{"id":16162,"date":"2020-09-15T11:34:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T18:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=16162"},"modified":"2024-02-16T12:30:25","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T20:30:25","slug":"snack-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/snack-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Snack time!"},"content":{"rendered":"

SFBA veteran chocolatier,\u00a0Charles Chocolates<\/a>,\u00a0<\/b>has added some fun treats to their large line of bars, bonbons, and chocolate confections. We recently tried all the items on their Treats page<\/a> and have some recommendations.<\/p>\n

\"snack
Upscale candy bars don\u2019t have to be pretentious<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Candy bars<\/h2>\n

We first spotted these at our local grocery store, and you might have seen them around town\u00a0too: 3 small, chubby bars wrapped in pastel colors with names that sound like riffs on classic candy bars.<\/p>\n

Bigger than fun size candy bars, they each weigh 1.3 oz. and are approximately 2-1\/2″ x 1-7\/8″. I\u00a0think they are too big to eat in one sitting; but\u00a0split between 2 people, they were a good snacking size with 3-4\u00a0bites in each half piece.<\/p>\n

These are definitely candy bars, as opposed to the chocolate bars we usually cover here. They are sweeter and have a ratio of filling to solid chocolate more in tune with a candy bar than a chocolate bar with inclusions.<\/p>\n

This is not a bad thing, especially if you like candy bars: These are more upscale and better tasting in my opinion with higher end\/better quality ingredients and small-scale manufacturing.<\/p>\n

They also cost more, like maybe 4x more, than a traditional candy bar.\u00a0If like me, you stopped eating candy bars years ago because of additives, lower quality ingredients, changed tastes, etc., you might find the cost worth it for a decent, enjoyable bar.<\/p>\n

Coffee & nuts<\/h3>\n
\"Mac
Mac Daddy bars include an unexpected touch of espresso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mac Daddy was a little bigger than the other bars, although it weighs and costs the same. I assume it\u2019s because it has some lighter weight, more voluminous ingredients, or maybe it was just a quirk of its handmade assembly. The \u201cMac\u201d in the name comes from the roasted\u00a0macadamia nuts that lined the bottom of the bar. The nuts were in soft chewy fleur de sel caramel, topped with a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache. And the bar was enrobed in 65% bittersweet chocolate.<\/p>\n

Since this was the first Charles Chocolates snack bar I tried, I was immediately struck by its candy bar-ish sweetness. Based on my experiences with other Charles Chocolates bar, I was not expecting that, but once I recalibrated my expectations, I liked it.<\/p>\n

It had a good chocolate flavor, the caramel was very soft, and it had big pieces of crunchy, caramelized macadamia nuts. It also had a n<\/span>ice coffee flavor, not bitter, just enhancing the bar\u2019s chocolaty-ness.<\/p>\n

Peanuts & caramel<\/h3>\n

On each bar\u2019s label is a description that begins, \u201dChildhood favorites made better,\u201d and the Don\u2019t Make Me Snicker was the most obvious riff on one of those, the Snickers bar. While Snickers bars have peanuts, caramel, and nougat in milk chocolate, the Don\u2019t Make Me Snicker has roasted peanuts, fleur de sel caramel, and bittersweet chocolate ganache, in 65% bittersweet chocolate. The ingredients list alone sounds way more delicious to me.<\/p>\n

\"Snickers\"
What Snickers bars should be like<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the caramel was described the same as the Mac Daddy caramel, it was chewier. Maybe because there was more proportionately; it was a thick piece of caramel holding the peanuts together on the bottom of the bar with more caramel on top. Like the Mac Daddy, the caramel was topped with a bittersweet ganache (although this time, no espresso), and covered in 65% bittersweet chocolate.<\/p>\n

With real ingredients, no fillers, and darker chocolate, Don\u2019t Make Me Snicker is a superior bar to Snickers. I don\u2019t have the budget to upgrade my Halloween candy giving, but this is definitely the treat I would share with grownup friends who think Snickers is a good candy bar.<\/p>\n

Not coconut, not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that<\/h3>\n
\"Ode
Not a speck of coconut to be seen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The name of the last bar, Ode to Joy, was totally misleading to me. I expected a riff on Almond Joy, the milk chocolate, coconut, and almond bar of my youth. This one had 2 of the 3 ingredients, but not the coconut. What?<\/p>\n

Instead, Ode to Joy had roasted almonds, fleur de sel caramel, and milk chocolate ganache in 65% bittersweet chocolate. It had an immediate savory almond flavor from big chunks of crunchy California almonds in the soft chewy caramel layer, and it was less sweet than the other bars, even though it\u2019s got a milk chocolate ganache. I think it\u2019s because it had\u00a0less caramel and more nuts. I liked these proportions better. The hint of\u00a0salt at end probably also toned down the sweetness.<\/p>\n

I liked everything about this bar, once I got past my coconut expectations. It had\u00a03 distinct textures \u2014 crunchy, chewy, and smooth \u2014 and the flavors were distinct too, yet worked together really well. It was my\u00a0 favorite of the 3 bars.<\/p>\n

\"Charles
Charles Chocolates\u2019 entire treat line<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perfect single-size treats<\/h2>\n

The other 2 treats in the Charles Chocolates treat line are not bars and come in more recognizable Charles Chocolates packaging. Unlike the bars, which are too much for one sitting, both of these treats, Caramel Almond Sticks and Gianduja Blocks,\u00a0are just the right size for a satisfying chocolate snack.<\/p>\n

\"caramel
That\u2019s a lot of nuts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Messy goodness<\/h3>\n

The 10-piece package of Caramel Almond Sticks showcases the liberally-studded-with-almond-bits snacks packed so tightly together you can\u2019t tell by looking if they are all connected or how many there are. And when you pull one out, be prepared for a mini-shower of nuts falling off. Charles is not skimping on ingredients; there are more nuts on these sticks than places they can stick to.<\/p>\n

Each piece of chocolate-and-nut-covered fleur de sel caramel \u00a0is approximately 2″ long and almost 1\/2″ in diameter. It\u2019s a\u00a0soft chewy caramel, but a little harder than the caramel in the bars. The combo with bittersweet chocolate, roasted almonds, and just the right touch of salt makes for a delicious, crunchy, chocolaty, caramel treat.<\/p>\n

Better than peanut butter cups?<\/h3>\n
\"Gianduja
Looks like a tic-tac-toe grid of chocolate, but there\u2019s \u00a0a surprise below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I didn\u2019t know what to expect from the last treat, Gianduja Blocks, except chocolate and hazelnut flavors. It turned out to be so much more.<\/p>\n

The package of\u00a0Gianduja Blocks is similar to the Caramel Almond Sticks, but contains a surprise. Glancing at the pack, you\u2019d think there were only 9 blocks per pack, but there is another row nestled at the bottom, so there are 12 (!) blocks total. I think they should mention the total in their product description because at $16 per package, I think people might pass over this great treat if they think there are only 9 pieces.<\/p>\n

And this is a great treat, with finely ground caramelized hazelnuts blended with crispy, crunchy flakes of feuilletine cookies in a dark milk chocolate ganache coated in bittersweet chocolate.\u00a0It\u2019s funny that the blocks look like chocolate covered caramels, but this is the one treat in the line that contains zero caramel.<\/p>\n

\"gianduja
Another surprise: Looks like a chocolate covered caramel from the outside, but is not<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The taste experience is superb with first the crunch and a hazelnut-forward flavor profile in really good chocolate. It has a wonderful mouthfeel, and the hazelnut and dark chocolate flavors linger.<\/p>\n

At 1″ x 1-3\/4″ and 2-3 bites, it is just the right size for a satisfying snack. And its\u00a0crunchy texture mimicked a coarse ground peanut or other nut butter giving me some peanut butter cup vibes. With its refined crunchy texture, upscale nut selection, dark chocolate, and more chocolate flavor than a traditional peanut butter cup, this could be the upgrade for peanut butter cups. And overall, it was my\u00a0favorite Charles Chocolates treat.<\/p>\n

Treat yourself<\/h2>\n

You can buy the entire line of Charles Chocolate treats \u2014 as well as their other wonderful chocolate \u2014 in their online store<\/a>. Their factory shop is currently closed, but you can find some of their treats in grocery stores around the country, including some Whole Foods, plus at some Starbucks coffee shops. Check their website for locations, or just keep your eyes peeled when shopping around town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In these trying times, treat yourself to something yummy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,169,41],"tags":[636,660,74,552,392,389,390,557,520],"class_list":["post-16162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-chocolate","category-reviews","category-san-francisco-chocolate","tag-almond","tag-caramel","tag-charles-chocolates","tag-espresso","tag-feuilletine","tag-gianduja","tag-hazelnut","tag-macadamia-nuts","tag-peanuts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41627,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16162\/revisions\/41627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}