Candy

What will they think of next?

Sex and the City and the Cosmo Jelly Beans

Shelf Life: Sexist sweets at Cost Plus

Best Place To Fulfill Your Apple-a-day Quota

Candy's Apples

BEST MAKEUP SELECTION

Sephora

BEST PLACE TO LOW-CARB

Low Carb Mall

Cradle to the Rave

Club kids strike again

Amanda Monrad

Handful of magic beings

Kingfish Fiasco

sleeping and i hear you
(self-released)

Ash

The soundtrack of geek romance

Cardiac Party

Teen Challenge
(self-released)

Sweets & Beats Coming to Grand Avenue

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbhill/When it rains, it pours . . . candy. Last week I got the lowdown on Smeeks, a new candy shop coming to Central and Camelback. And now there's already word of another place in the works for Grand Avenue -- right between vintage tiki bar Bikini ... More >>

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbhill/When it rains, it pours . . . candy. Last week I got the lowdown on Smeeks, a new candy shop coming to Central and Camelback. And now there's already word of another place in the works for Grand Avenue -- right between vintage tiki bar Bikini ... More >>

How Sweet It Is! Sweets and Beats

Sloane BurwellThis is the sort of darts I'd love to play. ​There's nothing like candy to release your inner 5 year old. From all day suckers to wickedly sour candies strong enough to make a grown-up wince, there's a sticky sweet treat to satisfy every taste bud. Nowadays, it seems like nostalg ... More >>

How Sweet It Is! Smeeks

Sloane BurwellBoo! It's Halloween candy!​There's nothing like candy to release your inner 5 year old. From all day suckers to wickedly sour candies strong enough to make a grown-up wince, there's a sticky sweet treat to satisfy every taste bud. Nowadays, it seems like nostalgia reigns supreme ... More >>

How Sweet It Is! Dulceria Pico Rico

Sloane Burwell​ There's nothing like candy to release your inner 5 year old. From all day suckers to wickedly sour candies strong enough to make a grown-up wince, there's a sticky sweet treat to satisfy every taste bud. Nowadays, it seems like nostalgia reigns supreme as quirky candy from the ... More >>

Homemade Candy Corn Easier Than It Sounds -- If You Follow the Recipe

Amy SilvermanHomemade Candy Corn.​You didn't expect to read the terms "cognitive dissonance" and "homemade candy corn" in the same sentence, but there they are.And so apt -- as soon as we got the idea to make our own candy corn (not knowing if it was even possible or had ever been attempted) we be ... More >>

Sweet Read: Field Guide to Candy

​What to say about pastry chef/blogger/cookbood author Anita Chu's new book except that you have to have it? Her Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable is just as mouthwatering as it sounds, with more than 100 essential recipes packed into one thick, ... More >>

Stocking Stuffers: Salt Water Taffy at Sunflower Market

A couple of weeks ago, we happened upon an unusual find at our local Sunflower Market on Southern and McClintock Rd. in Tempe. Plopped in their bulk section, right where we discovered the most amazing chocolate-covered dried cherries on a previous excursion, is a Sweet's salt water taffy i ... More >>

Valley's Largest Gingerbread House Inspires Hunger at JW Marriott

You might want to quelch your hunger before you head to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa--they've got the self-proclaimed "largest gingerbread village in the Valley" on display, and the confection is a mouthwatering structure smothered in frosting, chocolate and gumdrops. We'd lo ... More >>

Almond Joy Valentine Treats

​After skipping out on both the Jell-O and dip showdowns recently, I decided to whip something up to show the Chow Bella staff some love, in honor of the season. Almonds seemed like the perfect treat -- healthy (pretend healthy, at least) and tasty, particularly with a few sweet additions. B ... More >>

Exotic Ice Cream Flavor Quest, in "Just Desserts"

In the end, we get what's coming to us. Let's hope it's sweet. ​The latest issue of Sunset magazine says a $4,000 dresser is "worth the splurge" and the rooms at a former sanitarium turned bed-and-breakfast are calming. One article that doesn't incite a high-pitched "ha!" is the one predicting th ... More >>

QuickPHX: Sweet

In the end, we get what's coming to us. Let's hope it's sweet. ​The latest issue of Sunset magazine says a $4,000 dresser is "worth the splurge" and the rooms at a former sanitarium turned bed-and-breakfast are calming. One article that doesn't incite a high-pitched "ha!" is the one predicting th ... More >>

Urban Beans, Honey Moon Sweets and Wicked Kitchen Join the Caramelpalooza Line Up

  (Note: Judging selections have been made.) Hold onto your fillings, people -- the competition for Chow Bella/Smeek's ​Caramelpalooza just got stickier. Urban Beans, Honey Moon Sweets Bakery & Dessert Bar and Wicked Kitchen Gourmet have joined Urban Cookies, Tammie Coe, Tracy Dem ... More >>

Chocolate Wine and Other Adults-Only Easter Basket Ideas

The last time I received an Easter basket, I was listening to Flock of Seagulls and teasing my hair with Aqua Net. EEEk. Egg decorating and pre-made baskets may be geared towards kids, but that doesn't mean adults have to miss out. Here are a few suggestions to make a sweet holiday ba ... More >>

Free Candy, Live Music and YoYo Demos at Smeeks Day!

  ​ ​It's no secret that Chow Bella's sweet on Smeeks -- we're still scraping the caramel off our teeth after last week's Caramelpalooza. And tomorrow we're grabbing the kids and heading over to our favorite candy store for Smeeks Day. Billed as a special day for kids (akin to a st ... More >>

Scotch Tasting in Carefree, BLT Steak Derby and New Jelly Belly Recipes in Today's Eater's Digest

An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. ​ Tomorrow, join Carefree Station and Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Company from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for a scotch tasting and seminar. Learn about the scotch making process while sipping on generous samples of single ... More >>

Nicky's Week, Bonnaroo Buzz and National Candy Month in Today's Eater's Digest

http://lauriebot.com​Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?  Nicky's Week This week is Nicky's Week at all RA Sushi locations. One-hundren percent of the proceeds from select food and beverage items on the RA menu will be don ... More >>

Now Open: Sweeties Candy

Maybe we need a golden ticket to get into Sweeties.​ ​Locals have been drooling over the idea of a mega candy store ever since Ohio-based b.a. Sweetie Candy Company announced the impending opening of a new location in a Phoenix suburb. Drool no longer, folks. Sweeties ... More >>

The Best Candy for Halloween Ever, That's Right, Ever.

​ Don't lie. We know you've already bought your Halloween candy -- and we know it's not going to make it to October 31. So what'dya get? As far as we're concerned, you can keep your gummy skulls covered in marshmallow, then dipped in chocolate and rolled in sour sugar. We just want our favorit ... More >>

Luxury Sweets

​ Don't lie. We know you've already bought your Halloween candy -- and we know it's not going to make it to October 31. So what'dya get? As far as we're concerned, you can keep your gummy skulls covered in marshmallow, then dipped in chocolate and rolled in sour sugar. We just want our favorit ... More >>

Coming Soon: Candy Addict on Mill Avenue

Photo: Cyndi Coon​ What are we so excited about over here at Chow Bella? Candy! No, not just Halloween treats. There's going to be a new candy store in town. Candy Addict is coming soon to downtown Tempe -- a family-owned candy store near ASU at 414 Mill Avenue. They will ca ... More >>

5 Ways to Drink Your Halloween Candy

mixthatdrink.comA rainbow of vodka flavors.​Candy is dandy, liquor is quicker, so combining candy AND liquor must be a jovial jaunt to inebriation.If you've  got a bowl full of Halloween candy and some alcohol in your cabinet, why not get creative and really trick-or-treat.Here are 5 ideas to ... More >>

3 Recipes for Leftover Halloween Candy

Bit-O-Honey bites.​After the Butterfingers and Snickers are long gone, there sit the dregs of the Halloween pillowcase. Those undesirable confections that linger after all of the coveted candies have been eaten: Bit-O-Honey's, candy corn and other generic sweets that lie at the bottom of the bag w ... More >>

Serbs You Right

Spit-roasted lamb and palachinke. So good.

Pilgrim Cookie

Illustration by Cyndi Coon​With Thanksgiving upon us -- and knowing that some people are already pie'd out -- we figured that making some cookies for your guests to snack on post dinner would be a good idea. Sticking with the pilgrims, these cutie cookies serve the sweet tooth and the theme ... More >>

Caramelpalooza 2011: Who Wants to Make Some Candy?

Jonathan McNamara Tammie Coe's 2010 caramels. ​Has it really been almost a year since we stood in the parking lot of Smeeks -- sticky and sweaty from a night of caramel tasting/swooning -- and swore we'd never eat sugar again? Indeed it has. And we have one thing to say, Phoenix: Br ... More >>

Gimme Some Sugar: Candy Addict vs. Rocket Fizz

"Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh, soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie?" Up until two years ago when Georganne Bryant opened her colorful retro candy boutique, Smeeks, no one in Phoenix could. Seems Bryant started a trend. Up popped Sweets and Beats (now defunct),  ... More >>

Tammie Coe, Fairytale Brownies and Goody Twos Toffee for Valentine's Day

If there's anything good about Valentine's Day, it's that it gives us an excuse to stuff our faces with chocolates, candies and other heart-shaped confections.     Whether you're looking for a sweet gift or plan on drowning your relationship sorrows in sugar, the following are some of ... More >>

Tammie Coe: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

​Caramelpalooza Countdown!  The big, sweet event is less than two weeks away, and we are counting the days -- and the candymakers. First up is Tammie Coe. Coe's dream took her from her mother's kitchen to Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she met her husba ... More >>

Charlie Blonkenfeld: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

​The Caramelpalooza candymaker fest continues today with Charlie Blonkenfeld of Chaka Chaka, a cool hot dog stand of a restaurant south of the ballpark. Charlie Blonkenfeld opened Chaka Chaka last year to rave reviews. His menu may be small, but apparently his heart is big. He tells us, "Th ... More >>

Meghan Olesen: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

Maggie Jean Raymond   The caramel keeps on coming.... Today we serve up candymaker Meghan Olesen. We asked each chef for three one-line bios. Meghan sent three. We liked them all: 1. Meghan is a life-long Phoenician who dreams of pie and believes food is her soul. 2. Megh ... More >>

Veronica Arroyo: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

Arroyo's 2010 Caramelpalooza entry.​Today's candymaker: Veronica Arroyo of Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak Scottsdale. Arroyo's passion for a pastry career began in her grandmother's kitchen and took her to New York's famed Le Cirque and Atlantic city's Borgata before dropping her off at Bou ... More >>

Brianne Day: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

​Our candy-coated conversation continues today with Brianne Day from The Herb Box. Day has been overseeing baked goods at The Herb Box for more than four years. I ended up in the kitchen because I've always had a passion for baking. When I was young I would spend every Sunday attempting to ba ... More >>

Virginia Senior: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

Virginia Senior of Urban Beans is today's featured candymaker, in honor of Caramelpalooza -- which is just days away!Senior is an artist who quite often uses food as her medium. I ended up in the kitchen because creating is what I do best, and it doesn't matter if the medium is food, art, ... More >>

Danielle Morris: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

​Today's candymaker: Danielle Morris of Cork and the soon-to-be BLD; she is co-owner and pastry chef for both.   I ended up in the kitchen because I don't have to wear makeup! My favorite dish to make is I guess I don't really have a favorite; I like to make new things to keep from ... More >>

Caramelpalooza: Win a Prime Spot in Line

​ If last year's event was any indication, the line at Friday night's Caramelpalooza might just stretch around the corner. A bit. Don't you wish you could be guaranteed a spot near the front of the pack? Good news! Primo spots the queue to try caramels from each of the twelve competitors at Ca ... More >>

Now That's How You Fry a Cadbury Creme Egg

Barb Harris This is what a fried Cadbury Creme Egg should look like. ​A little over a week ago I committed an act of culinary terrorism in my own kitchen and put it on video. I learned (all right, I kind of guessed the outcome) that treating a Cadbury creme egg like an actual egg is a great ... More >>

No Matter How Polite You Are at a Vending Machine Expo in Glendale, Someone's Gonna Get Cranky If They Don't Get Their Free Twix

If you have a hankerin' for $3 cotton candy, this machine will do the trick.​Because it is what we in the business call a slow news day, I dropped by the "Gratitude Tour," a one-day expo of new food and drink vending machines in Glendale, and, boy, folks were crabby with a capital C-R-A-B. "H ... More >>

Nine Awesome Ways to Get Candy Corn-ifed for Fall

​ Move over, Pumpkin -- an often overlooked sugar bomb has taken over a vast majority of the foodie interwebs recently. The telltale white, orange, and yellow stripes of the Candy Corn have managed to make their way into everything from cupcakes to cocktails and even onto a pizza. Take a gand ... More >>