Sweet Deal

Chocolate Bailout!

With everyone else in the country getting a Bailout, have you gotten yours ??  Me neither..

But here is our chance for sweet revenge...FREE CHOCOLATE

That's right...Mars has launched  “a massive effort (that) aims to spread joy across America by giving away as many as 7 million full-size packages of Mars chocolate.”   Every Friday through the end of September, you stand a chance of getting a free chocolate bar or candy because of the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act.

Who said Recessions weren't sweet!

Hershey's Reese's Whoppers

This might be "Chocolate Talk", but how about we make it "This Should’ve Had Chocolate On It Talk." I found a box of Hershey's Reese’s Whoppers at Big Lots and thought they could potentially be quite good. The box said they were new, but I’ve come to learn that they have been out for a year now.  You would think that since they were Reese’s that they would have peanut butter and then a fine layer of chocolate on top. Nope just peanut butter and then a malted milk ball.

Since they didn’t have a chocolate layer on them, I had to take the matter into my own hands. I decided to take a milk chocolate kiss and a Reese’s Whopper and eat them at the same time.  This, my friends, is a winner. They have the concept of peanut butter and chocolate combined in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, so why wouldn’t they continue that concept into these whoppers? I think that the Reese’s Whoppers would be a huge hit with chocolate on top. Go out and try the combo for yourself.

-Your Chocolate Talk Guest Writer

Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms

Tis the season for chocolate. With desserts from buckeyes to chocolate chip cookies, fudge, and mint brownies, my personal favorite through the years has been Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms with Hershey's Kisses. For as long as I can remember, my mom has made these cookies for holiday parties and gifts for the neighbors. The best and only way to eat them is to eat the cookie around the chocolate and save the Kiss for last!

Ingredients:

• Milk Chocolate Hershey's Kisses
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Hershey's Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove wrappers from the Kisses.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add brown sugar and 1/3 cup granulated sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, then gradually beat into the peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately press Kisses into the center of each cookie (the cookie will crack around the edges). Place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Visit the Hershey's Kitchens website for baking tips and more chocolate recipes.

Hershey's Chocolate Dunkers

One way to make everyone at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com happy is with food…especially chocolate. We recently ordered Pizza Hut for lunch and got enough Hershey’s Chocolate Dunkers for everyone to taste-test. If you haven’t heard of them yet, pizzahut.com describes the Dunkers as “Freshly-baked, soft, melt-in-your-mouth dessert sticks topped with white chocolate and Hershey’s milk chocolate – served with rich chocolate dipping sauce.”

The day before we even tried them, Janet Evans in Creative Production told me, “I can already tell you that the Chocolate Dunkers are GREAT!!!!!! YUMMO!” Janet’s enthusiasm made me even more excited to try the sweet dessert the following day.

When the Hershey’s Dunkers were delivered, a sweet chocolate scent filled the café. I was excited that the Dunkers were still warm after the journey from Pizza Hut to CARSON, and the Hershey’s chocolate dipping sauce was also pre-heated. With the 10 Dunkers that come in each box, however, I think the dipping sauce container could have been a little larger. Gail Hale in Creative Production wrote me to say “The Dunkers were a lot better than I thought they would be. They reminded me of chocolate donut minis.”

All in all, I think everyone enjoyed the Hershey’s Chocolate Dunkers from Pizza Hut. Whether you prefer to dip, dunk, drizzle or double-dip into the chocolate sauce, I recommend trying an order or two of this delectable dessert.

Eat More Chocolate!

As you may know from previous posts, eating chocolate in moderation can be healthy for your heart and blood pressure. Now, studies suggest there are even more benefits to this sweet treat, including fighting cavities, increasing moods and lowering cholesterol.

An extract of cocoa powder that occurs naturally in chocolates and teas may be more effective than flouride in toothpaste to fight cavities. The white crystalline powder extract has a chemical makeup similar to caffeine, and helps to harden teeth enamel, making teeth less susceptible to decay. It may be another two to four years before a cavity-fighting cocoa extract toothpaste is on the market.

Researchers believe chocolate's feel-good factor comes from the same positive neurotransmitters found in ice creams, caffeine and theobromine. Chocolate also contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid connected with serotonin, a mood-modulating neurotransmitter. Companies are currently making headway with mood-boosting and stress-reducing chocolate. Under health claims legislation, companies that make claims about a food's physiological effect must have scientific documentation to support their claims.

Researchers have compared levels of cholesterol in groups of people who eat sterol and non-sterol fortified chocolate. Only those who ate the sterol chocolate recorded significantly lower levels of cholesterol. Plant sterols, which are natural compounds found in certain vegetable oils, cereals, fruits and veggies, have also been known to be a safe and effective way of lowering cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association estimates nearly half of all Americans have high cholesterol levels, yikes! Eat more chocolate!

The Sunshine State

In May, I attended the Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) in Orlando, Florida. While I was looking forward to learning how other companies approach their marketing efforts, I was also excited for a mini-vacation and some SUNSHINE. Sharon & Scott were sweet to allow my husband to come along, so we stayed a few extra days and had a great trip together.

We were able to go to Disney World's Epcot Center and The Magic Kingdom thanks to a friend who now works at Coral Reef, the seafood restaurant in the park. After trying to squeeze in as many amusement rides as we could (Soarin' was my favorite), we had a nice dinner at our friend's restaurant, and she even seated us right next to the enormous aquarium filled with 85 different species of tropical fish. The food was great, and the dessert was even better. I ordered The Chocolate Wave, and as a very early birthday treat, they included a piece of edible chocolate with little drawings of fish and a "Happy Birthday" message written on it! It was served warm, with hot fudge drizzled on top and brandied cherries on the inside, adding some extra sweetness to the already rich chocolate. I'd like to think I have a second stomach just for dessert, so I ate every delicious bite. When you're the author of Chocolate Talk, you've got to do what you've got to do...

The Big Apple

Last weekend my family and I took a trip to New York City. It was the first time there for all of us, so we didn't quite know what to expect. That city is overwhelming; filled with people from all around the world, over 17,000 restaurants, 10,000 taxi cabs, amazing Broadway shows, endless shopping and enormous skyscrapers. I don't think one person could ever run out of things to do there.

After watching the Travel Channel's episode of the top 10 ice cream parlors across America, the famous Serendipity 3 was on the top of my list of places to visit in NYC...and I was not disappointed. I ordered the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, which tasted like chocolate milk, but better. My husband got the Forbidden Broadway Sundae, which he was kind enough to share with his chocolate-loving wife (as if he had a choice). Also on the menu was the world's most expensive sundae, the Golden Opulence Sundae. This lavish $1,000 sundae, which you have to order 48 hours in advance, is covered in edible gold and includes ingredients imported from all over the world. I didn't order it this time... maybe after I hit the jackpot on Hershey's instant lottery tickets!

Win With Hershey’s

We have 10,000 more reasons to love chocolate! The Hershey Company is now pairing its popular chocolate brands with instant lottery tickets. Available in select states, lottery players can try their luck at scratch-off games such as “Kisses & Cash” and “Hugs & Kisses,” for a chance to win up to $10,000. New Mexico offers the scratch-off that looks good enough to eat, titled “$10,000 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate.” The game’s ticket is a replica of  Hershey’s well-recognized, chocolate-brown and silver-foil wrappers. Plans are underway to develop additional lottery games from among Hershey’s 21 candy brands. The designs of the new tickets will use vivid colors and recognizable imagery of the brand’s packaging. There are even rumors that future Hershey-themed tickets might have a scratch-n-sniff feature. This sounds like a winning idea to me!

Fun Facts About the Kiss

• A Kiss is created by a machine that drops a specific amount of Hershey’s chocolate onto a moving steel belt and quickly cools in the Kiss shape.
• A popular theory on how the candy was named is that the sound it made while dropping onto the steel belt was that of a kiss.
• Every day, more than 80 million Kisses are created by Hershey’s factories in Pennsylvania, California and Virginia.
• In Hershey, Pennsylvania, the street lamps are shaped like Kisses.
• Approximately 95 Kisses equal to one pound of chocolate.
• To save foil for the war effort in 1942, Hershey’s halted the production of Kisses.
• To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Hershey’s Kisses Brand on July 7, 2007, the world’s largest Kiss was created in  Hershey, Pennsylvania. Wrapped in silver foil with a proportionally large plume, the Kiss weighed 30,540 pounds, more than twice the previous chocolate candy world record of 15,026 pounds.
• Another record was broken in 2003, when the longest consecutive string of Kisses measured more than 4 miles. The event took place to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network at Penn State Children’s Hospital.

For more fun facts about Kisses and related products, visit the Hershey’s website.

A Hershey’s Thanksgiving

In addition to the traditional Pumpkin Pie dessert every Thanksgiving, my mom always makes something to please the chocolate-lovers in our family…Mint Brownies! I recommend this recipe to anyone who is looking for something sweeter on Thanksgiving. If you’re like me and would rather buy pre-made brownie mix, skip Steps 1-3 and follow the directions on the box. Don’t forget to include your favorite Hershey’s ingredients!

Diane’s Mint Brownies

Ingredients for 24 Servings:

• 3 sticks plus 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• 4 drops green food coloring
• 1 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13” x 9” baking pan.
2. Melt 2 sticks of butter in the microwave. Stir in granulated sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; Beat well. Add cocoa, flour and baking powder. Beat until well blended. Pour batter into the greased pan.
3. Bake 30 - 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.
4. Cool completely on wire rack.
5. Prepare the Mint Cream by combining powdered sugar, 1 stick of butter, water, mint extract and food coloring. Beat until smooth. Spread evenly on brownies. Cover & refrigerate until cold.
6. Prepare the Chocolate Glaze by melting together 6 tablespoons of butter and the chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly & pour on top of the chilled Mint Cream. Cover & refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.