Will it be chocolate, fruit or cookie dough for Valentine’s Day?
Chocolate truffles from Midunu Chocolates
Four countries in West Africa — Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana — grow almost three-quarters of the cocoa beans used around the world, but we seldom see African chocolates available here. Chef Selassie Atadika, born in Ghana, changed that when she founded Midunu, her chocolate company highlighting African culture. Her creations are made in Ghana, from cocoa grown there, and incorporate the flavors of Africa. There is the almaz truffle, with heat from berbere. Thando truffles are flavored with honey and rooibos tea from South Africa. Kukua truffles are coated with moringa, a medicinal herb. Ishay truffles pair chocolate and curry. Each truffle comes decorated in designs reminiscent of African fabrics. One of the things we appreciated most is that these are not super sweet truffles, allowing the flavor of the chocolate, and the fillings, to shine through.
$24 per six-piece box, $42 per 12-piece box. Available at us.midunuchocolates.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Organic fruit Dino Bars
Sure, chocolate is traditional for Valentine’s Day, but we’re loving these bars made from wonderful combinations of fruit and whole grains, then packaged in edible paper — so, no sticky fingers! Jessica and Ian Saultz of Charleston, South Carolina-based Functional Food Co., created these as a way to provide healthy fruit snacks for their children. The edible paper is a genius move. The bars come in four flavors, each with a predominant fruit or vegetable mixed with pear and banana. There are bars featuring strawberry, mango, blueberry and — our favorite — purple sweet potato. Please don’t think these are just for kids. The packaging is adorable, but the bars would be a treat for anyone who wants a healthy snack, and the fact that they’re packed with vitamin C makes them a great thing to have around during cold and flu season. What a great Valentine gift!
$7.50 per sample box of three bars, $19.69 per box of nine bars. Available at dinobars.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Cookie dough hearts from Little GF Chefs
This Valentine treat is a fun do-it-yourself project, where the kit can be the gift, or your little chef can make cookie dough hearts to give to others. Order the gluten-free kit from Little GF Chefs and a tidy box will arrive with almost everything your child needs to make 30 cookie hearts. The only baking step is to heat the cookie dough in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes. This makes the flour and the cookie dough safe to consume uncooked. Then, add vanilla and vegan or dairy butter and milk to the ingredients in the kit, and your cookie dough is ready. Fill the hearts with dough, chill for 15 minutes, then pop them out and fill them once more. The sweet little silicone mold makes 15 hearts at a time. The hearts will keep, refrigerated, for up to three days, or can be frozen, if you need to keep them around a bit longer. The kit includes a tiny bag of pink, plant-based food coloring, white and milk chocolates for decorating the hearts, and a piping bag, so you can drizzle away.
$35 for the cookie dough hearts kit. Available at littlegfchefs.com.
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