Hasta La Ideas

Chuao packs their new chocolate bar with crispy potato chip bits

Combining milk chocolate with all-natural, kettle-cooked potato chips, Chuao Chocolatier‘s latest highbrow-meets-lowbrow goodie is the slightly crunchy Potato Chips in Chocolate bar. This latest concoction is an easy way to get that sweet-and-savory fix without immersing yourself in a messy cooking project.

Handmade in San Diego, CA, the bars are made by first crushing the lightly-salted chips by hand into bite-sized pieces. The chips are then mixed into Chuao’s custom blend of 41% milk chocolate (from Venezuelan and other Latin American beans) and then hand-scooped into molds.

While the texture resembles other wafer-filled crispy chocolate bars, the potato chips provide a surprising punch of salty flavor and crunch that crispy rice can’t deliver. Though we tend to veer for the darker end of the chocolate spectrum, we like Chuao’s not-too-rich milky blend.

Potato Chips in Chocolate is currently available at Chuao Cafés and on the Chuao website, three for $18 or 12 for $65. You’ll start seeing it at some chains, including Whole Foods and Ralph’s, in fall 2011.

Also on Cool Hunting: Chuao Chocopods

Five healthier frozen treats

When the weather heats up and clothes come off, ice cream seems like the ideal way to cool down—but that makes staying “bikini ready” a challenge. For a refreshing treat that doesn’t break the caloric bank, we’ve picked out five frozen treats that are sure to hit the spot.

Kaurina’s Kulfi

Popular in India, kulfi is a healthier version of ice cream, forgoing eggs and preservatives in favor of simply milk, sugar and natural flavors. They also skip out on the surprising additive of air, making Kaurina’s Kulfi richer and creamier than typical dairy desserts, while prolonging its frozen goodness. The bars are available online, and come in nine flavors, including pistachio almond, strawberry and coconut.

Jala Fudge Ice Cream Bar

Chocolate lovers will delight in Jala’s fudge bars, perfect for your midday pick-me-up. Jala bars are not just sweet chocolatey treats—these calcium-rich 110 calorie bars contain probiotics that help boost the immune system while promoting healthy digestion. You can buy these delicious treats at various grocery stores.

Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt

Frozen yogurt is a staple treat of the summer for a reason; it’s got the health edge over ice cream without sacrificing taste. Like Yasso’s slogan says, “All of the goodness, none of the guilt!” Now you can keep the delicious cold snack in your freezer with their first ever frozen Greek yogurt bars, which come come in raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry, as well as being fat-free, gluten-free, kosher and only 70 calories. You can pick some up at your choice of markets.

Rice Dream Bites

Rice Dream Bites are made to satisfy chocolate cravings. A sweet chocolate shell surrounds tiny bits of vanilla rice-based cream, providing a delicious meld of flavors. Even those of us who are lactose-intolerant can enjoy the creamy bite size treats, and they’re also gluten and cholesterol free, with no trans fat or refined sugars. The bites are available at various retailers.

Gaga Sorbet Bars

Everyone knows sherbet is delicious, and these creamy sorbet bars are no exception. All-natural, low fat and calories, and wheat and gluten-free, they’ll satisfy your sweet tooth and leave the health nut in you smiling. A unique mix of ice cream and sherbet shows off the smooth tastes of these zesty snacks, which are available in raspberry, key lime, lemon, coconut, orange, and chocolate online.

Five all-natural twists on the classic peanut butter cup

Since dairy farmer Harry Burnett Reese dreamed them up in 1928, peanut butter cups have been making mouths salivate for the salty sweet confection. Improving on the classic treat isn’t easy, but replacing unpronounceable artificial fillers with natural, organic ingredients makes the snack tastier and a tad healthier too. Below are five chocolatiers whose peanut butter cups deliciously rival convenience store norms.

Rich Belgian milk chocolate and peanut butter ganache work perfectly together in Nikid’s Peanut Butter Truffle Cups, our overall favorite. Top-notch cups housed in elegant packaging proves a keen attention to detail and a made-to-order production process guarantees each bite is super fresh. Purchase through Etsy where a 1/2 pound (6-7 cups) goes for $10—well worth every penny.

We’ve been a fan of Justin’s Nut Butter for some time now, so giving the brand’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups a try was a no-brainer. The combo might throw you off at first bite, but overall taste delicious. Their idea is simple—take the finest organic peanut butter and meticulously enrobe it with organic fair-trade dark chocolate for a delicious natural treat. Shop online to get a three-pack for just over $5.

Those raised by hippie parents will remember Nectar Nuggets as a favorite health food store treat. Recently reintroduced, Natural Nectar’s Nectar Nugget peanut butter cups boast zero trans fat and are made entirely with natural ingredients including homemade peanut butter and organic chocolate. Simple ingredients and a traditional look makes this classic appeal to everyone, though we’re lobbying for the brand to also bring back caramel, coconut and other variations we remember from our childhood. The three-pack sells online for $6 but candy addicts can buy in bulk, with a 24-pack going for $45.

Ococoa’s elegant take, a silky dark chocolate delicately filled with organic peanut butter and topped with a touch of Alaea salt, takes the concept to a gourmet level. The Classic Peanut Butter Collection is as beautifully packaged as it is delectable—perfect for gifting. Pick up a nine-cup box online from Ococoa for $22.

For a vegan option, check out Sjaak’s Organic Fair Trade Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites” With a name as long as its ingredient list (don’t worry, all vegan and organic), these gold foil-wrapped treats will satisfy the sweet-toothed without any of the dairy. While the peanut butter was a little liquefied, chocolate quality was right on point. Sjaak’s sells online in 1.5-pound tubs where $33 gets you over 50 pieces.

Blow your top with chocolates designed to mimic volcanoes

If you’re looking for an unusual chocolate experience look no further than Icelandic product designer Brynhildur Pálsdóttir’s Chocolate Mountains. Brynhildur created the molds and worked with Iceland’s premier chocolatier Hafliði Ragnarsson to develop and produce the complex confections. Each of the four multi-layered mountains is an edible model of a real geological structure, which Pálsdóttir details in adorably informative graphics.

The Jökull chocolate represents Iceland’s glaciers with white chocolate coating a dark chocolate and is filled with caramel “magma” and white coconut chocolate. Another oozing confection, the Eldborg milk chocolate (pictured at top) made with almonds, nut biscuit and caramel, is modeled after a lava ring crater that is “very rare outside of Iceland.”

Drangar dark chocolate (below) is deliciously comprised of macadamia nuts and sugar-roasted coffee beans. Pálsdóttir explains that the stacks form when a cape erodes, and then over time they disappear as well—just like the chocolate once you have a bite.

Filed with pistachio cream, pistachios and Icelandic tonka pepper, the Stapi dark chocolate is covered in white chocolate at the top, symbolizing its distinct volcano form.

A chocolate this great deserves equally impressive packaging. Brynhildur designed these triangular boxes, which are similar in concept to the Microchips— box, another Icelandic product— that unfolds to reveal local information and drawings.

The chocolate mountains currently sell from Mosfellsbakarí shops in Reykjavik and nearby Mosfellsbær. You can also contact Brynhildur directly, brynhildurp [at] simnet.is.