Tag: Candy Canes

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Froot Loops Candy Canes

Mark 9 Comments

Froot Loops Candy Canes Box

What are Kellogg’s Froot Loops Candy Canes?

Rainbow-colored candy canes that taste like Froot Loops! Should we start referring to Toucan Sam as Toucane Sam?

Uh, sorry.

How are they?

Froot Loops Candy Canes Necklace

After the disappointing Froot Loops Peeps this past spring, I didn’t have high hopes for the candy canes. Do they actually taste like Froot Loops?

Yeah, they really do!

My brain keeps expecting there to be some Froot Loops dust or Froot Loops milk around. But nope, it’s just a typical candy cane that tastes like Froot Loops.

I expected these to be fruitier, like the ubiquitous, multicolored cherry candy cane. But these are first and foremost a cereal-flavored candy. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true! I will forever be a mint-thusiast, but these are as good as any non-minty candy cane. (Well, except for those Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes, if they’re still being made.)

Anything else you need to know?

Froot Loops Candy Canes Tree

Besides being eaten, candy canes are best used for decorating trees or gingerbread houses. The rainbow stripes would make these ideal for various decorating themes: tropical, children, pride, psychedelic, whatever makes your days merry and bright. But just like the cereal, the colors are a little muted.

Also, there’s a caution label on the back: “Hard candy may contain sharp edges that can cause injury. Please enjoy carefully.” If you’ve ever had a candy cane before, you already knew that.

I believe these are only available at Kroger stores and online.

Conclusion:

Froot Loops Candy Canes Cereal

Kellogg’s Froot Loops Candy Canes are surprisingly true to their namesake cereal. If you like the cereal and you like candy canes, go for ’em.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of this product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: Free
Size: 5.93 oz. box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of sugar (includes 11 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes

Mark 1 Comment

Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes

Candy canes have two primary purposes. And the new Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes do a good job of fulfilling both purposes.

The first purpose is to be a festive decoration.

The color of a Butter Rum Lifesaver does not exactly conjure up images of Kris Kringle or winter wonderlands. Sia’s new Christmas song “Candy Cane Lane” describes a whole array of candy cane colors, yet brown or tan are not among them.

Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes 2

Nevertheless, Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes are surprisingly festive and attractive, with a white base and two different shades of gold and brown. It looks way better than it would be if it were one solid rum color.

Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes 4

It’s not as Christmassy as a traditional red, or even as festive as the multicolored cherry ones. But it would be perfect on a tree decorated with lots of gold ornaments, if that’s your thing. (It’s not mine.) I was surprised to find that the candy canes have inconsistent lengths.

The second purpose of a candy cane is, of course, to be candy. Peppermint is the classic flavor, and my favorite, but lots of people don’t like that, especially children. Kids tend to prefer fruity flavors, but I find them sickeningly sweet and artificial.

These Butter Rum Candy Canes will be a wonderful middle ground and will appeal to adults and kids. They taste like I remember ordinary Butter Rum Life Savers. Admittedly, it’s been a while since I had them, so I don’t know if they’re exactly the same, but if not, they’re close enough. The canes taste like a butterscotch candy, but a little more buttery. (I’m a teetotaler, so I can’t tell you if they taste like rum.)

I never noticed it until I had this variety, but there is a subtle candy cane flavor to most candy canes. I’m not talking about peppermint, but an underlying flavor that is unrelated to whatever the “real” flavor is. Peppermint candy canes have it, fruity candy canes have it, and these Butter Rum Candy Canes have it. Maybe I’m mistaking texture for flavor, but regardless, these definitely belong in the candy cane family.

Since these are true candy canes, they do come with typical candy cane hazards. The colored stripes dissolve faster than the white matrix and create sharp edges.

Life Savers Butter Rum Candy Canes 3

Additionally, you can suck them into sharp swords. I associate swords with pirates. I also associate rum with pirates, so it fits.

I’m a mint-thusiast, so I’ll generally stick with the peppermint. But these are the best non-mint candy canes I’ve had in a while.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 cane – 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, 20 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein..)

Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 5.28 oz. box
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Tastes like Butter Rum Life Savers. A tasty middle ground between fruity and peppermint flavors. Looks festive even though it’s brown.
Cons: Typical candy cane hazards of sharpness. Butter Rum Life Savers do not have a naturally festive color.

REVIEW: Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

Rachel 5 Comments

1 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

Christmas Creep is bad, right?

No one wants to see ornaments and stocking stuffers out on display in October. It’s a silent judgement — haven’t you thought about what you’re getting Aunt Mary yet? What’s taking you so long? All this great stuff will be gone by the time you start shopping after Thanksgiving.

But Christmas Candy Creep is A-OK by me! I love walking into a store on November 1st to find Halloween candy on clearance AND a full selection of holiday treats ripe for the picking. So after checking out the 80 percent off Halloween Pop-Tarts to my left, I was delighted to see a brandy-new tower of Oreo Candy Canes on my right. I’ve been waiting for you, my pretties. Come sit with me by the fire.

2 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

Visually, these candy canes fit the bill. Brown and white stripes mimic the shades of Oreo cookies & filling perfectly. These would look great on a table display with muted tones, but perhaps not the best for tree decorating – stick with the white/bright colors for contrast.

3 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

Inside the package, there was no aroma. After shedding the individual wrappings, the canes themselves sported a prominent chocolate scent. It was identifiable as “Oreo,” but not authentic Oreo. It was more like a Bonnie-Bell-Lip-Smackers version of Oreo. Not unpleasant, but you won’t forget you’re consuming an approximation of that famous cookie.

4 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

Moving onto taste. I regret to inform you there isn’t really any. A few licks in, I suspected the taste and smell were one in the same, so I did the old “hold your nose while you eat” test. All hint of Oreo disappeared. It was just a sugary stick. Since most of us (myself included) experience food with our eyes, nose, and mouth, I didn’t consider this a deal breaker, just a bit of a bummer. If you’re smell-challenged, however, don’t bother with these. Instead of “Oreo flavored,” these should probably be called “Oreo scented.”

And, in case you’re wondering, yes, you can fashion them into the traditional holiday weapon of childhood – the candy cane shiv.

5 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

Overall, they’re a fun change from the usual candy cane offerings – particularly for Oreo fanatics. I enjoyed them, but these were a “one-and-done” choice. I don’t think I’d get them again. 

But since I’m in holiday craft warm-up mode, I wanted to use these in a gingerbread house project. Six sheets of graham crackers (cut with a serrated knife), a cup of Oreo minis, some royal icing cement and you’ve got the basic structure. 

6 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

One Oreo candy cane makes the door frame and roof topping. Two canes (crushed with a rolling pin) make the gravel around the house. Throw in some icing dots and hearts and voila! You’ve got yourself an Oreo holiday house!

7 Spangler Oreo Candy Canes

(Nutrition Facts – 1 cane – 45 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 10 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of total sugars, 9 grams of added sugars, and 0 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 5.3 oz. box (12 candy canes)
Purchased at: Tops
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Fun gift or snack for Oreo fanatics. Great addition to holiday food displays and crafts. Strong “Oreo” aroma.
Cons: Had to put quotes on “Oreo” aroma. Smell definitely came to the party, but didn’t bring its friend flavor.

REVIEW: J&D’s Foods Sriracha Candy Canes

Matt 1 Comment

J&D's Foods Sriracha Candy Canes

Sriracha mania is sweeping the nation.

Though the famous hot sauce has been adored for ages, sriracha has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity. We’ve seen sriracha beef jerky, sriracha lollipops, and sriracha vodka. Even Subway and 7-Eleven have jumped on the rooster sauce bandwagon. What’s next? Sriracha candy canes?

J&D's Foods Sriracha Candy Canes Side Box

Oh.

Umm, apparently sriracha candy canes are a thing now.

It’s true. Sriracha Candy Canes are manufactured by J&D’s Foods, the company that brought you such classics as Bacon Salt, Baconnaise, and bacon-flavored sexual lubricant. Because there’s no scent more arousing while doing the nasty than the stench of cured meat.

I never noticed it before, but sriracha is pretty much the perfect Christmas hot sauce. It practically screams Santa Claus and ho-ho-hos. Just look at it: a vibrant red sauce inside a bottle topped with a green cap? Those are Christmas colors, dammit. So next time you bring me some figgy pudding, pour some sriracha on that shiiiiiit.

Grossly overpriced at $7.99, each box of candy canes includes twelve hot sauce-flavored Christmas treats. It’s no surprise that J&D’s Sriracha Candy Canes aren’t actually licensed by Huy Fong Foods, the California company responsible for those beloved red bottles decorated with a rooster. So is the flavor of these sriracha candy canes actually based upon the generic sriracha named after the Thai city of Si Racha?

J&D's Foods Sriracha Candy Canes Closeup 2

Just like every other box of candy canes I’ve ever purchased, several of the candy canes arrived broken. Clearly, these things need to be redesigned. There are so many superior, less fragile Christmas shapes: snowflakes, Christmas trees, ostracized caribou with luminescent noses.

The candy canes are white with red and green stripes, a possible allusion to the red color of sriracha and the trademark green cap of Huy Fong Foods’ bottles. The unenlightened candy-lover could easily be fooled into believing these are normal candy canes. The back of the box even recommends using the sriracha candy canes for “tricking your unsuspecting friends and children.”

The sriracha candy canes start off tasting very similar to normal candy canes, possessing the all-too-familiar sugar flavor of hard candy, yet lacking any trace of peppermint. Soon, the heat begins, slowly growing into a moderate burn and proceeding to increase as more of the candy cane is consumed. For me, the heat never reached the point of unbearably spicy, but did unpleasantly coat the back of my throat on occasion. Be sure to have a bottle of water nearby!

J&D's Foods Sriracha Candy Canes Closeup 1

To be honest, these sriracha candy canes were better than I expected. Though they’re little more than spicy candy canes, the hard candy flavor and added heat blend nicely. Nevertheless, they definitely do not taste like the hot sauce. All of the pepper and garlic notes for which sriracha is well-known for were completely absent.

J&D’s Sriracha Candy Canes could be the perfect novelty gift for your sriracha-obsessed family and friends this holiday season. However, their high price tag and lack of authentic sriracha flavor leaves them strictly in the realm of gag gifts. Yes, the heat combined well with the sugary flavor of the candy canes, but I’m confident I could purchase a generic spiced holiday candy for much cheaper.

Happy holidays, everyone! (Is Srirachanukah already over? Dang. What am I going to do with all this sriracha-flavored gelt?)

(Nutrition Facts – 1 cane (14 grams) – 60 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of sugars, and 0 grams of protein.)

Item: J&D’s Foods Sriracha Candy Canes
Purchased Price: $7.99
Size: 12 candy canes
Purchased at: ThinkGeek
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Hard candy flavor. Burn grows slowly. Srirachanukah.
Cons: Overpriced. Doesn’t actually taste like Sriracha. Gag gift. Ostracized caribou.