Gingerbread is one of the most loved holiday flavors, bringing back warm memories of festive baking and family gatherings. For retail confectioners, it’s a perfect choice to spice up your chocolates and treats. Here are some simple, creative ways to work gingerbread flavor and decoration into your products:

Gingerbread Truffles

Truffles are a great canvas for highlighting gingerbread’s warm spices. Mix ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and molasses into a chocolate ganache filling. Coat the truffles in dark or milk chocolate and roll them in crushed gingerbread cookies or spiced sugar. As an example, Charbonnel et Walker makes chocolate truffles infused with real ginger flavor and hand rolled in milk chocolate and gingerbread cookie pieces, before another coating of chocolate for a decadent texture.

Gingerbread Caramels

Soft, chewy caramels with a gingerbread twist are a welcome treat for the holidays. Add gingerbread spices and molasses to your caramel recipe for a rich, warm flavor. As a limited-time edition, RCI Member Abdallah Candies creates a festive fusion of spicy gingerbread and old-fashioned wrapped caramels for a delicious and nostalgic treat.

Chocolate-Covered Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are a classic holiday treat, but dipping them in chocolate makes them extra special. Dip half of a gingerbread cookie in dark or white chocolate, then decorate with a drizzle of contrasting chocolate or a sprinkle of crushed candy canes. This simple upgrade turns a traditional cookie into a gourmet holiday delight.

Gingerbread Gummies

Run, run as fast as you can to add these Jolly Gingerbread Gummies by Albanese Confectionery to your holiday assortment. These cute gingerbread men and colorful gumdrop friends add some fun and fruity flavor to your holiday season. Package for snacking or as part of gingerbread house decorating kits, they’re a festive addition customers will love this holiday season. Click here for tips on creating your own Gingerbread House Kits.

Photo credit: Compartes/Facebook

Chocolate Gingerbread Bark

Chocolate bark is an easy way to get creative. Spread melted dark or milk chocolate, then swirl in some white chocolate. Sprinkle crushed gingerbread cookies, candied orange peel, or toasted nuts on top. Once it hardens, break it into pieces for a fun, shareable treat that looks great in gift bags or tins. Compartés packages as “Gingerbread Bark Breakable Chocolate” in a luxury gift box containing chocolate bark studded with gingerbread cookies and crystallized ginger.

Holiday Packaging

Make your gingerbread-inspired treats stand out with festive packaging. Use warm, holiday colors like red, gold, and white, or even patterns that mimic gingerbread houses. Labels that describe the cozy spices and flavors inside will help customers feel the holiday spirit.

Adding gingerbread to your gourmet chocolates and confections is a simple way to bring the warmth and joy of the holidays to your customers. With these ideas, you can turn classic holiday flavors into irresistible treats that are perfect for gifting—or just enjoying!

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Happy National Peanut Butter Day! We may be partial, but can think of no better way to celebrate than with a creamy, dreamy peanut butter meltaway. This sweet and salty combination is hard to beat!

For many confectioners, the peanut butter meltaway is a popular mainstay in their product line. If you have lots of customers who love your peanut butter meltaways, chances are they will perk up when you add a twist to this classic. We're not suggesting you change your recipe, but simply sharing inspiration to add to your collection of peanut butter confections.

Roasted Peanuts
This may seem obvious. Just as there are jars of creamy peanut butter and crunchy peanut butter at the grocery store, why couldn’t there be creamy and crunchy varieties of peanut butter meltaways? If you already make your peanut butter meltaways with chunks of peanuts, consider adding a smooth variety to your product lineup.

Crispy Rice Cereal
Candy makers have been adding crispy rice cereal to their peanut butter balls for decades. Consider this variation a nod to yesteryear or, better yet, blow their minds by experimenting with chunks of Rice Krispies Treats® (yes, with marshmallow) added to your recipe.

Graham Crackers
Adding graham cracker crumbs will create a firmer texture and a different, yet familiar, flavor variation. Some say this addition makes peanut butter meltaways taste more like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups®.

Sea Salt
Add course-ground sea salt to your peanut butter center for crunch and sprinkle on top to achieve crave-worthy saltiness, plus it just looks good!

Flour Salt
RCI member and Chocolate Boot Camp^© instructor, Randy Hofberger, uses fine flour salt in his recipe for peanut butter meltaways. In case you're not familiar with this ingredient, flour salt has been pulverized to achieve an ultra-fine, powdery consistency. This ingredient will enhance the peanut flavor while maintaining a super smooth, velvety texture.

Photo credit: Callebaut

Feuilletine Flakes
These crispy little wafers are sure to elevate your peanut butter meltaways. They can also be used for a simple, yet sophisticated garnish.

Banana Chips
Adding chunks of dried banana chips to your meltaways will deliver both crunch and flavor. If you’re really adventurous, experiment with adding banana chips and crispy bacon bits as an homage to Elvis Presley.

Marshmallow
Let your inner child lead the way! This could be a layer of marshmallow, marshmallow fluff or mini marshmallows…better yet, Lucky Charms^® mini marshmallows.

Vanilla + Almond Extract
Boost the nuttiness of your recipe by adding a splash of almond extract, along with the vanilla.

Quinoa
The addition of puffed crispy quinoa will bring with it a satisfying crunch, plus a halo of health benefits. Consider ways to make this option even more appealing to health-conscious consumers, such as reducing the sugar and covering in dark chocolate.

We hope this week’s post helps spark your creativity and allows you to go a little nuts with new variations to your peanut butter meltaway recipe.

Crave more?Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

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Consumers’ flavor preferences are divided between two trends. One based on comforting and nostalgic, more traditional flavors and the other on novelty, experimentation and intensity. These are not mutually exclusive; consumers will migrate between the two based on individual needs and external factors, shared Chiara Calcagnini and Eva Teyssier with Barry Callebaut in an article written for RCI’s Kettle Talk magazine.

Experimental: Caramel with a Twist

Consumers love to try out new flavor combinations. A caramel flavor with a twist can provide enough of a familiar ground to persuade them to take the plunge towards novelty flavors or ingredients. Twists also bring new life and interest to offerings that may otherwise be overlooked because they’ve been seen so many times before.

Twists and pairings

Caramel pairs wonderfully with a variety of different inclusions to create multi-sensorial experiences. Combinations with healthier inclusions like seeds, nuts and dried fruits are especially appealing for consumers. All sorts of caramel twists including combinations with cocktail-based flavors, rosemary and sea salt, cocoa nibs, etc. can bring your caramel creations to a next level and create an elevated and premium perception. Caramel also has incredible potential to satisfy various eating occasions and consumer needs. For example, caramel and caramel products are the perfect solution for the rising trend of on-the-go consumer snacking.

In the spirit of exploring new and creative twists on caramel, we’re sharing 3 variations of caramel flavors to try this fall.

Photo credit: Shotwell Candy Co.

Old Fashioned Cocktail Caramels

If a caramel walked into a bar—a swanky, retro bar—it might walk out tasting like Shotwell Candy Co.’s “Old Fashioned” Cocktail Caramels. Described as “buttery soft caramel, infused with aromatic bitters, barrel-aged bourbon, and orange extract.”

Photo credit: King Arthur Baking Company

Salted Rosemary Caramel Sauce

For herbaceous twist on your class caramel recipe, add a hint of fresh rosemary. This recipe for salted rosemary caramel sauce calls for boiled apple cider to add a more refined flavor and also recommends straining the caramel to remove any remaining pieces of rosemary.

Sweet tip: Speaking of caramel sauce, if you have a great caramel recipe and aren’t currently making caramel sauce, this could be a natural variation which would give your customers another way to enjoy your caramel.

Photo credit: Love & Olive Oil

Dark Chocolate Cocoa Nib Caramels

Especially if you already have chocolate caramels in your wheelhouse, adding cocoa nibs is sure to elevate your recipe with welcome texture and crunch elements. Check out this recipe from Love & Olive Oil.

Adding a twist to your caramel creations can elevate them from ordinary to interesting and even trendy, especially for younger consumers. If you’re interested in learning more about the science of crafting perfect caramels, click here to get notified when registration opens for RCI’s Caramels, Toffees & Brittles education course in Orlando, Florida February 21-23, 2023.

Crave more?Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

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Although these crispy and chewy fried pastries, often topped with cinnamon and sugar, aren’t a new development, they are expected to “dominate 2020’s dessert scene,” according to Webstaurant Store’s food trends report earlier this year.

Compartes Churros & Horchata white chocolate bar, Smash Mallow
cinnamon churro marshmallows, and Candy Club churro bites

Commonly characterized by a very generous coating of cinnamon sugar, you can transform just about any of your favorite confections into a churro-inspired treat. Tip: Add the extra element of crunch by incorporating Cinnamon Toast Crunch^TM Churros cereal.

Abdallah Candies envelopes their buttery toffee in white chocolate before coating it in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. It’s almost too pretty to eat, but we wouldn’t let that stop us!

Churro Popcorn

White-chocolate covered popcorn sprinkled with the churro’s signature cinnamon sugar combo, may be just what you need to recreate the crispy, chewy texture that the churro is known for. For extra cinnamon flavor, this recipe coats popcorn in melted cinnamon chips.

Churro Truffles

Nothing quite beats rolling all the goodness that makes a churro into a decadent truffle. Check out this recipe for churro truffles from Peter’s Chocolate.

Here’s just a few ideas to put your own spin on churros as part of your confectionery line-up, but don’t stop here! Imagine how you could transform your signature caramel recipe or scratch-made marshmallows to capture the flavors and textures of the churro? Tell us all about your ideas in the comments below.

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