Product Review: Chocolate Inspirations – gluten free, dairy free, vegan options

Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments

Chocolate Inspirations sent me a sample pack of their chocolates and treats. They looked good, but I wanted to know more about cross contamination issues and manufacturing before I would put any of the treats in my mouth. I checked out their website, and although some items were marketed as gluten free, I felt uneasy. So, after trading many emails with the company, I was happy to discover that their products and manufacturing area are now 100% completely gluten free! Even the pretzels they use in their concoctions are Glutino gluten free pretzels! In reality, it was over a month of the samples sitting on my desk before I would even taste them. And amazingly, they were still delicious.

I tried the following:

Peanut Butter Pillows with dark chocolate: reminded me of a butterfinger bar! Flaky peanut butter on the bottom, dark chocolate on top

English Toffee ( my favorite of the group): buttery toffee topped with chocolate and pecans. I was in heaven!

Michael’s favorite chocolate combo : dark chocolate and creamy peanut butter with Glutino pretzels. It’s sweet and salty with a nice crunch. Dairy free too! My daughter especially liked them.

Cinnamon Toast Toffee: This is their toffee topped in milk chocolate and cinnamon sugar. It actually reminded me of a really sweet version of cinnamon toast. It was Ok, but I think I preferred the english toffee over this one. It was just too much sugar for my tastebuds.

Mocha Mini: this was strange to me. It’s a one ounce mold of mocha milk chocolate on the end of a stick, that enables you to place the mini into a cup of coffee to create a mocha dessert or rich drink as it melts. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I simply melted it in a small bowl and drizzled it over strawberries. It was OK, but I think I would appreciate it more if I drank coffee.

Overall, I was impressed with the flavor and texture of their gluten free confections. They balanced just the right amount of sweetness and flavor. I found the chocolates to be creamy and sweet, but not overly so with the exception of the cinnamon sugar toffee. I think these would make a great gift and are delicious enough for both special occasions and every day.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Pros: delicious all around! Dairy free and vegan selections as well

Cons: website is confusing and unclear regrading the gluten free status of their products.

*Please note that Chocolate Inspirations are supposed to be updating their website re: gluten free status, but as of my publication date, this has not happened.

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To purchase, please click HERE to visit the Chocolate Inspirations website.