Page 40 February 2012 By Amanda Goossen February means chocolate. It’s the month for indulging in the most rich, creamy and extravagant chocolates the world has to offer. Thankfully, Phoenix has plenty to share. Baker’s Daughter The store (8847 N. 7th Ave.) absolutely sucked me in with its story and kept me interested with the amazing gifts. After studying chocolate in Switzerland, Christine Francoises Boerner returned to Phoenix and opened her chocolate shop right next door to Karl’s Quality Bakery, her father’s bakery, where she had spent most her life, growing up and learning to cook. Walking around these two adjoined shops, you can’t help smiling at the daughter mixing chocolate, next door to her 70-year-old father who is still making pastries one by one. And constantly walking around, cleaning, organizing and helping out is Christine’s mother. This family is as good as gold, creating outrageously gratifying treats for everyone in the neighborhood. Peek into The Baker’s Daughter this month and discover a breathtaking chocolate rose, a chocolate dipped strawberry or adorable heart-shaped cookie. For the women in your life fi ll a one Valley offers variety of treats for Valentine’s Day dozen box for about $17 with roasted raspberry, chai tea, mocha, mint or caramel sea salt truf fl es. For the men, thrill them with Triple Sec, Absinth, classic dark or honey-aged bourbon truf fl es. And for those few, who despise the holiday of love, treat them with a Gun Powder Truf fl e, composed with a bit of gunpowder cooked right into the chocolate, perfect to enjoy as they curse cupid’s arrow. Barb’s Bakery If you are cooking a homemade meal Continued on page 41 7051 E Fi Ō h Ave 480-699-8001 www.5thAndWine.com 11am-11pm M-Sat; 11am-8:30pm Sun Old Town’s favorite restaurant disguised as a wine bar Lunch • Happy Hour • Dinner Ride your bike, have a seat on our cozy patio and enjoy! • 3920 S. Central Ave., Phoenix • 4121 N. 44th St., Phoenix Fax: 602-952-9233 • 5516 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale We’re happy to serve you at any one of our 8 convenient Valley Locations • 22 S. Mesa Dr., Mesa • 1017 E. Apache Blvd., Tempe • 1111 E. Buckeye Rd., Phoenix • 2628 W. Van Buren, Phoenix • 9309 W. Van Buren, Tolleson from your friends at Pete’s Happy Valentine’s Day!!! Happy Valentine’s Day!!! • Burgers, Dogs, Burritos • Scrumptious Fish & Chips! • Drive Through/Take-out Orders are Our Specialty • Now Offering Children’s Menu at Some Locations! • 32 oz. soda for 9 9¢ Need a menu? Visit our web site: www.petesfishandchips.com 602-956-0178 4144 E. Indian School Come on in for our Valentine’s Day Specials y Tim the Tool Man Quality Repair, Remodel & Building Performance Creating a new home at the same address! ‡%DWKURRP5HPRGHOV ‡.LWFKHQ5HPRGHOV ‡+RPH5HSDLUV ‡)ORRULQJ ‡(QHUJ\(IILFLHQF\8SJUDGHV ‡$36 653(QHUJ\$XGLWV www.timthetoolman.biz | info@timthetoolman.biz Call today!(602)694-0999 ‡,QVXODWLRQ ‡3OXPELQJ ‡3DLQWLQJ ‡'U\ZDOO ‡0DLQWHQDQFH ‡0XFKPXFKPRUH Commercial ROC #271739 | Residential ROC #271740

Page 41 February 2012 Sweets Continued from page 40 for your sweetheart, the perfect dessert to end your night is the chocolate petit four from Barb’s Bakery (2929 N. 24th St.). A miniature cake coated in rich chocolate, the petit four is fi lled with a moist chocolate cake and gorgeous whipped butter cream. Served with a double espresso or exotic after-dinner liqueur, this treat will perfectly cap off your Valentine’s meal. Julia Baker Confections The factory (7440 E. Karen Drive, No. 500, Scottsdale) is the perfect choice for anyone wanting to taste a bit of heaven. Luscious and smooth, the chocolate is deliciously creamy; the truf fl e simply out of this world. The French Caramel Truf fl e, coated in crunchy toffee pieces, breaks open to release a buttery rich caramel. The Passion Fruit and Raspberry chocolates are each lightly fl avored, adding a lovely hint of fruit without overpowering the chocolate. The Red Velvet Cake Balls are a marvelous guilty pleasure you will want to eat again and again. Julia Baker Confections are just as beautiful to the eye as they are to the mouth. The design and color palette add a playful look, and the Red Hat Box chocolate box makes for a dazzling presentation any woman would adore. Julia Baker Confections can be ordered at juliabakerconfections.com, (480-699- 4017), or picked up at the factory on Karen Drive or at a local AJ’s Fine Foods, as well as Whole Foods. For Valentine’s Day, Julia Baker will be running three specials: The Red Hat Box $80 (regularly $140), the 16-piece oval $42 (regularly $50) and the 18-piece window box $42 (regularly $45). JJ Brownies And last, but not least, if you’re looking to hand out extravagant fl avors to your housekeeper, child’s teacher or neighbor down the street, order a Sweet Dreams Brownie from JJ Brownies (jjsbrownies. com). Layers of chocolate that feel more like fudge than the brownie your momma made, this tremendous treat is covered in a rich chocolate butter cream and packaged individually to easily hand out to the ones you love, like and appreciate. Amanda Goossen is the stay-at-home mom of a 4 and 6 year old, and creator of www.litfestmagazine.com. She’s searching the Valley for the best sweets to share with Arcadia News readers. Photos by Amanda Goossen LOOP 101 & INDIAN BEND 480 362 WINS SPRING TRAINING