Wild, wacky chocolate
The sweet folks who brought you Vosges Haut-Chocolat have stirred up a distinctly American line of chocolate bars: Wild Ophelia. Sourcing ingredients from small farms and artisans (smoked sea salt from Maine, Angelus peaches from California), the brand delivers wild with a wink in eight flavors including Southern hibiscus-peach, and peanut butter & banana (both favorites with our tasters). Other flavors include New Orleans chili and beef jerky, with more flavors on the way. Suggested retail price: $3.99 for a 2-ounce bar. A store locater is at wildophelia.com.
Crunch for the whole bunch
A new line of stick pretzels made by the Mary’s Gone Crackers team boasts a trio of flavors (sea salt, chipotle-tomato, curry), lots of grains (rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet) and a gluten-free certification. Flax, sesame and chia seeds add to the pretzels’ crunch. We especially liked the sea-salt version and the fiery bite of the chipotle-tomato. Suggested retail price: $4.25 for a 7.5-ounce bag. For a store locater or to buy online, go to marysgonecrackers.com.
Up your flavor game
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Coffee lovers and hazelnut fans will enjoy stirring these flavors into frosting, cakes and cookies, thanks to McCormick, which has added pure coffee and imitation hazelnut to its line of extracts. We liked how they added subtle accents to a white cake mix and basic buttercream frosting. With a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder added to the frosting, it became guilty pleasure. Suggested retail price for a 1-ounce bottle is $4.69. At supermarkets nationwide and shop.mccormick.com.
— McClatchy Newspapers
