Top Pick Of The Week

March 31, 2009
Updated April 2011 .

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Burdick Chocolates Rocher Nest

Good things come in small rocher nests. Rochers are caramelized chocolate-covered almond slivers, formed by L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolate into a special Easter nest filled with 8 chocolate truffles, 8 marzipan eggs and a small chocolate bunny. Charmingly gift-boxed, it’s memorable. (Note: Not available in 2011—check back next year.)

WHAT IT IS: Our Top Picks of the best Easter chocolate and candy we tasted.
WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: The finest quality ingredients make these confections so very, very good.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Not just beautiful to look at, but exquisite on the palate.
WHERE TO BUY IT: See individual listings.
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Hoppin’ Down The Bunny Trail: Gourmet Easter Chocolate Gifts


CAPSULE REPORT: All over America, boys and girls of all ages (yes, you!) are looking with fondness, covetousness and deeper forms of desire at chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Easter eggs and other tempting paschal candy. In every town there are goodies galore that beckon. But for your calories and discriminating palate, shouldn’t you have the best?

We sought out some of America’s finest chocolatiers—artisans who not only use the best chocolate, but create the best Easter candy memories. We promise you the best candy Easter eggs, amazing bunnies and Easter baskets that will make the fussiest child or chocolate connoisseur jump for joy. We know because, for the past month, THE NIBBLE offices have been turned into Peter Cottontail’s Chocolate Testing Station.

Read the full reviews below of treats from Knipschildt Chocolatier, L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolate, Pete’s Gourmet Confections (certified kosher*), Recchiuti Confections and Laura’s Candy. If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, we have even more Easter candy and confections. Then visit these confectioners online or by phone at your earliest convenience—because hippity, hoppity, Easter’s on its way.

*All of Pete’s Gourmet Confections are certified kosher. His Easter-themed products, while not likely to be of interest to kosher observers, just happen to come from the same kosher kitchen that has treats in general spring designs as well. He also makes kosher for Passover products.

     
THE NIBBLE does not sell the foods we review
or receive fees from manufacturers for recommending them.

Our recommendations are based purely on our opinion, after tasting thousands of products each year, that they represent the best in their respective categories.

Learn About Fine Chocolate

Chocolate Bar Cabosse Bonbons
The Flavors Of Chocolate. Strawberry? Cinnamon? Licorice? Tobacco? Just as all of these flavors can be found in different glasses of wine, they can be found in plain bars of chocolate. Learn more about the flavors of chocolate. Chocolate Glossary. What does 70% cacao mean? Madagascar versus Venezuelan cacao? Cacao versus chocolate? Learn the language of chocolate in our comprehensive Chocolate Glossary. The History Of Chocolate. How does chocolate go from the seeds of a tropical fruit to the creamy confection we know and love? And who discovered how to make it? Find out in the History Of Chocolate.

 

Hoppin’ Down The Bunny Trail: Gourmet Easter Chocolate
Gifts

INDEX OF REVIEW

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MORE TO DISCOVER

What Makes One Chocolate Bunny Better Than The Next

Just as most of us have tried countless different brownies, chocolate chip cookies and brands of ice cream over time, we’ve tasted many, many brands of fine chocolate. You can taste the difference, just as with the other foods, and over time you recognize what you think is the best.

But what makes something “the best?” In fine chocolate, it includes:

  • Couverture chocolate: The chocolatiers in this article use the best chocolate in the world—brands such as Callebaut, Guittard and Valrhona. Whether it’s dark, milk or white chocolate, you taste chocolate first—not sugar.
  • Ingredients: All of the other ingredients are top-drawer, too, from the cream in the ganache to the vanilla and other flavorings. There are no substitutes or short cuts.
  • Artisanship: These chocolatiers all use creativity to show the customer something a bit more special, something memorable.

Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate truffles from L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates: bites of chocolate heaven made from
fine cacao grown in Grenada.

One chocolate manufacturer, parodying the alcohol industry, printed “Eat Responsibly” on its packages—meaning that you can responsibly enjoy your ounce or two of chocolate a day without guilt. We, too, want you to eat responsibly, and also to eat well—on Easter and any other day!

— Karen Hochman

 

Continue To Page 2: Knipschildt Chocolatier

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