On the search for the best chocolates in Connecticut brings us to Deborah Ann’s Sweet Shoppe in Ridgefield.
I asked for a collection of their absolute best chocolates that they made in the store.
Some chocolate shops supplement their store-made chocolates with those made by other distributors.
So I was given a ‘greatest hits’, all of which we can review here.
But the purpose of this post is to highlight the best. Let’s save those for last.
We can start from the least impressive and move on to the most impressive.
Candy Cane Crunch (Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate)
These were inconsistent and heavily dependent on the type of chocolate.
A chocolate bun underneath then covered with a heavy coating of crushed up candy cane.
The Rating:
The Dark chocolate was the least impressive. The dark chocolate does not mix well with the sharp candy cane flavor. It is a contrast of bitterness of dark chocolate and that strong bite of peppermint that isn’t ideal. 5.5/10
The White chocolate is better. The white chocolate isn’t strong enough to combat the strength of the mint, so it’s mostly peppermint flavor that you get with just a hint of cocoa butter at the end. 6.5/10
The Milk chocolate is the bets of the three. The downside compared to the white chocolate is the Milk chocolate actually overpowers the candy cane, pushing it into the background. The milk chocolate is tasty though. 7/10
Marshmallow & Caramel (Dark Chocolate):
This sounded wonderful, so I was very excited.
Sadly, the execution was not what I hoped for.
The Rating:
Everything here is too sweet. The Marshmallow is too sweet, and the caramel is too sweet. When paired together they are overpowering. You’d think the Dark chocolate would be best because it wouldn’t overpower with more sweetness, but the slight bitterness is misplaced. 6/10
Peppermint Bark (Dark Chocolate)
Here things are starting to come together.
This chocolate (again incorporating the candy cane) acts like a strong mint, leaving your mouth cool.
The Rating:
The bottom is dark chocolate and the middle is white chocolate. That leaves a subtle chocolate flavor with some hints of coconut, possibly from the cocoa butter and peppermint mixed. Heavy on the mint flavor too. 6.5/10
Sea Salt Caramel (Milk Chocolate)
This is your standard chocolate. Milk is better than the dark.
The Rating:
The caramel tastes like the kind you would get down at the local drug store. Not wonderful but pleasant. The little bit of sea salt on top is a nice touch. The milk chocolate coating is really good. 7.5/10
The worse versions of the best chocolates here:
So the two best chocolates here are the Buttercrunch and the English Toffee. Both best versions involve the milk chocolate.
The difference between “Buttercrunch” and “English Toffee” is miniscule.
Accounts differ as to whether “English toffee” and/or ‘Buttercrunch” involves the inclusion of nuts (often almonds).
But mostly both are melted down, butter, little bits of flour, and either sugar or molasses.
The best I can tell, “English toffee” uses brown sugar and “buttercrunch” uses white sugar.
That’s it.
In both, the dark chocolate here can’t stand up to the sweetness and excellence that is the internal toffees (ranging from 6.5/10 fore the buttercrunch to 7.5/10 for the English toffee). The milk chocolate versions, however, are far superior.
English Toffee (Milk Chocolate)
The toffee inside is perfect. It is crunch, sweet, and the milk chocolate balances the saltiness of the toffee with more sweetness of the chocolate. Just nearly perfect.
The rating: 9/10
Buttercrunch (Milk Chocolate)
Just perfect.
The rating:
The buttercrunch inside is sticky yet crisp at the same time. Almonds on the outside aren’t stale, which can happen easily at places. The chocolate flavor is wonderful too. 9/10
The recommendation
Whatever you get, make sure it is with milk chocolate. Consistently the white and dark chocolates were the inferior versions of whatever came in milk chocolate too. Also, get anything with toffee in it, as it is as wonderful a version as you may find in CT.
https://www.instagram.com/eatthisct/
Address: 381 Main St, Ridgefield, CT 06877
https://deborahanns.com/Deborah-Ann’s-Chocolates-1
Phone: (203) 438-0065