Friday Freebie: Artisan Confections Giveawayfeatured

Artisan Confections is a great independent chocolate shop I discovered in Arlington, VA. Chocolatier Jason Andelman creates his beautiful chocolates in small batches using high quality ingredients and timeless techniques.

So pretty...

And then there’s the undeniable fact that they are just so pretty! The designs on Artisan Confections bonbons are colorful, fun, and modern. The aesthetics of these chocolates match their flavors well. Andelman has succeeded in crafting interesting layers of flavors that pleasantly surprise.

Malted Milk

I adored the Malted Milk, a creamy milk chocolate ganache flavored with malted milk powder and barley malt syrup. Think chocolate malted milkshake, creamy and rich…the only thing missing was two straws and a waitress on roller skates.

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Speaking of nostalgic throwbacks, the Peanut Butter & Jelly brought me right back to third grade and PB&J on toast (no crust please). This well constructed chocolate featured a crispy peanut butter praline on the bottom, and a layer of strawberry pate de fruit on top. I’ll trade you my juice box but this PB&J is all mine.

Champagne Cocktail

Loved the whimsical design of this Champagne Cocktail. This piece is one of the three Seasonal Artist Series flavors, which change seasonally and feature designs by local artists. The pretty in pink dresses here were designed by Jessica Pilar and match the fun flirty flavor of this chocolate spot on. Based on the classic French 75 cocktail, the Champagne Cocktail features a lemon-and-gin-infused white chocolate ganache above a layer of champagne-infused milk chocolate ganache. The lemon gin has a really nice, soft, lemon perfume to it, with just a delicate hint of booze.

Pecan-Chai

The Pecan-Chai is another one of the Artist Series flavors. This piece was designed by Monica Gallagher (was tickled by her fantastic tshirts btw), and consisted of a chai-spiced milk chocolate ganache paired with crispy pecan praline. The praline was like little bits of burnt crème brulee sugar. Great texture.

Espresso Lemon

A fresh spin on the typical chocolate/coffee combo, the Espresso Lemon took dark chocolate ganache infused with espresso beans and layered it with a lemony milk chocolate ganache. The dark roasted espresso flavor brought out the dark chocolate beautifully, and the lemon twist finish left my palate light and refreshed.

Crispy Peanut Butter Bar

Artisan Confections also makes these ridiculous Crispy Peanut Butter Bars. They have that awesome crispy praline texture I’ve fallen for in Andelman’s confections, this one is peanut butter of course, topped with a milk chocolate and honey ganache. The whole thing is enrobed in dark chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Holy bejeesus. Wow. If you are a PB & Chocolate lover, you are going to freak over these. They remind me a little of those Little Debbie Nutty Bars we used to get as kids…anyone remember those?

Artisan Confections, signature box

To win Artisan Confections’ signature 15-piece box AND a box of Crispy Peanut Butter Bars, leave a comment here telling me about the best chocolate you’ve ever tasted (and “Like” the new LMS Facebook page!).

Giveaway deadline is Thursday 2/17, 11:59 pm PST. (Contest is open to US residents only. Winner will be selected by random.org.)

Disclosure: This giveaway was made possible via free sample and giveaway donation by Artisan Confections.

Update: Congrats to Corey, winner of Lick My Spoon’s Artisan Confections Giveaway!