Say It with Chocolate

Feb 13, 2013

By Laura Andrews

Chocolate lovers Vickie and Mike Marotz of the Watertown Confectionery. Photo by John Andrews.

Valentine’s Day is synonymous with bouquets of flowers, sappy cards and red, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. But what if you want to keep your celebration local? South Dakota doesn’t have many bright blooms to boast of this time of year, and syrupy sentiment isn’t really our style. Luckily, three area chocolatiers can help you pay tribute to your love with handmade flair.

The folks at Mostly Chocolates have been delighting Rapid City palates for over 30 years. They are now working on the people of Pierre, where they opened up a second location in 2012. Try their chocolate roses, amaretto fudge, chocolate-covered cherry clusters — 3 big maraschino cherries dipped in milk chocolate — or sample their many other handmade chocolates. The Rapid City store also has a full espresso bar and a frozen yogurt bar with over 25 toppings available. For a special experience, gather a group of friends together for private chocolate-making classes with owner Peggy Kelly and her staff. Visit Mostly Chocolates at 1919 Mount Rushmore Road in Rapid City or 410 West Sioux Avenue #4 in Pierre. 

The Watertown Confectionery covers everything from “I brew” to “I do.” Mike and Vickie Marotz’s Kemp Avenue store houses wine and beer-making facilities and an in-shop chapel for small, intimate weddings in addition to hand-dipped caramels, mint meltaways and other treats. If your sweetie has a sense of humor, hand them a South Dakota Cow Pie. Hopefully the name won’t scare them away from savoring the Marotzes’ concoction of chocolate, crushed English toffee and toasted coconut. You’ll find the Watertown Confectionery at 116 East Kemp Avenue in Watertown. 

Mary “Chip” Tautkus’s Chubby Chipmunk has been receiving national attention lately — her Deadwood-made truffles were slipped into the swag bags given to performers and presenters at the Grammy and Country Music Association award ceremonies. Those with exotic tastes turn to the Chipmunk for chocolate made from Fortunato No. 4, a recently rediscovered variety of cacao plant long thought extinct. For a last-minute V-Day surprise, slide your cash in the “Chub-O-Matic” truffle vending machine next to Tautkus’s shop at 420 Cliff Street in Deadwood.