New: Special Caramel Flavors for Mother’s Day!
Allison’s mind is often in a whirl of fun ideas for new products and more. Several months ago, when she first told me her idea to use Lavender and Rose flavors in our caramels for Mother’s Day, I’ll admit I was a little skeptical. After the first test batch, I got to do one of my favorite tasks of my job description – taste-testing – and I was an instant convert! Eating these caramels is like eating the rich yet delicate scent of lavender and rose flowers (covered in caramel, of course!). The floral accents are well-rounded and dynamic, without overpowering the caramel’s perfection. To tell you the truth, they’re absolute heaven.
Allison created two glorious flavors in honor of moms in all forms:
Salted Lavender Caramels - Combining organic lavender with our already to-live-for Salted Vanilla Caramels creates these sweet, luxuriously chewy and brightly lavender flavored delights. Enjoy them sitting in your garden with the sun on your face listening to the bees buzzing in the flowers. 
Chocolate Rose Caramels - Most of us know that chocolate and roses are natural complements. Allison built on this classic pairing by adding just the right touch of Bulgarian rose to our oh-so-elegant Chocolate Caramels, creating a confection that is both flowers and chocolates in one ideal gift.
Mother’s Day is quickly coming up – in just under two weeks – and there are probably a bazillion moms out there who will be clamoring for these unbelievably delicious and unique caramels as soon as word gets out. So, get ahead of the game and surprise all the super-women in your life with life-changing caramels (and maybe breakfast in bed, too)! You can place your order today and request a delayed delivery date (in the order process) for timely arrival.
For more Mother’s Day gift ideas, check out our special Mother’s Day page.
Monday Yumday: Caramel Apples
In case you missed it in our Newsletter this month, this is Allison’s recipe for out-of-this-world caramel apples using our very own individually-wrapped vanilla caramels. Take them to a harvest party or hand them out to excited children (and adults!) on Halloween:
Vegan Caramel Apples
My favorite apples to bathe in gooey caramel are the illustrious Honeycrisp Apples from Washington State. If you’re not lucky enough to find these, crisp Fuji apples will do just fine.
What to use . . .
6 crisp apples, washed and dried
9 ounces individually wrapped vegan caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons coconut milk
. . . and How
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Remove the stem from each apple and firmly press a popsicle stick into each top. Place apples bottom side down onto the lined baking sheet.
3. Heat a heavy saucepan over low. Add caramels and coconut milk. Stir regularly. Once the caramels have completely melted, allow to cool for 3 minutes. Then, holding the popsicle stick, roll each apple quickly in caramel sauce until well coated. Place apples bottom side down onto the prepared sheet pan to set.
Recipe copyright: Allison Rivers Samson of Allison’s Gourmet, an organic, vegan bakery & confectionary boutique. If you wish to reprint, just ask!
Announcing our new Salted Chocolate Caramels!!
Last month, Allison was excited to attend Portland’s VegFest and visit with friends in her old stomping grounds of the Pacific Northwest. One of the many highlights was a visit to the factory of Theo Chocolate, a Seattle company that makes delicious 
bean-to-bar, organic, fair-trade chocolate (too bad they’re not all vegan!).
Filled with inspiration and anticipation, Allison returned home to begin her new love affair with salted caramels. Always one to do something different, she chose to avoid extra layers between our luscious caramel and delicate Himalayan pink salt by lightly adorning our individually-wrapped chocolate caramels rather than the standard practice of salting chocolate covered caramels.
These decadent, chewy, rich and chocolate-y salted caramels are so delicious that we couldn’t wait another minute to share them with you! We hope that you’ll love them as much as we do.
Summertime Shipping and Eco-Friendly Chill Packs
Summer can be a hard time for shipping perishables. So much of the shipping process is out of our hands, and packages often sit in hot trucks, and on sunny porches before being opened and enjoyed.
Not to be deterred by a little heat, however, we’re pleased to offer a styrofoam-free, eco-conscious chill pack option for shipping vegan chocolates and other perishable items in warm weather. Our chill packs create much less waste and are lighter and more efficient to ship than traditional styrofoam boxes. Plus, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of our vegan chocolates and other confections and baked goods, when you follow our shipping guidelines.
Here are some tips for shipping perishable items in summer heat:
- Always include our recommended chill pack and ship via FedEx 2-day air.
- Ship to an address where someone will be present to receive the package.
- Do NOT include “deliver without signature” or “leave at front door” in the note to driver line. (These notes allows FedEx to leave packages in unknown conditions).
- If you’re shipping to a location over 90ºF, consider less perishable items like caramels, non-chocolate toffee and brittle, cookies and brownies.
- If you are unsatisfied with your products upon delivery and you followed the shipping guidelines above, write us an email with the details of your order for credit or re-shipment free of charge.
Weekly Wrap-Up: Toffee and Caramels
Welcome to another edition of Allison’s Gourmet weekly wrap-up. I hope you all had a fantastic week!
Thank you for the great Facebook activity this week everyone. We loved your comments on our homemade tempeh posts. Also, thank you so much for sharing this week’s blog posts with your Facebook and Twitter friends. If you missed it, everyone seemed to enjoy Vegan Toffee: Not Just for the Holidays post.
We’d like to give special shout outs to our fellow tweeple for your support: @Animal_Advocacy, @melissagerman, and @eatpure. The lovely @eatpure was kind enough to blog about our caramels! Check out her post here: Vegan Caramels. Thanks so much!!
We sincerely appreciate your support friends – keep us posted on what you’d like to see or hear more of, and don’t forget catch up with us on Twitter and Facebook. Have a great weekend!
