Tag: Candy

REVIEW: Froot Loops Gummies

Brandon 4 Comments

Froot Loops Gummies Pouch

What are Froot Loops Gummies?

Discontent with your child’s sole exposure to sugary fruit rings occurring only at breakfast, Kellogg’s is pleased to announce the birth of Froot Loops Gummies, small, chewy rings of a gelatinous nature meant to fill in the afternoon “sweet-snack” slot.

How are they?

Have you ever been chewing a big spoonful of Froot Loops cereal when you had the thought, “I know what would make these better— if they were chewier and grittier”?

No?

Froot Loops Gummies Colors

Well, there’s a reason for that. No one needs Froot Loops in a gummy form. Texturally, these come across like a stale version of your standard gummy peach ring. There’s less gum and more grit, though, giving you an experience akin to dropping your gummy snack in the sand before imbibing.

At first bite, there is the unmistakable artificial fruit taste associated with the namesake cereal, but it dissipates quickly, leaving you with the disappointing ordeal of chewing on a mouthful of rubbery newspaper.

Froot Loops Gummies Size

Anything else you need to know?

In 1994, Kellogg’s introduced the world to Puey, Susey, and Louis, Toucan Sam’s nephews. It feels like maybe they should have told Uncle Sam to stay away from the fruit snack market.

Conclusion:

My seven-year-old daughter ate these with me, lest you think this is solely the opinion of a snobby adult. She declared, “I’d give these about a three. Out of 100.” I said, “Wow, you think they’re THAT bad?” And she said, “Well, maybe like a three out of five.”

The thing is, she’s seven, and numbers are still a bit conceptual to her in a lot of ways. She was right with the three, though. Just, you know, out of 10.

Purchased Price: $1.00
Size: 4 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 3 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (10 pieces) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Cinnamon Bun Snickers

David 15 Comments

Cinnamon Bun Snickers Wrapper

Cinnamon rolls are not cinnamon buns and I am ashamed of you for even thinking so.

Sure, they are both pinwheels of dough slathered in butter, cinnamon and sugar. And they both masquerade as breakfast in places where nutrition doesn’t matter. But there, the roads diverge.

Cinnamon rolls get baked, slathered with sugar or cream cheese, and stop trying. Cinnamon buns get flipped back into their own glaze like heroes, and are pummeled mercilessly with caramel and pecans. They are what baby cinnamon rolls hope they will one day become. They are breakfast for people who don’t eat lunch and dinner. And, on the day Snickers executives were supposed to debate whether to make a Cinnamon Roll Snickers or a Cinnamon Bun Snickers, I bet they all went home early. I bet they thought that Snickers, the candy bar that markets itself for hungry people, had cinnamon bun DNA in its peanuts.

So I had big hopes, hopes as big as the trucks that pulled into the Colorado truck stop where I once had my first cinnamon bun. The light aqua packaging was sleek and encouraged these hopes, although in the glare of the turquoise neon, I overlooked some troubling details. First, the picture depicted not a cinnamon bun, but a pedestrian cinnamon roll, hinting that the Snickers executives were taking some sloppy liberties. And then there was the label’s marque, which listed, in bold letters and in explicit disappointing detail, Peanuts, Cinnamon Bun Flavored Nougat, Caramel, Milk Chocolate.

I could have, I should have, stopped there and gotten a hold of myself. This was a Snickers bar, a typically busy conglomeration of textures and flavors, in which only one player in a diverse cast would be taking on that Cinnamon Bun challenge. Yes, that colossal cinnamon bun flavor was all going to be on nougat’s shoulders. Peanuts, caramel and milk chocolate would be stepping back, letting him do all the work. And replicating a cinnamon bun is a lot of work. Poor nougat. Poor sad, sweet nougat.

Cinnamon Bun Snickers Split

You see, Snickers nougat, like some rare orchid, is a fragile and delicate thing. In your everyday Snickers bar, it is the glue that marries the dominant peanut and caramel sensations, adding a fluffy chewiness but content to not muck up the flavor profile. Discerning palates might detect a touch of molasses or a dark honey in it, but it’s strictly back seat. Cinnamon Bun Snickers hands nougat the keys.

And it’s safe to say nougat is an overly cautious driver. The same bland molasses flavor is present, but with the slightest wisp of cinnamon, resulting in a bar that has echoes of cinnamon and is even slightly sweeter than ordinary Snickers. It resembles the button down nougat we know in every other respect, but the touch of cinnamon may be enough to transform the bar into something else, but there will be a few uneducated rubes out there who buy Cinnamon Bun Snickers thinking it is a regular Snickers, and never realizing the error of their ways.

Cinnamon Bun Snickers Caramel

Ironically, the caramel and the peanuts, which by all appearances are no different at all from the other Snickers bars in the Snickers universe, come to the rescue, primarily because cinnamon buns also have nuts and caramel and the combination evokes them. They keep the bar from being too dramatic a disappointment.

But a slight disappointment, nonetheless. Then again, if it was as good as a regular cinnamon bun, I’d never have to go back to that truck stop in Colorado. That actually sounds like a good idea right now. OK, nougat, get back in the back seat.

Purchased Price: 88 cents
Size: 1.5 oz bar
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 100 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Creme Savers Hard Candy (2021)

Vin 8 Comments

Creme Savers 2021 Bags

What are Creme Savers?

Life Savers’ creamy hole-less cousins are back after a decade hiatus.

How are they?

Creme Savers were one of my grandmother’s favorite candies, so I’ve always had a special fondness for them. Throughout my childhood, she’d always have them in a bowl with Chocolate Riesen and packs of Pez sans dispensers for some reason.

I recall enjoying Creme Savers the most, so I was pretty excited when I heard they were coming back in orange and strawberry creme flavors.

Then I had them and realized some things are best left in the past.

Creme Savers 2021 Unwrapped

At the risk of lending credence to a stereotype… these are even more “grandma candy” than I remember.

I had an inkling what to expect because of the “creme” of it all, but they have that same mouth coating “warmness” to them that a Werther’s Original or butterscotch have. Does that make sense? I’m not asking for mint adjacent refreshment, but when I eat a hard candy, I at least want it to invigorate me a little. These things are dull – the candy equivalent of warm milk.

Well, to be fair, Orange is extremely dull. Strawberry is actually pretty solid overall.

I’m not sure how a citrus fruit managed to lay dormant, but the creme overpowers the orange to the point it tastes like the ghost of an orange swimming in some Greek yogurt. It’s cloying and will leave you grasping for a glass of water. I was expecting Creamsicle, but instead, I got cream-sick… Nah, I’m bailing on this dumb pun just like I bailed on this flavor. I’ll be giving the rest of the bag away.

Creme Savers 2021 Copy

Strawberry, on the other hand, is pleasant. It’s not great, but it’s easily the better of the two. The strawberry shines so much more than the orange, and since I can’t shake the overall “yogurt-ness” of these candies, it makes sense because strawberry is a far superior yogurt fruit. This is more along the lines of what I remembered. I’ll have no problem finishing the bag.

Anything else you need to know?

While I may not love these, they absolutely live up to their name. As I mentioned above, short of a Werther’s or butterscotch, these are probably the creamiest “sucking candy” I’ve ever had. It really lingers for way too long.

I can’t shake the fact that these taste like hardened discs of fruit-flavored yogurt, and that’s not really what I was hoping for.

Conclusion:

Creme Savers 2021 Wrapped

I guess my memory of Creme Savers faded over the years. I’m still happy to see them back, and I appreciate them if only for making me think of my grandmother’s weird candy dish.

I know these survived overseas while they were discontinued in the US, so maybe we’ll see some more flavors hit shelves in time. I’m always up for Banana Creme anything.

As far as I know, Creme Savers are currently only available at Big Lots, but they seem to be branching out to other retailers soon. Keep an eye on its Instagram account if you’re interested.

Purchased Price: $1.00 each
Size: 3 oz.
Purchased at: Big Lots
Rating: 3 out of 10 (Orange), 7 out of 10 (Strawberry)
Nutrition Facts: (3 Pieces) 60 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 30 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of total carbohydrates, 9 grams of total sugars, 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Potato Chips Big Cup

Sean 12 Comments

Reese s Potato Chips Big Cup Wrapper

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.

Reese s Potato Chips Big Cup Pair

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.

Reese s Potato Chips Big Cup Innards

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!

Reese s Potato Chips Big Cup Single

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.

REVIEW: Hershey’s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar

Julie 6 Comments

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar Wrapper

What is Hershey’s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar?

Sugar cookie flavored white crème and red and green cookie pieces make up this seasonal bar.

How is it?

I’m a simple woman: I see red and green cookie pieces embedded in a snow white bar of chocolate, and I smile. This bar has a fun and festive appearance, but it is not just a Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Crème bar dressed up in a Santa suit.

The crème’s sugar cookie flavor distinguishes it from your everyday white crème. Behind its super sweetness are high notes of vanilla and butter, which especially contributes to the richness of the bar. The flavor reminds me a lot of birthday cake flavored white chocolate, which I love but prefer in small doses due to its intense sweetness.

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar Split

As I nibbled on the bar (which was broken into irregular pieces due to shipping, not my brute strength), I reached a similar point of diminishing returns. The richness that makes the crème a treat can become cloying after too many bites.

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar Innards

The bar’s pretty cookie pieces do not impart a lot of flavor on their own. Although they contain an extra hint of sweetness, their texture is what satisfies. The pieces are light, crispy, and generously sprinkled throughout the bar.

Anything else you need to know?

You can also find Sugar Cookie flavored white crème in Hershey’s Kiss form. From what I remember of the Kisses, the crème tastes very similar, although the bar’s buttery taste stands out more. The shape of the bar also lends itself to a more even distribution of cookie pieces.

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar Closeup

Conclusion:

Hershey’s Sugar Cookie Candy Bar combines the butter, vanilla, and sugar flavors of your favorite sugar cookie recipe and adds a colorful crunch. However, the flavor is incredibly rich, so if you leave one for Santa Claus this year in lieu of cookies, don’t be offended if he leaves a few pieces behind.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free sample from Hershey’s, which did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 1.55 oz (43 g) bar
Purchased at: Provided by Hershey’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 230 calories, 12 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.