Fruity, Chocolate-Dunked Meringues
Sound pretty good?
Then, meet CocoaBerries — the newest treat from Rubicon Bakery.
If you don’t know Rubicon Bakery, you should. For more than a dozen years, it has created baked treats that are sold at many Bay Area stores, including Andronico’s, Costco, Zanotto’s, and Whole Foods, as well as Rubicon’s online site.
It is part of Rubicon Programs, Inc., a non-profit that provides training, employment, and housing to those in need. The bakery offers work-skill training and entry-level jobs for those who are homeless, or suffer from mental disabilities or addictions. All revenue from the bakery, minus costs, are donated to the agency.
The CocoaBerries are available in two flavors: Strawberry and Blueberry. Each 2.7-ounce box is about $5.50.
I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.
Rubicon Bakery CocoaBerries (Strawberry): You have to love a chocolate treat that’s less than 25 calories. And these are handcrafted with all natural ingredients, including freeze-dried fruit. At first bite, the high quality of the chocolate really hits you. No wonder, as it is Guittard. The deep, satisfying chocolate gives way to a delightful crunch of meringue, then the flavor of strawberry. But it’s strawberry that tastes like a Starburst candy. Sort of too sweet and one-dimensional. That’s fine for a tiny piece of candy. Not so much for a larger treat. Rating: 5 lip-smackers.
Rubicon Bakery CocoaBerries (Blueberry): The blueberry flavor does indeed taste like freeze-dried fruit. But somehow, that fares better here than with the strawberry. The blueberry has a rounder, fuller flavor, and a slight pucker that makes it far more interesting. Rating: 7 lip-smackers.
It looks delicious in the photo and sounds like a great program.
Wow, I would love some of those chocolates – these look incredible!
These treats look fantastic! So pretty and surely extremely good…
Cheers,
Rosa
Those do sound good! I find that strawberry-flavored things always taste fake, even with natural flavoring a lot of the time.
Carolyn stunning meringues, almost too gorgeous to eat!
The cocoaberries less of 25 kcals this is a big extra point 🙂
Those look beautiful in the photo!
NAOmni
Wow, I just got hit smack between the eyes. I typed in “foodgal” and this image of sugary perfection materialized before me. It looks scrumptious.
yes please! these look like a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth!
I was wondering what flavor this pictured meringue was! In support of a great program and only 25 cals each, I’ll gladly indulge in these treats.
OK, who’s the smart *ss who put a cellulite ad below your review of cocoaberries? Some people can be so catty (Seriously, though, sounds like the perfect thing to load in your kid’s Little League uniform, for a sugar-burst in the 7th inning 🙂
I wonder if any Chicago whole foods carry this. I want to know what 7 lip smackers tastes like.
Mind if I use your patented rating scale?
I love the blueberries. How do I get this delivered to me in San Jose.
Jude, feel free to use the patented rating scale, but you must give credit to the Food Gal for its creation. Either that, or we do accept payment in chocolate for its use. 😉
Pasties freeze incredibly well 🙂
ohhh, sounds good to me. I have to try both. Where did u get them?
That’s a great shot of the meringues for sure.
Great picture! So you say I can find these in Whole Foods? (please say yes… please say yes…) I am going to have to find some when I return from my travels. Yum!!!
Yes indeedie, Whole Foods should carry them, at least in the Bay Area. Whole Foods carries a good number of Rubicon Bakery treats.
I am excited to get home and find these. Thanks!!
Interesting… I like the the idea of putting it in meringues, but strawberry starburst just doesn’t sound all that appealing. I made the strawberry melting moments the other day using freeze dried strawberries and it had a nice fresh strawberry flavour that wasn’t too overwhelming. I wonder if it’s the fruit they used, or if they supplemented with artificial flavour?
Marc: Nope, it’s all real, dried fruit. But it’s like Anna (above) said: Somehow dried strawberries can end up tasting one dimensional and fake. Not quite sure why. It’s a mystery indeed.
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