TIP OF THE DAY: Autumn Chocolates

While Halloween chocolate is creeping into stores—chocolate ghosts, pumpkins, candy corn and other holiday specialties—you have a few weeks to enjoy some “autumn chocolate” until Halloween week. Until then, how about some “autumn chocolates” that are in chocolate shops until the Christmas flavors come in? Today, we feature two of our favorite chocolatiers, with very…
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Try Some Chocolate Dragées, A.K.A. Panned Confections

The original dragées* (drah-ZHAY) are sugar-coated almonds. Technically, the nuts are encapsulated in a hard-shell coating. English speakers call them Jordan almonds—not because they’re from Jordan (they’re from Spain). It’s a corruption of the French word for garden, jardin, which refers to the large variety of almonds). The almonds can also have a chocolate coating…
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PRODUCT: Burnt Caramel Chocolate “Cakes”

Here’s how to celebrate a chocolate lover’s special occasion: Send a box of cakes. Burnt caramel-filled chocolates decorated with cakes, that is. For years, San Francisco chocolatier Michael Recchiuti has featured the work of local artists on his acclaimed chocolate-covered burnt caramels (the caramel has a smokier flavor than conventional gourmet caramels). This special edition…
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