At some point in my 20s, I briefly tried carob, in an attempt to scratch that chocolate itch in a healthier way. But it was so disappointing that I learned that pretend food never satisfies and you end up eating it, and the real thing, anyway. Never try to let your eyes fool your brain.
But a nut butter, encased in chocolate does - tell me no different - deliver chocolate with a shot of something more nutritious. So that’s OK. Pret was where I first noticed you could buy such things: with its Almond Butter Bites (£1.45). They are good: a meaty chunk of chocolate, but the ratio of chocolate to nut butter just favours the former a bit too much for me.
Doisy & Dam (I know, I want to say Daisy and Dom, too) makes two types: almond or hazelnut butter, three cute little cups to a pack. I preferred the almond over the hazelnut and there’s still a tad too much chocolate taste over nuts for me. But its mini 25g bar (£1) of 40%-cocoa milk chocolate with crunchy almond butter is gorgeous, perhaps a bit too tasty, but thank goodness you’re restrained by the size (never buy two in one go).
Hadleigh Maid has two offerings: its almond butter bar or its almond and coconut butter bar (£1.99 each), the one with coconut delivers a nice, moist bite.
But the real standouts in this field are Pip & Nut’s deliciously perfect Peanut or Almond Butter Cups (£1.65). The almond so far only comes in dark single-origin Colombian chocolate, but the peanut version - my favourite - also comes in milk chocolate.
