As I mentioned yesterday, I have a surprise for you. Actually, this is just the first surprise… I’m getting fully into the holiday spirit this year and wanted to share a little of it with you. So in the coming weeks I will be giving away a few presents to you, my readers.
To kick things off, I am giving away 3 boxes of Neo Cocoa truffles (info on how to win at the bottom of this post). I’ve mentioned Christine and her truffles before. She invited me to tour the TCHO factory with the sweet mafia. Anyway, long story short, her truffles are “naked”, as in she doesn’t use an outer coating of chocolate so you just get the soft delicious centers. [read more about NeoCocoa truffles and Christine]
Each box contains 10 truffles (2 each of the following), perfect for sharing… or not.
crushed bittersweet nib
toasted coconut
mocha cinnamon
almond butter with smoked sea salt
freshly zested lime
Neo Cocoa Truffle Giveaway
To win: Entry is now closed.
- Leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite holiday treat is…
- Entry closes on Friday, December 4, 2009, at 8 AM PST. I will use a random number generator to choose the 3 winners.
- Winners will be announced here on this post on Friday.
Disclosure : (per the new FTC guidelines for bloggers, I’m not sure I really need to disclose anything for this giveaway, but just to be sure…) Although I am friends with Christine, I purchased these truffles from Neo Cocoa, they are not part of an incentive or otherwise free to me. I chose Neo Cocoa as a giveaway because it is a quality product that I enjoy.
Winners!
Updated 12-4-2009
Thank you all so much for telling me about your favorite treats! I loved reading all of your comments (and now my list of treats to try this holiday is ridiculous…). For those who did not win the truffles, come back Monday… I have another surprise planned ;)
Mr. Random Generator has selected the three winners…
Congratulations to Liz, Indigo, and Jane!
I’ll be sending you all email today to arrange delivery.
{ 117 comments… read them below or add one }
flan/crema caramella/crème renversée – has to be by far one of my favorite!
Starbucks’s Peppermint Hot Chocolate! In a Starbucks holiday cup. The cashier last year made the mistake of telling me that peppermint hot chocolate could be ordered year-round. I was devastated! The horror! My beloved seasonal drink could be enjoyed anytime?? But I decided that it’s the frosty weather outside coupled with the festive holiday cups that really bring this drink to life. :D
That’s a tough one. I love all the cookies! If I had to choose, I’d have to admit chocolate chip is my favorite. What can I say? I’m a simple-kinda gal. However, I’m gonna say that chocolate chip is my favorite *anytime* cookie… whereas my favorite *Christmas* cookie is the Mexican wedding cake! :-)
My favorite? As in, only 1? That’s kinda hard to pick 1 treat…but I’d have to say the Frozen Eggnog Souffle (aka eggnog ice cream) from the “Refined American Cuisine” cookbook. Oh, or homemade eggnog with freshly grated nutmeg! Mmmm… (cue lots of yummy noises)
Those look yummy – and fascinating, particularly the smoked sea salt… that’s just intriguing.
My absolute favourite treat at this time of year is lebkuchen, you can only usually get them from the German stores (I go to Lidl) and as they’re only around at Christmas, I try to stock up for the rest of the year!
my moms pumpkin nut roll. it just isn’t christmas without it!
It’s so hard to pick just one! I don’t like peppermint candy by itself but I love other things with peppermint… like, dark chocolate and peppermint, white chocolate and peppermint, coffee and peppermint, cake with vanilla buttercream and crushed peppermint… the list goes on!
Those truffles look divine, thanks for the giveaway!
I’m gonna have to go with “Aunt Helga’s Cake” (it’s got another name too, but I’ll let you read about it in the book). We found it in a book called “Confessions of a Closet Master Baker” by Sandra Bullock’s sister Gesine, who runs a sweets bakery in Maine. It happens to be gluten free and showed up at a time when I discovered I needed to avoid gluten.
It’s made with pecan flour and covered in an amazing chocolate/coffee frosting. Yum!!!
My sister-in-law also makes some really great chocolate-covered peanut butter balls every Christmas and my 14 year old son makes the best caramels!
I love mint fudge or just about anything made with mint chocolate chips
I make peppermint brownies at Christmas and they are my favorite! Everyone loves the combination of peppermint filling and the rich chocolate of the brownie. They’re beautiful, too!
I love bourbon balls. I have an ex-aunt-in-law who always made me my own personal stash, I would hide them in the back of the fridge! I have since found an awsome recipe and now I make my own stash, plus plenty to give away as gifts.
So hard to choose just one! I think they are the chocolate mint sandwich cookies my mom used to make. Chocolate cookies with a mint filling. I may have to dig out the recipe now.
Tough question:) Probably chocolate crinkles or snickerdoodles. They are the classics! Everyone loves my coconut lime snowballs though…they are good too:) Thanks!
Potato latkes! My mom makes them every year and for me they are Hanukkah!
Cherry almond cookies and Mexican hot chocolate!! Yummy!
My favorite treat would have to be peppermint bark! I make it every year for my friends and family and seeing them enjoy it so much makes me happy! Perfect for the holiday mood.
My favorite holiday treat is peppermint chocolate chip cookies. Really, I’m all for anything with peppermint and chocolate during the holidays!
My favorite holiday treat is Mom’s homemade orange cookies. So much fun to make together, and now I make them with my own children! We also make our own fudge, and that is the favorite among the kids.
Love your giveaway idea, you are a very generous lady!
Starbucks drinks in red cups! :)
Russian tea cookies!
Hands down, cream cheese spritzes – and I wept with joy when I found out both their name and how to make them this past weekend.
Oreo Truffles- with the shell or without!
Sugar cookies decorated with sprinkles and icing are my Christmas fave – always have to make extra for Santa!!!
Peppermint Ice Cream! I just can’t get enough of it during the holiday season!!! But by the time February hits…..I don’t want to see it again ’til the end of the year LOL.
Oh my goodness – YUM!
I love peppermint bark… it’s funny I’m not a huge white chocolate fan but something about the holidays makes me crave oodles of peppermint bark!
Well two of my favorite treats are coconut and nib truffles… hehe
moms homemade caramel, raspberry linzer cookies, crescent cookies, chocolate covered apricots, homemade scotchmallows, toffee with dark and semi-sweet chocolate for starters.
My favorite holiday treat would be russian teacakes!
I am really loving the chocolate and salt combination on any chocolate treat. I love the contrast between the two flavors.
mom’s kringle, hands down. cinnamon, brown sugar, a little butter-flavored icing… can’t wait!
cheers,
*heather*
Wow! those look amazing… I like the peanut butter kiss cookies…
My favorite holiday treat are my mom’s christmas sugar cookies. They are the crispiest, yummiest ones I’ve ever had and there better be some left when I go down there after Christmas…
(mmm…truffles)
Gingerbread cookies.. or anything peppermint chocolatey
:: chocolate crinkle cookies :: a local co-op grocery store in Seattle called PCC makes them oh-so moist! love making these from scratch as well!
Oh, definitely these Italian sugar cookies that a co-worker brings in every Christmas. With every passing year, though, more and more begging is required for said cookies…
They look gorgeous!
My mom makes the best spice cookies, and has every year since I was a kid. Those cookies equal the holiday season in my mind!
Wow those truffles look amazing! My favorite holiday treat is pumpkin pie.
The Cranberry Bliss Bar at Starbucks…only comes around during the holidays and I love it!
It would be Christmas without a big bag of Aunt Ruby’s party mix. She makes several roaster pans full every December and makes a personal visit to all the relatives to deliver it. She’s been doing this since I can remember and it’s what I look forward to the most.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a slice of Julekake – Norwegian Christmas bread – and butter. My father loves it, and we grew up always having a loaf of it around the house at Christmas time. I would love a slice right now!
Pretzel salad during Christmas is my favorite. Its a pretzel crust with whipped cream and strawberry jello on top. We have it every year
Ima let you all finish, but gingerbread men have got to be the greatest holiday cookie of allll time :p
“Hermits” or some call them “rocks”. Christmas time is the only time I make them or have them…. a cookie, its recipe handed down from my Grandma to my Mom to me. They are these little lumpy cookies made with cinnamon and cloves and ginger and raisins and a bit of strong coffee and black walnuts – they have to be black walnuts for their distinctive flavor – and very importantly…brandy. They smell so wonderful while they are baking. Memories of Christmas as a little girl, feeling the warmth and love of family…priceless!
My favorite holiday treat would have to be puppy chow. Or Reindeer food, or whatever you wanna call it. The Chex cereal covered in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. My mom makes it around the holidays, or I do now that I’m at school, and I can never stop eating it. :)
it just wouldn’t feel like the holiday season without pumpkin fudge and pumpkin spice lattes (homemade!)
Russian tea cakes are my absolute favorite! Although I also love everything mint-flavored, and Christmas = peppermint season…
A friend brings us a box of homemade buckeyes which I absolutely love! I always steal a few out of the box for me & hide them in the back of the fridge so that I can savor them. Maybe this year she will bring 2 boxes–one for the family & one all for me!
My favorite holiday treat is PIE. Any kind of pie!!!
Those truffles look delicious! All my favorite flavors!
Ooooh my favorite holiday treat has to be peppermint bark.
I forgot to mention my favorite holiday treat: pumpkin chocolate chip bread
My favorite holiday treat is homemade almond fudge toffee…yummmy…
my favourite holiday treat are chocolate chip cookies with a hot cup of milk :).
My favorite holiday treats are pumpkin pie, eggnog, and cinnamon rolls. I couldn’t enjoy Christmas morning without cinnamon rolls, freshly made. Yum!
When I was little my favorite holiday treat was homemade fudge, but now I really enjoy spicy mexican hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream on top.
I know it might be sacrilege to post this here, but I love candy canes, especially the fruity ones. The Christmas tree isn’t done until I have put about 3 boxes of candy canes on it.
These look wonderful – I’ve never heard of the chocolatier before, and would like to try them!
Favorite holiday treat would have to be the cranberry bliss bar from starbucks! SO yummy!!
My favorite Christmas treat!? I find myself looking forward to Mandeltorte every year! My Christmas is never complete without this amazing almond-ie dessert :D
My favorite would have to be dark chocolate chip cookies with pecans or walnuts.
My favorite holiday treat is homemade eggnog. Heavy on the nog.
My favorite holiday treat is pecan pie. YUM! Thanks for the giveaway.
My favorite holiday sweet treats are peppermint bark, egg nog and ginger cookies.
I have too many favourites! The stollen wreath I made last year was pretty much the love of my life, but I’m also a sucker for a good mince pie, or a mug of steaming white hot chocolate. And then there’s my gran’s praline cake recipe, which emerges every Christmas Eve…
I like too many treats to mention, but churros & chocolate sauce, immediately sprang to mind. Now I’m craving some too.
If you like curries, pop over to my blog and see our competition too to win 2 of Kris Dhillon’s indian cookery books http://www.debskitchencreations.blogspot.com/
LMAO ~ i love your disclosure statement! i’m sure there are quite a few bloggers whose styles are being cramped by the new rules, but i’m glad to know that you pick products you LIKE to share. :)
my favorite holiday treat is… speculaas! i love, love, love a “dutch windmill cookie” tho anything decadent and chocolaty is a close second (hence my entry).
happy holidays!
My favorite holiday treat will forever and always be homemade pumpkin pie. A la mode, of course.
Homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning!
My favorite treat is definitely peppermint ice cream. I don’t care if it’s cold, peppermint ice cream is one of the most delicious creations on the face of the Earth, and I eat it every year during the holidays.
It used to be fudge – but that was before I discovered what a truffle was! Now that’s the thing I most look forward to during the holidays, since I can’t justify eating or making them any other time of the year.
My favorite holiday treats would be cinnamon pralines and egg nog! cinnamon pralines taste so good!
First, I wanted to say I think those of the prettiest truffles I have ever seen. I love the simplicity, yet elegance of them.
Ok, my favorite holiday treat would have to be anything gingerbread. Oh yum.
Shortbread is my favourite holiday treat. As a child, I ate myself sick on it five Christmases in a row and then it took a decade for me to be able to eat it again without feeling ill. But I’m back!
My favorite holiday treat to eat is thin, crispy spiced Moravian cookies. But if we include all the senses, the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven makes the holidays complete!
My favorite holiday treat has to be frosted sugar cookies. This year I’m going to try homemade peppermint patties, though. :)
My favorite holiday treat are the paintbrush sugar cookies we make every year. We cut them out and paint them raw with an egg yolk food coloring mixture, and decorate them. They have a hint of orange and are OH SO DELICIOUS.
My favorite holiday treat is peanut butter balls! I’ll be posting them on my blog soon too :) I absolutely love them!
I always looked forward to helping my mom make peanut butter balls when I was younger. I’d always sneak a few before they were dipped in chocolate. Now that I’m older and make them myself, I still can’t help but sample a couple; you know, process control… :)
My fave holiday treat is (are) chocolate truffles, chocolate fudge brownies and a warm classic bread pudding!
My favorite holiday treat is anything peppermint flavored. Peppermint bark, peppermint ice cream, peppermint truffles etc. !
It’s hard to pick just one but sticky toffee pudding is up there at the top of the list.
family… and a hot cheesy dip which includes: sausage, ground beef, velveeta, onion, green chilies and tomato
My granny makes the most delicious pudding she calls “fluff” which is essentially condensed milk and strawberry jelly beaten together to a mousse-like consistency. A very simple, quite child-like recipe, but very delicious. She makes it every Christmas, and every spoonful tastes exactly like my childhood! :)
My favorite holiday treats are hershey’s kiss cookies, buckeyes, truffles & fudge!! Yum!
Mine is definitely gingerbread, can’t wait to make some!
Thanks for the giveaway. My favorite holiday treat would have to be the homemade caramels my aunt makes every year.
My favourite holiday treats are gingerbread cookies :)
My favourite holiday treats are the Russian Tea Cookies my mom makes every year…delicious lumps of cookie dough with macademia nuts, covered in powdered sugar!
my favorite holiday treat are dried fruit from the dried fruit compote, traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve here in Poland. To make the compote you soak the dried cherries, apples, pears and – obligatory! – plums with some cinnamon sticks and cloves and some honey. In different homes compote is eaten or rather drunk differently – sometimes people just drink the liquid cold. We are eating it as a refreshing dessert, warmed from small bowls.
My favorite holiday treats are a tie between almond spritz cookies that I used to make with my mom and now make with my girls.
My favorite holiday treats are ginger cookies with hunks of crystallized ginger! YUM!
My favorite holiday treats are chocolate crinkles, jam thumbprints, hot apple cider, crab (which we have on christmas eve!), and cheesecake. Haha, I couldn’t limit myself! I also associate plain yogurt or sour cream + blueberries + brown sugar with the holidays :)
My favorite holiday treat is a hot sticky bun. My mom used to make these every Christmas morning, with a hot brown sugar sauce and lots of toasted pecans!
mmm… truffle-y goodness. My favorite holiday sweet is soft gingerbread, not the hard cookies.
Springerle!
My favorite Christmas treat is my Grandmother’s Suet Pudding!!
Yummy decorated sugar cookies, and my sister’s hand-made chocolate covered cherries…………..
My favorite is homemade fudge! It was a total staple of my childhood, and nothing beats it around the holidays.
Hmmm, I guess I would say eggnog because it’s limited to just holiday time. And turkey and dressing!
My favorite holiday treat is probably an eggnog latte or a peppermint mocha….yummy! However, anything baked and sweet is satisfying at this time of year! Love these truffles! Thanks for the giveaway!
Carrot cookies with plum jam! or bee nests with eggnogg and dont forget the melting moments :D so hard to chose, reallly
I think these truffles could become my favorite holiday treat! They look amazing!
My favorite holiday treat is homemade hot chocolate with extra whipped cream!
Hmmm, my favorite treat. It’s tough, Ginger bread? Buche de Noel? I think chocolate, anyway, any time!
My favorite treat is? I don’t know. I like almost everything. I guess it would be chocolate, caramels, brittle ok I won’t go on. These chocolates really do sound wonderful!
Well, first of all, I’m jewish. So, when I think about the holidays, I am mostly thinking of holiday parties, not christmas. I love holiday parties. Dressing up, adding sparkle and being inside a house full of people while outside it’s wintery cold. Cookies are by far my favorite treat, almost any cookie will do but I lean towards shortbread and gingerbread. What can I say, I’m a sucker for anything with a ‘bread’ ending. Fingers crossed.
I love russian tea cakes! yum.
I have to say my favorite holiday treat is probably probably pie, or cheesecake. Pecan pie, apple pie, chocolate cheesecake, all of it, right down the hatch. Sorry, what were we talking about?
mmmm, chocolate brownie truffle thingees! My fave holiday treat would probably be pecan pie. I also like the brittle that is coated with dark chocolate and then sprinkled with candy cane bits. Yum-o-licious!!!
We had a neighbor who was from Norway and every Christmas She used to make what she called “Scandinavian Butterhorns”. These were an egg yolk and yeast pastry dough rolled out and filled with meringue and pecans. I just came across the recipe so I’m going to try them and see if they are as wonderful as I remember them being. She had the best treats at her house every Christmas!
Hmmm, my favorite holiday treat. There are too many to name…there’s a cranberry jello dessert that my family makes every year for the holidays. We only make it for Thanksgiving or Christmas meals, which makes it that much more special. Oh, and truffles, and peppermint ice cream! :)
Well it’ll either be snickerdoodles (mmmmmm) or mulled wine (ahhh).
Mmm, they look delicious
I’m not sure if this qualifies as ‘holiday’, but there’s nothing better than a mug of Hot Chocolate on a cold December day!
My favorite Christmas treat is my mother’s fudge. She used to make it in huge aluminum pans, walnuts included except for one corner that remained nut-free because she knew I hated nuts. That always made me feel special, to know that my likes and dislikes were important to her.
I love baking spritz cookies every Christmas. They are so simple but fun to decorate.
Peppermint Bark is one of my Holiday favorites. That and my sister’s caramel corn. It’s a holiday treat because she only makes it at Christmas time.
My favorite treat at holiday time is to get away from the office and have some real time with my wife and kids. …. oh, you meant food….. chocolate, in mass quantities, in almost any form!
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