REVIEW: Brach’s Brunch Favorites Candy Corn

Who’s up for some sugar wax?

Brach’s is back once again with a new concoction – Brunch Favorites Candy Corns.

I can’t tell you the last time I had “brunch.” I had a Taco Bell Lupper yesterday, but brunch? It’s been a while. I don’t even really know which foods I associate with brunch. I just think all you can eat buffet or Eggs Benedict, which I’ve somehow never had in my sheltered life.

Because of my lack of brunch sophistication, I “blind” bought these like they were a mystery bag. I paid the flavors no mind because I wanted to try and guess which each was simply by taste. I caught one had pancakes, but I honestly didn’t even absorb what the others were. I tried to look away as to not have the flavors in my subconscious, even as I took pictures.

You don’t believe me, do you?

Humor me.

When I tore ope the Ziploc style bag that I can NEVER reseal, I was hit with a blast of maple. It was pleasant, but also had a “stale” air to it, if that makes sense.

These were my guesses prior to confirming the flavors.

1. Brown, Pink, and White – This was strawberry for sure. There was also a touch of maple. I guessed these were the pancakes with strawberry syrup?

2. Yellow, Tan, and Yellow – These were buttery and had the same maple notes, but reminded me of marshmallow. My guess was “who the heck knows. Canadian Marshmallow treats or something.”

3. Brown, Yellow, and Light Brown – These tasted like a chocolate cookie/brownie batter prior to cooking, but had a bready taste as well. I pegged them as a dessert. Honestly, they tasted like every chocolate candy corn I’d ever had.

Here’s a very specific flavor I tasted as I munched all at once. Have you ever ordered a diner stack of pancakes that took too long to eat? I kept thinking of that – a cold, syrup soaked pancake with a clump of butter.

After all that, I checked the bag. Ok, so I was kinda on the right track.

Humor me.

Number 1 was Waffles and Strawberry. Number 2 was French Toast and Maple Syrup, and number 3 was Chocolate Chip and Pancakes. Oh.

That’s it? Are these exclusively “brunch” flavors? To me that “unch” is really stretching it. It seems like they just started with the same base flavor and added strawberry, chocolate, and maple to each separately.

I realize there aren’t many “brunch” foods that can made into a candy corn flavor. Unless Brach’s wants to go Jelly Belly on us and make Shrimp Cocktail and Mimosas, I guess this is pretty much the best they could do. The problem is waffles, pancakes, and French toast taste similar. When you try to mimic those flavors in this form they’re all pretty indistinguishable. Maybe “Brunch Favorites” wasn’t the best idea.

My biggest problem is that no matter what flavor candy corn is, it always just ends up tasting like regular candy corn in the end. I think it has to do with the fact candy corn has such a unique and distinct texture. By the time I chew up the waxy cones it just elicits thoughts of every other candy corn I’ve ever had. Is it just me? While eating all three at once, strawberry shined through, but it still just ended up tasting like candy corn. Like wax that turns into a clump of wet granulated sugar.

These are decent at best. I wouldn’t skip brunch for them.

(Nutrition Facts – 19 pieces* – 140 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 28 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein..)

Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 15 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Standard fare candy corn. Brach’s trying to branch out more. The strawberry corns had “natural” flavors if you’re into that. These are still a solid candy bowl filler.
Cons: A stretch of the word “brunch.” There was considerably more French Toast than the other 2 flavors. Cold Pancakes. Leave the butter to real corn. These damn Ziploc packages. Only at Target. *The fact they couldn’t just calculate 20 pieces bothers me to no end