Tag: Candy

REVIEW: Toasty Holiday Peanut M&M’s

Ann 1 Comment

As we approach the holiday season once more, Mars has created a new Peanut M&M’s flavor to get everyone into the holiday spirit: Toasty Holiday Peanut M&M’s. The brand describes the new flavor as a winter treat made with roasted peanuts infused with cinnamon, vanilla, spiced sugar, and caramel.

While M&M’s has kept a fairly steady stream of new flavors and textures coming in their other varieties, it’s been a minute since the Peanut M&M has seen some innovative love! The holiday-focused flavor comes in just red, green, and yellow colors. There isn’t much else distinctive about these in appearance; they look just like standard Peanut M&M’s.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from cinnamon, vanilla, spiced sugar, and caramel (that’s a lot of flavors), but the first impression I had of these Toasty Holiday Peanut M&M’s was that they didn’t overdo it with the flavor. It’s definitely present, but it’s not too heavy. I also wasn’t really able to discern any one of their specifically listed flavors. They all sort of melded together and tasted like brown butter, or maybe toffee, or even maple? For something so difficult to nail down, one thing I was sure of is that they’re delicious!

I decided to taste them against regular Peanut M&M’s to see if the flavor would stand out more. The Toasty Holiday Peanut M&M’s maintain a really pleasant warm spiced note compared to their OG counterparts. I will also say that my coworker tried these and said they tasted like a TJMaxx candle, so I guess to each their own.

Overall, I’m trusting my gut here and saying these are great. The flavor isn’t over the top and is just ambiguous enough to fit the broad description of “toasty holiday.” I enjoyed them more than original Peanut M&M’s and sincerely hope Mars keeps innovating with them!

Purchased Price: $2.28
Size: 3.27 oz bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1oz/12 pieces) 140 Calories, 8 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 15 milligrams sodium, 17 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 15 grams sugar, and 3 grams protein.

REVIEW: Peanut Butter & Jelly M&M’s

Brandon 2 Comments

In my never-ending quest to be cool, I’m a “Full-sized-Candy-Bar-at-Halloween-Guy.” The thing about it is that I get approximately ten trick-or-treaters on an average Halloween. (15 in a real bustling year.) My neighborhood is mostly filled with extremely old people whose grandchildren are beyond trick-or-treating age. This means I end up with a whole bunch of full-sized candy bars. And while that sounds amazing, it really just means that I head into the Holiday Fattening Season carrying more weight than I wanted.

All this to say, I really didn’t want to like new Peanut Butter & Jelly M&M’s. I didn’t need to like them. Oh sure, I enjoy Peanut Butter M&M’s, but I was holding out hope that the inclusion of jelly would somehow render these inedible and disappointing.

I was wrong.

Peanut Butter & Jelly M&M’s aren’t far off from the Peanut Butter M&M’s you already know, but the addition of jelly is a welcome touch. (Though, I cannot, for the life of me, tell what KIND of jelly it is, so don’t ask.) Each M has the customary peanut butter/chocolate vibe, but then there’s just a pinch of fruity sweetness. The food scientists at Mars did a fine job of making sure the jelly wasn’t too light or too overwhelming, either one of which could’ve totally ruined the new variety.

It’s worth noting that M&M’s has been here before. In 2009, it introduced Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M’s, which is, frankly, a terrible name. But I believe these are probably about the same from a conceptual standpoint. (I didn’t have them in ’09, though, so I can’t vouch for their similarity/difference. But I mean, even if I had tried them 15 years ago, it’s extremely unlikely I would remember how they taste.)

One thing that is a little different about these M&M’s is that there are only red, dark brown, and light brown (Or gold? Off-yellow?) candies. So if you’re someone who’s really into the green or the blue M&M’s, my deepest condolences; you’re out of luck. But if you like the regular Peanut Butter M&M’s and don’t mind a drab color pallet when it comes to your bite-size chocolate candy choices, you’ll wanna check these out before they leave shelves. Or just wait for 2039 when they come back with another name.

Purchased Price: $4.78
Size: 8.6 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz.) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, including 13 grams of added sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Sugar Cookie Big Cup

Julie 2 Comments

As I sat down to begin this review, my mind drifted off to dream of holiday cookies. (This will happen more and more as winter draws near, during increasingly inconvenient moments.) There is something magical about the holiday cookie genre and the imagery it evokes. Those sacred recipe cards that emerge from your cupboard once a year. Enticing details like glistening sanding sugar or colored sprinkles. Tupperware containers are stuffed to capacity and then quickly reduced to crumbs, thanks to your ravenous Uncle Phil.

Reese’s knows this to be true, and this year it honors a holiday staple: the humble sugar cookie. Whether coated in decorative icing or mixed with candy pieces, the buttery, sweet cookie is the perfect base for a holiday treat. Now available in both Big Cup and Miniature varieties, Reese’s Sugar Cookie cups add sugar cookie bits to the classic Reese’s filling.

I found a Sugar Cookie Big Cup at Giant Eagle and decided to treat myself to some early holiday cheer. When I cut the cup in two, I wondered if I had received a cheerless factory dud. The filling looked so thick with peanut butter that I questioned the cookie bits’ presence. Did Uncle Phil strike again?

Luckily, the bits merely camouflage themselves against the peanut butter, and the generous filling enrobes the cookies completely. The sugar cookie bits are not quite pea-sized, so about 6-7 pieces fit in the cup. Much like myself slipping cookies into my purse at a boring holiday party, Reese’s managed to cram a surprising number of cookies in a small space.

The cookie bits do not add any flavor to the Big Cup; as is the case with several Big Cup mix-ins, the peanut butter taste overshadows their flavor. However, they do add a perfect, satisfying crunch. I expected added texture, but given that the perfect cookie texture is always up for debate, I wondered whether this Big Cup would deliver soft, crispy, or crunchy. The verdict: super crunchy. Imagine if the cookie bits in a Hershey’s Cookies’ n’ Creme bar had something to prove.

While Reese’s Big Cups are delicious—a larger version of what I consider to be the perfect candy—their novelty varieties are almost always more interesting for their textures than flavors. The Sugar Cookie Big Cup is no different, but its crunchy cookie bits will please anyone who prefers a sweet crunch (or desperately misses the Crunchy Cookie Big Cup). If I encountered them at a holiday party, I’d slip a few in my purse for later.

Purchased Price: $1.39
Purchased at: Giant Eagle
Size: 1.3 oz (36 g)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Waffle Cone Pieces Bar

Brandon 11 Comments

With a legacy spanning approximately 500 years—give or take a few centuries—one would assume that Hershey has produced more than a fair amount of limited editions in the history of its iconic chocolate bar. And that assumption, like the fact that I am prone to gross exaggeration with regard to time, would be true.

While we all know—and to varying degrees love— the standard deviations (Cookies ‘n’ Creme, “with almonds,” and Symphony), do you recall Cookies ‘n’ Chocolate, Cookies ’n’ Mint, Strawberries ’n’ Creme, Raspberries ’n’ Creme, or any of the Twosomes (Reese’s Pieces, Whoppers, and Heath)? Me either! But if you’re like me—hankering for some pieces of stuff in your chocolate bar— the good folks from Pennsylvania are here for us.

About this new treat, Hershey’s website says, “Extra creamy milk chocolate and crunchy waffle cone pieces all in one bar? Who says you can’t have it all?” And then 181 more words about this candy bar. Seriously. 181! It’s a dessert-tation, really. I felt myself nodding off midway through.

Was the candy bar enough to awaken both me AND my tastebuds? Sadly, it was not.

Everyone has had a Hershey bar, so I won’t spend any time describing that. It’s a pretty straightforward American version of chocolate that few outside of the States can stand, and even snootier American chocolate connoisseurs find off-putting at best.

So the real variable here is the pieces of waffle cone. And the verdict? They add texture, but that’s about it. They seemingly do nothing in terms of taste— likely because the pieces are so small. I found myself wondering, what’s the point here? I mean, waffle cones are incredible, and I like Hershey Bars. While the combination should be a win-win, there’s just not enough substance here for it to be anything other than “ho-hum.” It’s a chocolate bar, which makes it consumable, but beyond that, it’s pretty pointless.

Maybe next time Hershey will do something a little more inventive than Chocolate ’n’ Waffle Cone. Until then, I suppose I’ll just remain Bored ‘n’ Disappointed.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 2.5 oz bar (King Size)
Purchased at: Hy-Vee
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 pack) 170 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup

Julie Leave a comment

Reese’s is still following an ooey-gooey train of thought.

Succeeding last year’s Caramel Big Cup, the brand’s new Chocolate Lava Big Cup takes its inspiration from decadent desserts with molten chocolate centers. Available in standard or King-size packages, the candy pairs classic Reese’s peanut butter with a layer of chocolate-y filling at the base. You get all the satisfaction of watching chocolate flood from your dessert without paying restaurant prices.

Luckily, the chocolate isn’t thin enough to totally drain the Big Cup, filling the wrapper with liquid chocolate like the world’s flimsiest, sweetest shot glass. Still, when I cut into my Chocolate Lava Big Cup, I had to hurry. Mine had already sprung a slight leak at the edge, and while the chocolate doesn’t “flood,” it certainly runs. (Just like I did in the store when I saw those guys who try to get you to switch your cell carrier. This isn’t a joke; I dropped my chocolate as I fled. I am to blame for the damaged Big Cup. Although the chocolate walls and base of the cup are thin, do not blame the chocolate engineers for my mess.)

The chocolate lava is a sticky, syrupy chocolate filling that oozes from the cup. In theory, it reminds me of the syrup you stir into boring milk to make chocolate milk or the drizzle some restaurants use in copious amounts to make desserts look fancier.

Unlike either of those syrups, though, the Reese’s chocolate lava filling just doesn’t have very much flavor. It is sweet, but not terribly sweet. It isn’t fudgy. It isn’t dark or bitter. The flavor is like sweetened cocoa, but the chocolate lava’s texture has a greater effect on the cup than the taste does. The chocolate’s gooeyness lends the Big Cup a kind of messy luxuriousness that’s more about the eating experience than the overall flavor.

The Reese’s peanut butter filling is sublime, as usual, but it overshadows the chocolate filling in both volume and flavor. I said the same thing about the Caramel Big Cup, but that product’s guest-starring ingredient tasted great independent of its context. The lava here isn’t flavorful enough to complement the peanut butter or stand (or ooze, as the case may be) on its own two feet.

While the Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup makes a fun eating experience for anyone who likes a little extra gooeyness in their desserts, it wasn’t a showstopper for me.

Purchased Price: $2.28
Size: 2.8 oz (79 g) King Size package
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 cup) 190 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.