found some chocolate shops in Iowa but also in South Dakato where the Milk Chocolate Acolyte's parents, brother and grandma live.  A friend of the Acolyte's owns a shop in his hometown and while they didn't have a chocolate shop of any type that we could find, he knew of one a bit north in Watertown aptly named Watertown Confectionery.  So one morning we drove up and

Iowa Chocolate #4

Simply Divine in downtown Cedar Rapids was another chocolate or candy shop your Chocolate Priestess visited during her spring trip through parts of the Midwest.  I was so disappointed by the lack of any chocolate shops all across Illinois on 74 and from the eastern edge of Iowa to my hometown of Vinton that I frankly bought too many of these -- the lady, Pete, who owns the store and helped me out

The Pleasure of Pocky

If you can remember, Sisters and Brothers, I bought a lot of different internal products for World Chocolate Day and International Chocolate day this past fall/winter.  I promised I'd review them later and today is another of those reviews.

Have you hear of Pocky?  It's a Japanese treat which is basically a 5 inch long biscuit stick, like a thin bread stick almost, that is about 5/6 covered in

Chocolate Varieties Galore

Looking for unique chocolate flavors and textures?  Then the sample we received from Life's So Sweet may be just what you are looking for.  Shipped in eco-friendly packaging was this little gold box that held a lot of chocolate, ten different flavors to be exact.  These are preservative -free, so if you order them make sure to eat them within a few weeks or store them safely in the fridge so they

Chocolate & Stress: Political Witness

Our Chocolate Coconut Acolyte recently brought the following piece of information to my attention: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mentioned the eating dark chocolate helped her cope with the stress of trying to pass healthcare legislation.   I had not heard this NPR report but here is a copy for you to consider.

Regardless of what you think of Speaker Pelosi or healthcare reform itself, it's nice to

Book Review: "Chocolate Fads, Folklore & fantasies"

Several of the gifts your Chocolate Priestess received for her 2009 birthday were books about chocolate. Some were cookbooks which I've reviewed by now and which you can find links to along the left hand side of this blog if the books are still in print.  Some were histories or general information about books.  Today I want to review Linda K. Fuller, PhD's Chocolate Fads, Folklore; Fantasies:

Girl Scout Cookie Chocolate Options

You've probably seen the Girl Scouts out selling cookies this year.  Perhaps they stopped by your house, you neighbors' kids or your own even.  Perhaps you found them in grocery stores selling extra boxes -- that's where we bought two types of cookies which have chocolate.  Today I want to review them and let you know a bit about what your purchase of these cookies can do.

First thing to note is

Outlet Find #1

On your Chocolate Priestess' 2010 Spring Trip she found an outlet mall, to be specific, Tanger Outlets in Williamsburg, Iowa. In that mall she found two chocolate/candy shops: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which I'll look at later, and Harry & David where I bought something and they very generously gave us several samples to try. Which means, that some time later this year they will be in

You Got Tea in My Chocolate!

Hedonist Artisan Chocolates sent us two samples to reveal on The Chocolate Cult.  Today we will try their Spring Tea collection.  They came in a simple brown box with a yellow natural ribbon tied to a business card from the company.  Inside were five flavor combinations of darker chocolate and infused tea, which you can see below.  These came with a strip of paper identifying each flavor, so it

Iowa Chocolate #3

We found Drew's Fork-Dipped Chocolates on the way home taking 80 all across the state of Iowa in the town of Dexter not that far from Des Moines the capital.  This small shop began in 1927 and the current owner let me buy some as well as gave me some samples that will be featured in a future Saturday Sacrament probably in May.  They don't have a website but I'll give you their contact information

Chocolate Cures Cancer

"Chocolate Cures Cancer"

"Chocolate Stops Strokes"

"Chocolate Diet Miracle"

April Fools!

But seriously, how many of us, Sisters and Brothers, have seen such claims online, in flyers and even in stores and on packages.  These headlines are showing up more and more these days.  A week doesn't go by that your Chocolate Priestess doesn't see see a report about a medical or scientific study about

Expert Chocolate Cookbook Fails

This review today, Sisters and Brothers, is both a book review but also will serve as a Special Sacramental Review since I'm including a wonderful product a chocolatier sent to me in the final recipe I'll cover.  As always with cookbooks, I tried three different recipes for three different types of products if there is enough variety to do so.  There is a lot of variety in Greatest-Ever Chocolate

Chocolate for Passover

This evening at sundown, the Jewish Passover will begin so your Chocolate Priestess wanted to reveal a few of the chocolate products she found in her local Kroger that claim to be suitable for the holiday.  Let's check them out one by one to see if they are also suitable for a chocolate lover.

The first are a small bag of chocolate coins wrapped in a plastic net from Lieber's.  This bag has four

Cheap Easter Chocolates

A few years ago I started seeing these chocolate crosses appear in stores before Easter.  As a trained ancient historian, I was confused.  Why would anyone make chocolate in the form of an instrument of execution?  As a Christian I was offended.  Was the desire for money so great that we belittled the symbol of salvation by turning it into chocolate?  This year, because of my duty as your

Easter Truffles from Kara

Kara Chocolates sent an Easter sampling for us, Sisters and Brothers, that you might want to check out.  If the molded candies are not your thing then Kara has some of their truffles individually wrapped or in boxed sets just for Easter. I don't have the nutritional information for all three varieties they sent but if you eat one or two that is being moderate and as you should know by now,

Create a Chocolate Holiday

Today, March 26th, is "National Create Your Own Holiday Day" so I have a challenge to all of  you, Sisters and Brothers.

I've been mentioning chocolate holidays and holidays we can say are related to chocolate now for a year on this blog.  Do a search under the label "Chocolate on the Calendar" and check it out.

Now come back here and suggest your own chocolate related holiday that we could

Cheap Swiss Rolls in All Ways

In the past, your Chocolate Priestess has said that the Mrs. Freshley brand of products isn't too bad for chocolate.  Every company will have successes and failure so how do their "Swiss Rolls" I got at Kroger stack up?

2 cakes equal 1 serving which comes conveniently in 2 cake plastic sleeves.  This is much better than packaging we've seen that has multiple serving per interior package or each

Chocolate & Raisins & "Holidays"

Today is "National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day" if you didn't know, Sisters and Brothers.  Your chocolate Priestess may have loved chocolate for as long as she can remember but she certainly has not tried all the varieties.  In honor of today, I tried a Nestlé Chunky and I want to review it for you.

I’ve seen this for years and never tried it because frankly I’m not a huge fan of raisins and

Chocolate Goldfish

Before your Chocolate Priestess found our Path and began this Journey with Chocolate, she was enslaved to cheap candy bars.  This meant many things but one of the saddest was that she didn't see the variety of products that used our Sacred Substance.  I found these Goldfish Grahams Chocolate flavor crackers a few weeks ago on sale so I bought them.  According to our Chocolate Coconut Acolyte,

Chocolate Bunny with Social Consciousness

Our Taraluna friends who have sent The Chocolate Cult several items over our first year end their offerings in time for Easter with this solid milk chocolate bunny.  This is a Sjaak's chocolate but since Taraluna sent it to us, I strongly recommend you think of ordering it from them.  As you can see this comes simply wrapped in plastic and closed with a bow on a twisty tie which made it very easy

American Chocolate Week

The fun holiday, American Week of Chocolate, has been going on this week since Sunday, March 14th, and will end tomorrow when we have another Saturday Sacrament.  You want to come back for that because I vegan Ester Bunny that actually tastes great!

As you have seen I've had posts all week about finding chocolates during a recent trip.  I ended up finding seven chocolate shops in a nine day

Speedy Chocolate Chip Cookies

On our recent trip, your Chocolate Priestess, tried a cookie from a Speedway.  Now, she knows what you are thinking: "How could you possibly buy from a convenience store when you get all these amazing chocolates?"  Traveling entices us to eat things we probably shouldn't though over all I think I did a great job of keeping to our Path or Moderation and Purposefulness.  I never had anything

Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor

Even though today is Saint Patrick's Day and even though I am 1/8th Irish, I couldn't find any Irish Chocolatiers I could get samples from in time.  I don't count just adding Bailey's as making Irish chocolate.  So instead I've done this "On the Road" post for you all.

On your Chocolate Priestess's recent trip, she visited a few nice local chocolatiers, chocolate shops, and restaurants where

Iowa Chocolate #2

In your Chocolate Priestess's hometown of Vinton, Iowa, there has always been a malt shop along highway 218.  Currently under different ownership and called Leon's Malt Shop, it has been expanded and offers several chocolate items.  While we were recently there, the Milk Chocolate Acolyte, the Chocolate Priestess, and her father tried three of their Cyclones which are soft serve ice cream with

Iowa Chocolate #1

Not far from where your Chocolate Priestess was born and raised, she discovered a chocolatier called Divine Decadents that her parents had seen advertized in the county newspaper.  We had to stop in and were told they were still recovering from a busy Valentine's Day season -- this what we love to hear on The Chocolate Cult.  Judy is the chocolatier and according to her husband Ed, the man who is

National Pi Day and American Chocolate Week

Today, Sisters and Brothers, is National Pi Day.  This is a real holiday in that the US House of Representations designated this day in honor of the symbol pi which represents the relationship between a circle's width (called "diameter") and the distance around the circle (called "circumference") for those who may not have had geometry for a while.  This isn't officially related to anything

Toronto Chocolates

Boardwalk Chocolates in Toronto is our chocolatier today, Sisters and Brothers.  The wonderful owner, Siue, sent your Chocolate Priestess two little boxes of their vegan, gluten free, fairtrade, organic homemade truffles: "By the Sea" and "Nut Roaster" varieties. Together these include half of the 16 flavors they offer.  Each truffle is at least one inch in diameter, and most are globes,

World Kidney Day

Today is "World Kidney Day" and while this has nothing to do with chocolate directly, your Chocolate Priestess wants you all to take good care of yourself so you can continue to enjoy the Sacred Substance for the rest of your life.

I get a blood test regularly for my kidney health because of strong family history of problems.  Because I exercise regularly, eat fairly healthy, and practice what I

Chocolate Holidays in March

Starting next week we will see a few chocolate related holidays you may want to celebrate, Sisters and Brothers.  Here is the list that I currently know about.  If you know of others, please leave a comment with the holiday and the date and if it is nation or region specific.

March 14 = National Pi Day -- often celebrated with pies of some type so why not make it a chocolate type of pie?

March

Women Chocolatiers

Today is International Women's Day, a day where many nations around the world honor what women contribute to all aspects of their societies. In some countries this is on par with a national holiday, in others it may be recognized as part of social celebrations people may chose to honor, but in others this day is almost unknown as it sadly is in the USA.



Here in the Chocolate Cult I wanted to

Parisian Chocolates in the USA

Sisters and Brothers, today your Chocolate Priestess is going to reveal a 17-piece collection from Antoine Amrani Chocolates. These are preservative-free chocolates, so if you decide to order or buy some yourself, remember that you should consume them within three weeks for the best quality. The entire collection is labeled "Organic," yet some of the individual varieties are also labeled "organic

Bagel Shop's Chocolate Options

One of our local eateries in Bloomington, Indiana, is the Bloomington Bagel Company.  On Monday afternoon, your Chocolate Priestess was downtown and went by the branch there to see if they had anything chocolaty.  She bought three items: Chocolate Chip Bagel, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Chocolate Chip Scone.  There were some other chocolaty items but perhaps I'll review them later.  These three

How to Win Chocolate from The Chocolate Cult

We've had two product contests so far in The Chocolate Cult but your Chocolate Priestess all ready has four new contests in line for 2010.  Today I want to tell you a bit about these and give you directions on how to win.  Why wait to take all these steps when you could get at least one of them out of the way right now.

For the first time, we will be hosting a non-food but still very chocolate

Mint Hot Chocolate

This is the last of the Kroger Private Selection Cocoa Supreme individual serving envelops your Chocolate Priestess bought a while back on sale.  I won't repeat what is basically identical nutritional information here; you can find that on the three other flavors I reviewed as well as the trans fat caution.

I made this hot cocoa drink with the recommended amount of hot water, 6oz, and it mixed

South Beach Cereal Bar Test

Since the South Beach Living Protein Fit Chocolate variety cereal bar was on sale last week at my local Kroger and I had a coupon as well, your Chocolate Priestess decided to buy it and give it a try.  Obviously the focus is on protein in this product but it isn't too bad on other items on the nutritional list.  1 bar, which measures 3.5 by 1.25 by 0.75 inches, has 140 calories composed of 3.5g

Everyday Chocolatier & Recipe: Elizabeth's Mille-Feuilles

I have known some great cooks in my lifetime. Some of them can do wonderful things with the Sacred Substance. I want to do a series of interviews with these folks so you, Sisters and Brothers, can see how you might be able to incorporate chocolate into your baking and cooking.  Today I want to introduce one amazing woman who holds a PhD, teaches, researches and makes the time to do a lot of

Seattle Variety in 2.5 Ounce Bars

Last year Seattle Chocolate sent us several offerings, and today we'll be revealing the last of these, several varieties of their 2.5 ounce Truffle bars, to you as a full Chocolate Cult team with reports from your Chocolate Priestess, the Chocolate Coconut Acolyte and our Mocha Acolyte.  In total Seattle sent us 10 different flavors, one of each variety they sell, so you will find out today which

Chocolate Shops in Illinois

In preparation for your Chocolate Priestess's long trip back to see family and for various trips she has to take this spring and summer, I'm looking for your knowledge about different chocolatiers and chocolate shops or bakeries or whatever might lay along our routes.

We'll be going through Illinois along I-74 for part of the trip.  If you know the addresses of any chocolatiers along that route,

Allergens in Chocolate: Voice Your Concerns

Your Chocolate Priestess always tries to include information about potential allergens in the chocolate and cocoa products she reviews.  There is a standard list of these allergens that companies as supposed to highlight on their nutritional information but sometimes I find potential allergens in the ingredients unhighlighted and I'll mention those.

Aside from those of you who have allergies to

Cinnamon Hot Cocoa

We tried another flavor of the Kroger Private Selection Cocoa Supreme variety of individual hot cocoa mixes last night.  This was the "Chocolate & Cinnamon" flavor.  I got these on sale for 50¢ versus their everyday price of 65¢ currently at my local Kroger.  As with the other flavors the biggest problem is the trans fat, 2g of it per envelop which is one serving.  It also has 150 calories, 1.5g

Muscle Building Chocolate?

I found this Muscle Milk Light "Chocolate Peanut Caramel" bar at Target on sale so I purchased one so I could reveal it to you.  Inside this white plastic-foil wrapper is a 3.25 X 1.25 X 1 inch bar with oozing caramel out of the sides.  It has a very caramel smell with a strong cocoa scent. Cocoa powder is low on the ingredients list however.  This 1.59oz bar has 170 calories composed of 4g

One Year in The Chocolate Cult

Sisters and Brothers, today marks the one year birthday of The Chocolate Cult.


This is our 325th post so I feel like I've give you all quite  bit to think about through the past 365 days.  We've looked at several types of products related to chocolate, mostly candy and fine chocolates but also drinks, books, tv shows, and news items.  Each time I try to present you with objective information

Healthy Chocolate Options

Sometimes you get things you aren't expecting here in The Chocolate Cult.  Fouts Family Chocolate seemed like a small chocolatier, and as you know I love to give those publicity here, especially when their chocolates rival or outshine mass-produced candy.  What they sent me were several Xocai products, as you can see in this photo.  Healthy chocolates are big business, but they are mostly sold

Chocolate near Cincinnati/Sharonville Ohio?

Sisters & Brothers, your Chocolate Priestess will be at a science fiction and fantasy convention at the Holiday Inn I-275 at 3855 Hauck Road in Sharonville, Ohio, the third weekend in March.  Yes, we will have a Saturday Sacrament then I'll just post from the hotel or set it up ahead of time.

This is a shout out to any of my readers in that area.  While we probably won't venture much into the

Chocolate & Fat Tuesday

Sisters and Brothers, for some of you today is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras which means tomorrow starts Lent, 40 days you may feel you need to give up chocolate. I don't follow religious practices where I have to give up things, especially things I use in Moderation and with a Purpose all ready. But I will remind you that reading and commenting on the blog is not breaking any rules so please do

Does Chocolate Decrease or Increase Stress?

Another health claim for chocolate has appeared in the mass media.  This one reported briefly on a study that showed eating 1.4oz of dark chocolate a day for two weeks changed the brain's biochemistry, reducing stress levels.  This was earlier reported on a medical website, too, with more details.  This website had even more details.  With Valentine's Day passed, I wanted to turn to other

Ghirardelli Choices for Valentine's Day

I'm sure my readers in the USA have heard of Ghirardelli chocolate.  You can find their bags of square treats throughout the year in candy aisles and their baking morsels in the baking section of any major grocery store and most chain discount stores like Target or Kmart.  During the holidays they put out decorated bags and special boxes and tins of the same chocolates.  They sent me, your

Valentine's Day around the World

Sunday, Sisters and Brothers, is Valentine's Day here in the USA.  In terms of the focus, while mass marketing would have you believe this is a day that men are supposed to go out of their way to court or remind women that they love them, a closer examination of what you can buy from gifts to cards reveals it is a holiday for everyone.  Children give each other cards in school, women give gifts

Cookies for Valentine's Day

Your Chocolate Priestess received a nice cashback bonus from one of her credit cards in the form of a double gift certificate to Mrs. Fields.  They primarily sell cookies, if you are unfamiliar with them, Sisters & Brothers.  Mrs. Fields is not just available online; you can find them in malls around the USA, so I thought it was fine to reveal one of their Valentine's Day offerings fairly close

A Chocolate Cult Valentine's Day 2010

Your Chocolate Priestess shares bits and pieces with you about her personal life outside of chocolate from time to time.  I don't want to devolve into topics that do not relate to our Sacred Substance.  But I will share what my Valentine's Day weekend plans are and in return I want to hear about yours -- both as they relate to chocolate.

Have you been reading The Chocolate Cult for the past few

Tower of Sweets

FTD is primarily known for flowers and their delivery around the world, but they also offer other gifts, including a decent selection of chocolates they retail.  Your Chocolate Priestess received a double value gift certificate from one of her credit cards and used it to buy one such gift from FTD.  This was the "Red Roses Tower of Sweets," which is three boxes of four types of chocolate treats

A Riot of Cocoa For Valentine's Day

Cited in several big-name magazines and sought out by celebrities, sweetriot sent your Chocolate Priestess two different types of products to reveal to you all, and I was so honored.  The first type is their chocolate-coated cocoa nibs, which are covered in chocolate with varying degrees of cocoa content.  From now until the end of February you can buy all three flavors as a "Cupid's Cacao 3 Pack

GuyLian Gift

Back on your Chocolate Priestess's birthday, she received a lot of chocolate which wasn't surprising.  One of these was from her friend Cindy who gave her a 6 piece GuyLian gift box.  You may have heard of GuyLian, Sisters and Brothers, they make these molded chocolates in the shapes of sea shells primarily.  I'd never had them before though I'd seen them in stores.  Remember, until I started

Chocolate Love Letter

The wonderful head of Astor Chocolate, Meir, sent me their latest product just in time for Valentine's Day, so I wanted to make sure all of you,  Sisters and Brothers, had time to read and think about whether it could be something extra special for the loved one in your life.  The cover is in maroon, a darkish purple, light pink, and gold.  It reads "Love Letter for A Special Person" and further

Chocolate Box Winner!

Of the four people who commented, three of them remembered to also promote this contest and gave me notice of it.  So that made it a 33.33% chance that any one of them would win.

Using a 12-sided die, the first person to answer was numbers 1-4, the second 5-8, and the third 9-12.  Using a computer program to simulate rolling this sot that no friction can interfere, I rolled to see who would win

Sundaes on Saturday Report

This past Saturday, January 30, 2010, your Chocolate Priestess and the Milk Chocolate Acolyte took a mini pilgrimage to one of the many events happening during our city's "Week of Chocolate" which I mentioned earlier on The Chocolate Cult.  This was the "Sundaes on Saturday" event held at the Monroe County History Center in Bloomington, Indiana, where I've done a very, very minor amount of

Win Wonderfully Unique Chocolates

Yesterday, January 30, 2010, I reviewed a wonderful box of unique chocolates.  There was a mix up with the shipping and I received two identical boxes of these great butter cups from Ococoa.  I would like to give the other box to one of you, Sisters and Brothers.

Here is what you do to get a chance to win.

1. Be a follower on The Chocolate Cult.
     You can find three ways to become a follower

The Unique, Delicious Butter Cup

When I first saw this company, your Chocolate Priestess thought "What an adorable name for a chocolatier!"  Ococoa is based in Los Angeles and run by an incredibly friendly lady named Diana.  Not only did she send this lovely box of 9 flavors of her Butter Cups — think of these like sophisticated peanut butter cups — but she also wants to offer you, Sisters and Brothers, a special discount on

Rush to Valentine's Day

So we've revealed Van's Chocolates to you as possible Valentine's gifts and then we received products from Ococoa, FTD, Mrs Fields, Astor, and have a few things still on the way I'm told.

I wish more companies had done as Van's and Ococoa did sending me offerings earlier so I could place things out and schedule them fairly.  But now that they realize that one of their big selling days is

Chocolate Theme Parks

Hopefully, Sisters and Brothers, you've seen the news now that there is a new chocolate theme park which opened in Beijing, China.  This over 200,000 square feet exhibit in three temperature and moisture controlled halls includes art such as a replica of the Great Wall and copies of Qin Shihuang's (China’s first emperor) famous terra cotta warriors made in chocolate as well as displays and

Chocolate Holidays in February

In the USA when we think Chocolate and Holidays we primarily think of Valentine's Day, February 14th.  It is a big event for chocolate sells though Christmas, Easter and Halloween all see bigger expenditures on the Sacred Substance nationwide according to several news reports I've seen this past year.

Your Chocolate Priestess has all ready covered a few possible outlets for you to find your

Chocolate Supreme Cocoa Mix

Sisters and Brothers, it's Wednesday and with this time of year it means time for another review of a hot chocolate drink.  Your Chocolate Priestess tried the second flavor from the Kroger Private Selection line of Cocoa Supreme dry mixes: "Chocolate Supreme" flavor.  I bought this during the same sale for 50¢ versus the normal 65¢ price though with the rates the prices seem to be rising at

Ironic Chocolate Mints

Yesterday after her class, your Chocolate Priestess went to the gift shop of the university museum where I've seen some chocolate related products for sale.  I got two things.  One of this is in this little box you see below.  These are "Irony Chocolate" by Hint Mint.




This weights only 0.33oz and has 9 servings of tiny 0.25in diameter mints for a grand total of 22.5 calories in the entire box

Museums of Chocolate

Some time back I read this article from Reuters India about museums around the world which are focused on the Sacred Substance: Chocolate.  Sadly your Chocolate Priestess hasn't been to any of these, I don't charge money for my reviews so so far The Chocolate Cult is pure fun and outreach to all of you.  But I tried to find out more about these museums so I could share some information with you.

Four Wonderful 2-oz. Chocolate Bars from Astor

Astor Chocolate has sent several offering to us here in The Chocolate Cult.  Today we will look at four of their 2-ounce Belgian chocolate bars, which come in seven regular varieties and then some seasonal packaging as well, such as their Valentine's Day bars of "heart healthy" dark chocolate.  These bars are simple — chocolate plus a filling if required, no artificial ingredients.  The

National Pie Day in The Chocolate Cult

And the winner is Black Bottom Pie!

Here is my first ever attempt to make this treat using the next cookbook I have to review.



Attempts to find chocolate curls -- fail.

Attempts to follow vague directions about making them -- fail.

Used chocolate jimmies instead.






Layers are perfectly matched but I think I did an OK job here.  The top layer of whipped cream, again vague directions, not

What Pie Should I Make for National Pie Day?

Tomorrow, January 23, 2010, is another fun holiday you can use to help you enjoy the Sacred Substance.  "National Pie Day."  Now why this is not specific to chocolate you can, of course, make pies with chocolate in them.  In preparation for tomorrow I'm going to make a pie today. 

The question is: What type of pie will I make?

I have another cookbook to review and I was looking a few days ago.

Delicious Raspberry Hot Cocoa

On a very recent trip to my local Kroger, I found two brands of hot cocoa mix on sale. One of these was the store's own Private Selection brand of products.  These "Cocoa Supreme" hot cocoa mixes come in single serve bags and normally cost 65¢ but were on sale for 50¢.  So I got a few in each of the four varieties they had.  Last night we tried the "Chocolate & Raspberry" flavor with 150

Triple Chocolate Mousse Candy

A while back at Kroger they were have a clearance sale on this product from Russell Stover, their "Private Reserves: Triple Chocolate Mousse" with 70% dark chocolate plus white chocolate and between them milk chocolate.  Something for every chocolate taste. This 4.5oz bag was $1.09, a dollar less than it's normal price the clearance label claimed but I'm fairly certain the regular price was

Post Christmas Chocolate at Sam's Club Part 3

The final thing your Chocolate Priestess found in Sam's after the Christmas holidays was this box of Cocoa Dor Grand Truffles, Belgian Collection.  This was nicely wrapped with a lot of little extra decorations on the top as you can see.  The extras didn't last the unwrapping even though I tried to do it very carefully.  The autumnal colors made this more a fall and winter gift than Christmas

"Week of Chocolate" Charity Event

Several years ago, your Chocolate Priestess remembers a fairly small, maybe 250-300 people, event in downtown Bloomington, Indiana, that used chocolate to raise money for a local charity.  I remember it in part because a friend entered a pie she'd made in the contest and she won third place in that category.  I also remember tasting dozens of homemade treats from other entrants.  Over the years,

4 Organic Chocolate Bars

The Chocolate Cult's retail friends at Taraluna have another offering for us to reveal to you all today.  These are four of the Sjaak's 1.6-ounce organic chocolate bars.  In total, Taraluna offers eight flavors from Sjaak's, but we have the "Milk Chocolate with Almond Butter," "Chocolate Green Tea," "Chocolate Mint," and "Dark Chocolate Raspberry" varieties to review today.  Each bar has a paper

"Chocolate" from the Masters of Horror Series

Last night your Chocolate Priestess caught an episode of the 2005-7 series Masters of Horror created and airing originally on Showtime for two seasons with 26 episodes.  The Syfy Channel was airing several of these episodes last night, some of which I'd seen before but I had never seen this one.  This particular 7pm Eastern time episode was entitled "Chocolate" so, of course, I had to check it

DeMet's Turtles Revealed

Back on World Chocolate Day in September, one of the products I found in my local Kroger was DeMet's Turtles which this red box says is a product of Canada.  If you look at the various companies involved in getting this into the store though you see an example of the international nature of chocolate today.  Made in Canada, DeMet's is part of Nestlé which is a Swiss company and it is distributed

Post Christmas Chocolate at Sam's Club Part 2

The second Post Christmas buy in Chocolate I found at Sam's a week or so after the holiday was this green bag with a tag reading "Sweet Treats Gift Bag".  This nice, shiny darker green is not just good for Christmas, in fact that holiday isn't what I thought of when I first saw this bag.  I thought St. Patrick's Day which is very big in some parts of the USA and was a small part of my personal

Everyday Chocolatier & Recipe: Bridget's Mole

Sisters and Brothers, with a new year I want to start offering you ever more.  I hope to do at least monthly interviews with chocolatiers that I know starting with some friends I have who are skilled cooks who can apply their skills to the area of Chocolate.  Please give me feedback and let me know what you think of this new category for The Chocolate Cult.


First on our list is a wonderful

15 Amazing Truffles to Try

Van's Chocolates from North Carolina sent in two offerings for The Chocolate Cult this past week, our first new offering of 2010, so I wanted to get to one of their offerings right away.  They sent two identical boxes that had different assortments inside.  The boxes were packed in a fair amount of Styroform peanuts, which I saved to be reused or donated to a charity that can use these.  Today

Essence of Chocolate with Scharffen Berger

Ah, another chocolate cookbook review on The Chocolate Cult, except "The Essence of Chocolate" from John Scharfeenberger and Robert Steinberg is not just a cookbook.  I will focus on it's ability to be a good or poor cookbook in a bit but first let me discuss what else this book offers.  If what I write today sounds interesting to you, your purchasing it through the above link will help us

Post Christmas Chocolate at Sam's Club Part 1

This past weekend we went to Sam's Club which I bet several of you have heard of, it is a a general good way for us to stock up on big supplies once a month or so.  While there we noticed their aisle of left overs from Christmas and among them were several candy gifts.  After looking through the ingredients on all the choices and eliminating any that had nuts, we got three boxes for between $2.50

Dark Hot Cocoa Mix Well Worth It

Sisters and Brothers, some of you will hopefully recall that Wednesdays have become our hot chocolate review morning here in The Chocolate Cult. You may also recall that your Chocolate Priestess also bought three types of Nestlé hot cocoa mix and has been reviewing them one at a time. Today I'll look at the last of those three flavors I got at Kroger for $1 a 8 envelope box. I hated the "Mint

Review: "World Chocolate Championship" 2009

Sisters and Brothers, I do not know if you had a chance to watch this interesting chocolate show tonight on TLC but your Chocolate Priestess watched it and so I want to review it for you.

The show was called "World Chocolate Championship" for the title of World Chocolate Master and was held in Paris in 2009 though the program did not say exactly when it was held  It's been on TLC in the past so

Use Christmas Sales for Later Giving

As you know, Sisters and Brothers, your Chocolate Priestess not only loves great chocolate but also looks to save money.  A few days after Christmas, on Monday, December 28, 2009, to be exact I found this in my local Kroger store.  A selection of candies from Russell Stover wrapped in a red Christmas style paper.  It was on half price sale and they had two varieties of the assorted style left:

Your Resource for Small Chocolatiers around the Nation

To start off the new year, Sisters and Brothers, we'll start with a new retailer to our Sacraments here on The Chocolate Cult.  Your Chocolate Priestess won a $25 gift certificate from Foodie Blog Roll in one of their monthly (November) contests.  This was for RegionalBest.com, and they had a good selection of chocolate products, so I went there to shop. 


I bought these three items and ended

Predictions & Hopes: Chocolate in 2010

Sisters and Brothers, for ten months we have been gathering here to celebrate Chocolate.  We've done this through product reviews, Sacramental reviews, news items, medical and health alerts, discussion of popular culture, book reviews, and lot of photos.  Today I want to use all of this information we've looked at and which I, your Chocolate Priestess have gathered, to predict how we'll encounter