Thursday, February 10, 2011

for the love of chocolate (giveaway)


today i had the complete pleasure of visiting a local chocolate maker, raymer's homemade candies, in doylestown, pa.  mark and sue raymer have been in the candy business for years.  mark learned the trade from sue's dad, and many of their recipes date back to the 1880s and have been passed down in the family.  (i tried to get some secret recipe info out of mark....no luck : )


my visit this morning included a tour of their shop and work space.  they work only with real belgian chocolate and make everything on site.  and when i say everything...i mean everything.  they make their own caramel, all their own fillings, and they even roast their own nuts!  but the real secret to their success - besides fabulous chocolate - lies in their dedicated customer service.  not only did they take two hours of their time (4 days before valentine's day) to meet with me, but they also sent me home with over 2 pounds of their delectable treats!  (a pound for me and a pound for one lucky reader.  yes...you read right.  a 1lb box of their delicious homemade chocolates could be yours!  get excited : ) 


my fave treats of the several i was lucky enough to sample today:
-peanut butter meltaway - amazingly buttery, creamy pb center enrobed in silky milk chocolate.  to die for.
-salted caramel - literally the best caramel i have ever tasted.  very smooth, not too chewy and made from real cream (you can definitely taste the difference)
(fyi: both are included in the 1 lb sampler that could be yours!)


besides their standbys, mark also experiments with adventurous items.  like cinnamon, chipotle chocolate bark made with 72% cacao.  i tried it, and it was fabulous!  perfect balance of rich chocolate and subtle heat.  awesome.


if you are ever in the doylestown area, you need to stop by raymer's.  not only are their chocolates and candies amazingly delicious, but sue & mark completely love what they do and welcome you into their shop like it's their home.  (...or...of course, you can always have their chocolates shipped...)

so, how can you get your very own 1lb box of
homemade chocolates?

raymer's one pound sampler = divine

- follow lifestyle maven and leave a comment below:
what is your favorite chocolate treat?

chocoholic?  for extra entries:

- follow lifestyle maven on twitter
- like lifestyle maven on facebook
- tweet about this giveaway

please leave a separate comment for each entry! 
winner will be announced on <3 day : )

50 comments:

  1. I fought with myself about whether to comment on this because as much as I love chocolate (and I do LOVE chocolate)...should I really eat it? I guess every woman,myself included, fights with herself over chocolate. To eat or not to eat, is the question? I asked myself the question and I can deny it all I want, but this chocolate looks to yummy not to eat. The Peanut butter meltaways sound perfect.

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  2. I'm a follower, please enter me. I've been craving chocolates for days. My favorites are peanut butter and chocolate combinations.

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  3. I love all things chocolate and this is such a brilliant giveaway:) Yum yum yum! Happy Thursday, darling

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  4. So yeah...peanut butter and chocolate are the perfect duo. My faves.

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  5. What a wonderful giveaway!!! I'm a follower and I LOVE chocolate... any kind of chocolate! :)

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  6. Yayy chocolate! I had some dark chocolate w/ sea salt today... SO GOOD.

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  7. wowzahs! this is a great giveaway. im drooling just thinking of the salted caramels :) xoxo jcd

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  8. now following you via twitter! xoxo jcd
    @cornflakedreams

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  9. annnd just sent out a tweet! thanks for the chance :) xoox jcd

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  10. What a perfect day to discover your blog (and thank you for visiting my blog :))! I love English toffee, but nice chocolate truffles are a close second.

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  11. And I will follow your blog!! Thanks for the chance to win some yummy chocolate :)

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  12. Those chocolates looks SO YUMMY! :) I will definitely be following your blog! So glad I found you!

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  13. follow as mandy83 and i love chocolate covered marshmallows

    pokergrl8 at gmail.com

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  14. follow u on twitter at aes529

    pokergrl8 at gmail.com

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  15. like u on fb as amanda s

    pokergrl8 at gmail.com

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  16. tweet

    http://twitter.com/#!/aes529/status/35863109126066177

    pokergrl8 at gmail.com

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  17. I can smell the chocolate now! Love chocolate, truffles are a fav. I'm a follower of Lifestyle Maven
    debflan at gmail dot com

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  18. Just started following LIfestyle Maven on Facebook.
    debflan at gmail dot com

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  19. Chocolate covered peanut butter is my favorite but you already knew that! Thanks for bringing home the chocolates (I might have eaten part of the giveaway...shhhhh)

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  20. wow best giveway ever!!!!!! i love anything with peanut butter!...i am a follower :)

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  21. Best giveaway! I live across the street from the local chocolate factory (it's awesome) so I loooove chocolates. My favorites are chocolates with peanutbutter and/or caramel. Also, Maple anything is pretty fantastic. I'm jealous of your tour!

    -RB
    justaddwaterlife.blogspot.com

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  22. OMG... salted caramel. Heaven! Right now I am on a total chiptole and dark chocolate kick. I am drooling like and idiot right now.

    ~Lauren <3
    http://tennesseemirepoix.blogspot.com

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  23. i'm a follower! and I love milk chocolate with peanut butter mmmm!

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  24. Chocolate Truffles, the ones where the inside oozes out when you bite into them. I die.

    Thanks for a great giveaway, Cailen =) (I follow u already via GFC)

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  25. Now following you on Twitter =) (@missmarieg)

    wildthenchild@gmail.com

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  26. I like you on FB as well
    (Marie L Gaor)

    wildthenchild@gmail.com

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  27. Just tweeted. =) http://twitter.com/#!/MissMarieG/status/36163464053395457

    wildthenchild@gmail.com

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  28. This is so incredible! Have you ever heard of The Mast Brothers? They're artisan chocolate makers, pretty cool stuff too: http://www.mastbrotherschocolate.com/

    xo

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  29. My favorite treat is Dark Bordeaux by see's candies.

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  30. Followed lifestyle maven on @hadespark

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  31. Liked lifestyle facebook page on Trinity Reyes

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  32. I follow your blog : )

    My favourite chocolate treat has to be... chocolate covered caramel, or chocolate covered hazelnuts!

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  33. These look heavenly! Have a delightful weekend, Kellie xx

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  34. I love Raymer's! I had their brown sugar fudge, which was delicious--so cool that you are featuring them. I followed your blog. My favorite chocolate treat is chocolate covered candied ginger.

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  35. how delicious! I'm not following :)

    -Annina of www.cinchedatthewaist.com

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  36. My favorite chocolate treat would be a brownie with frosting... yum!

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  37. Wow aren't you lucky! The chocolates look yummy and smooth.

    Thanks for your comment on my blog by the way. I'm glad because now I've found yours. Look forward to seeing more of your posts on my dashboard throughout the year.

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  38. You just made me crave so much chocolate, luckily I have a box of chocolates next to me courtesy of the boyfriend :)
    xx

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  39. I want (need) this candy :) My favorite chocolate treat is dark chocolate truffles! I am now following you on twitter :) Follow back and check out my blog! Happy V day!
    www.caitinolivieri.com

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  40. yum yum yum!!

    xox
    Lexi @ http://glitterandpearls.com

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hello there. thank you for your comments - i love reading them.

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