Random Acts of Chocolate in the Spring

Still no luck in the dating arena - during my latest Match.com date, the guy didn't even crack a smile much less actually laugh. I am, however, pretty sure he was breathing. For his part, I'm sure he thought I needed to be put on Ritalin. The date gave new meaning to the phrase "one man show."

Springtime makes people do crazy things - fall in love, plan weddings, dig in the dirt. Apparently candy makers are also struck with Spring Fever. (I couldn't bring all those eggs on the road with me, so Eggstravaganza will pick back up in the next entry.) These aren't really Easter candy, although there are Easter Eggs on the Three Musketeers bag - right under the Limited Edition banner:

VERY festive - don't you think? Covered in dark chocolate and flavored with raspberry, these are a more subtle pink than those screaming red cherry ones I reviewed a few entries ago:

But again, I'm not digging the taste - there's something medicinal about it. Not so good. This edition needs to be kept limited, very limited.

Coconut seems to be a springtime favorite although I have absolutely no idea why. See's has a coconut egg, Russell Stover has a couple of coconut Easter things, Almond Joy does an Easter Egg. Why? I can see Summer - tropical - but Spring? Is there some politically correct Caribbean Easter Celebration? Is it the egg-like shape of the coconut? Anyway, check these out:

Coconut Creme Kisses - see the flowers? Springy.

I gotta tell you, I was skeptical here. I mean, how many damn flavors of Kisses do we need? How much coconut can you even fit in there? I just knew these were going to be gross. Well, I'll be damned if Hershey's didn't do it again! These are really good. There are actually coconut flakes in there! And, while I like coconut, I do not love it (coconut cake is not my favorite). But here, the chocolate coating created the perfect blend of flavors. These were surprisingly good. (Nothing on the Hershey wrapper about the coconuts being grown on a 500 year old coconut plantation, harvested by free-range natives with machetes sparkling in the sun, but they are GOOD.)

I like my chocolate like my friends - down to earth. Just be yourself. Don't go all prima donna on me. I mean, I do think these different sea salts are interesting and enjoy the creativity of the chocolatiers in using them, but when we start talking about how they sparkle in the sun, we have drunk WAY too much of the culinary Kool-Aid. At the end of the day, I just want my chocolate to taste good.

Hershey's is trying to get in on the higher end with their Truffle Kisses. I reviewed the cherry ones a few entries back and they were awesome. These chocolate truffle ones are good too:

These are made with a much better chocolate than the regular Kisses and they are larger. These were good, but nothing to really write home about. I liked the cherry ones better. Save your money and buy one grain of salt at Vosges.

So this spring - have fun, be yourself, and don't forget to laugh. And remember, Almond JOY is the nutty one - the world needs more joyous nuts!