Upcoming holidays give us permission (as if we needed it) to indulge in luscious chocolate. One for you, one as a hostess gift, one for your family.
Advent Calendar from Chamberlain’s Chocolate
Advent calendars are a charming tradition. A chance for a small surprise in the 24 days of Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas. The handcrafted wooden Advent calendar from Roswell-based Chamberlain’s Chocolates is a charming Kurt Adler Original Santa’s house. Each day you can open one tiny drawer with its miniature knob and find a chocolate surprise, each one different. There’s a list of the contents on the back for those who just have to peek ahead. Enjoy the keepsake house this year, then next year fill the drawers with a refill kit of more chocolates made by the O’Neill family. The family is also happy to help with special requests. No nuts? All milk chocolate? All white chocolate? They can make it happen. There’s a smaller Christmas tree calendar with a special surprise. Open each drawer and savor the chocolate, then turn the drawer around and the back forms part of a Christmas picture, revealed when all the candy has been enjoyed.
$54 for the keepsake Advent calendar, $39 for the Christmas tree calendar. Available at Chamberlain's Chocolates, 1575 Old Alabama Road, Roswell or online at chamberlainschocolate.com/.
Purposeful Chocolate (and Popcorn) from Meals on Wheels Atlanta
Last year Meals on Wheels Atlanta worked with chef Robert Gerstenecker to create two varieties of Purposeful Pecans (Sweet with Heat and Cinnamon Star Anise). The collaboration was so successful in raising funds for the organization that this year they’ve expanded the brand to create “Purposeful Gourmet Foods.” There’s Purposeful Chocolate (a 72 percent dark chocolate bar from Athens-based Condor Chocolates sprinkled with Bull’s Bay smoked sea salt) and Purposeful Popcorn (sea salt caramel popcorn with white and dark chocolate drizzle made in partnership with Atlanta’s Caja popcorn). You can buy these individually or in holiday boxes that also include the pecans. We love everything about these new items. The bar with its high quality chocolate and smoked sea salt is a totally modern treat. And the popcorn? It’s absolutely addictive. Best of all, all of the proceeds from the sales of these treats go to Meals on Wheels Atlanta meal services.
$10 per 2.29-ounce chocolate bar, $10 per 6-ounce bag of popcorn, $22 per 15-ounce popcorn tin. All wrapped, shipped and delivered free in the Atlanta area and available at mowatl.org/ or at the pop-up shop at the Meals on Wheels Atlanta lobby, 1705 Commerce Drive NW, Atlanta.
Credit: Chelsea Richardson
Credit: Chelsea Richardson
Advent Calendar from JARDI Chocolates
Jocelyn Gragg’s Advent calendar includes 24 chocolates with a different flavor in each little drawer. You can be surprised, or you can sneak a peek at the list on the back to see what you’re savoring right then and what’s to come. Holiday themed flavors this year include Spiced Blood Orange, Gingerbread and Southern Eggnog. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America and almost five years of working in fine dining, Gragg opened JARDI Chocolates in 2015.She brings her pastry chef sensibility and training to the hand painted truffles she creates in her Chamblee workshop.
$65. Available for pre-order now with shipping beginning November 18. Or pick up an Advent calendar at JARDI Chocolates open house, Saturday, November 30, 1 - 8 p.m. Enjoy tours of the production space, d refreshments and make purchases at the gift shop. JARDI Chocolates, 3400 West Hospital Avenue, Chamblee. jardichocolates.com/
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