The big holidays are behind us, but that lovely love day is less than a month away. Red and pink hues blanket the stores and "Kay" and "Jared" hit us all over with their bauble ads. The rest is all hearts, flowers, love notes, and.....chocolate!
For those of you planning to shower your love with a box of calories, how 'bout we skip Godiva this year? Skip Russell Stover and Whitman's this year while you're at it (and maybe every year . . . at least for a Valentine's Day gift). Show her/him that you actually care and an effort was made! Here’s how. . .
If you absolutely want to go the way of a box of chocolates, you know it works, and you’re confident in that space, one of the simplest steps up would be Truffles and Bon Bons from Chocolate Bar. They are handmade, hand-packed fresh and oozing rich flavors like coffee cardamom, caramel, peanut butter & jelly and passion fruit. A middle-of-the-road 24-piece signature box is $33.
Chocolate Bar NYC
A step in the fancy direction takes us to La Maison du Chocolat. Discover the luxury with a 28-piece Coffret Maison Dark and Milk box ($55). They describe it as a “refined chocolate box,” and it is. I’d say: exquisite.
La Maison du Chocolat
If you’re willing to get a tad more creative and sweet, go this route: The Valentine Collection by L.A. Burdick Chocolates ($78). Artfully presented in a wood crate, a selection of this chocolatier’s best hand-crafted pieces – including a pair of their special chocolate mice (!) – are nestled in just so. Be sure to read the “About Us” section of their website; they really are masters of chocolate.
L.A. Burdick
I have to throw in a plug here for Vosges Haut-Chocolat. I’ve followed
Vosges Haut-Chocolat
Shall I keep going???
Maybe you don’t want to gift pieces of chocolate. How about brownies? I haven’t met one person who hasn’t loved Fat Witch brownies. I mean, yes, it could be weird to give your lovely a tin that says "Fat Witch" on it, so tread carefully here. Plenty of options, but for Valentine’s Day, I think a great gift would be a “Tin of Favs.” For $39 you get 2 Fat Witches, 2 Blonde Witches, 2 Walnut Witches, 2 Caramel Witches.
Fat Witch
Or….there’s cake! And by cake, I don’t mean grocery store
bakery section cake (unless that’s your fave, which, that’s cool, too). No, I’m talkin’ “I’m-going-to-splurge-here-and-prove-to-my-special-someone-that-they-are-so-worth-it”
cake. One of my absolute favorite boutiques in Manhattan
is a cake boutique: Lady M Confections. (My absolute
favorite cake is their signature Lady M Mille Crepes, but we’re here to talk
about chocolate…) And this work of art – the Couronne du Chocolat
– can be shipped to you ($75 plus shipping and handling fees)! It is dark chocolate mousse layered with
chocolate sponge, topped with ganache and finished with white chocolate
shavings and crumb sidings. Be sure to note their special ordering
instructions, which are posted on the website.
Finally, what I consider the simplest and most romantic option: Champagne Truffles from Teuscher Chocolates.
From Teuscher:
Decadent.
Exquisite. Unforgettable. There is no question that our most popular truffle is
also the world’s finest. A delicate milk chocolate shell wrapped around
sinfully rich dark chocolate with a heart of French champagne crème, each one
of our Champagne Truffles is a miniature masterpiece. Taste one and you will
understand immediately how our signature specialty has seduced customers and
critics the world over. Available in any quantity, all year round.
Pair these with a fine bottle of
champagne, a hand-written love note, and call it Valentine’s Day.
Just
ideas. Hope they help! Now……who’d
like to be my secret admirer? :-)
- E
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