Food Trail #2: Chocolate Shop Trail in Western Connecticut

This week, we’re sharing the 2nd food trail in western Connecticut: chocolate shops. We think these food tours are a great way to spend an afternoon (or full day) as a family, try new foods (or new flavors of old favorites), and support local businesses. Check out our other food trails for cupcakes, cookies, hot dogs, crepes, tacos, and bakeries.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, and the rise in cases, we have been staying close to home, and mainly outdoors, which has allowed us the time to try hiking (here, here, and here). Here are 7 spots for homemade chocolates, and other delicious items.

Note: We chose this route (including starting and stop points) as a loop that takes 4 hours to complete. There are plenty of additional choices we may have missed, and we plan on adding additional extensions in other parts of the state. 

Le Rouge by Aarti in Westport hand rolls chocolates on the premises, in addition to creating beautiful cakes and cupcakes. The shop also offers a wide variety of chocolate making classes, including birthday parties and classes geared towards kids.
We love the raspberry truffles and French mendiants
Take home for later: Made to order (ahead of time) cakes and cupcakes; a truffle box to share
Cost: A truffle box is 6/$15, 9/$25 and the packaging is beautiful. 
Noteworthy: The shop is located on a lower level of a small plaza in downtown Westport, with tons of great shops and restaurants within walking distance. Open from 11am-5pm Tuesday through Sunday.

Sweet Pierre’s in Wilton curates a wide variety of chocolates and sweets from a variety of confectioners and has lots of prepackaged snacks, as well as a special nut free section. 
We love the toffee, peanut butter chocolate squares, and chocolate covered gummies.
Take home for later: Speciality popcorn, biscuits, and holiday themed gift bags of candies.
Cost: $48/pound for chocolates and individually selected candies
Noteworthy: The shop is located near downtown Wilton, close to many restaurants and shops, and is usually open 10am-5pm Monday- Saturday. Check the website for updates.

Deborah Anne’s Sweet Shop in Ridgefield includes a fudge shop, massive Jelly Belly and gummies bulk shop, ice cream parlor (dozens of flavors!), chocolate shop, and gift shop all under one roof. All chocolates are made on site (peek through the window in the back of the shop). 
We love the chocolate covered pretzels and Oreos, and chocolate covered fruit.
Take home for later: homemade fudge, clusters, peanut butter cups, and gifts including stationery, housewares, and children’s gifts.
Cost: $35/pound for most chocolates. Check out the $4.99 misfit bag, full of chocolates that didn’t come out “just right.”
Noteworthy: The shop is located on Main Street in Ridgefield, near many shops and restaurants, and is open 10am-9pm seven days a week. The ice cream shop typically has a few tables and chairs for dining indoors, but is currently closed due to the pandemic.

Noteworthy Chocolates in Bethel is the world’s only personalized chocolate engraving shop. Located above the Molten Java Coffee Shop, guests are able to customize chocolate bars and medallions for any occasion or holiday.
We loved the classic white chocolate medallions
Take home for later: Customized presents for family and friends; many of the sets come in sets of three medallions or a chocolate note and 1 ounce chocolate bar set. The company will ship any gift in the continental United States.
Cost: Gifts range from $20 for 3 medallions to $45 for chocolate cards and bars
Noteworthy: The shop is located above the Molten Java Coffee Shop, which has a great selection of freshly roasted coffee, other hot drinks like tea and cocoa, and breakfast and lunch options. While Noteworthy usually welcomes guests to the second floor shop, they are currently taking orders online for pick up. Custom orders can be fulfilled the same day during the week and on Saturday by appointment.

Bridgewater Chocolate in Brookfield was opened in 1995 by Erik Landegren, who moved to Bridgewater, Connecticut from Sweden and opened his first shop. Today, there are three locations, two shops in Brookfield and one in West Hartford. Landergren’s chocolates have been featured on Food Network shows many times and the toffees and caramels are some of the most popular sweets.
We love the apple pie and pumpkin spice truffle top hats, and the toffee bars
Take home for later: Cherry hearts, chocolate covered fruit peels, and chocolate covered pretzel tins
Cost: $41.50/pound. The flavor box that includes 4 pieces of chocolate for $10.50 is a great treat.
Noteworthy: The 559 Federal Road location (closed on the weekend) is home to the factory, where all chocolates are made (guests can watch through the glass wall), and prepackaged gift boxes of chocolates are available. The 227 Federal Road store offers the ability to hand select specific chocolates and make customized boxes. The third shop is located in West Hartford.

Castle Hill Chocolate in Newtown offers a wide variety of pure Belgium chocolates, created by cake designer Erin Sullivan. The  chocolate molds are hand painted with colored cocoa butter and filled with flavors, including milk and dark chocolates, and fruit. The finished bonbons are beautiful, almost too beautiful to eat!  The shop also carries sweets from certified kitchens that are dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, and peanut free.
We love the dark chocolate strawberry ganache, cookie dough ganache, and salted caramel bonbons 
Take home for later: Chocolate bars ($8-$9)
Cost: Most pieces are $2.89 each, and there are gift bags of nonpareils and chocolate covered cherries for around $20. Each box includes a QR code with a full menu and description of bonbon ingredients.
Noteworthy: The shop is closed on Monday, opens at 11am Tuesday through Sunday, and closes at 4pm on Sunday and 5pm on Tuesday- Saturday.

Be Chocolat in Fairfield is a brand new chocolate shop located in the Greenfield Hill section of Fairfield. They create 14 different flavors of Belgium truffles each day and serve delicious hot cocoa. On the weekends, guests can also purchase homemade Belguim waffles.
We love the Biscoff crunchy cookie, Champagne and Raspberry, and Limoncello chocolates.
Take home for later: Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bourbon, and Pink Sesame
Cost: Chocolates are sold in sets: BE selfish (4/$8), BE Curious (6/$12), BE Generous (15/$28), and BE a Party (24/$45). The shop also sells chocolate bars.
Noteworthy: The shop is closed on Mondays, and open 10am-7pm Tuesday through Saturday, closing at 2pm Sunday. There are two small tables inside the shop and a few outdoor tables. 

Some of our sources for “research”: Three of our favorite sources for researching anything Connecticut related are CTVisit.com (the official state tourism website), CTBites.com (THE resource on all things food related), and ConnecticutMagazine.com (a magazine I have subscribed to for years, full of info on a great variety of topics)

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, check our first food trail post, featuring cupcakes, here. And for more fun in Connecticut, check out our list of 30 places we love and 32 places where we love to eat in Connecticut. And follow along on our adventures on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.