Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Ferrara Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti

imageI literally stopped in my tracks at the Fancy Food Show in January when I saw that Ferrara Pan had a booth. While I love their Atomic Fireballs and Lemonheads, there’s no way they can be considered “fancy.” Little did I know that Ferrara was actually making fancy candy!

They were at the show to introduce their new chocolate panned line which starts with five products: Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti, Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds, Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds, Chocolate Covered Mixed Nuts (Macadamias, Cashews & Pistachios) and Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans.

I was drawn to one of the more unique items in the line for my first experience with their chocolate: Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti.

The box is hexagonal in gold foil with an attractive but simple design to it. I finally saw them in the grocery store (for $3.99 for a 6.25 ounce box) which is usually my signal to get it up on the blog.

image

Inside the box is a heavy plastic pouch in a similar but matte gold color.

When I cut it open I was met with a nice smoky sweet aroma of coffee, vanilla and cocoa.

The bits are little dome shaped, shiny dark chocolate nuggets. They’re about the size of a garbanzo bean or hazelnut.

I ate a few when I took the photos and thought they were a little odd, a little bitter, a little gritty.

Then I read the box (which, you know, I probably should) and found out what that was:

Our enticing Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti delivers an indulgent chocolate experience with cappuccino-infused biscotti drenched in rich dark chocolate.

Oh! That’s real coffee I taste in there! Why didn’t they say that on the front ... possibly even include it in the name of the product?

The biscotti center is rustic, made with oat and rice flour. There’s a slightly salty and malty flavor to it. The crunch is crumbly, but dry and not buttery like some cookie centers (like Twix).

Though the ingredients say that center is coffee flavored, I get it more from the chocolate coating. The chocolate shell is very mild (not a true dark chocolate because it contains some dairy fat). It’s sweet, has a nice melt to it and the proportions keep the flavors on the chocolate end of things.

I had a similar product last year from Albanese Confectionery, their new Cappuccino Biscotti Bites which were milk chocolate, but I’ve never actually seen them in stores or on their website.

For a product available in the grocery store, I thought it was rather well priced for the quality and quantity. The chocolate covered nut mix they have sounds interesting to, since it’s both a mix of dark and milk chocolate and includes the less-common nuts: pistachios, cashews & macadamias.

Nutritionally, I was kind of surprised by these. Yes, they have a fair amount of fat at 11 grams per 40 gram serving (chocolate is like that), but there’s also 2 grams of protein & dietary fiber and only 35mg of sodium.

The other interesting thing about this product that may need some investigation is that they do not contain wheat, just oat flour and rice flour. Though it doesn’t say gluten free on the package, it also doesn’t list wheat as one of the allergens or mention wheat as one of the shared equipment warnings. So for those with gluten restrictions, this might be an interesting line to pursue (please educate me in the comments on how to help by reading the labels). They’re also Kosher.

Related Candies

  1. Trader Joe’s Espresso Pillows
  2. Crackheads
  3. Cookie Dough Bites
  4. Java Twix
  5. Chewy Lemonheads & Atomic Fireballs
  6. Sno-Caps, Goobers & Raisinets
  7. Partying with the Sugar Crowd
Name: Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Ferrera Pan
Place Purchased: sample from Fancy Food Show
Price: retail $3.99
Size: 6.25 ounces
Calories per ounce: 148
Categories: Chocolate, Cookie, Coffee, United States, Ferrara Pan, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:37 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. Albanese makes the best malt balls and chocolate covered raisins.  My Mother lives in Merrillville, (I used to) and when my daughter and I visit her - every other week- we swing by to pick up malt balls and raisins, Dum Dums for my daughter and whatever for my Mom.  I didn’t realize the were known outside the region.

    Comment by Georgine Bosak on 3/17/09 at 3:09 pm #
  2. arenee's avatar

    I love these!  I too was surprised by the coffee, but pleasantly.

    Comment by arenee on 3/17/09 at 3:09 pm #
  3. Sera's avatar

    Oh yum! I’ll make a point to stop by their booth in June. smile

    Comment by Sera on 3/19/09 at 2:45 am #
  4. These would not be considered gluten free, since oats are generally milled on the same equipment as wheat. They are wheat free, but not safe for those with celiac disease. Thanks for the ingredients though, I find it very helpful when these are listed.

    Comment by Ivy Molloy on 3/20/09 at 4:35 am #
  5. Hallo!
    Is it possible to buy Biscotti on the Internet?

    Comment by Bjorn Christian Bibow on 7/30/10 at 3:39 pm #
  6. Hallo!

    Can I bay Ferrari Biscotti here with you?

    Comment by Bjorn Christian Bibow on 9/14/10 at 2:18 pm #
  7. How delicious! Here where I live I do not find this :/

    Comment by Luiz on 3/29/17 at 12:57 pm #
  8. I never tried it, do you have it in Brazil?

    Comment by janete on 4/01/17 at 4:43 am #
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.

Next entry: Sunbursts Natural Mix

Previous entry: Pete’s Gourmet Confections: Marshmallows




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT

FEEDS

CONTACT

  • .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
  • Here are some frequently asked questions emailed to me you might want to read first.

EMAIL DIGEST

    For a daily update of Candy Blog reviews, enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

CANDY RATINGS

TYPE

BRAND

COUNTRY

ARCHIVES

Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.

 

 

 

 

Facebook IconTwitter IconTumblr IconRSS Feed IconEmail Icon

COUNTDOWN.

Candy Season Ends

-2538 days

Read previous coverage

 

 

Which seasonal candy selection do you prefer?

Choose one or more:

  •   Halloween
  •   Christmas
  •   Valentine's Day
  •   Easter

 

image

ON DECK

These candies will be reviewed shortly:

 

 

image