Confections of a Chocolate Lover

Velvety smooth truffles, crunchy English toffee, chewy honey almond nougats, creamy caramels, melt-in-your-mouth butter creams, sinfully rich fudge. I ate it all, and made it all, daily.

In the early ‘80s I was a candy maker for a small (and now defunct) candy factory in Costa Mesa named Island Sweet Shoppe.

As a kid I’d fantasized about being a candy maker, so working there was literally a dream come true.

I must have eaten my weight in chocolate several times over, and I never grew tired of it. I didn’t care that my friends called me Willy Wonka. I was fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Every year at this time I find myself thinking back to those good old days, when I could indulge my wildest chocolate fantasies and even get paid for it.

Now, the only day out of the year that I allow myself to stuff down sweets is Valentine’s Day.

It’s not just a lover’s holiday. It’s a chocolate lover’s holiday, an open invitation to dive headfirst into a box of See’s and not come up for air until nothing remains but a pile of crinkly papers.

According to the National Confectioners Assn. more than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for this Valentine’s Day. Total candy sales for this year’s holiday are expected to top $1 billion nationwide.

See’s, of course, is pretty much the industry standard. You won’t find a better mass-produced chocolate for $11.70 per pound.

You’ll also never go wrong with Godiva, Helen Grace or Ghirardelli.

But chocolate lovers would do well to check out the handful of confectioners throughout Orange County that actually make their own.

Whether you’re treating your sweetheart, or just being your own best friend, handmade chocolaty treasures await, if you’re willing to do a little exploring.

Peel and Eat

Huntington Beach-based Tomfoolery has been producing handmade chocolate specialties since 1979.

It offers a nice selection of satiny smooth truffles, crunchy turtles, buttery English toffee, chewy caramels, peanut butter cups, nut clusters, chocolate dipped graham crackers and Oreos and more.

But its most popular items are the Peel & Pour chocolate-wrapped wines and champagnes.

Bottles are shrink-wrapped, then coated in dark, white or milk chocolate.

Pull on a zipper that is ingeniously embedded in the chocolate and the sweet leaves shear away from the bottle.

You then savor the smooth chocolate while sipping the wine or champagne.

The company was originally based in a small retail shop on the Balboa Peninsula just a few steps from the old Balboa Theater.

In 1990, owner Millie Sweesy introduced her Peel & Pour wines at the International Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. They were an immediate hit.

To accommodate a flood of orders, she had to move to a larger facility at 5362 Oceanus St. in Huntington Beach, where she now offers her entire line of chocolates on a retail, wholesale and mail-order basis.

The price of a 1-pound box of assorted chocolates starts at $13 and goes up according to the type of packaging chosen.

Peel & Pours run from $14.45 to $228.42, depending on the type of wine or juice.

Nearly 50 brands and vintages are offered. And you can choose nonalcoholic wines and juices, or bring in your own bottle for dipping. Call (714) 903-6800 or go to the Web site, https://www.tomfooleryinc.com.

You can also find candies made by Tom Foolery at LeGwen on the Balboa Peninsula and the Laguna Gourmet Food Co. in Laguna Beach.

Just Like Mom Makes

Probably the most homey of chocolate confections is fudge.

Whether it’s the marshmallow cream and chocolate chip concoction whipped up by Mom or your aunt Betsy or something from the counter at Circle K, there’s no end to the variations.

At Bodega Fudge & Chocolates, the craft of fudge-making has been honed to the sweetest of art forms.

Its chocolate-covered fudge truffle bars are about as good as fudge can get: chocolate dreams as smooth as silk and buttery rich.

They come in eight flavors: traditional chocolate (with or without walnuts), bittersweet, caramelo, dulce de leche (vanilla butter), hazelnut, rocky road and low-fat.

Bodega also makes an outstanding English toffee that’s crispy and light and full of rich buttery flavor, a decadent chocolate truffle ice cream sauce, and chocolate-covered shortbread cookies.

The company is owned by three cousins, and their recipes reach back three generations to the chocolate shop run by their grandparents in Europe.

The candies are made in Dana Point and sold at their boutique at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Prices for the fudge truffle bars range from $2.25 for a single 1.25-ounce bar to $38.50 for the special 31.25-oz Millennium Collection assortment.

English toffee is $11.95 for an 8-ounce bag or $16.25 for a 1-pounder. Add another $2.50 for a decorative tin for the 1-pounder.

The candies can be mail-ordered by phone at (714) 489-0708, or via the Internet at https://www.bodegachocolates.com.

Chocolate Mountain

Fudge lovers should also check out the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. This chain, which has five locations in Orange County, offers rich and silky-smooth fudges in a wide assortment of flavors, all made fresh on the premises.

Selections vary from location to location. On a recent visit to the shop in Laguna Beach, I found four variations, including a buttery milk-chocolate number studded with crunchy macadamia nuts, and one called Laguna Fudge: rich dark chocolate with a marbling of white chocolate chips.

Peanut butter lovers won’t want to miss the Avalanche Bark, a crunchy blend of white chocolate and peanut butter, crisped rice and chocolate chips that you just can’t stop eating.

A tasty buttery caramel is also made on the premises that Rocky Mountain uses for its candied apples, which come in a carnival of styles.

My favorite was the Butterfinger apple, which is coated in gooey fresh caramel, dipped in white chocolate and rolled in a crushed Butterfinger candy bars.

Rocky Mountain also stocks a wide selection of beautiful chocolates shipped from its factory in Durango, Colo.

At the Rancho Santa Margarita shop, it stocks more than 150 items, including light crunchy toffee, elegant truffles and wonderful chocolate-dipped orange and raspberry jellies.

Prices vary depending on the location, but most charge about $13 per pound for assorted chocolates and $8.95 per pound for fudge.

Bittersweet Rewards

It’s sad but true, the mom-and-pop chocolate shops are a dying breed.

That’s why I was pleased to stumble on the Chocolate Soldier at Dana Point Harbor and Paradise Chocolates in San Clemente.

Both are snapshots of the chocolate shops of yesterday, where you’d find a tasty selection, made fresh in small batches and sold by the owners themselves, who’d often double as candy maker and counter clerk.

At Chocolate Soldier, owners Nancy Ficken and De Francis offer an impressive selection of handmade chocolates that are fresh, rich, varied and unpretentious.

The store is packed with five varieties of crunchy, chewy turtles, 10 types of velvety melt-aways, butter creams in seven flavors and more flavors of melt-in-your-mouth truffles than you can shake a peppermint stick at.

They also carry chocolate-dipped candied orange peel, marzipan, buttery homemade caramels, and their own version of s’mores; a chunk of crispy graham crackers layered with handmade marshmallow and blanketed in a thick coat of milk chocolate.

The candies are made in a kitchen across the street from the retail shop. Price for a pound of assorted chocolates is $17.95. Truffles go for $2 per piece or $25 for a 12-pack.

Tucked into a small but homey storefront along Avenida del Mar in downtown San Clemente is Paradise Chocolates and Coffee, another throwback to the mom-and-pop candy shops of yesterday.

It offers a nice selection of handcrafted chocolates made in the kitchen right on the premises.

Truffles are dark and velvety smooth, and the butter creams practically drip when you bite into them. Their bordeaux, are as good as any I’ve tasted (even my own), and the chocolate-covered caramel patties are a gooey, chewy delight.

It also offers a selection of cheesecakes, desserts and other goodies, along with espresso and coffee drinks of all kinds.

There’s also a second location, at 28051 Greenfield Drive in Laguna Niguel.

Chocolate Mouse

Modeled after the sweet shops of old is the Candy Palace at Disneyland. Here you’ll find handmade fudge in four flavors (chocolate--with or without nuts--black walnut and maple). It also makes English toffee, rocky road with made-from-scratch marshmallow, peanut brittle, caramels, pecan turtles and fruit jellies.

Prices range from $3 to $10 per pound--but you’ve got to pay admission to the park ($31 to $41) first. However, mail orders are available.

Knott’s Berry Farm’s candy store, in the park’s marketplace area (no admission necessary), specializes in fudge--15 flavors.

It even offers seasonal specials, including pumpkin-flavored at Thanksgiving and eggnog at Christmas. A pin~a colada flavor for the summer is also in the works.

And it offers a variety of chocolate-dipped treats, including fruits and marshmallows.

An Army of Chocolate Soldiers

* Grandma’s Ice Cream, Candies and Cookies on Main Street in downtown Seal Beach offers its own crunchy turtles, chocolate-coated peanut-butter balls, chewy chocolate covered macaroons and other dipped treats, fudge, English toffee, nut clusters and ice cream and cookies.

A visit to one of the four Caterina’s candy shops scattered throughout Orange County can also satisfy a sweet tooth.

Caterina’s doesn’t make its own, but it offers a good selection of chocolates from some of the oldest and most respected names in the business, including Ashers, Lymon, Ultimate Chocolate and Gertrude Hawks. And it offers truffles, turtles, butter creams, honeycomb, English toffee, caramels, fudge and a lot more.

Stores are in Aliso Viejo, San Clemente, Huntington Beach and at John Wayne Airport.

* Godiva, with shops in four malls throughout Orange County, is probably the most expensive, but there’s no disputing its quality.

Its chocolates are creamy, melt-in-your-mouth wonders that look as beautiful as they taste.

Standouts include the chocolate seashells filled with hazelnut chocolate cream, and the cherry cordials made from white cherries imported from South Africa.

Prices for individual candies range from 80 cents to $3.25 per piece.

* Ghirardelli at the South Coast Plaza offers boxes of prepackaged chocolate truffles, butter creams, nuts and chews made at their plant in San Leandro. Price for a 1-pound box of assorted chocolates is $19.99. Truffles are $19.99 for a 9.8-ounce box.