Truffles Newsletter

The Toll House Inn in MA, courtesy of New England History As early as 1928, newspapers were printing ads for majorsupermarkets that were baking and selling cookiescontaining chips of chocolate. But it wasn’t until 1938 that theChocolate Chip Cookie as we know it today became America’s all-time favorite cookietreat. To this day, it is the official state cookie of Massachusetts. In 1930, during the Great Depression, Ruth Graves Wakefield - acollege educated dietitian, teacher and chef - and her husbandKenneth, purchased a tourist lodge in Whitman, Massachusetts.They called it The Toll House Inn. It began with seven tables, whichsoon expanded...

Tom Browne‘s advertisement postcard for Fry's chocolate, 1912 – Public Domain The origins of cacao date back to ancient Mesoamerica – but chocolate in the form we now know it has a much shorter history.   Cacao – the raw form of the cocoa bean – has been found in artifacts dating as far back as 3600 BC.  Its first known specific use is by the Olmecs in Mesoamerica (what is now Mexico and Central America) in 1800 BC, when it was ground with chilies to create an astringent drink, similar to black coffee. In the 8th century AD, Mayans and...

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, a.k.a. “Pancake Tuesday”, so we’ve whipped together our top 4 favorite pancake recipes for you to enjoy (you shouldn’t be surprised that all our favorites contain chocolate...).  For any of the recipes recommended below, you can chop up our Break-up Bar in dark chocolate to substitute for “semi-sweet chocolate” or chocolate chips.  Chocolate Pancakes by Pretty. Simple. Sweet.  What is better than chocolate chips in your pancakes?  How about an all-chocolate pancake.  Get ready for decadence with this recipe by food blogger, Stephanie Gonzalez.  Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes by Crazy for Crust.  Need a little fruit...