Give This Chocolate To Someone You REALLY Love

My life is way too busy right now to pull together the type of holiday gift guide I've done in years past (though they're still good and you can find 'em all at the end of this post) but I did not want to let 2013 end without finally giving a shout-out to the truly incredible chocolate made by my good friends Bryan and Dahlia at Fruition Chocolate.

If you're not sure what to give someone, you really can't go wrong with these goodies...

Bryan is a former pastry chef and CIA (Culinary Institute of America) grad who takes chocolate extremely seriously. He imports carefully chosen fair trade and organically grown beans and then roasts and grinds them himself, right here in the Hudson Valley. Hence their slogan, "handmade from bean to bar."

I am especially partial to their dark milk chocolate with fleur de sel bar. If you have not yet tried combining chocolate (or caramel, for that matter) with salt, you are really missing out. Apparently, I'm not the only one who is a fan -- it was a Golden Seal Winner at the 2013 Good Food Awards.

They also have a lot of really creative and beautiful yums. Everything from the types of gorgeous creations in the photo below to glass jars of things like wonderfully nutty chocolate covered roasted cacao nibs, chocolate coated toasted almonds with smoked sea salt, and dark chocolate coated jalapeno dusted corn nuts which are remarkably addictive.

You can visit them in person if you're in the Hudson Valley or, if you're not, buy from their online store. The whole thing is a pleasure - from the rich, delicious chocolate to the beautiful displays and pretty packaging.

And you can feel good knowing that you are supporting a new, small local business created by two of the nicest, most hardworking young people I know, too :)

Enjoy and happy holidays!

You might also like:

• Green Gifts for Food-Lovers
• Gifts for Foodie Bookworms
• Gadgets, Gear & Gew-Gaws for Cooks
• Holiday Gift Guide - Food, Glorious Food!

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