missyager's Profile

@portlandy:
You could definitely add espresso powder, but don't add ANY liquid to chocolate that you want to use as a coating that hardens, it will never really set up and instead be a ganache. If the liquid you add is less than 25% the volume of the chocolate, it will seize and the texture will be terrible.

Most confections like this, particularly just marshmallow and a dry food like pretzels, will last for up to 3 months (though I doubt these will make it that long!), it's a matter of the free water in whatever you cover in chocolate, which is to say, the amount of water not saturated with sugar.

That being said, if you want to add bacon, make sure you dehydrate it as much as possible and don't keep them more than a week or so. Even if it's cured, cooked, and dried, it's an organic tissue that's going to try and absorb any water in the air, so unless you can get it bone dry and powder it, you should not keep chocolate-coated bacon for more than a few days.

As far as putting these in the fridge, I understand why you would think it's a good idea, but most chocolates were never meant to get cold. Ideally, they should be kept between 60-75 degrees, and never put in cold storage, as it can crystallize or liquefy many fillings, which can destroy textures. As well, it encourages blooming (that weird whitish film) which is actually cocoa butter rising to the outer surface of the chocolate. When cocoa butter separates from the cocoa mass, which happens often at sub-60* temperatures, the texture becomes chalky and unpleasant, and blooming occurs.

I thought I just plain didn't like blues for the longest time, and then POOF! I entered the marvelous moldy world, and claimed that which was rightfully mine... Berkshire blue. Delicious, buttery, lightly sweet and just salty enough, with a peppery goodness that made me into the lover of blue I am today.
Gorgonzola, I thought for the longest time, only came in the flavor of that terrible, pre-crumbled mess sold to unsuspecting hosts/hostesses who wanted to venture into the gourmet with blue & walnut salads... but no, it's a beautiful thing. I'm glad you, too, have left the gorgonzola-less dark side :)