Holiday Loot

January 4, 2010

Oh, how I love this time of year. You get to spend a little extra time with your family and friends and of course, eat your heart out. Here are some tasty treats I’ve gotten ahold of throughout the holidays:

I had seen the callout for Saratoga Peanut Butter Company in Everyday with Rachael Ray a while back but didn’t know where to find their peanut butters. Luckily for me, a good friend found it and gave me a jar of their Maple Peanut Butter! I love it - it’s not too sweet like a lot of flavored peanut butters can be, it’s a little chunky and it has a really pleasant earthy maple flavor. It even smells strongly of maple syrup when you open the jar! I spread it on some freshly baked shortbread cookies I had lying around and it was mmm mmm good!

The same friend gave me a Mast Brother’s Cacao, Cane Sugar Bar. Their packaging is so pretty that I actually feel guilty tearing it open. I thought the bar was okay, though it was oddly hard to bite into. It was also a touch too waxy, which kept the flavor from hitting my tongue for at least a few seconds. Once the waxiness subsided, I thought it had a nice flavor but it melted really slowly and the bits of chocolate that stayed intact in my mouth made for an odd texture. I think that means it has a high melting point? I’m still learning the chocolate lingo… It’s good chocolate, I’m just not sure it deserves all of the raves it gets.

My friend Kathy of Kathleen’s Confections sent me some fun old-school candy bars including the SkyBar, GooGoo Peanut Butter and a Rocky Road Supreme Peanut Butter (see photo above) for Christmas. I am saving these chocolates until we get back from our trip to the Chicago area, but after reading Candyfreak last year, I’ve had a newfound appreciation for nostalgic treats and look forward to giving them a try.

As for baked holiday goodies, one of Taste Tester’s family members brought over a batch of classic chocolate peanut butter thumbprints for Christmas that I’ve been happily gobbling up!

And finally, here’s a list of what I’ve made. I recommend you try all of these! PB & Co’s Peanut Butter Biscotti w/Chocolate Chunks & Cocoa Nibs Rachael Ray’s Tiramisu Cheesecake - yum! Mrs. Field’s Russian Tea Cakes (I use 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp orange extract) Martha’s Gingerbread Cookies Martha’s Chocolate Charms Martha’s Chocolate Sandwich Cookies Martha’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Hope you’ve enjoyed the holidays and that your new year is off to a great start!