Sarah's Pastries & Candies

While on vacation in Chicago, my sister and her husband stopped at Sarah's Pastries & Candies while downtown. My sister knows I love a good local sweets shop, so she kindly included some treats (Royaltines and Chocolate Delights) from Sarah's Candies in my Christmas present. After the small sampling I had, I will definitely stop in next time I'm in Chicago!


The Royaltines looked delicious, and they sounded tasty, too: Dark or milk chocolate mixed with crispy Feuilletine wafer pieces and caramelized almonds.

From the first bite, I was immediately reminded of the crunchiness of cereal, only a delicate, more gourmet version. The bitter dark chocolate was just a bit fruity, and the wafer pieces had a light vanilla taste. I couldn't get a sense of the almonds, but the crispy, light, flaky texture was so pleasant.

The milk was a bit softer, and I could taste the nuts better flavor. The smooth, creamy milk chocolate warmed the flavor up considerably as compared to the dark. The wafers reminded me of Rice Krispies here, but the flavor seemed more decadent because of the milk chocolate.

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Chocolate Delights were described as a delicious blend of dark, milk, or white chocolate, caramelized almonds, roasted pistachios, and crispy rice, and they were very attractive.

Milk chocolate was first up, and it was very crispy and nutty, with the almond flavor holding most of my attention. The crisp rice added a fun crackle, but the crunch of the caramelized almonds dominated the texture. The milk chocolate was smooth and melted quickly on the tongue, making for a very decadent treat.

The flavor of the dark chocolate stood out more against the almonds, and it also brought out the caramelization. Here, I was struck by the heartiness of the Delights. I almost wished they had a tad more rice cereal in them, because with all those almonds, they were very filling. It's probably a good thing that I couldn't eat too many in one sitting, since it forced me to pace myself.

Of the three flavors, the white chocolate Delight went best with the pistachios. The white chocolate itself was mild with hints of vanilla and, most importantly, wasn't too sweet. It was also delicious with the almonds, but again, I feel like these make a better snack than a dessert, due to the intensely filling nuts.

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Sarah's Candies website