Cool Hunting

Eight Salty, Sweet, Mouth-Puckering Licorices
by Karen McGrane Licorice seemed wrong and bad to me as a child, one of those things like coffee ice cream or kissing in movies that made me deeply suspicious of adult desires. As my tastes have matured so has my preference for licorice and I seek out only the darkest, chewiest, and most complex flavors. Used as a sweetener and a medicinal since ancient...

Kettle Chips Happy Hour Flavor Contest
Kettle Chips has just launched their second annual customer's choice contest. We, along with thousands of other Kettle Chips fans, submitted several flavors we wanted to see made. The results are in, and after months of work in the test kitchen, so are the chips. This year's finalists include: Buffalo Bleu Cheese, Dirty Martini, Tuscan Three Cheese, Spicy Mary, and Creamy Caesar. In addition...

Crummy Brothers Organic Cookies
Spear tipped us off to these cookies. We buy a lot of cookies. We get sent a lot of cookies. We eat a lot of cookies at CH HQ. But we have never. Never. Tasted cookies like these. These righteous treats are geared for an adult palette. Though you can get 'em plain, we highly recommend the lightly-infused flavors: Lavender, Orange Blossom and Peppermint....

Schwartz's Crunchmallows
Decadence takes many forms (and for some reason we seem to be fairly expert at several of them). Schwartz Crunchmallows are our latest obsession. Made in New York by the Schwartz family since 1939, these insanely delectable marshmallows sit atop a thin toffee wafer and are coated in semisweet chocolate. Other varieties include marshmallows with a caramel bottom, and plain marshmallows in eight flavors....

Fran's Smoked Salt Caramels
I'm a fan of all things that mix sweet and salty, so when I first tasted the rising confectionary trend combining chocolate, sea salt, and caramel, I was hooked. Fran's Chocolates, a company based out of Seattle, just kicked it up a notch with their introduction of a version that utilizes smoked Welsh sea salt. Sweet and complex, the savory punch perfectly compliments the...

Cocoa Coal
I'm really excited that more and more companies are creating "adult" food products that hit the sweet spot without pummeling you with extra sugar, HFCS, additives and preservatives; companies like GuS, and Fizzy Lizzy come to mind. Add to this growing cateogory my new favorite popcorn snack, Cocoa Coal from LesserEvil. Once you get beyond the name and the packaging you'll discover popcorn that...