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Started in a New York kitchen during the fall of 2012, Little Boo Boo Bakery whips up delightful, hand-cut gourmet marshmallows. All six fat-free flavors contain no preservatives, and are made in small batches using high…
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Kicking back with a cool beverage in the warmer months is one of life’s simple pleasures. With the rise in popularity of craft cocktails, a similar rise in quality non-acoholic drinks has followed suit. Our round-up of summer’s chillest booze-free libations offers tastes to keep everyone enjoying the party.
Traditionally-inspired sweets and flavored macaroons with Brazilian flair
The Brazilian aesthetic might be most easily defined by touches of nature and color. This is also the case with regional food, like iFolie‘s inventive, artisanal macaroons and chocolates, which come packaged in keepsake giftboxes that add even more color.
A partnership between Carolina Carnicelli and Renata Fernandes, Folie recently opened the doors of their production facility in a renovated house on a quiet street in São Paolo’s Pinheiros neighborhood. Now they offer eight flavors of macaroons and four types of chocolate candy each week, with flavors changing depending on seasonal ingredients and the owners’ whims.
Carnicelli and Fernandes are always experimenting with new flavors. The shop’s most recent floral-based macaroon collection has eight flavors including jasmine and orange blossom. Also taking advantage of fresh Brazilian tropical fruits, the duo creates tasty treats like passion-fruit macaroons. Chocolate macaroons made with Ecuadorean and Carribbean cocoa are standouts with all their subtle floral and nut flavors. Brazilians love the renditions of favorite childhood desserts such as brigadeiro (chocolate and condensed milk) and the fresh-coconut-milk-based beijinho. For more adult tastes, there are also macaroons inspired by drinks—from gin and tonic to the Brazilian caju amigo (cashew juice with vodka).
Despite the variety of macaroons, locals favor the lascas—delicately thin sheets of chocolate loaded with caramelized balsamic vinegar, dried strawberries or caramel-covered cornflakes awash in milk chocolate.
The crocs, mounds of chocolate with a combination of crunchy and chewy ingredients like dried cranberry, pistachio and caramel, are also popular. Adding another distinctly Brazilian flair, custom boxes are designed to hold other objects after consuming the product inside.
Maintaining a strict emphasis on quality, the duo use the best, freshest and local (when possible) ingredients. Their macaroons require three days to make, and they skip preservatives so their confections are best eaten swiftly (which fortunately isn’t often a problem).
Visitors to the atelier are personally attended to by either Carnicelli or Fernandes, making the experience wholly personal and intimate, just like their sweets. Contact Folie for mail orders, delivery and additional information.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
