National Truffle Day

Today is National Truffle Day! I know there are several types of truffles, but I'm pretty sure this is the chocolate truffle holiday. I love to make truffles, and I'm going to be offering a Truffle Making Team Building event through my company TeamBuilding-Unlimited this Spring. Perfect timing, then, for this holiday.

Here's another Round-up of Truffles I've posted on DyingforChocolate.com. No time to make truffles? Go out and buy a few from your favorite Chocolatier!

Blueberry Truffles

Chocolate Guinness Truffles

Chocolate Honey Truffles

Bailey's Irish Cream Truffles

Milk Chocolate Truffles

Blue Cheese Truffles

Chocolate Espresso Truffles

Eggnog Truffles

Champagne Truffles

Oreo Truffles

Candy Corn Truffles

Mexican Chocolate Truffles

Kahlua Chocolate Truffles

And, a few other Chocolate Truffle related foods:

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Chocolate Truffle Pie with Macaroon Crust

Chocolate Truffles Recipe Round-Up for National Chocolate Candy Day

Today is National Chocolate Candy Day. So in order to celebrate, I thought I'd do a Truffle Recipe Round-up. Most of these recipes are simple, and you probably have all the ingredients.  Besides links to specific truffle recipes, I've added a new recipe for Kahlua Truffles. Scroll to the end! Simple and delicious!

Don't have time to make truffles? Your favorite chocolatier has lots of varieties!

Chocolate Honey Truffles

Milk Chocolate Truffles

Blue Cheese Truffles

Chocolate Espresso Truffles

Eggnog Truffles

Champagne Truffles

Oreo Truffles

Candy Corn Truffles

Mexican Chocolate Truffles

Kahlua Chocolate Truffles

1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Kahlua
7 ounces dark chocolate, 60-75% cacao, broken
4 tablespoons sweet butter, softened
Unsweetened cocoa

Heat cream in a small heavy pan until reduced to 2 tablespoons.
Remove from heat then stir in kahlua and chocolate.
Return to low heat and stir until chocolate melts.
Whisk in softened butter.
When mixture is smooth pour into a shallow bowl and refrigerate about 40 minutes.
Scoop chocolate with teaspoon or small cookie scoop and shape into 1" balls.
Roll balls in unsweetened cocoa.
Store truffles covered in refrigerator.
Let truffles stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

JTruffles - Amazing New Truffle Line

I've raved bout the folks at Seattle Chocolates before.  But now - well - I have to tell you - they have completely blown me away.  They've developed a new, amazing truffle line (http://www.jtruffles.com/) they told me about at the Fancy Food Show.  They said they would send me some samples.  Now it has been in the 100's in North Carolina, and chocolate truffles are fragile, very fragile. 

The first set of eight they sent me contained two melted ones.  When Kirsty (their Marketing Maven) heard that, she said - "No way - melted is unacceptable" and sent out more.  All of those were melted.  But I told Kirsty it was okay, I could work with the first ones.  Oh, no - she sent a third set!!!  These people are not only passionate about chocolate, but passionate about customer service and getting it right.  I am very, very impressed!!!

I love architecture, so these designs really appeal to me - look at how cool they are!  Pyramids, deco skyscrapers - I LOVE these creative designs.  I got to meet their chocolatier at the Fancy Food show - and he's so creative and awesome!!  And excited about delicious chocolate creations.  My kinda guy!

Think Mayan and Aztec temples - where chocolate originated - and gorgeous Art Deco skyscrapers as you look at these chocolate works of art.


This is Pura Vida Cafe:

I'm usually not a big fan of coffee and chocolate, but this truffle is the perfect blend.  The milk chocolate is creamy and delish and the strong coffee flavor (actually Turkish ground espresso beans - oh la la!) is offset by the cream it's mixed with.  I loved it - that's how slight, but definitely there, the coffee taste was.  YUM!



This is Limoncello:

Wow!  If you like lemon - this is for you!  It contains a white chocolate ganache with lemon zest and fresh cream in a dark chocolate shell.  This is a super creamy lemon filling - think lemon tart - offset by dark chocolate.  Lemon lovers - this is your nirvana.

See the influence?

The Chrysler Building - one of my favorite buildings in all the world.

This is Cherry Praline:

I think this one could use a stronger cherry and pecan flavor - they were awfully subtle (the chocolate was stronger).  I really love the idea of those two flavors together!!

This is Savory Hazelnut:

Now I really like hazelnut and chocolate, so I was pretty excited about this truffle.  And it did not let me down!  It's almost like eating a hazelnut brownie.  It has tiny hazelnut pieces and a great texture.  I honestly can't think of a better way to describe it - think of the best chocolate brownie you've ever had and add hazelnuts.  That's what this is like - not as sweet as Nutella, a bit more on the salty side.  A+++ 

This is the Magma 65 Dark:

Billed as the line's signature truffle.  It is pretty damn amazing.  A flavorful, smooth dark chocolate with fruity notes.  It's fantastic and dark chocolate lovers will do back flips.  I usually am drawn to milk chocolate, but this one was so good it won me over.

This is my favorite of the shapes - so detailed and so deco!  It's Creme Brulee:

This truffle is filled with vanilla custard ganache and has a layer (at the base of the cream) of carmelized sugar.  And I thought I was going to love it more than I did.  The mixture of textures was awesome, but the slightly burnt taste of the sugar and the bitterness of the dark chocolate took away too much of the sweetness for me.  I bet I would have liked it better in milk chocolate.  But I have a crazy sweet tooth (I like frosting out of the can).  I loved the way the sugar was handled - just like on a real creme brulee (if it's done right!).

This one is Creme 40 Milk:

This is a delicious creamy milk chocolate truffle.  A great basic.  But I actually prefer a truffle with nuts or caramel or some other flavor infusion.  But for a plain milk chocolate - this is delicious.

Another art deco influence:

This is salt water caramel and it's the one I was most excited about:

HOLY SMOKES!!!!  This truffle is a world rocker!!  Chewy caramel - so so fresh and delicious with a dash of salt coated in delicious milk chocolate.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Overall I adore this new line - creative shapes - unlike any I've ever seen and delicious accessible flavors.  Not that crazy weird stuff like lavender or bacon. Glacck!  Think elegance and deliciousness.  And passion - for chocolate and for people.

Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen

Back to Candy Expo!  I had to stop by the Palmer booth and tell them I thought they were the Michelangelo's of chocolate.  They seemed unimpressed.

I've never seen any of these in the stores - Palmer peanut butter cups and candy bars:

Look at these - remind you of anything?  Looks like they're trying to imitate Lindt's Lindor truffles:

These are Palmer's Twists - brown is double chocolate, red is peanut butter, and aqua is white chocolate:

Well - they are about as you would expect - that waxy, too sugary Palmer chocolate.  But once again, there is something about their peanut butter that I really like.  It's good and salty.  But these ain't got nuthin' on Lindt!

At the entrance to the Expo, Lindt had their giant golden bunny - I love this guy!

At their booth, they had one of their master chocolatiers and she hosted a chocolate tasting.

We got to try a 90% dark bar from their Excellence line - designed with a thin profile to melt in your mouth.  It was good - but WAY too bitter for me.  I much preferred the 47% dark with roasted almonds.  Very good. 

See the little bags to the right of the picture - near the bunny?  That's their new little three truffle bag.  Here's a display of them:

The bars we got to try:

We also sampled their new hazelnut truffle:

This is one fabulous truffle - delicious creamy milk chocolate and crunchy hazelnut - YUM!  A+++

Now just to compare some Lindor Truffles with those Palmer things:

 

Really, Palmer?  Why even go here? 

Can you see just from the picture how much more fabulous these truffles are?  Creamy, awesome chocolate - that's Lindt's dark truffle on the left, peanut butter in the middle.  So amazing!!

This is a Whisper Bon Bon from Arcor and all I have to say is bleech:

That wafer layer around the peanut butter tasted stale and the peanut butter and chocolate were lame.

This is the Madelaine Chocolate Company booth - look at all these colors of malted milk balls!!

This is what they look like in when packaged:

But these these are the really exciting things!!  Duets double-filled chocolate truffles!!  I'm not sure where to get these - I've found Madelaine's chocolate in Kohl's before.

They come in four flavors:

Peanut butter and raspberry:

This is pretty damn good - I mean you can even tell just from looking at the picture!  What a great idea!! 

 

This is milk truffle and white truffle:

This one I didn't like - there was a weird aftertaste of some kind.  And why buy this one anyway when you can have peanut butter and raspberry?

Here's raspberry and white truffle:

This one was good, if a little too sweet for me.  I liked it, but I liked the peanut butter combo better.  But damn, this raspberry filling is GOOD!

Ah - this one is peanut butter and caramel:

Whoa - this one was pretty damn good too.  I still like the peanut butter and raspberry best, but this was a close second.  Overall these Duets are very good and very different from anything else out there.  Yum!!

The two halves aren't divided by chocolate, but they stay separate - very cool.

Now here's something about them that kind of makes we want to puke - they are aimed at female consumers ages 25 to 50 (no problem there).  But their VP of sales and marketing said that Duets hold special appeal for those involved in planning bridal and baby showers because "such events are about bringing two things together, much like Duets."  Oh dear God, you have GOT to be kidding me! 

Since when has peanut butter and jelly represented man and wife, mother and child, or anything other than just two damn good flavors together? 

But they are so good, I'll forgive a weird stretch from the Madelaine marketing department.  Yay for truffles!!

 

Pavlov's Coupons

I'm happy to announce that my brother took his boys out Trick or Treating - dressed as a very cool Darth Vader and Boba Fett, I might add. And there were loads of Trick or Treaters where they lived. Yahoo!! The tradition lives!! At least for those on the dark side. : )

And my good friend Mike was visiting friends at the beach - and they had tons of Trick or Treaters. In fact - they almost ran out of candy. But they managed to save three white chocolate Reese's cups for themselves, so all was not lost. Happy Belated birthday, Mike! He was 30 minutes shy of being born on Halloween.

I'm feeling better about the future already.

I have come to realize in recent weeks that I am a sucker for coupons, especially those fabulous e-mail offers from companies like Bath and Body Works and Harry and David. In fact, I'm like Pavlov's Dogs. Remember them? The experimenter would ring a bell and then feed them. Pretty soon all the experimenter had to do was ring the bell and the dogs would salivate - food didn't even have to be present. Well, all these retailers have to do is send me a coupon and I immediately go to their website and buy things. I don't even have to need anything. Bow wow!

And they are smart - once you spend money and use a coupon, they send you more coupons! I'm salivating just thinking about it!

Well, this week I got a coupon for 25% off your entire purchase at Harry & David - sweet!!! That was a no brainer - I totally scored some great stuff to blog about! Wheee!! (This is a brilliant marketing strategy, by the way. Marketing directly to the people who are most likely to buy from you. Give them an offer they can't refuse - and voila - instant sales.)

So let's see what I got!

Harry and David has some pretty darn good chocolate. The truffles are smooth and creamy and the flavor good - not too subtle, not too overpowering.

Fruit flavors are seldom my favorites, but these are good. As you can see, these aren't those cheesy cream filled things like you get from my enemy, Russ Stover. This is delicious chocolate ganache. I liked cherry and raspberry better than orange, but it's all a matter of personal preference.

Now these truffles look like they have nuts on them, but look at the real picture below:

These are Moose Munch truffles. Moose Munch is their collection of popcorn blended with a variety of flavors. So crazy me thought there might be something more to these - like a crunch. They were described as "starting with a thick layer of decadent milk chocolate". "Inside, we've blended real nuts with even more creamy chocolate, then added toffee's crackle." Hmmmm.......the nuts are so blended that you can't detect them. And you can see the toffee. Not much crackle going on.

The flavor doesn't seem nutty - more like a like coffee flavor. Not bad, just not at all what I expected. These are not my favorite. Too wishy-washy. What makes the Moose Munch line is the crunchy popcorn and the mix of flavors and textures. These ain't got it going on.

Is this not the perfect collection? I LOVE all these flavors, so I'm pretty excited about this one! At the top is hazelnut - and you can see the nut there - no messing around! This one is delicious. BUT there are better hazelnut offerings out there - Perugina Kisses leap to mind.

The almond is smooth and creamy, but I think it should have a nut too. I actually prefer chocolate covered almonds to almond flavored truffles. Who knew? But I know now.

Peanut Butter is my favorite - no surprise there, huh? But are these better than Reese's Peanut Butter cups? I have to say no. I know, crazy right? The cost like a million times more. They just don't really kick. The peanut butter isn't particularly smooth and creamy or really peanut buttery tasting. Trader Joe's Peanut Butter cups are way better too.

So I just want to let you all know that Halloween is alive and well. And so is scientific theory.

Chocolate Ecstasy

The Chocolate Fetish is not messing around with their Ecstasy Truffles. (And since you know about my love life, this is the closest to any type of ecstasy I'll be getting any time soon). These truffles are simply amazing!

The brochure says that Ecstasy Truffles are European style in taste and texture. They have a lighter center than the typical American truffle, are more complex, subtly flavored and are enrobed with a blend of outstanding European chocolates. Well, snap!

I hate to say this (since I do worship all things American), but I like these better. Most truffles are so heavy, these are much lighter (thick fluffier). I wish I had gotten more of these, but some of the weird flavors scared me off. I am, in retrospect, an idiot. But, I can learn from my mistakes and will be in Asheville again in my lifetime.

Chai Moon (if you know Asheville, this is a suitably flaky name for a truffle to make it big there) is the white truffle in the bottom row with cinnamon on top. This was my favorite of all the truffles. Here's the official description: The 14 spices commonly used in Chai (Indian tea) are blended into the milk chocolate ganache then enrobed in white chocolate. You experience the flavors of Chai and a rich full mouth chocolate taste. I say - oh hell yeah! I was wary of the whole tea/chocolate combo but this is more about subtle, delicious spices. A+++

See the inside here:

Ecstasy Blossom - this one is in the second row - far left. See that bit of purple on top? It is garnished with a crystallized violet petal. Cool. This was another I wasn't sure I would like - the description: the rich dark chocolate center is delicately flavored with lemon zest, a touch of ginger, and a hint of saffron then encased in a dark chocolate coverture. I'm not big on lemon and ginger in chocolate, so I was sure I wouldn't like it, but it was also delicious. This is because these are made with the touch of a master. The flavors compliment rather than overwhelm the chocolate. They are subtle. Some chocolate with lemon leaves a Lemon Pledge taste in your mouth. Not this - it is also amazing - a wonderful palette of flavors.

You have to love the names - I also tried Velvet Sin (dark) and French Kiss (milk). I don't think I have the power to adequately describe these. Think rich, smooth, melt in your mouth chocolate. Almost fluffy blends of the highest quality. Wow! But after trying the others with their exotic flavors, these seemed boring! Believe me, they were not, but I'm just showing how quickly I got spoiled.

Wine and Roses - second row, third from the left, has a crystallized rose petal on top. How beautifully these are all made! This one has a deep, dark chocolate ganache infused with red wine and an essence of rose. Holy smokes!! I think if you wanted to seduce someone, this would be the one to choose. So sexy!

Hazelnut Gianduia was the only one I thought could actually use a little more flavor. I really like hazelnut and would have enjoyed a stronger flavor here.

That said, there was one truffle not listed in my brochure. It's the top right one - pistachio. Look at the autopsy photo. While fluffy, this one was way too strong for me. To much pistachio. Go figure. Some people are never happy.

Overall, these truffles were like works of art. I think this is why chocolate snobs look down their noses at Hershey and Mars. But these Hershey and Mars are meant to be affordable and for the masses. These are a completely different thing. Sometimes I just want a Mr. Goodbar - I don't want a Chai Moon truffle. I just want simple and cheap, not expensive and complex. I'm just thankful we have the whole range - how lucky are we? Life is good!

Motivational lesson - you don't always know what you do and do not like - try what the experts recommend. The more things you try, the more you learn about what YOU really like. This doesn't just apply to chocolate - it applies to life. Meet different people, travel different places - taste it all! The journey is what it's all about.

Share your sense of enthusiasm. I was so excited about the chocolate, that the kids working in the shop wanted to share their favorites. They were a joy to be with and they made my experience so much more fun. And when the owner, Bill Foley, came in and gave me a tour - well, it just doesn't get any better than that. You can do the same thing in your local drugstore! Once a retail store owner told me "You bring joy wherever you go." I always want to live up to that description of me. That is when I am at my best. What description of yourself do you want to live up to? Have you lost your best self lately?

This recession (or a break up or anything else) cannot take your best self from you - unless you let it.

May all your truffles be ecstatic.

Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen

Last night a man I've never met tried to talk me into having his baby.


I don't even have to go on the dates now. I can just talk to the seemingly normal guys who contact me on match.com on the phone. Some of them will go ahead and cross themselves off the list within a matter of minutes.


I don't even have to be very astute with my questions. One man asked me what I did for a living, I told him and asked what he did. He went on to tell me he was recovering from some mysterious illness and had several part time positions and was hoping something better would come along. I'm sorry, if this is your life in your forties I don't want to date you. For some reason, pity doesn't draw me to a man.


The man last night got off to a bad start by asking me how match.com was treating me. Well, you all know how it's been treating me - restraining orders, abused football players, etc. (There have been one or two normal guys, but no spark.) But I have had several dates, and I'm not starting off a conversation with a new guy with a pity party! So I said it was treating me fine - how about him? He said he didn't know what was wrong with him, that he knew he wasn't the handsomest guy out there. That he'd been on for three months and I was the first woman to respond. He just wished the others would tell him why, so he could change whatever wasn't working.


HELLO! Blockhead! You have a fish on the line! Don't whine to her about your inability to catch other fish! He was blowing it - I was immediately cast in the role of trying to console him - I said hey, you are a good-looking guy (which he was) - you should try to find someone who likes you for who you are, not try to change for these people you don't even know. The more he whined, the more I lost interest. This man is 50 - he needs to pull himself together. Even if he feels this way, he shouldn't have been telling me.

So I was already thinking how I could avoid going out with him. I tried to change the subject and asked him how long he had been divorced. This has become a favorite question of mine since the Afghanistan Affair. I don't want to be the transition relationship again if I can help it.

Seems this man married his childhood sweetheart and after 4 years they split. He's been single a long time. The reason for the split was that she didn't want to have children. I said, "Is that still a deal-breaker for you?" (Thinking that maybe since he was now 50, he might have let that go.)


"Oh yes" was his reply. (Yahoo! My out!!) I told him that I was not the girl for him - I was too old to have kids. He said, "No you're not - you're in great shape!" I tried to explain that having a baby didn't fit my lifestyle, I'm 43, that's not what I want. I told him he should probably try to date younger women. He said they were hard to talk to - they didn't have much in common with him.

Well, hello again - maybe your baby making days are over! You are 50!

I apologized for wasting his time and told him it just wasn't in the cards for me. I had no interest in a high-risk pregnancy and in staying home with a baby. He said he had made plenty of money, he would stay home with the baby. I could just "hand it off like a football." I replied that I didn't think you should have a baby if that was what you planned to do with it. Good God.

Can you believe this conversation was even happening? Between two complete strangers?

I said I was sorry, but let's do the math. I am 43. Let's say I meet the man of my dreams tomorrow. I would want to date him for at least a year before I married him. That puts me at 44. I would actually still want to travel with my husband and enjoy life before I brought a baby into the relationship. A baby changes everything. That puts me a 45/46 - I AM TOO OLD. I want a great relationship with a man, not a rush to produce a baby (or, apparently, a football).

I didn't say this - but I AM in great shape - can you see me at 60 raising a teenager AND taking care of a 70 year old man? Gee - think I'll pass.

Guess we can see why this man is still solo - he really doesn't want a woman in his life, he wants a baby. I finally slapped myself (I couldn't believe I was defending myself to someone I had never even met) and apologized again for wasting his time.

Whew - at least that didn't happen during a date! Sometimes a phone call is all you need.



Chocolate save me!!!


Look at these gorgeous truffles from The Chocolate Fetish!

Two of these aren't really truffles - the two small spiral topped ones. One is filled with peanut butter and the other with soft caramel and pecans. Here's the autopsy photo:

The peanut butter was REALLY good - it was the first time I've really been thrilled with the quality of the peanut butter. (Well, other than Reese's which I worship for it's sheer quantity.) Not too sweet, nice and moist, not dry or grainy. And a good balance with the chocolate. Usually my complaint is too much chocolate but this little guy worked. Perfect balance.

Immediately below peanut butter you can see caramel pecan. Look at all those nuts! Yay! But there was some empty space in there - needs more caramel I say.

Fetish has two types of truffles - America's Best Truffles and Ecstasy Truffles. According to the brochure that comes in the box, America's Best were rated in America's Best by the LA Times. They are described as "made in the American style with a firmer center and more traditional flavors than the Ecstasy truffles and are enrobed with a blend of premium American chocolates." I didn't even know there was an American truffle style. I have so much to learn.

Several of these are America's Best Truffles:

Milk Pecan (you can see it in the autopsy photo bottom far left). This was good - the milk chocolate deliciously smooth and creamy, but I want more nuts. (You would think with all the nuts I've been dealing with lately I'd be okay with this.)

Here's a close up of the Milk Pecan truffle and the caramel pecan confection:

Raspberry is nothing remarkable in the pictures. If you really want to see pictures, their website has great ones and you can build a custom box: http://www.chocolatefetish.com/americasbest_box.php

I like the option of building a custom box. Much better than taking your chances with the selection some companies force on you. A+++ for catering to the customer.

Another thing I like about these is that identification is easy unlike many with other chocolatiers. Fetish gives good guidance with the string colors (that is the drizzle on top of the truffle - raspberry is dark chocolate with milk chocolate string) or with a flower petal or nut on top. Bonus points in my book. I need all the help I can get!

Raspberry was very subtle on the raspberry - the best way I can describe this is to say it was lovely. I know that seems lame, but I can see ladies having tea and finishing with these. Excellent dark chocolate with a hint of raspberry. Lovely.

Kahlua (dark chocolate with white chocolate string) was amazing - very sweet with only a hint of Kahlua. I usually don't get this flavor because it's too strong on the Kahlua and the chocolate is overwhelmed. This was a great blend.

The rest of the Truffles I got were Ecstasy Truffles. And since this entry seems to be about agony, we'll save the ecstasy for tomorrow.

There's Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby

Authenticity. I love it. I like people who are authentic - they are who they are. They're not trying to impress anyone. They want to be liked, mind you, but they're not going to change who they are so you'll like them. They can't. They just not wired that way.

Most of my good buddies are like this - it's something I can't explain, but I think you know what I mean. The only way I can describe it is they don't hold themselves too tightly. They don't hold back some aspect of themselves. They tell me what they think. I meet many people and I feel like many of them are playing a part - "successful businessman or businesswoman", maybe "corporate leader" or simply "in control." The people I like the most are real - they may really have it together or not, but they pretend nothing. They laugh at themselves and I love to be with them.


Other people I just can't connect with - I want to grab them by the lapels and say "Live! Be who you ARE not you you think you should be!" I need some authenticity defibrillator paddles to shock these people back to themselves. If only it were so easy. Being yourself is the hardest thing you will ever do - most people lost themselves to conformity back in high school.

I like authenticity in experiences too. Vegas is fun, but the Venetian is not Venice and the Luxor is not Egypt. Sure, you can watch a video of almost anything on UTube, but it is not the same as being there. Being face-to-face with people in a seminar is a completely different experience than participating in a webinar. I like it real.

Which brings us to authenticity in food. Many blogs ago I said "Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it." I said this about chocolate gum, about chocolate Pez, and now I will say it about See's Seasonal Pie Truffles.

Now I know See's has some rabid fans. Many people have told me how great See's Candies are. Here's their website: http://www.sees.com/. I saw this box of truffles and it looked pretty interesting:

Look at that design! Notice the crust around the edges - it looks like a pie! Yay! And look at those flavors - apple, pumpkin, pecan and cranberry orange! (okay, maybe not cranberry orange - that doesn't sound like a good pie.) But hey - apple, pumpkin, and pecan! Yay!

Oooh - looking good, eh? Pumpkin is milk chocolate covered, apple is white chocolate covered, and if you can't figure out the other two, you have had way too much egg nog. I don't even have to dissect these for you - See's did it for us!

Let me be honest with you. Pie is better. Why does pie need to be made into a truffle anyway? Pie is great as pie. Here's my take - cranberry orange is not my thing. I don't like orange in my chocolate. And here it really overpowers the cranberry. I hope no one makes an orange pie.

I love pumpkin as we have discussed before. Last night I had a canful of pumpkin with Splenda (a mere 140 calories - less than one and a half truffles!). I LOVE pumpkin. This truffle had a weird aftertaste like the Godiva pumpkin truffle. Pumpkin pie has never had a weird aftertaste.

Apple pie just does not cut it - it does taste vaguely of apple pie, but are you kidding? Let's think of apple pie - hot apple pie, flaky crust, melting ice cream - why would we bother with these? Apple pie laughs at these things.

The best of the four was pecan pie, but again, I'd rather have the pie. Or a pecan ball covered in chocolate. This box takes something great (pie!) and imitates it in something great (chocolate) and ruins both. Give me authentic pie, not chocolates pretending to be pie.

And I'll also need some defibrillator paddles and some ice cream.