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An old-time favorite candy comes to Minnesota: Bit-O-Honey's biggest fan reacts

As the unrivaled number-one fan of Bit-O-Honey in the Twin Cities--and possibly the universe--I find it hard to characterize the complex set of emotions I was confronted with Wednesday upon learning that Pearson Candy Company has acquired Bit-O-Honey. The St. Paul based confectioner famous for its Salted Nut Roll will now be making the best damn candy on earth right in our backyard.

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A.J. Olmscheid

Kopplin's Hot Chocolate

Long gone are the days when hot cocoa was simply a way to pacify a sugar-deprived child on a frigid winter day. The hot refreshment has graduated to adulthood, and it's now easy to find hot chocolate in so many varieties that practically any taste can be satisfied.

With another cold front on the way this week, we scoured the Twin Cities to find the best local hot chocolates. If you're looking for something to replace the usual coffee pick-me-up, here are five delicious options.

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Tony Nelson

Butter's famous cream puffs are still available, but now at a new location

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The elusive Dirty Donuts.

About eight months ago, a strange new Twitter handle began getting mentions from local hip-hop artists.

"if you live in the twin cities and you like doughnuts and/or anarchy, you need to follow @drrtydonutz now," tweeted Astronautalis a.k.a. Andy Bothwell.

From Doomtree, simply: "Dirty Donuts."

Before long, concert-goers were tweeting that they'd just been mysteriously pastry-bombed at venues around town by a strange guerrilla doughnut operation.

But who or what is Dirty Donuts? Today we got some answers. Some.

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Eat your heart out--we score a first taste of the new Girl Scout cookie

It's that time of year again, when hordes of eight-year-old girls--and their parents--begin pushing boxes of those strangely addictive cookies. Girl Scouts in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin officially begin their cookies sales on Saturday, but to kick off the season the Scouts will stage a grand opening of a temporary Girl Scout Store at the Mall of America tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. The opening will feature samples of the cookies, including the newest brand, a lemon cookie called Savannah Smiles, created to help celebrate the Scouts' 100th anniversary.

You may not want to negotiate masses of Girl Scouts and their families just for a free sample tonight, but the Hot Dish was fortunate enough to score a box of the new Savannahs. Are they worth ordering when the Scouts come to your door? Here's what we found.

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Get 'em while supplies last

Sweets Bakeshops in St. Paul and Minneapolis are celebrating Sweets' two-year birthday on Sunday with a tasty promotion: It's giving away a free cupcake to customers while supplies last.

And that's not the only free sample they're giving away. Here are details on how to score your treats:

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See cake contest Sunday, Cake Boss's Buddy Valastro on Tuesday.

If you're crazy about cakes, this is your week, with not one but two special events for bakery buffs. On Sunday you can watch professional cake decorators put their craft to the test at the Mall of America. And on Tuesday, cake decorator and baker Buddy Valastro of TLC's Cake Boss fame will be showing off his skills at the Orpheum Theatre.

Here are the details:

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The Donut Cooperative is a reality after a year of anticipation.

​The Donut Cooperative is open for business in Seward. The co-op has been on local foodies' minds since August 2010, when the group created a Kickstarter page to raise $10,000 toward startup costs. They raised over $12,000--but failed to meet their scheduled opening date last fall. A year later, they're finally up and selling doughnuts to the public.More »

Andi McDaniel sees gourmet popsicles as "the new cupcake."

Andi McDaniel wants to sell gourmet ice pops to yuppies at local farmers' markets. And she hopes donations will help her do it.

McDaniel and her colleague, Sarah Newberry, have set up a Kickstarter page for their business, 10,000 Licks, in hopes of raising $10,000 to purchase a commercial kitchen and new equipment and to pay off their licensing fees.

They're following in the footsteps of the Donut Cooperative, a media-savvy group that raised $10,000 last summer to open a store in the fall. A year later, the co-op still hasn't opened its doors for business. Which raises the question: Does Kickstarter work for funding a food business?

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