Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Hearts with Rich Truffle Filling Are Hard to Resist

Recently; however, she discovered a treat she would knew I would like - - Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Hearts with Rich Truffle Filling. She surprised me with a box.

From Belgium, these chocolates come in a 7.05 oz box. A serving size is three pieces, with about five servings in the box.

There are 190 calories in a serving. The bad news is that most of those - - 110 to be exact - are fat related.

There is 12 g of fat per serving. Of that amount, 7 g comes from saturated fat. The saving grace of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Hearts with Rich Truffle Filling is that they contain no trans fat.

These chocolates also contain 18 g of carbohydrate, 14 g of sugar, 10 mg of salt and 5 mg of cholesterol. To their credit, they also contain 3 g of fiber and 2 g of protein. They also provide 15% of the daily-recommended amount of iron.

Ingredients include cocoa, cocoa butter, and cocoa solids (milk and dark); coconut, dark chocolate; grapeseed and/or palm oil; corn syrup; dry milk powder and milk fat; natural vanilla flavor; salt; sugar and water. They also contain citric acid, crystalline fructose, dextrose, mixed carotenes for color, soy lecithin, vegetable glycerin and vegetable mono and diglycerides.

These chocolates contain no gluten. While they are made in a facility that also processes wheat products and eggs, they take care. They segregate all ingredients in order to avoid any type of cross contact with other products that could promote allergies.

The dark chocolates are filled a creamy dark truffle filling. These are not made for the faint of heart; only for the true connoisseur of dark chocolate.

Here is my summary review:

Taste: 5 stars. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Hearts with Rich Truffle Filling are delicious. They are just as good as Godiva.

Appearance: 5 Stars. The chocolates are deep chocolate in color, smooth and plump. They are irresistible.

Freshness: 5 stars. The chocolates come with a stamped "use by" date on every box. As long as they are eaten within the established time frame, they are utterly scrumptious. I made my last for several months.

Nutrition: 4 stars. Candy, by its very nature, simply isn't nutritious. However, when it comes to candy, this one is better than some because of the dark chocolate focus.

Green value: 5 stars. The packaging is biodegradable.

Packaging: 5 stars. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Hearts with Rich Truffle Filling come in a red and white box with hearts all over the front. The Trader Joe's logo is prominently displayed as is the fact that these chocolates are a product of Belgium. Nutritional facts are displayed on the back along with other pertinent information.

Ease of storage: 5 stars. The box measures 7.25" by 7.25" by 1". It should fit easily into a drawer, kitchen pantry, cabinet or almost anywhere one chooses to store it.

Availability: 2 stars. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Hearts with Rich Truffle Filling are only available at Trader Joe's. Unfortunately Trader Joe's stores are available everywhere.

Price: 5 stars. These are quality chocolates for the low price of $4.99.

Final rating: 4.5 stars.

RATING SCALE:

5 stars = outstanding
4 stars = good
3 stars = average
2 stars = below average
1 star = poor