Valentine’s Candy: My Countdown

Raisins aren't candy. At one point in time, the product slogan was "Chocolate Covered Sunshine." No way--more like Chocolate Covered Nasty. Raisinets are not good eats.

I've tried many brands, but I just can't get down with chocolate covered cherries. They're too sweet, and the syrup surrounding the cherry is almost always like taking a shot of straight corn syrup. NO THANK YOU.

I guess it's "the thought that counts" when it comes to generic V-Day candy. Why else would anyone enjoy one of these things? There's usually an awesome chocolate covered caramel or a truffle in these things, but in between those candies lurk the enemy of Valentine's Day Sweets: the chocolate-covered strawberry/coconut/raspberry mousse/truffle thing. You know what I'm talking about. You bite in to one of those and INSTANTLY spit that bad boy out.

Here's where things start getting awesome. I don't think you can go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries. You just can't. They are delicious and decadent--the prefect Valentine's treat. And yes, I managed to sneak in a picture of my girl crush/ favorite actress Christina Hendricks, because it's Valentine's Day!

I'm not too crazy about the "samplers" of the chocolate world, but Whitman's will forever hold a special place in my heart. When I was a kid, my Dad bought me a Whitman's Sampler every year for Valentine's Day. Who am I to snub tradition?

Granted, you can (and should) buy Toblerone year-round... but Toblerone is awesome. If you've never indulged before, I'll describe it to you: imagine tiny, chewy pieces of almond nougat flecked into a decadent Swiss chocolate. That's Toblerone: delicious.

Godiva is like the Rolls Royce of Valentine's Day confections. Getting your significant other one of these is a fail-proof move. Godiva chocolates are amazing, like little pieces of chocolate-covered heaven.

There is NEVER enough Almond Roca. These little candies are absolutely wonderful. It's pieces of rich toffee covered in chocolate and then dusted in crushed almonds. Plus, each piece is individually wrapped in a gold foil, so you feel really classy when you're eating Almond Roca. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing."

Awww yeah: Ferrero Rocher. These never disappoint; and how could they--they're made by the same Italian geniuses who created Nutella. These little truffles/bonbons/ gold-wrapped heaven are one of my all-time favorites. It's a hazelnut blanketed in Nutella--then surrounded by a thin wafer shell. That shell is draped in chocolate and covered in crushed hazelnuts before being covered in chocolate again. I'm 99% sure that when you die and get to Heaven, the first thing Saint Peter does is hand you a box of these. PERFECTION.

Had I written this list a year ago, Ferrero Rocher would have been number one with a bullet. That was before I had these, the greatest candy in my personal pantheon of chocolate confections. I had a prenatal check-up one day and purchased a few of these to bring home to my better half as a surprise. They never made it home. In my pregnant glory, I consumed all two pounds of Pretzel Pals in one afternoon. It was glorious. Don't be fooled into thinking these are mere chocolate covered pretzels; they're not. They're chrushed pretzel pieces dipped into rich milk chocolate to form these little discs of sweet and salty nirvana. I am no longer with child, but I could still eat two pounds of these in a day. They are that good. So, Will, if you're reading this, you know what I want for Valentine's...