I am an avowed supporter of Valentine’s Day — not because I have a particularly rosy-eyed view of love and friendships, although I’m also pro those things. But I’m really here for the chocolate, which on Valentine’s Day, deservedly takes pride of place, conversation hearts and luxury vegetable bouquets notwithstanding. This is the time to request and give really fancy chocolate, the kind of chocolate that immediately telegraphs luxury and decadence. There’s nothing that fits that bill quite like a beautiful box of bonbons or truffles.
Traditionally, bonbons are made with molds and contain a wide variety of fillings, from fruits and nuts to caramel and marzipans, unlike truffles which generally contain ganache. Both can be a canvas for a chocolatier’s creativity, often painted to resemble glistening gemstones. And unlike the bar you pick up at grocery store checkout, these boxes of chocolates are always a celebration. Here, a list of confectioners from across the country with appropriately festive offerings (they all ship nationwide).
This is the place that convinced me there’s absolutely nothing more delightful than sitting around and eating bonbons all day. At the New York City shop, Susanna Yoon manages to pack all the flavors of other elaborate desserts — like kalamansi meringue pie or shortbread cookie — into a beautiful box of heart-shaped chocolates. You can’t select individual flavors when you order to ship online, but trust, they won’t disappoint.
New Jersey-based Vesta Chocolate is a bean-to-bonbon chocolate factory, meaning chocolatiers Roger Rodriguez and Julia Choi Rodriguez start the chocolate-making process with whole cacao beans which they then process to form the basis of confections ranging from hot chocolate to bars to bonbons. These gooey, salted caramel truffles are encapsulated by a thin dark chocolate shell in a very Valentine’s Day-ready shade of light pink.
In Miami, bean-to-bonbon Exquisito Chocolates prides itself on ethical sourcing (you can see exactly how chocolate maker Carolina Quijano turns cacao into chocolate on this episode of Eater’s “Handmade.”) For Valentine’s Day, you can order a 19-piece, heart-shaped box of its inventive confections that will arrive wrapped in a red ribbon.
Piety and Desire Chocolate
New Orleans bean-to-bar shop Piety and Desire sells boxes of its pretty bonbons in sets of four to 24, and while the flavors are a mystery (they’re a mix of Piety and Desire’s seasonal and signature bonbons), there is the option to choose nut-free sets. As the site explains, all of the single origin chocolate bars and drinking chocolate are vegan.
Eater SF once called Topotgato San Francisco’s “most audacious online chocolate shop.” Its hand-painted confections contain flavor combinations like brandied eggnog, blood orange amaretto, and spiced hot chocolate. This Valentine’s Day, why not treat your beloved to its chocolate batons filled strawberry jam and toasted almond nougat?
Sugoi’s Elle Lei makes bonbons in small batches out of Chicago. You can choose from the newer collections (with flavors like beer pretzel, Chicago corn, and milk tea) or the original collection (flavors such as blueberry lavender, coconut almond, and cotton candy pop rock).
Houston-based Cacao and Cardamom recognizes the jewel-like appeal of the bonbon, which here come in a variety of shapes, packaged in festive boxes. As the shop’s name implies, spices take a starring role in chocolatier Annie Rupani’s flavors: there’s strawberry spiced cajeta, hazlenut cordiander praline, and pink peppercorn and raspberry, just to name a few.
The Valentine’s Day offerings at Dallas-based chocolatier Kate Weiser combine my desire for quality, fancy chocolate with the kitsch Valentine’s Day details (the gold box lining!) I unironically love.
In Tucson, Monsoon Chocolate puts together boxes of bonbons that showcase a variety of aesthetic styles with flavors that reflect the southwestern setting, such as chiltepín pepper, prickly pear caramel, and Sonoran sea salt dark chocolate. The chocolatier’s creations sell out constantly, so snag one of its gift-ready, customizable snack stacks while they’re available, and combine two cubes from its seasonal assortment of chocolate covered fruits, nuts, and confections for your sweetie.
For over a decade, San Francisco-based Dandelion Chocolate has been creating some of the most thoughtful confections you could hope to receive, and not just because they’re made with single-origin chocolate; the bonbons usually come with a written component that would make a Humanities major swoon, like the Love Letters Collection, which riffs off the romances of famous historical couples (think, Fanny Brawne and John Keats; Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning) with its trio of confections.
Atlanta-based Jardí Chocolates is particularly well suited to the fruit lover with flavors such as salted blueberry vanilla and mango with mezcal. But it’s the big, dark chocolate and brown sugar marshmallow hearts by chef Jocelyn Gragg that are the real Valentine’s Day stand-out.
At andSons in Los Angeles, second-generation chocolate makers carry on the family tradition with elegant bonbons and other chocolate confections. The 2026 Valentine’s Day collection comes in a limited-edition graphic box made in collaboration with husband-and-wife artist duo DabsMyla, and includes bonbons such as Strawberry Rosé, German Chocolate Cake, and more.
Bon Bon Bon’s bonbons might not have the typical domed shape, but the flavors take full advantage of the anything-goes spirit of the bonbon. The Detroit shop’s Valentine’s Day collection is read for pre-order, and features flavors like Paw Paw Panettone (candied citrus panettone ganache with paw paw confiture) and Buck Naked (buckwheat cookie with milk and dark chocolate).
Vosges Haut-Chocolat is a luxury chocolatier from Chicago, Illinois, and it really delivers on not only taste but presentation with its offerings and collaborations; one day, I’ll bring home its elaborate wreathe of bonbons for the holidays. The confectioner’s extravagant Valentine’s Day shop is worthy of a Baz Luhrmann set, and its butterfly wing-inspired Aurelia heart box is filled with chocolates that it says, “[offer] a balance of delicacy and depth that unfolds with every bite, like the wings of a butterfly in motion,” like the Blush Flutter bonbon, a strawberry confection made with mascarpone, yuzu, and pink cocoa butter white chocolate.
Compartés has been making luxury chocolates from its Los Angeles, California hub for nearly 75 years, and its take on the traditional heart-shaped Valentine’s Day chocolate box is delightful; instead of the classic faux satin-lined box, Compartés offers a green crocodile-print heart containing chocolate-dipped fruits, chocolate covered nuts, cookies, and more.
This Santa Barbara, California-based confectionary sources its cocoa beans from single origin estates and co-ops, and you may recognize it from collaborations with the likes of Flamingo Estate. Founder Mike Orlando started Twenty-Four Blackbirds with a DIY mindset — even making some of the equipment himself — and the ethos that selecting high quality, bean-to-bar chocolates should feel fun and accessible. This gift box will round up a dozen truffles selected by staff such as lavender blossom caramel and a seasonal pâté de fruits bonbon.
For those who want to forgo the frills of traditional Valentine’s Day chocolate boxes, reach for Fine & Raw. The Brooklyn, New York-based chocolatier specializes in raw, organic bean-to-bar chocolate that is all dairy-free and packaged in low-key graphic boxes.
Etsy is home to many small-scale chocolate slingers, but it is also a purveyor of edible bouquets that lean into the kitsch joys of the holiday with arrangements of Ferrero Rocher, Butterfinger bars, and more Big Candy classics.
