UPDATE: Coco Délice has closed.
UPDATE 3/18/14: Woohoo! I am not the only one who thinks Coco Délice Peanut Butter Bunnies are the best. Real Simple Magazine just featured them as the lead in their “6 Indulgent Easter Treats.”
They say our tastes change every 7 years, and while I haven’t kept track of the time, I know I like different things as I grow older. Chocolate and peanut butter are still 2 of my top 3 favorite things to eat, but my taste for chocolate has evolved to dark, not milk, so my childhood fav, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, no longer satisfy me.
I want a peanut butter confection that has a peanut butter texture and flavor balanced with high quality dark chocolate (a PB&DC). I don’t want any unnecessary fillers or additives. And I’d prefer it to be local, so I can indulge when I have a craving. If you know of such Nirvana, please share. In the meantime, my search is on, and here’s what I’ve found so far:
Jade Chocolates’ Peanut Butter and Mango Jam Buddha heads: Inside the gold-dusted dark chocolate shell is a layer of peanut butter ganache and a layer of liquid-y mango jam. This is an excellent peanut butter ganache with a good roasted peanut taste and a little crunch. The mango jam is nice counter balance, and overall the truffle is not too sweet. I like it as a peanut butter flavored truffle, but it doesn’t have a dense peanut butter filling that I am looking for.
CocoTutti
peanut butter cups: We tried these at the 2013 SF Chocolate Salon. Really good peanut butter taste balanced with the chocolate. Has that right grainy, slightly crunchy peanut butter texture. A high quality peanut butter cup. If only they came in dark chocolate, I’d be in heaven.
Coco Délice peanut butter rabbits: Seasonal for Easter, not one of their regular truffle flavors, which is a shame because I really like these. I tried them first at the 2010 SF Chocolate Salon, and liked how the chocolate and peanut butter were balanced. Now I look forward to ordering them each the spring. UPDATE: Unfortunately, these are no longer available.
Recchiuti peanut butter pucks: These are tasty, but they are milk chocolate over peanut butter-spike chocolate ganache on a dark chocolate disk, with a little sea salt sprinkled in. All dark chocolate shell and more peanut, please! (We do think it’s clever that their pucks not only turn traditional peanut butter cups upside down, the name “puck” is almost “cup” spelled backwards.)
Richard Donnelly peanut butter bar: Not tile shaped like most candy bars, RD’s peanut butter bar looked more like a short piece of 1×1 wood dipped in chocolate. It did not taste like wood, but the shape made it unwieldy to eat. Kinda like a short, squared hot dog dipped in chocolate. It did not taste like a hot dog either, but the mix between chocolate and peanut butter was not optimal. The chocolate was too thin a shell and broke off easily when cutting or biting the bar, leaving naked peanut butter in places — kinda messy.
I will add to this list as I try more local PB&DC. If you are looking for a delicious version, I recommend setting a reminder on your calendar for Coco Delice’s Easter bunnies. And let me know if you find other worthy contenders.
