Where to shop for quality chocolate for baking??

[julesrules4food]

Where does one shop to buy better quality chocolate chips or feves than you find at the grocery store? I want to make the Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies and can't find feves of any cocoa % anywhere. I live in Las Vegas if anyone knows of a specific store but if not any suggestions will be helpful. I've looked in Whole Foods and Trader Joes and they didn't have anything and that was my only thoughts.

Help anyone??
Thanks-

[todao]

If you can't' find chocolate chips with the percentage you need, try just buying a good quality chocolate bar with the highest percentage of cocoa you can find. Cut them up into chunks and put those in your cookies. I like chocolate in the 80%+ bracket - but the choice remains yours.

[julesrules4food]

I thought about that but the recipe shows the cookies coming out with layers of feves in them and that just looked too good to pass up. But I will go with a quality chocolate bar if that's my only choice.

[jkling17]

I agree with Todao. We have tried most of the coffee from Trader Joes. It's all very good quality for the money. Buy a few bars of good semi-sweet - say something like 70 or 72 percent. Higher if you like - it's all personal choice. Break it into a few chunks and then drop them into your food processor - pulse at medium speed until you like the size of the pieces.

If you don't have a food processor, just cover the chocolate bar with a towel and give it a bunch of hits with a hammer.

[julesrules4food]

Oh good I get to kill 2 birds with one stone. No food processor so I get to break up the chocolate and vent some frustrations at the same time! LOL

[yummyinmytummy]

Cost Plus also sells some good chocolate. I dont know if you have that in Vegas.

[julesrules4food]

Great idea! I never thought about looking there. I always find unusual wrapped coins etc. to use instead of the standard Hanukkah gelt for my son. Now I have another reason to look there.
Thanks!

[chowser]

I've found eguittard feves at CostPlus/World Market but it is hit or miss and fairly expensive. I can always find Valrhona feves at Whole Foods but it's so much I don't usually get it. While the feves in the NYT picture looks great, I like the results from using Trader Joe's poundplus bars better because you get some small slivers of chocolate that melt in the cookie and give it a nice chocolate-y ness that larger chunks don't give.

[julesrules4food]

Ok chowser you've made my decision for me. We haven't had a TJ poundplus bar in ages so that's how I'll make the cookies. The sliver idea sounds so good! I'll be at TJ tomorrow and making these on Turkey Day.