Top pick
Recchiuti Confections Black Box 16
The best boxed chocolates
With perfectly executed flavors and an eye-popping array of shapes and textures, the Recchiuti Black Box chocolates were our tasters’ top choice, beating a lineup of new- and old-world boutique chocolates.
Buying Options
Who these are for: Adventurous chocolate lovers and traditionalists alike—those who will appreciate creative riffs on a classic chocolate selection.
Why they’re great: Unlike many of the chocolate boxes we’ve tried, the 16-piece Recchiuti Confections Black Box offers a full sensory experience—which is part of the reason for giving boxed chocolates in the first place. Every piece is memorable. Classic concoctions, such as Burnt Caramel and Piedmont Hazelnut, offer just the right balance of sweet and bitter. Adventurous flavors, like Tarragon Grapefruit or Star Anise & Pink Peppercorn, are never overpowering. One of our favorites, the Sesame Nougat, has the perfect texture of chewy caramel, a little crunch from toasted sesame seeds, and the snap of perfectly tempered dark chocolate.
We found the chocolate itself to be of high quality, with the subtle, long flavor that comes from great cacao. The bonbons aren’t too sweet, either.
Among all of the chocolates we tested, the Recchiuti bonbons come in the most intriguing shapes and designs. No two chocolates are alike. Some have intricate patterns, while others look like little sculptures, and the visual variety adds excitement to this experience.
To top it off, the Recchiuti packaging—a matte black box that’s sexy, without being excessive or too obvious—is among the most elegant we encountered in our testing. It includes a minimally designed booklet explaining the flavors, with black-and-white illustrations of each chocolate. We found this much easier to decipher than keys for many of the other brands.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: Some of the chocolates in this box come in pretty esoteric flavor combinations (more of a caveat than a flaw). Though we don’t think any would be offensive, they may be a little “out there” for some people. (Those palates might be happier with the more classic flavors of the Valerie Baby Grand Assortment.)
Pieces per box: 16
Weight: 6.25 ounces
Shipping: Recchiuti ships throughout the US via FedEx. Shipping costs range from $14 for standard to $30 for priority overnight.