It’s that time of the year when Reese’s shapes frenetically go from footballs to pumpkins to trees in the blink of an eye. But shapes aren’t the only trick Reese’s have up its sugar-coated sleeve.
When it’s not sculpting its iconic blend of sweet peanut butter and milk chocolate into different but strikingly similar oblong shapes, it does something else with equal authority — stuffing its plus-sized cups with new goodies. Last autumn, we Hershey-heads were gifted Reese’s Big Cup with Pretzels, and this fall, it’s upping the sweet and salty ante with the Reese’s Potato Chips Big Cup.
This item is smokin’ hot brand new, yet the packaging has a retro quality that I find really attractive. It lures me in with its nostalgic charm. Although as a bonafide sweet and salty junky, I didn’t need to be sold in the slightest to pick these up the second I saw them.
I’m not sure if there’s a plan to release these in normal-sized cups or minis in the future, but starting with the Big Cup was the right decision. I’ve found the mix-ins, whether they’re Reese’s Pieces, cookies, or pretzels, can get lost in the smaller variety but get the proper chance to shine with the extra space the Big Cup provides. That’s definitely the case here.
The potato chips provide an immediate and intense crunch, with a touch of pleasant greasiness and punchy saltiness that takes the already salty candy to new heights. It’s still more sweet than it is salty, but the toothy chomp of the crispy ridged chips sets off pockets of legitimate salt that aren’t part of the normal smooth peanut butter equation. The salt gets tempered by the milk chocolate, and while it’s saltier than your average PB cup, it’s still well balanced with the sweetness. It’s delicious and addictive. I want this in the novelty sized holiday half-pound cups!
If I had to fault this Big Cup in any way, it’s in the lack of identifiable potato chip flavor. While they’re not as common as chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered chips are awesome. And as strong as the sweet and salty experience is in this Big Cup, I would have loved for that classic starchy potato taste to come through. I’m not all that surprised, though. Peanut butter has such a dominant flavor, but that cheap greasiness DOES poke through over the fatty PB, so it’s still distinctly different from any prior offerings, even the pretzel. Fortunately, the lack of vegetal potato taste also doesn’t bog down the experience too much. It’s just keeping it from being perfect.
Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 2.6 oz
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – 36 grams) 180 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.