Kaitlin & Kylie's Gourmet Treats {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Lexiquin!}

I'm fairly convinced that the level at which someone likes/wants/needs chocolate is in the genes.

Therefore, thanks to my mother's DNA, it's very, very difficult for me to turn down a piece of chocolate. It's just... so good. There's something about the sweet deliciousness of a creamy (or crunchy, if that's your thing) piece of chocolate that, from the first bite, can just hit the spot and satisfy like nothing else can. Mmmm.

Unfortunately, however, that doesn't mean that all chocolate is created equal. Particularly with Valentine's Day coming up, the store displays are hurriedly being filled with cheap, pre-packaged treats... that often end up tasting as though they have been waiting in a box since last February.

This year, don't surprise your sweetie (or yourself) with something generic that looks like it came from the corner drugstore, instead let them enjoy the difference that comes with rich, melt-in-your-mouth handmade chocolate deliciousness from Kaitlin & Kylie's Gourmet Treats.

With ten years of chocolate-making experience under her belt, Christina is no stranger to the secrets of making amazing delectable treats. By combining her talents with top-notch ingredients and packaging them beautifully in 100% recycled gift boxes, goodies such as Gourmet Dipped Apples, Chocolate Drizzled Pretzels and, of course, her incredible Chocolate Cups end up very difficult to put down once you've had a taste.

Is your mouth watering yet?

As soon as the box from Kaitlin & Kylie's arrived, I couldn't wait to see what was inside - I couldn't keep the chocolate waiting, after all! The initial presentation was even better than I had expected, as the crisp white box was tied up nicely with a ribbon and was right next to a cold pack that had kept the entire shipment cold and completely intact during its travels. Each package even includes a handwritten thank you card, which is a very nice touch.

Taking a peek and seeing those four chocolates... it was only a matter of seconds before I had the box emptied so that I could properly drool over the assortment that was inside.

Where to begin?

Recognizing the Milk Chocolate S'mores Cups by the graham cracker crumbs on top, I picked one up and realized just how much larger Kaitlin & Kylie's chocolates are than small, bite-size ones that are often found. Christina makes hers in mini-cupcake cups, meaning you have multiple bites to revel in the taste of each one...

Oh, yum. The layers of milk chocolate, honey graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow were perfect, just perfect. I knew that my kids would enjoy these as well... although that would mean that I would have to share, and I wasn't quite sure I was ready to do that. I mean, c'mon! Give up something like this?

Chocolate Butterscotch Cups, also very delicious and creamy and did I mention delicious?

Alas, I did let my family in on the secret and, just as I expected, they were just as thrilled with Kaitlin & Kylie's as I was. My husband is a big fan of nuts in chocolate and agreed that the flavors like the Chocolate Almond Clusters and Chocolate Pecan Clusters were just the right combination of creamy chocolate with fresh, crunchy nuts.

As for Big Sister E and Little Sister B? It's been a long time since I've seen their eyes get as big as they did when they saw the Milk Chocolate Gummi Bear Clusters.

I actually couldn't blame them, I love gummi bears and really wanted to try these myself... especially when I saw how much they liked eating them!

The sacrifices moms have to make for their children's happiness!

With a classic or unique flavor to meet everyone's tastes (with many available in both milk or dark chocolate), a gourmet treat from Kaitlin & Kylie's would be a perfect Valentine's Day gift (or surprise all year long!) to brighten someone's day. Everything from the Double Chocolate Cherry Clusters to the Double Dipped Caramel Squares sure brightened mine!

As all of Kaitlin & Kylie's goodies are made fresh to order (and shipped to arrive quickly), you can head to this great Etsy shop and know that your selections are going to arrive flavorful and fast. You can even put in an order from now until February 8th for Valentine's Day and Christina will ship it on February 10th so that it will arrive right on time! Sweeten up your holiday this year with high quality handmade gourmet treats - there's even a great sale going on now where you can receive 25% off any gorgeous gift tower with your purchase!

And, thanks to Christina's generosity, one person will be able to enjoy her tasty masterpieces as well, because...

One lucky person will win a Nut Lover's Collection Sampler (16 pieces of peanut clusters, peanut butter cups, almond clusters and almond butter cups in your choice of milk or dark chocolate!) from Kaitlin & Kylie's Gourmet Treats! ARV $16.99!

To enter to win: Visit Kaitlin & Kylie's and tell me which of the delicious items available you would most like to give or receive as a gift this Valentine's Day.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you Like Kaitlin & Kylie's on Facebook, follow the Kaitlin & Kylie's blog with Google Friend Connect, add Kaitlin & Kylie's to your Etsy favorites (please leave your username for verification) and/or add your favorite Kaitlin & Kylie's item to your Etsy favorites (please leave your username and the item name for verification).
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

Chocolate for Valentine's Day! #WIN a Nut Lover's Collection Sampler from Kaitlin & Kylie's! http://bit.ly/elM7cB #thxmailcarrier #giveaway

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and Kaitlin & Kylie's. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on February 4th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to residents of the continental U.S. only.

A big thank you to Kaitlin & Kylie's for providing chocolates for me to review as well as a Nut Lover's Collection Sampler for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.