My February Box from Knoshy is Here!

My box from Knoshy actually arrived a few days ago.  This month’s theme is “Movie Night” and while I love the theme … some of the items in the box are curious choices for the theme.  I can see the connection with two of the items … the other two have left me wondering!

The first item that makes sense to me:  Parmesan & Rosemary flavored Microwave Popcorn from Quinn Popcorn.  I mean, who doesn’t want popcorn when watching a movie?  I’ve tried the Vermont Maple & Sea Salt Popcorn from this company, so I was really excited to try this flavor.

The second item that makes sense:  Pop Corn Pop chocolate bar from Chuao Chocolate.  Again … popcorn!  And of course, a candy bar is always a welcome treat at the movies!  I’ve tried at least one or two flavors from Chuao Chocolatier, and they are the producers of one of my very favorite chocolate bars (the firecracker bar!) so I’m thrilled to be able to try something else from them.

The next item in the box is a Basket o’ Marionberries from Willamette Valley Confectionery.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I LOVE these things.  I’ve tried them before, and I was thrilled to find them in my box this month, but, what do they have to do with Movie Night?  I guess candy is something yummy to eat at the movies?  I don’t really get a clear connection, but I’m happy to be have these yummy confections again, so I’m not complaining.

The last item in this month’s box is a “footlong” marshmallow from Quin Candy.  The flavor of the marshmallow is Water Avenue Coffee – meh.  OK.  I’m not a fan of coffee, and I don’t get how a coffee flavored marshmallow has any connection with Movie Night at all.  After perusing the Quin Candy website (I love that this company is LOCAL!) I found a couple of candies that would be more in keeping with the Movie Night Theme, like perhaps Cherry Cola Gumdrops (soft drink at the movies?  Yes!  Coffee at the movies?  No!)  or how about Popcorn Caramels?  (Yeah, it would be probably really beating the popcorn thing into the ground.)

Oh well, I like hand crafted marshmallows, so I’ll give ’em a try.  A coffee flavored marshmallow should be tasty in a hot chocolate, right?  And I’m really excited about the other products in this month’s box!

Peppermint Marshmallows from Wondermade

Photo From Wondermade.
Click on the Pic to go there.

About Wondermade:

Every box of Wondermade marshmallows is handcrafted and taste great right out of the box. You can also drop a few in a cup of hot chocolate, melt them on top of baking brownies, or toast them on a skewer or in a s’mores.

I received these Marshmallows as part of the Christmas Set available from Wondermade.

What I Think:

These are my last marshmallows from the Wondermade Christmas box.  I saved the best for last!  These were my favorite marshmallows from this package.

These are extraordinarily minty.  I can definitely taste the menthol here!  They’re very cool and refreshing and YUMMY!  They’re delicious when eaten right out of the box (I love the little boxes in which these little bite sized marshmallows are packaged!) and they add a wonderful minty flavor to a cup of hot chocolate!

My Final Thoughts:

Yum!  I love Wondermade.  Yeah … I still love that other marshmallow company too.  I just have two favorites now.

Honey Flavored Marshmallows from Wondermade

Photo From Wondermade.
Click on the Pic to go there.

About Wondermade:

Every box of Wondermade marshmallows is handcrafted and taste great right out of the box. You can also drop a few in a cup of hot chocolate, melt them on top of baking brownies, or toast them on a skewer or in a s’mores.

I received these Marshmallows as part of the Christmas Set available from Wondermade.

What I Think:

After my first bite, I couldn’t really taste much honey-like flavor.  It wasn’t until the aftertaste that the honey really came through.  After that, the honey was very prominent – so I guess it would be fair to describe the flavor as one that develops.  One is not enough of this particular marshmallow (seldom is one marshmallow enough when you’re talking about homemade marshmallows!)

Tasty.  I found these to be particularly nice in hot chocolate, and I mixed them with the Bourbon marshmallows (one honey and one bourbon) in the hot chocolate to give a honeyed bourbon taste that was really quite tasty.

My Final Thoughts:

Of the four boxes of marshmallows in the Christmas set, this was my least favorite and it’s the main reason that I bought the set because I had never tried a “honey” marshmallow.  That said … it’s still a really tasty marshmallow and I’m not at all disappointed that I bought the set of four flavors.  I love everything about Wondermade Marshmallows – I love the size, I love the packaging, and most importantly – I LOVE the marshmallow itself.  So yummy!

Sugar Cookie Marshmallows from Wondermade

Product Information:

What would Christmas be without sugar cookies? We’ve sugar cookied our marshmallows so you can sugar cookie your tea, your hot chocolate or just your afternoon snacks.

What I Think:

As you might remember, I was introduced to this handmade marshmallow company by Knoshy in my November Knoshbox.  After visiting the Wondermade website, I decided I had to try their Christmas Gift Set of Marshmallows, which includes their Bourbon flavored Marshmallows, Honey flavored Marshmallows (which is only available in this Christmas set), Peppermint flavored Marshmallows, and these Sugar Cookie flavored Marshmallows.

These … are amazing.  They taste like marshmallows, of course, but I can definitely taste the sugar cookie element too.  I can taste a cookie dough-like flavor.  It’s not a strong, overwhelming presence, but its there.

The marshmallow itself tastes like a vanilla marshmallow.  Like what we think of when we think “marshmallow,” but with the added dimension of sugar cookie-ish flavor.  YUM!

And of course, the marshmallow is infinitely better than anything you’ll ever taste from a supermarket.  Trust me, if you haven’t yet tried a homemade marshmallow, once you do try one, you’ll never go back to the mass-produced stuff they sell in the grocery store!

My Final Thoughts:

These are delicious right out of the package.  That’s how I ate my first few … but then I made myself stop and save the rest for a cup of hot chocolate. They make a good, steaming cup of hot cocoa taste even better, and I was surprised that I could even taste the sugar cookie-ness of these when they were submerged in the hot chocolate!  It’s certainly more subdued in the presence of the chocolate, but, the flavor does come through.  YUM!

Bourbon Marshmallows from Wondermade

Photo from Knoshbox.
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Information:

These could be our favorite new product of the year. These delicate morsels are crafted with pure Maker’s Mark Bourbon and exhibit notes of wood, vanilla and oak. Each box contains 16 marshmallows, a perfect amount for eating.

I received a box of these amazing marshmallows in my November Knoshbox!

What I Think:

For quite a while now, I have sung the praises of a certain marshmallow making company, so please don’t take this review as my way of changing “favorites.”  I still love that company, but I think there’s room enough at the top for two marshmallow favorites.

These marshmallows are amazing.  As in … they are SO GOOD.  They are fluffy and chewy and sweet.  And I can definitely taste the bourbon in them.  I could even smell the bourbon when I opened the package.  I’ve never been big on alcoholic beverages (as I’ve said before, I’m more like a TeaTotaler!  ha!) but I like the contrast of the flavor of bourbon with the marshmallow sweetness.  It’s like a sweet confection that’s just for adults.

And it isn’t just the flavor that I love … I love the size of the marshmallows (bite size!), I love the packaging (the box is adorable, isn’t it?) and I love the variety of flavors that Wondermade offers (I think I’m going to have to this Christmas Pack before the holiday arrives as a special Merry Christmas to me!)

My Final Thoughts:

I love these marshmallows.  I’m so happy that Knoshbox put them in the November box!  These taste amazing as a topper for hot chocolate or for sweet potatoes, and they’re delightful eaten on their own.  If you have a soft spot for homemade marshmallows, you’ve got to try these.

S’more Cookie from S’more Bakery

Photo from Knoshbox
Click on the pic to go there

Product Description:

These all-in-one s’more cookies are hand made by S’more Bakery of New York City. Semisweet chocolate chunks, handmade vanilla bean marshmallows and rolled oats come together to create a delicious thin and crispy cookie.

Made with unbleached all purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, old fashioned oats, unsalted butter, pure vanilla extract. Due to the delicate nature of these crispy cookies, some breakage may occur during shipping.

I received this S’more Cookie in my July Knoshbox!

Tea Suggestion:

When I grabbed this S’more Cookie, I was already sipping on a Chai Latte!  I made a rich, delicious Chai with this Strong Brew Chai concentrate from Chico Chai!  I am sure I could have found a more suitable pairing in my cupboard, but I love this chai, and the cookie was delicious with it. YUM!

What I Think:

My cookies out of the package …
broken and crumbly … but still yummy!

I was a bit disappointed when I opened my July Knoshbox and found this cookie broken into bits with quite a few tiny crumbs at the bottom of the package.  I know that the cookie tastes the same whether it’s broken or whole … but let’s face it, if presented with a platter of cookies, most of the time you’re likely to choose a whole cookie rather than a broken one, am I right?  Whole cookies are more fun to eat.  That’s my story and i’m sticking to it.

Before reading the above product description and before opening the package, I expected that this would be a thick, soft cookie, but it isn’t.  This is a thin, sort of crispy cookie.  I say “sort of” because even though it’s been baked to be crisp, the chewy marshmallow-y aspect of the S’more cookie gives it a compelling chewy texture.  The so it is crisp when you bite into it, and then it becomes chewy as you chew.

These are actually quite tasty.  They are chocolate-y and I can taste the oats, and I like the cocoa and oats combination.  On the rare occasion that I bake oatmeal cookies, I usually prefer chocolate chips to raisins, so the chocolate and oats combination is a welcome pairing.  The marshmallow is not so much “tasted” as it is experienced in the cookie.  The aforementioned chewiness gives this treat a very intriguing texture.  There is also a LOT of butter in this cookie.  Not complaining about that … I like a buttery cookie.

My Final Thoughts:

This is not so much a s’more taste to me as it is a chocolate and oat cookie, so therefore I feel like these cookies suffer from a bit of a misnomer.  People who might buy this thinking they’re going to be eating a s’more are in for a bit of a surprise.  I expected more of a s’more-like taste but it is still really delicious and something that I’d be happy to eat again.

July’s Knoshbox

Almost caught up … I can feel myself reaching the finish line… well … I’m almost caught up with the box reviews … as for the individual reviews … that almost seems like a losing battle.  ha!

July’s Knoshbox was just a wee bit disappointing for my adventurous side, because there were a couple of products in this box that I’ve already sampled and reviewed.  (To read my reviews of these products, just click on the name of the product.)

There are two samples of Sir Kensington’s Ketchup:  Original Gourmet Scooping Ketchup and the Spiced Gourmet Scooping Ketchup.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to be getting more of this ketchup because I love the stuff … but, I’m already a customer of Sir Kensington’s and have been ordering directly from them for a while now.

Then there are the Elephant Ear Marshmallows from 240Sweet.  Again … happy to be able to consume these again, but, I’ve already tried this flavor!  I would have loved to get a flavor I haven’t tried from them yet.

Oh well, the box isn’t a total loss … because there are some worthy products that I look forward to trying, including the Toasted Sesame Seed crackers from Castleton Crackers.  These are graham crackers!  Having tried Castleton Crackers previously, I’m thrilled to be able to try another variety from this company.

Also in this box there is a bag of Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips from North Fork and a huge S’more cookie from S’more Bakery.  Unfortunately, my cookie got smashed in transit.  Hopefully it will still taste yummy!

I’ll be sure to post reviews of the three items I’ve not yet tried from this box soon!

Baconery Sampler Pack, Part 2

In my last article about the Baconery Sampler Pack, I talked about the cookies that were in the sampler pack.  Now, I’m going to talk about the “Rest” … the other items that were in the sampler pack:  The  Bacon Brownie, the Maple Bacon Blondie, and the Bacon Marshmallow Bars.

Click on the logo to go to baconery.com

What I Think:

Of these three remaining goodies in the Baconery Sampler Pack, my favorite of the three is definitely the maple bacon blondie, and I can’t tell you how much it pains me – as a chocoholic – to say that.   It almost feels blasphemous.  But, somehow, this dense treat captured the flavor of the bacon perfectly.  I could taste the maple and the salty bacon.  This blondie makes the whole sampler pack worthwhile!  If I ever DO become a repeat customer of the Baconery, the Maple Bacon Blondie is the first thing going into my cart!

The Bacon Brownie was more chocolate-y fudge Brownie than it was bacon.  Every other bite or so, I’d discover some bacon, and it added a chewy texture and certainly some bacon-y taste to the bite, but again, I find myself wanting more from something called “Bacon Brownie.”  Even though I’d get some of that chewy texture, I didn’t get a strong bacon flavor along with it.  I do really like it when I find the bacon, and I love the flavor it adds to the brownie.  I’m just wishing there was more of the bacon flavor.

On the plus side, these brownies are fairly decent sized – they look as though they baked in their own, small individual pan and I like that because it means more of those slightly crispy edges.  The brownies are nice and fudge-y in the middle, but not the dense, moist kind of fudge-y… more like a moist, fudge-y cake-like brownie.  The same is true of the blondies, these were baked in the same, small, individual pan.

The marshmallow treats were more of a chocolate-y marshmallow treat, and less of a bacon-y one.  Sure, it was delicious, but, I think that the flavor of the bacon got a little lost amid the flavor of the marshmallow and the rice cereal and the chocolate.  These three flavors reigned which left very little room for the bacon flavor to shine through.  Again, a tasty treat, but this isn’t going to be one that I’d be willing to pay the hefty price of shipping that Baconery charges to get more.

My Final Thoughts:

I think that my experiences with the ‘rest’ of the Sampler Pack were better than with the cookies, if for no other reason than the fact that these treats tasted fresher than the cookies did, and I absolutely loved the Maple Bacon Blondie.  My favorite treat of them all, and probably redeemed the Sampler Pack somewhat to me.  Next time (if there is a next time!) I will forgo the Sampler all together in favor of a six pack of the blondies.  And I must admit, I am a wee bit tempted by the Bacon Pecan Pie.  Does that sound amazing or what?

Avocado & Lime Marshmallows from 240Sweet

Product Description:

Fresh avocados and lime juice give these zing

Learn more about 240Sweet on their website.

Tea Suggestion:

Because these marshmallows offer such a delightful lime taste, I thought that I’d go with a pure green tea so that they could compliment each other.  I chose this Huang Shan Hair Tip from Arbor Teas … the pleasing vegetative tones allowed some of the avacado notes to express themselves a little better than without the tea, which I really appreciated, and the lime brightened up my tea time!

What I Think:

When I placed my most recent order with 240Sweet, I ordered the Chai Spice Marshmallows (of course, I love Chai!) and the Sweet Potato & Ginger and these Avocado & Lime Marshmallows.  I ordered the Chai because … well, as I said, I love Chai.  But I added the other two to the order out of curiosity.  I mean, really … avocado?  and Lime???  In a marshmallow?

I expected these to look a bit more green than they do, but I guess I can understand why they might not have wanted them to look green … it could easily be misconstrued as possibly moldy.  I also expected a bit more avocado flavor to these … what I taste primarily is the lime.  These are sweet from the marshmallow and tangy from the lime.

These actually may just be one of my favorite flavors from 240Sweet yet!  While I am a little sad that I don’t taste avocado here, the way the lime and the marshmallow balance each other out more than makes up for the lack of avocado.  The pucker-y tartness of the lime is mellowed out by the sweetness of the marshmallow, and the sometimes cloying sweetness of the marshmallow is tapered by the tangy lime notes.  This is one of the best balanced marshmallows I’ve ever eaten!

My Final Thoughts:

I haven’t really ever made it any kind of secret that I have mad love for 240Sweet.  Their marshmallows rock my world!

So what’s next on my list as far as 240Sweet goes?  Well, I have the Bourbon Sugar Bourbon marshmallows from my Knoshbox still to try.  I’m thinking about saving them until I have a chance to stoke up a fire in the fireplace because I’m thinking that these are going to be amazing roasted.   But, the next time I order from 240Sweet, I think I want to try their Bourbon Sugar Churro with Cajeta, and the pumpkin pecan sounds amazing too.  Maybe I’m going to have to place an order with them sooner than I thought, because I have a feeling that the pumpkin pecan isn’t going to be around much longer … it’s kind of a seasonal thing, right?   Oh… and I definitely need to try their Bananas Foster!

Sweet Potato & Ginger Marshmallows from 240Sweet

These unique puffs are described as simply

A fall favorite

240Sweet Marshmallows are available on the 240Sweet website.

Tea Suggestion:

When they’re not serving as a fluffy, delicious cap to my hot cocoa, I usually prefer to eat marshmallows with a cup of hot tea.  However, the heat from the ginger on these gives me cause to want something that is easy to “chug” … lest I need to cool the palate immediately.  So I chose a white tea because even when served hot, I prepare it at a cooler temperature than I do other tea types, and white tea tends to offer the body and palate cooling properties.  I chose this amazing Organic White Tea from Steenbergs Organics.  The sweet, crisp flavor of the tea offered lovely refreshment from these deliciously sweet yet spicy puffs.

What I Think:

I think I may have mentioned before that 240Sweet makes my favorite marshmallows.  And it’s not just because the marshmallows are huge and fluffy and perfectly sweet.  It’s not just because 240Sweet has managed to create works of art with their marshmallows.  Sure, these reasons factor in to why I love these marshmallows so much, but there’s something more to it too.

It’s their gutsy approach to marshmallows.  They’re not afraid to get ballsy with their marshmallows and put flavors in them.  They’re not content with just letting a marshmallow be a simple little puff of sugary sweet goodness.  I mean, seriously, who ELSE would think to put SWEET POTATO flavor in a marshmallow, encrust it with crunchy, candied GINGER and turn those simple little puffs (or in this case … HUGE puffs) into spicy, savory, sweet bits of culinary joy?

Oh.  My.  Goodness!  These are amazing.  So yummy!

These puffs evoke thoughts of Thanksgiving dinner when I was a child (which is why I chose to schedule this review for Thanksgiving) … My stepmother would always make sweet potato casserole.  And this puff is very much like that sweet potato casserole, only BETTER because first of all, it’s a confection and so it’s OK that this is sweet.  (Now that I’m grown I’m a little disappointed that the delicious flavor of the sweet potato was masked by all that sugar and stale, commercially manufactured marshmallow)  Second … the ginger on this gives it a fiery heat that my stepmother could never duplicate (she had no clue when it came to spices).

The sweet potato flavor is IN the marshmallow itself.  However, if you want to taste the sweet potato flavor, you need to be sure that you bite into a bit of the marshmallow that is not studded with the crystallized ginger.  Otherwise, what you’ll taste is mostly spicy-hot ginger.  The sweet potato flavor is overwhelmed by the ginger when you bite into the ginger … but when you take a bite into just the marshmallow, you can taste the creamy marshmallow and the sweet, savory taste of the sweet potato.   I like to alternate bites, eating some of the puff without the ginger.  Its sweet and savory, the sweet potato adds such an interesting flavor to the marshmallow.   Then I like taking a bite with the ginger and POW!  It’s like a spicy kick in the mouth!

My Final Thoughts:

I wanted to try these because they sounded so unique (come on… sweet potato flavor in a marshmallow?  Aren’t you at least a little bit intrigued?) and I’m really glad I did.  I love the contrast of flavors and textures that these puffs provide.  A lovely autumnal treat!