Our Top Pick Of The Week gets high points for innovation, flavor and beauty.

The clever folks at Topperfino have hand-crafted discs from premium Belgian chocolate, with a lovely assortment of designs. When a disc is placed atop a steaming cup of coffee or cocoa, the beverage transforms into a work of coffee art.

The thin disc then melts into the cup, releasing a captivating chocolate aroma and—oh, yes—adding chocolate flavor.

The best Topperfino experience is on a coffee with crèma on top, such as cappuccino or latte. But we tried it on everything, including plain coffee, hot milk and rooibos and chocolate tea blends. (Numi, Republic Of Tea and Zhena sell chocolate tea blends. Our favorite is Buccaneer from Serendipitea.)

And, per the company’s suggestion, it even works on a bowl of hot cereal (which might finally get the kids to eat their oatmeal and drink their milk).

Topperfino is a memorable gift for anyone who drinks coffee or hot chocolate, and will delight adults and kids alike. Each disk has just 25 calories, and you can skip the sugar so the calorie switch is even.

Gently place the Topperfino chocolate topper on top of your coffee cup and watch it melt into a creamy chocolate-y flavorful addition to your morning Joe!

 
YOUR CHOICE OF DARK OR MILK CHOCOLATE

Topperfino discs are made in dark chocolate in plain chocolate plus caramel, French vanilla and hazelnut, in more than a dozen designs. Milk chocolate toppers are available in caramel, French vanilla and hazelnut.

TOP PHOTO: Two different designs turn cups of coffee into art. BOTTOM PHOTO: Gift box. Photos courtesy Topperfino.

What are you waiting for? Get yours at Topperfino.com. Each box of 10 toppers is just $13.99. There’s free shipping with two boxes or more.

TIP: We used some aerosol whipped cream that made it easier to place the disc on the hot beverage. When your toppers arrive, you’ll see what we mean.

TRIVA: Topperfino happened ­by mistake! The inventor, an artist, loved to drink coffee with a bar of chocolate on the side (in France and Italy, a square of chocolate is oftened served with coffee). One morning, a piece of chocolate accidentally fell into his coffee and floated for a short time. The light bulb turned on. After countless tests, he created the unique blend of art and chocolate that he named Topperfino.

TOP PHOTO: Cut up the brownies, cheesecake and pumpkin, insert toothpicks, and everyone will enjoy dessert more by eating less. BOTTOM PHOTO: The photographers also cook. Take a look at their fruit and veggie-centric cookbook. Photos © WhiteOnRiceCouple.com.

You know how you feel at the end of the turkey course at Thanksgiving dinner: stuffed to the gills (although it seems that the expression should be adapted to “stuffed to the drumsticks”).

There’s still dessert to be had—delicious dessert(s) handmade with love. But no one really has room for a piece of pie or even that wonderful pumpkin cheesecake.

Here’s a solution we adapted after seeing this photo from WhiteOnRiceCouple.com.

The couple comprises Todd and Diane, top professional food photographers who cook at home when they aren’t shooting someone elses’s fare. They also grow vegetables and have almost 40 fruit trees in their garden.

And no surprise, they’ve written a cookbook, Bountiful, with each recipe featuring a vegetable or fruit as the star of the meal. You can also go to their website and sign up for social media posts. But back to the…
 
THANKSGIVING DESSERT STRATEGY

1. Make desserts that are dense enough to be cut into squares, like bar cookies (that’s the category* for brownies, lemon bars, etc.). Below are recipes for cranberry, pecan, pumpkin and pumpkin cheesecake bars.

2. Cut the bars into bite size squares, add a fancy toothpick and pass the plate. The theme: Enjoy dessert more by eating less. Even people who “can’t eat another bite” can have a satisfying bite or two. Everyone will thank you for coming up with such a smart solution.

 
THANKSGIVING DESSERT BAR RECIPES

If you don’t have sacrosanct holiday potato recipes, here are two outside-the-box ideas, one for mashed potatoes, one for sweet potatoes. Of course, they work on non-holidays, too. Both are from GoBoldWithButter.com, one of our go-to sites for delicious recipes.

RECIPE: BLUE CHEESE MASHED POTATOES

Butter, buttermilk and blue cheese give these mashed potatoes a rich, tangy flavor. Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 15 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 8 Servings

For lovers of blue cheese, this is potato heaven. Photo courtesy Go Bold With Butter.

2. HEAT the buttermilk and butter together in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling.

3. DRAIN the potatoes, return to the pot and warm over low heat for 1-2 minutes so the moisture evaporates. Use a ricer, potato masher or food mill to mash the potatoes.

4. STIR in the buttermilk mixture 1/3 cup at time, until the potatoes are the consistency you prefer. Stir in the crumbled blue cheese and chives, and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

5. TRANSFER to a a bowl and garnish with additional blue cheese and chives and serve hot.

RECIPE: THAI-INSPIRED SWEET POTATOES

These sweet potatoes are served in au gratin fashion, but baked in a butter sauce that’s infused with bright Thai flavors: chili sauce, fish sauce, garlic and ginger. Beyond the turkey, it goes well with everything: chicken, pork, beef and even fish.

The recipe, developed by Foodie Crush, couldn’t be simpler. The biggest challenge is to thinly cut the sweet potatoes at an even thickness, to ensure even cooking time.

If you’re hesitating about buying the Thai ingredients, they’re basic to most Thai recipes. They’ll inspire you to do more Thai cooking when the holidays are over.

Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 30 minutes.

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Layer the slices of sweet potatoes in a 9″x9″ or 8″x11″ baking dish.

2. MELT the butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Whisk in the honey. Add the fish sauce, chili sauce and soy sauce and pour over the potatoes.

3. BAKE for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with fork. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot.
  

For years, we’ve loved the designs of Elegant Cheesecakes,

Since 1988, Elegant Cheese Cakes has designed memorable wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and other special occasion delights. It was one of our Top Picks Of The Week ten years ago. We’ve been evangelists ever since.

Working in cheesecake, chocolate cake and other popular flavors, owner and pastry chef Susan Morgan and her team create masterpieces to look like whatever the client requires.

Burgers, cigar boxes, footballs, gift boxes tied with ribbon, guitars, handbags, jack-o-lanterns, miniature replicas of homes…no design is too intricate for these cake artisans.

Of course, more traditional shapes are also in the portfolio.

If you have a dream cake in mind, check out the ideas at ElegantCheeseCakes.com.

Our questions: Who ordered the angry turkey? And when do we get a slice?

TOP PHOTO: Edible chocolate box with bonbons from Charles Chocolates. SECOND PHOTO: Coco Puro’s chocolate-coated cacao beans. THIRD PHOTO: Ganache-filled bonbons from John & Kira’s. BOTTOM PHOTO: Calabacita figs filled with chocolate whiskey ganache from John & Kira’s.

We love putting together holiday gift lists, sharing our must-have favorites. The chocolate items here begin at $12. Items under $10 are on our Stocking Stuffers list, out later this week.

If you’re looking for kosher gifts, check out Li-Lac Chocolates, below.
CHARLES CHOCOLATES

Our favorite chocolate-covered nuts are from Charles Chocolates: Triple Chocolate Almonds, premium California almonds that are fresh-roasted, then coated in bittersweet and milk chocolates and dusted with cocoa powder. They’re also available in Mint Chocolate Almond and Triple Chocolate Hazelnut, 6.5 ounces for $12. Toffee Chocolate Macadamias are $15 for 6.3 ounces. An assortment of all four varieties is $46.

A memorable treat is the Edible Chocolate Box (top photo), filled with fleur de sel caramels, milk chocolate caramels and bittersweet peanut praliné butterflies. Seventeen ounces of chocolate, including the box, are $46.00.

Get yours at CharlesChocolates.com.
 
COCOA PURO

Kakawa Cocoa Beans (second photo) are a unique gift for the chocolate connoisseur: chocolate-covered cacao beans—the whole bean, not the nibs, which are the “seeds” of the bean.

The finest beans are roasted until crunchy, like coffee beans; then hand-enrobed in layers of white, milk and dark chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder. That’s five expressions of chocolate in one bite!

Kakawa is the Olmec word for cacao. The Olmecs were the first people to cultivate the cacao plant in Mesoamerica.

A 12-ounce bag is $28 at CocoaPuro.com.
 
JOHN & KIRA’S

Of all the wonderful choices at John & Kira’s, two are our favorites for holiday gifting:

The Winter Forest Collection (third photo) comprises three seasonal designs and bonbon flavors, all enrobed in a 62% Valrhona dark chocolate shell.

Snowcapped peak bonbons contain a crunchy hazelnut-almond praline center, crystalline snowflakes are filled with white chocolate mint ganache, and a starry night envelops vanilla-accented dark chocolate ganache.

Nine pieces in a handsome reusable box are $29.95 at JohnAndKiras.com.

Our perennial favorite are the Chocolate-Filled Figs With A Touch Of Whiskey (fourth photo). It’s become our annual treat to ourself, and truth be told, we buy two boxes (and have to restrain ourself from buying double that, and don’t share a single piece).

A treat for the refined palate, organic dried Calabacita figs are filled with a whiskey-infused Valrhona dark chocolate ganache; then hand-dipped in 62% dark chocolate and nestled in a handsome gift box.

Each bite becomes a treasured memory; and if you think we’re getting flowery here, just taste them! Get yours at JohnAndKiras.com. Twelve pieces are $38.50.

This French chocolate gift assortment contains a luscious mix of milk and dark chocolate squares filled with soft centers: caramels, chocolate fudge, French creams, hazelnut truffle squares, mocha, mousse, marzipan, and rum ganache. Inspired by European-style chocolates from the 1920s, we said “yum” out loud with every bite.

Twenty pieces in a handsome repurposable box, 8.5 ounces of chocolate are $28. Larger boxes—one pound, two pounds and three pounds—are also available. The line is certified kosher (dairy) by OU. Get them at Li-LacChocolates.com.
 
MAISON DU CHOCOLAT

The venerable Parisian chocolatier, with outposts in New York City, has created something truly special: the Sweet and Savoury Collection. For the connoisseur, these surprising pairings of chocolate and vegetables are quite wonderful (but do not count toward your daily portions of veggies).

The flavors include: dark ganache with Guérande sea salt, dark ganache with hot red pepper, ganache with balsamic caramelized onions, hazelnut praliné with porcini mushrooms and praliné with black olives and olive oil. These combinations may sound strange to most people; but for the true connoisseur, they are treasures.

TOP PHOTO: Wonderful French-style chocolates from Li-Lac. BOTTOM PHOTO: Savoury chocolates from Maison du Chocolat.

The Savoury Chocolate Collection can be enjoyed at any time of the day or night, but Master Chef Nicolas Cloiseau, who created the collection, enjoys it between the last course of dinner and dessert. Get yours at LaMaisonDuChocolat.us. There are two sizes, $24 and $36.
 
Almost all of these chocolatiers sell a variety of chocolates; so if you haven’t found what you’re looking for yet, browse their websites.