Antioxidants up the Wazoo

As I perused the candy aisle, as I am want to do from time to time, torturing myself with the cant haves in life, I stumbled upon the new-ish dark chocolate section. As some of you may have noticed, some time in the mid to late 2000's Dark Chocolate was the thing. Cadbury, Russell Stover, Godiva, and my personal favorite, Hershey's (haters be damned) all came out with new lines of 50%, 60%, 70%, etc. dark chocolate bars.

Now, I am not a fan of dark chocolate, as bitter is really the only taste I dont really care for. I much prefer the silky, creamy, smooth, unctuous mouth feel of a milk chocolate. However, the Hershey line of bars have peaked my interest for some time, and I decided to give in. I chose the "Pure Dark Chocolate with Pomegranate flavored pieces" variety. Now the term "pieces" had me puzzled, but we will get back to that.

First thing I noticed about the bar occurred an hour or so after bringing it home. I set it on the table, went to work on some things on my laptop (and yes, Spore = Work), and after about an hour a faint pleasantly fruity aroma filled my dining room. I assume the warmer room temperature of my home caused oils in the chocolate bar to release into the air. I had been saving the bar for later, but the smells was intoxicating and I quickly unwrapped it.

Taking my first bite, I was hit with that familiar enemy, bitterness, but after chewing, I hit these little pellets of pomegranate flavor. The pellets, or "pomegranate flavored pieces", are something resembling a mix between the little rice bits in a Crunch bar and tapioca balls. I thought that maybe they were dried pomegranate arils, so i simply took a small corner of a square and sucked on it, what I found was surprising.

Nestled within bar were aril shaped chewy things. Now in the ingredients, the bar does list pectin as an ingredient, and pectin, as a gelling agent, certainly could explain these odd "flavor pieces". Now the thing I find humorous in this is that the pieces are shaped like they should be dried arils. Even tho these are nestled within the bar and will most likely never be seen, they bothered to shaped them like pomegranate. Interesting choice Hershey's.

Now I guess here is where Id rate the bar. As Ive only had the pomegranate, and as Im biased against dark chocolate already, my rating is going to be based on how well I feel the pomegranate flavor was incorporated and helped tone down the bitterness of the dark chocolate. So now that we got that down, heres my rating:

3/5, or, a C, maybe a C+.

The pomegranate flavor was good, and was distinctly pomegranate, however, for a bar marketed as higher end, discovering that they replace the pomegranate with cranberry, apple, pineapple, and elderberry juices is a bit of a let down. I understand companies mix juices to keep costs down on the pricier flavors, but I think the clientele who these bars are marketed to would pay the extra few cents or a buck to buy it if they liked it. Im also a bit disappointed on how they incorporated the flavor. I wish they could have just flavored the chocolate itself or actually had real pomegranate in it, rather than the "flavored pieces". The result was a random mismatch of chocolate to pom ratio. Sometimes youd hit a real bitter spot, others youd have an overwhelming flavor of pom.

In the end, if you like dark chocolate, if you like pomegranate, I say give it a try at least. I may not buy this bar again, but I dont think it will turn me away from maybe trying the other flavors they have going on. Who knows, maybe I can find my miracle bar that switches me to the dark side.

(Unrelated note, the Cookie-a-Day project is on hiatus due to life, my camera, and other things. I have my reviews for the cookies I did manage to make in the works, but the ones later on in the list might have to wait a bit to even be made. Sorry, Im working on it, so just sit tight :])

Cookie-A-Week 2: Peanut Butter

Nothing reminds me like a trip to the big local shopping mall like a delicious peanut butter cookie. Walking to the food court, approaching that cookie stand, and ordering one of those as-big-as-your-head, flat, golden brown and delicious, warm cookies. The taste is always the same, like swallowing a spoonful of Jiff or Skippy, but without that sticky feeling. As you can probably tell, I love a good peanut butter cookie, so when I was thinking of doing this cookie a week project, I knew peanut butter had to be on the list.

Now this recipe is an extremely good one. The texture of the cookie is spot on, with a slightly crunchy exterior and a soft moist interior. And if you want, the batter is great to mix in chopped nuts or small chocolate pieces (I used chocolate chips, which ended up being fairly large). However, the key to making this recipe is, not surprisingly, the peanut butter.

For all my cookies, Ive been using the best ingredients. Real vanilla, organic and unbleached flours, free range eggs, and as fresh and local ingredients as possible. My local Whole Foods and Farmers Markets have been picked clean of baking items because of my bloodlust for quality. But, if like me, you prefer the flavor of the regular supermarket peanut butter like Jiff or Skippy, USE IT! This is not the recipe to be reaching for that organic/all-natural peanut butter with the oil at the top, unless you like the taste of the peanut butter. I used that kind of peanut butter, and while the cookies were good, they werent the flavor I was looking for. Bottom line, think of peanut butter as wine, dont cook with it if you wouldnt eat it.

PS: I know this entry is extremely late. Life has gotten in the way, and while these entries may end up being sporadic, I am still making cookies. In fact, I have 2 more recipes already stored and ready to type up for you. So sit tight ya'll :]