Small But Mighty: How the Humble Bon Bon Became America's Most Exciting Gourmet Candy
Small But Mighty: How the Humble Bon Bon Became America's Most Exciting Gourmet Candy
There's a candy at the heart of everything we do here at BonBon Me — and it's one that, for a long time, most people associated with grandma's crystal dish or a dusty box of chocolates from a drugstore gift section. The bon bon. Small, round, glossy, and almost impossibly charming, it's a confection that never really left — it just waited patiently for the world to catch up.
Well, consider us caught up. Because right now, the bon bon is having a moment, and it is spectacular.
A Little History in a Little Package
The word "bon bon" comes from the French word for "good" — bon — doubled for emphasis, as if once just wasn't enough to express how good these things are. The concept dates back to 17th-century France, where sugar-coated confections were considered a luxury item enjoyed by the aristocracy. By the time the bon bon made its way to American shores in the 19th century, it had evolved into a chocolate-coated candy with a soft center — typically a cream filling, a cherry, or a simple fondant.
For much of the 20th century, bon bons were a staple of American candy culture. The Elmer Candy Corporation, founded in New Orleans in 1855, built an empire on them. Ice cream bon bons (chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bites) became a movie theater treat that entire generations remember fondly. But somewhere along the way, as the candy industry consolidated and flavor profiles became more predictable, the bon bon faded into the background — a sweet relic rather than a sweet revolution.
Until now.
Why the Bon Bon Is Back
A few forces converged to bring the bon bon roaring back into the spotlight. First, the broader artisan food movement — the same wave that made craft beer, small-batch hot sauce, and sourdough bread household obsessions — turned its attention to chocolate and candy. Suddenly, consumers were hungry (literally) for confections made with intention, with story, with flavor.
Second, the rise of visual food culture on social media made the bon bon's natural aesthetic appeal impossible to ignore. A perfectly tempered chocolate shell with a mirror-gloss finish, dusted in edible gold or painted with swirls of cocoa butter color? That's not just a candy. That's content. That's a tiny edible work of art, and it photographs like a dream.
Third — and maybe most importantly — talented pastry chefs and chocolatiers started treating the bon bon's small size not as a limitation but as a canvas. When you're working with a sphere roughly the size of a large marble, every element has to earn its place. That constraint breeds creativity.
The Makers Leading the Charge
Compartés Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA) has been pushing the boundaries of what chocolate can be for years, and their bon bon collections reflect that restless creativity. Think passion fruit and Champagne, or a dark chocolate shell concealing a lychee rose ganache that tastes like a garden party in the best possible way. Founder Jonathan Grahm treats chocolate like a fashion designer treats fabric — it's a medium for expression, not just a delivery system for sweetness.
Compartés aside, one of the most talked-about names in the new bon bon scene is Mast Brothers (Brooklyn, NY), whose bean-to-bar philosophy extends into their filled chocolate work. Their approach is rooted in restraint — fewer ingredients, cleaner flavors, and a respect for the cacao itself that comes through in every bite.
Down in New Orleans — a city that has never needed a reason to celebrate sugar — Sucré has been turning out visually stunning bon bons for over a decade, but their recent seasonal collections have leaned hard into unexpected Southern flavor profiles: sorghum and pecan, chicory coffee ganache, and a Creole spice caramel that somehow manages to be warming and sweet at the same time.
And keep an eye on Dandelion Chocolate out of San Francisco, whose single-origin ethos and commitment to transparency in their supply chain has made them a darling of the serious chocolate world. Their bon bons aren't flashy, but they're deeply, quietly extraordinary.
The Flavors That Are Defining the Trend
If you want to understand the new bon bon movement, look at the fillings. This is where the real storytelling happens.
Miso caramel has become almost a signature of the genre — the fermented, savory depth of white miso cut into a buttery caramel creates a complexity that plain salted caramel just can't match. It's umami in your dessert, and it works.
Lavender ganache sounds like it should be cloying, but in skilled hands, it's floral without being perfumy, delicate without being bland. Paired with a dark chocolate shell, it's genuinely sophisticated.
Bourbon praline is the one that makes Southerners feel seen. Rich, nutty, with that warm whiskey backbone — it's a bon bon that tastes like a very good evening.
Other flavors showing up across the country: black sesame and yuzu, earl grey and honey, smoked sea salt and dark cherry, and — for the truly adventurous — jalapeño mango, which sounds alarming and tastes incredible.
Make Your Own at Home
Here's the thing about bon bons that most people don't realize: they're achievable at home. You don't need a professional tempering machine or a culinary degree. You need good chocolate, a silicone mold (widely available online for under $15), and a little patience.
The basic method:
- Melt and temper your chocolate — dark, milk, or white — until it's glossy and fluid.
- Fill your mold cavities, tap out the excess to create a shell, and let it set.
- Pipe in your filling of choice (try a simple salted caramel or a peanut butter ganache for a first attempt).
- Seal the bottom with another layer of tempered chocolate and let it set completely before unmolding.
The results won't look exactly like the mirror-glaze masterpieces you see from professional chocolatiers — and that's perfectly fine. They'll taste like something you made yourself, which honestly might be the best flavor of all.
A Sweet Little Legacy
Here at BonBon Me, we named ourselves after this candy because we believe it represents everything we love about the world of sweets: it's small but impactful, it rewards attention, and it makes life genuinely better. The fact that the bon bon is being rediscovered and reimagined by a new generation of makers feels less like a trend and more like a homecoming.
So the next time you see a glossy little sphere of chocolate at your local artisan chocolate shop or farmers market, pick one up. Take a moment before you bite into it. Then enjoy the fact that something this small can contain this much joy.
That's the bon bon. That's always been the bon bon.
