Christmas treats.

There are a number of foods we all seem to associate with Christmas - ham, turkey, pudding... But I have a few extras that I only seem to eat around Christmas. They aren't Christmas foods as such, but are treats that I indulge in that seem particularly good during the festive season.

One such food is Artisan du Chocolat's No 1 salted caramels. There aren't words to describe how good these things really are. Originally invented in 2003 by Gerard Coleman for Gordon Ramsay’s menu at Claridges, these tasty morsels are sweet liquid caramel with a pinch of Noirmoutier island’s grey salt, captured in a bitter cocoa dusted shell of intense dark chocolate. They are so bitter, so salty, so buttery, so sweet. So Yum.

I could eat them all year round but that would mean they might lose their "specialness". So I keep them for Christmas. I may share my box, I may not. But I will enjoy every last one I eat, you can be sure of that.

Artisan du Chocolat ship to Australia using Fed Ex so there is still time to get your mitts on a box of these beauties before Christmas. Order a couple - they make brilliant hostess gifts. You won't be sorry. Plus they deduct the VAT from the cost of the item so the 13.50 pounds per box becomes 11.25. I'll take my discounts where I can get them!

And if you are particularly adventurous, they make a number of different flavours. I think the original is the best, but I was definitely tempted by the spiced fig. Very Christmasy!

Do you have a special Christmas treat you don't like to share?

Kitty xx