National Jelly Bean Day: Jelly Belly

Today is National Jelly Bean Day, and my favorite jelly beans are Jelly Bellies! I love all the flavors, and I've tried the Jelly Belly chocolate covered jelly beans at the Fancy Food Show. The Jelly Belly Chocolate Dips are gourmet jelly beans covered in dark chocolate. Flavors include Very Cherry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Coconut, and Orange. Jelly Belly Chocolate Dips are gluten-free, gelatin-free and certified OU Dairy Kosher. My favorite is the Very Cherry. Just an FYI, there is no hard candy shell on the actual jelly bean center, so the chocolate covered jelly beans are the same size as regular jelly beans. This chocolate jelly bean has a real chocolate aroma and a nice mouth-feel.

If you want more of a 'plain' chocolate Jelly Bean, try the Chocolate Pudding jelly belly.

I love to take young out-of-towners to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, CA. There you can see jelly bellies being made, tour the art exhibit, stop by the soda fountain, buy jelly bellies and much more. When I first went to the factory, it was more open and low key. Now it's a bit more sterile and everything is behind glass walls. I'm sure that's better for production, safety and quality, but I preferred the old way. Kind of like the Hershey Factory tours when I was little. I was sure someone would fall in a vat, and maybe they did. That was pre-Willy Wonka.

I don't bake with jelly beans, and, if truth be told, they're not in my pantry. But there's always a time and a place for them, especially today on National Jelly Bean Day. So here are some 'recipes' from the Jelly Belly website for combining flavors. Great Fun!

Jelly Belly California Grizzly Painting