While I was at the Fancy Food Show last month I saw that Brown & Haley (who make those Almond Rocas) had a large booth. It was devoted to the Rocas, which is natural for the crowd there. But their display case on one side caught my eye because it had a large pile of a Limited Edition Raspberry Mountain. (I hesitate to call them bars, as they fit into my category of “plops” instead.)

I looked around for a sample bin (but did eat a sample of the Candy Cane Roca while on my search), but when I couldn’t find one, I asked and they happily handed over one!

It’s not easy to find Brown Haley’s Mountain line in Los Angeles. In fact, the regular Mountain (see below) was purchased at Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC (even further from its spawning grounds). But I know that many Northwesters are in love with their indigenous candy, so it’s high time I covered it.

I have to admit that when the Raspberry Mountain came out of the package I had to giggle. It looks rather poop-like. However, it had the much more pleasant smell of raspberries and sugar. My first bite into it was all mockolate. It wasn’t until the second that I reached the raspberry center. It’s very berry, in fact one of the ingredients, after milk powder, is raspberries. There’s a little tang to the filling and it’s a rather smooth fondant type center that has a little gooey flow to it. The peanuts and mockolate weren’t doing much for it, so I confined my bites towards the end to getting as much filling as possible (yes, eating it from the bottom and leaving the peak).

As the Mountain line goes, this bar is a winner. It’s a flavor combo that you don’t often see and is far and away more satisfying than the regular Mountain ... however, the classic Mountain has very little going for it.

Before I finish this up I should say a little bit about the classic bar. Since the Mountain is made with partially hydrogenated fats instead of cocoa butter for the chocolate, it really never achieves a chocolatey texture or taste. It’s greasy and slightly slippery on the tongue as it melts. In the case of the classic bar, the center is simply a plain firm fondant (think of a flavorless York Peppermint Pattie). It is sweet though perhaps a little bland (but I enjoy that texture). The only thing that offsets the whole fakeness of it are the peanuts, which give it all a little crunch and texture.

There are two other versions of this bar, Peanut Butter (which I bought it was completely rancid and unworthy of even photographing) and Cherry (which we all know I’m not going to like). You can buy the Mountains via the Brown & Haley website (and at a really good price). As a regional bar with such a great history, I’d love to see them convert to real chocolate and really show us how good this combination can be.

Note: after this review I created a new category called “mockolate” so you can find all the fake goodies in one place.

Chocolove is the chocolate for lovers ... or the chocolate for chocolate lover, or something like that. Whatever or whomever you’re supposed to love, Chocolove has the tools. Each bar is wrapped like a mash note and a love poem inside the outer paper (this one was an excerpt from Dream Love by Christina Rossetti).

Nothing says deep infatuation than Chocolove’s Strong Dark Belgian 70% dark chocolate.

The bar itself is a wonderful testament to true love: it’s glossy smooth but has bumps. The scent is a heavenly mix of the woodsy and smoky chocolate flavors as well as a hint of rum. There’s no vanilla in this bar, it’s all chocolate and sugar. The melt on the tongue is smooth (the little domed piece fits really well in the roof of the mouth for maximum comfort during meltage).

It’s very buttery and has some nice dark notes to ... a little coffee but mostly just that quintissential chocolate flavor.

It’s an easy last minute gift for someone you care about ... already wrapped. They have a pretty large selection of bars, most are sold at Whole Foods, Cost Plus World Market and Target. Much better than a greeting card. They also have a limited edition Dark Chocolate with Cherries and Chilis that’s sold only at Whole Foods. I tried it at the Fancy Food Expo and though it was very interesting, the cherries weren’t really my friends. (But if you like cherries, it’s a worthy bar to give a try.)

I knew you were a dark-leaning bunch, but I had no idea.

As for me, I think I’m an equal opportunity indulger. I like to think that dark makes me look intelligent and sophisticated, but sometimes I want the sweet, creamy rush of milk chocolate. And then there are those unknown cravings for the vapid indulgence of all sugar and fat in white chocolate. Good thing we have so many choices.

When it comes to fine chocolates such as truffles, there’s nothing like dark. But then as a block for plain old eating, milk fits the bill. I usually leave boxed chocolates covered in milk for last.

This, I think, is the last of the candy I picked up on sale after Christmas. This was from Target during their 75% off phase. While I wouldn’t pay $8.00 for it, I was happy to pay $2, if only because I thought the jar was pretty cool. (Real glass jar, but the lid is clear plastic with a stainless steel rim.)

Peanut Butter Caramels candy, I figured, would be rather like the molasses peanut butter kisses that I like (and so many others loathe) that are sold around Halloween in orange and black waxed wrappers.

What’s especially pleasing about these is that instead of being wrapped in an opaque colored wrapper, these are in clear cellophane. You can see just what they are, a big O of caramel filled with a little spot of peanut butter.

It smells like peanut butter and tastes like it too, with a good salty, woodsy, nutty, creamy flavor ... and after you chew for a while the peanut butter dissipates and the soft chewy caramel with its buttery and caramelized sugar tones kick in.

I liked them. I like the simplicity of them, I liked the packaging. The ingredients were all natural. I loved the price. I might pay $4 for these, but I truly doubt I’d take the plunge at $8.

ALLERGEN STATEMENT [from the package]: this product may contain or have proteins derived from milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and/or soybeans.  (emphasis mine) ... wow, talk about covering your bases! (And maybe they need to keep their factory a bit cleaner!)

I don’t actually have much to say about these Marshmallow Hearts except that I was surprised and pleased, especially after the tragically untasty experience of the SpongeBob SquarePants Yogurt Covered Raisins last week (also made by Frankford).

I didn’t realize that these were made by the same company, which is probably a good thing. And now Frankford has redeemed itself in my book and is no longer a “bad candymaker” and only an “uneven candymaker” ... one more in either direction and my opinion will be cemented.

One of the best things about these marshmallows was the price: 79 cents on sale. This makes them, per ounce, about the same price as Jet Puffed, but far cuter.

I’m not a huge consumer of plain marshmallows, but I have to say that these are adorable and just the right size (about 2/3 the size of a regular marshmallow). A few of these floating at the top of a cup of hot cocoa seems like it’d be a nice way for a parent to give some unconditional love or a sweetheart to give you a little unexpected treat.

They’re vanilla flavored, not strawberry (as I feared before I read the package). They are pink on the outside, so there is some food coloring in there, and yes, it does have a slight bitter aftertaste for me. If you’re not one who’s prone to that, then hey, no problem for you. I didn’t notice it at all when combined with hot cocoa, just when eating them by themselves. I preferred them a little stale, so they were chewy on the outside but still soft inside.

Note: Made in Israel ... however the package doesn’t rate them as Kosher.