Tell every bacon addict with a sweet tooth about the Pig Out! package from Roni~Sue Chocolates: an assortment of bacon candy for $30.00 that includes:

Our favorite is the caramel corn—it’s light and crunchy and difficult to put down. But all three bacony treats will make a bacon lover squeal.

Bacon Toffee has the usual elements—plus
small pieces of smoky bacon mixed in with
the nuts. Photo by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE.

The Barefoot Contessa’s “French Bark,” called
a mendiant in French. Photo by Hannah
Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Fans of Ina Garten and dark chocolate may wish to check out the Barefoot Contessa’s new line of sweet treats:

Find Barefoot Contessa products at StonewallKitchen.com. Chocolate lovers are invited to take a look at more of our favorite:

Fine chocolate is far too sensitive to be stored in a refrigerator: It absorbs odors and reacts to changes in temperature. Moving from cold to warm and back again can cause chocolate to develop a grayish-white “bloom” on the surface (that’s the cocoa butter separating out from the chocolate). It still tastes fine, but it mars the appearance. Find a cool place to store chocolate (the ideal place for both temperature and humidity is a wine storage unit). The best advice is not to buy more filled chocolates or truffles than you’ll eat in a week; and if you’re given a large box, don’t hoard it, share it. The finest chocolates are made without preservatives and should be consumed within two weeks. They’ll still be edible in a month, but the fillings will have started to break down and won’t be as flavorful. Beyond that, the flavor does begin to decline. Plain chocolate bars with no filling or nuts can stay fresh for a year or more, wrapped well in foil and kept in the right “wine refrigerator” environment.

We know it’s fall when we receive our John & Kira’s chocolate catalog with photos of their exquisite Calabacita Figs—a perennial NIBBLE favorite and Top Pick Of The Week. This is an exquisite gift for your favorite connoisseur. The bite-size, organic Spanish figs are filled with silky Valhrona chocolate ganache highlighted with a touch of whiskey, then hand-dipped in 58% cacao Valrhona and tucked into a reusable wood box for beautiful gift-giving.

We use the word “perfect” a lot, but in our book, there’s nothing more perfect than serving these at the end of dinner with coffee or an after-dinner brandy or whiskey (try a smooth Irish whiskey like Jameson or Tullamore Dew). The only problem is our desire to eat the entire box; others may be able to restrain themselves by enjoying one at a time.

Buy them at JohnAndKiras.com, 1.800.747.4808.

White chocolate-covered figs are also
available in dark chocolate. Photo courtesy of John & Kira’s.

Dove Promises bite-size chocolates have an inspirational message inside each piece (though it’s no excuse to keep eating them “just for the inspiration”).

This fall, the bite-size treats are even more inspiring. The chocolates’ producer, Mars Snackfood, has teamed up with Susan G. Komen For The Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors, to raise breast cancer awareness.

In a special-edition Dove Promises of Hope, Dove has printed messages from breast cancer survivors on the inside of the wrappers to support others battling breast cancer (see photo at right).

Promises of Hope in both milk and dark chocolate bags are now available in select retail stores nationwide. The suggested retail price is $4.49 per 9.5-ounce bag. A serving size can get you through the day with five delicious pieces of chocolate—and five inspirational messages.

Enjoy chocolate and inspiration. Photo by
Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Today is White Chocolate Day, but did you know that is only since 2002 that the FDA classified this ivory delight as chocolate? Because white chocolate contains no cocoa solids, it used to be classified with the chalk-white product called “confectionary coating,” which is made with cheaper vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter—and in our opinion, doesn’t taste so terrific. (If you think you don’t like white chocolate, you may have been eating confectionary coating.) The FDA finally agreed that the cocoa butter qualified it as true chocolate (the other components are milk, sweetener such as sugar and vanilla, plus a dab of lecithin as an emulsifier).

The peanut butter flavor in Dove’s new candy dominates over the chocolate.

“A special moment deserves a special chocolate,” states the PROMISES candy wrapper we’ve just plucked from the bag of Dove’s new Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate bite-sized candies. That special moment is now. There were also two special moments a few minutes ago, and we have a feeling we’ll be looking for excuses to have special moments all day—or as long as our bag of peanut butter chocolates lasts. (There is also a 3.5-ounce chocolate bar, and both are available in dark chocolate as well as milk chocolate. PB follows Dove Caramel PROMISES, with a creamy caramel center)

We’ve always been a fan of Dove chocolates, and especially love nibbling on their dark chocolate bites as a light, yet oh-so-satisfying dessert after dinner. It’s also the perfect accompaniment to a coffee break, or a low-calorie sweet treat whenever you need one (55 calories for two pieces).

So it was no surprise that there was a mad dash in THE NIBBLE offices to try the new flavor. The candies have just enough smooth chocolate to encase the creamy, peanut butter middle, which makes them different from that other popular brand of chocolate-covered PB candy. There, you taste more chocolate than PB. Here, the PB flavor soars.

Each individual piece and bar also comes with an encouraging PROMISE message inside the wrapper, urging us to feel good about ourselves, expand our horizons or just plain enjoy life. We, however, need no inspiration beyond spying a piece of orange-foil-wrapped chocolate still in the bag.

By the way, if you have an upcoming special occasion—birthday party, shower or anything where the attendees like to eat chocolate—Dove will personalize the message inside the wrapper for you. Visit MyDoveChocolate.com.

In these days of burgeoning same sex marriages and commitment ceremonies, no one makes more delicious cake toppers than NYC chocolatier Martine Leventer, a pioneer in edible cake toppers. After all, floral cake toppers die, and who needs to stumble across a dusty ceramic cake topper in the attic in 10 years? If it’s fine handmade Belgian chocolate, you can enjoy it when you get back from the honeymoon!

The wedding cake toppers stand about 4½” tall, in dark, milk or white chocolate. There are suave grooms in tuxedos and sleek brides in slim runway gowns (chocolate), at $25 per pair. If your brides are old-fashioned, there are “Classic Romantic Brides” in billowing wedding gowns at $35 per pair (more chocolate!). In either style, the gown and bouquet (or tux and boutonniere) can be custom-colored to match the theme of the ceremony. You can buy just one, of course.

Even if no one is marching down the aisle, these cake toppers are charming gifts for committed same-sex couples. You can order them online or by phone; or if you’re in New York City, visit Martine at 400 East 82nd Street (right off 1st Avenue) or her boutique at Bloomingdale’s, 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. Or head directly to MartinesChocolates.com.

Here come the grooms—and they’re delicious!

New in the Reese’s PB Cup line-up: Reese’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Now, dark chocolate fans can have their Reese’s peanut butter sweet treat wrapped in 50% cacao semisweet chocolate. The dark chocolate peanut butter cups can be found at mass, grocery, drug and convenience stores in standard 2-cup packages, 6-packs and Reese’s Miniatures Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (so you can enjoy them one nibble at a time).

You can even enjoy them calorie-free, by creating and emailing your own Reese’s PB Cup ad, as we did, at the right.

Enjoy PB Cups calorie-free: Send e-cards to your friends.

If you regularly buy organic chocolate, you’ve probably tried Green & Black’s. If you’re not “experienced” with G&B’s, you’re in luck: The line is widely available at retail as well as online. The U.K.-based company was a pioneer in the organic chocolate space, the world’s first organic, Fair Trade chocolate company. It has helped the cacao farmers of Belize stay on their farms and do what they love—grow cacao—instead of taking city jobs to support their families. Green & Black’s has proved that a company can be committed to environmental sustainability and Fair Trade prices, and still make a tidy profit. In fact, Green & Black’s organic chocolate is the U.K.’s fastest-growing confectionary brand, which prompted corporate giant Cadbury Schweppes to purchase Green & Black’s, in which it had a small stake, in May 2005.

Most of Green & Black’s bars are flavored, with four notable exceptions: two darks, a milk and a white. What we like most about G&B’s bars is that the flavors are never coy on the palate; they’re strong and forthright, demanding your attention with every bite. Read the full review for more about Green & Black’s chocolate bars—available in 13 varieties.

If you are a fan of dark chocolate, then you’ll fall in love with G&B’s 70% Dark Chocolate bar.