Back in 1857, Jean Neuhaus launched the Belgian chocolate industry when he started making candies for his apothecary shop. Needless to say the sweets sold better than the medicinals and the rest is history. The house of Neuhaus thrives to this day and is credited with inventing the “praline” in 1912 as well as the “ballotin” in 1915.   In Belgian’s chocolate terminology, pralines are individual chocolates, made with a special chocolate couverture shell enclosing all sorts of luscious fillings, including nougat, fruit, caramel and creams and fondants infused with such delights as flowers, spices, herbs and liqueurs. The ballotin is a fancy box made to hold pralines. Although ballotins differ in appearance, their functional design remains the same as the original. Chocolate fanatics find much to feed their passions in Brussels. The city offers not only a plethora of shops, but also chocolate tours, demonstrations, cafes, workshops and classes. I’ve studied with two master chocolatiers, Christian Manon of Le Chocolatier Manon and Laurent Gerbaud of Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier Bruxelles . Both artists produce exquisite pralines, Manon’s a little more complex than Laurent’s, and both offer interesting and informative classes. I liked that Laurent included a guided chocolate tasting in his class, and I liked that Manon said pick what you want to sample in his class.  OMG-sooooooo fine!

Christian Manon of Le Chocolatier Manon

Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier Bruxelles

A wise first stop on any Brussels chocolate-shopping spree has to be La Maison Des Maitres Chocolatiers. This shop, on the Grand Place, sells chocolates from 10 artisan masters giving the shopper an opportunity to sample and purchase a variety of tastes. My personal top favorite praline at this shop is a soft melting mocha caramel encased in dark chocolate made by Eric Goossens, or maybe it’s the home-made orange marmalade in chocolate from Ghana made by Geert Decoster, no, I think it’s the raspberry fruit paste and ganache with cointreau by Marc Ducobu or maybe it’s the…… Over 300 different companies produce chocolates in Belgium, some of the factories make large quantities and sell their chocolates online and in specialty shops all over the world. Other chocolatiers create exquisite handmade confections in such small batches that they are only available in shops adjoining their workshops. For the best of the best—get yourself to Belgium and be prepared to indulge. In the words of the bard:  Age cannot wither the praline nor custom stale the infinite variety. Other candies cloy the appetites they feed, but Belgian chocolates makes hungry where most they satisfy. Praise be!

Kathy McCarthy

called, makes extraordinary, super-delicious, handcrafted, chocolate-coated candy, which she sells at the Sweet Spot in the Savory Spoon Marketplace in Door County, Wisconsin.

Although Cocoa’s specialties include chocolate-drenched toffees (for which she won a blue ribbon at the Arizona state fair), caramels and a divine peanut-butter confection, to me, her pièce de résistance is sponge candy (a crunchy, melt-in-the-mouth delight also know as fairy food, sugar puffs, sea foam and honeycomb).

Cocoa says that she started making sponge candy with her mother when she was a child growing up on a mink ranch in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and has made it happily ever after for her family’s holidays and special events. Today, she makes the candy for other folks’ special occasions as well, selling the sweet  at her chocolate boutique in the Marketplace shop and through mail order.

As generous as she is charming, Cocoa shares her family recipe below. But trust me, when it comes to Cocoa’s candy, one is never enough, so check out the Sweet Spot for more dark, delectable magic. MMmmmmmm.

SPONGE CANDY

Yield: about 1-1/2 pounds candy (about 40 pieces)

Butter to grease pan

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon baking soda

About 1 pound good dark chocolate (If you are going to temper the chocolate, use a block or bar of very good chocolate, rather than chocolate chips. See note.)

Butter a 9 X 9 X 2-inch pan and set aside.

Combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in a large (3-quart), heavy saucepan.  Set pan over medium heat and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar completely dissolves. Without stirring, boil mixture until it registers 300°F on a candy thermometer. (At this stage a drizzle of the mixture will separate into brittle threads when dropped into cold water.)  Immediately remove pan from heat, add baking soda and stir quickly until well mixed (the mixture will foam).  Quickly pour mixture into the buttered pan.  Set aside at room temperature to cool completely. When cooled, break candy into chunks.

Melt chocolate (see note). Dip candy chunks in chocolate and set aside at room temperature until the chocolate is firm to the touch.

NOTE:  MELTING CHOCOLATE You can melt chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, or in a microwave set on defrost, but if you are using a fine couverture chocolate, a more professional approach would be, before dipping the candy, to “temper” the chocolate (which gives it a sheen and keeps the surface of the chocolate from appearing mottled or matted).

TO TEMPER ONE POUND OF GOOD DARK CHOCOLATE:

1. Chop chocolate bar or block into chunks.

2. Put 2/3 of the chucks in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water.

3. Attach an instant-read thermometer to the side of the boiler.

4. Stirring gently with a rubber spatula, heat chocolate until it is completely melted and at a temperature ranging between 105°F and no more than 115°F.

5. Immediately remove top of boiler with melted chocolate from the heat. Dry bottom of pan. Set on heatproof surface. Add remaining unmelted 1/3 chopped chocolate to melted chocolate and stir gently, with a rubber spatula, to melt the new chocolate and drop the temperature of melted chocolate to 88°F. (If temperature drops below 84°F you can remove any unmelted chocolate chunks from the melted and set aside for another use, and then set the melted chocolate over warm water and raise its temperature to 88°F.)  Keep melted chocolate at temperature between 86°F to 88°F while dipping the candy.

Sweet Spot's Angel Food (chocolate drizzled over sponge candy)

We thought you’d like us to define

What people do when they pitch woo

And spoon and neck and bill and coo.

They pucker up their lips and press

Another’s lips in a caress.

What we’re describing is a KISS.

In other words, it’s also this:

A PECK, a BUSS, a KISSAROO,

A SMACK, a SMOOCH—to name a few.

The XXX that one bestows

On a letter with some Os.

A dictionary will confirm

That OSCULATE’s a kissing

term.

And so is HONEY COOLER,though

It’s not in use much that we know.

To make our kiss-word list complete

We should include those that people eat:

The little foil-wrapped chocolate drops

(Available in many shops),

And sweet, delicious cookie bites

Of sugar beaten with egg whites.

Before we go we’d like to say

We hope that kisses come your way,

And those that you consent to share

Are given with a bit of flair.

And just in case you don’t know how

To give your kisses extra WOW,

We’ll tell you all the steps to take

To make your kisses double great!

Copyright S M. Katzman, 2010

DOUBLE GREAT KISSES

3 egg whites, at room temperature (Be sure whites are free of all yolks; whites with even a touch of yolk will not beat well.)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

About 24 chocolate kisses (foil wrap removed)

Preheat oven to 225°F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set baking sheets aside.

Put egg whites in a large bowl. Beat whites on low speed with an electric mixture until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat on high speed until whites stand in soft peaks. Constantly beating at high speed, very slowly add sugar to whites. Continue beating until whites stand in straight peaks. Beat invanilla.

Using 1 level tablespoon for each mound and leaving space between mounds, drop mounds of whites on paper covered baking sheet. Put a chocolate kiss in the center of each mound. With a kitchen knife, carefully bring whites up and around each chocolate kiss, completely covering chocolate with whites.

Bake in a preheated 225°F oven for 60 minutes. Then turn off heat and leave cookies in the warm oven for another 20 minutes.

Remove baking sheets from oven and set on racks to cook. When completely cool, remove kisses from paper.

Yield: about 24.

Which brings us to nuts again. When it comes to homemade holiday treats nothing beats nuts…well…nothing if the nuts are encased in melt-in-the-mouth chocolate enhanced with a nut-flavored liqueur like in the luscious Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles made by Karen Todd and sold in her popular Dragonfly Café & Bakery in Taos, New Mexico.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TRUFFLES

(Recipe from the Dragonfly Café and Bakery, Taos, New Mexico)

Yield: About 6-1/2 dozen

1-1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate, divided

1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup Frangelico (or other flavored liqueur)

About 4 ounces skinned, toasted hazelnuts (see note)

About 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Chop chocolate into small pieces. Put 1 pound of the chopped chocolate in a stainless steel mixing bowl (set aside remaining 1/2 pound chopped chocolate). Heat cream until it is just about to boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate in bowl and set aside for 5 minutes, then stir with a spatula until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth and well blended. (If chocolate does not melt, set bottom of bowl over hot water and stir until chocolate melts fully and mixture is smooth. Be sure no steam reaches chocolate.) Stir in liqueur. Let chocolate cool completely, then cover bowl and refrigerate until chocolate is firm, 2 hours to overnight.

Scoop about 1 teaspoon of chilled chocolate into a spoon. Put a hazelnut into the center and shape mixture around nut forming a ball. Place ball on a baking sheet or tray. Repeat with remaining chocolate mixture and nuts. Place balls in a freezer until firm, about 1 hour.

Melt remaining chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Set aside until cool enough to touch. Working quickly, put a little melted chocolate in the palm of one hand. Add a frozen ball and quickly and gently rub ball in palms until ball is coated with a very thin layer of melted chocolate. Toss coated ball in cocoa powder and place on a tray. Repeat until all ingredients are used.

Place truffles in a covered container and refrigerate. Keep refrigerated until 1 hour before serving, then remove from refrigerator and let come to room temperature.

Note: To toast and skin hazelnuts: spread shelled nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Put in a preheated 300 degree oven and roast, shaking pan once or twice to redistribute nuts, until skins “break” and nuts turn a light golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and set aside 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skin (not all skin will come off). Cool completely.