Category: Snacks

Let’s get one thing straight. Skippy’s Graham Cracker P.B. Bites aren’t “bites.”

They’re balls.

Which is fine, because the country is in love with balls right now. You’ve got Pokemon Go, baseball season, Powerball, and the Olympics crowding the scene, but Skippy’s Graham Cracker P.B. Bites are what you should be focusing on.

Skippy introduced their P.B. Bites line about a year ago with Double Peanut Butter and Pretzel varieties, and they’ve proven to be a hit with the public. I’d never noticed the P.B. Bites previously because choosy reviewers like me choose Jif, but for TIB I decided to give it a shot and picked up a pack of their new Graham Cracker variety.

The P.B. Bites come in small cup-holder sized containers, because I assume Skippy thought people might take a swill of these during the morning commute. While I advise against that (due to the legal threat of causing something similar to a Pokemon Go-induced car accident), the peanut butter poppers are certainly portable and are easy to take to work or school.

Upon opening the package, I was hit with a strong wave of peanut butter scent. The smell is of a nicely roasted peanut butter, and gave off none of the artificial notes you may typically find in the peanut butter candy at the bottom of your Halloween spoils.

The P.B. Bites glisten in the light (note to self: make Mom a peanut butter diamond necklace for Christmas), and that sheen is indicative of the oily nature of the balls. Since the bites’ exteriors are coated in peanut butter, they’re soft and tacky to the touch and can only be handled for a few moments before eating (lest you want to have a real big mess on your hands). Thankfully though, the bites aren’t sticky, so you’ll be able to pop a few before getting club hand.

While you may expect the P.B. Bites have a little bit of chew to them, this is furthest from the case. The soft peanut butter exterior of the balls melts away to reveal a small, crunchy graham cracker center. The peanut butter tastes surprisingly more natural than what you typically expect from a jar of Skippy, with a deep peanut flavor. And while peanut butter from the jar has a tendency to collect on the roof of your mouth, I am pleased to share that Skippy’s P.B. Bites do no such thing. Glass of milk be gone!

Regrettably, while the Bites’ crunch is satisfying, the tiny graham cracker center lacks any discernible flavor and is overwhelmed by the peanut butter. This makes sense, because I can imagine if I covered myself in peanut butter and ate myself, I’d be incredibly delicious. And while the bites may not provide any graham cracker flavor, you’ll find yourself not caring because the rest of the bite is just so damn good.

Overall, with their natural flavor and pleasing crunch, Skippy’s Graham Cracker P.B. Bites are a pleasant snack that any peanut butter connoisseur would appreciate. Just don’t try to throw one at a Charizard.

(Nutrition Facts – 15 pieces – 160 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 6 oz. tub
Purchased at: Star Market
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Pop ‘em in your Pontiac. Natural peanut butter taste. Satisfying crunch. Good for people with Arachibutyrophobia.
Cons: Melts in your hand and also in your mouth. Tiny, flavorless center. Thoughts of self-cannibalism.

What the heck took so long?

Combos have been around since the mid 70s, but have only really ramped up production on their “sweet” varieties in the past year. I loved the Caramel Crème and Vanilla Frosting flavors, so why wouldn’t I snap-buy Chocolate Fudge? Seriously, how are these just coming out now after all these years?

Combos have been a staple of my diet since I was a kid. I’m pretty sure my typical lunch in high school was a Twix, a bag of Combos, and a Snapple. Times – and my metabolism – have changed to the point I can’t even remember the last non-sweet Combos I ate. I missed you, Combos. It’s good to have you back in my life. Let’s see if Chocolate Fudge can live up to my hype.

Well, they nailed the “salty” part of the name. Unfortunately, they slacked on the “sweet” part. I’m not 100 percent positive they delivered on the “chocolate fudge,” but you better believe they came through with the promise of “pretzel.” And you can “quote” me on that.

You know what you’re gonna get from a Combos pretzel – it’s crispy, salty, and hollow – not the greatest pretzel in the world, but not the worst. For some reason, I didn’t remember just how salty they were. I guess I just figured a lot of the sodium was coming from the cheese filling.

I would say the only pretzel snack that packs more saltiness per piece is those terrible sticks I used to get in my elementary school lunch. Ya know, the ones in the yellow box? The ones I can easily Google the name of, but choose not to because I want you to dive into your memory bank and reminisce about simpler times. I’m sure it’ll pop into my head by the end of this review.

The filling here tastes like a run of the mill chocolate icing… I think. It’s pretty dull. There is not nearly enough chocolate flavor. It gets lost in the salt and gives each piece a smokey burnt taste. I’ve gone on record as loving burnt snacks in the past, but when you’re promised a sweet element, it’s not nearly as enjoyable. I don’t normally crave more sweetness, but it definitely would have helped here. There wasn’t enough balance between the salty, crunchy pretzel and the smooth, sugary filling. I definitely recall Caramel Crème and Vanilla Frosting being sweeter.

I could be nitpicking. I understand these are a pretzel based snack, but the lack of a strong flavored filling really let me down. You’d get the occasional chocolate heavy piece, but it was almost instantly masked by the salt. More chocolate “fudge” flavor and I would have rated these 9 out of 10 pretty easily.

Still, Combos are a classic snack, and the bag is just small enough to kill in one sitting, which leads me to more nitpicking. You know I love picking at the nits.

Sometimes serving sizes get on my nerves. Forgive the pun, but they really need to stop trying to sugar coat it. This bag shouldn’t be listed as six servings. Just make it a two serving bag and stop trying to bamboozle people by slapping a “130 calories” stamp on the front of the bag. No one is reaching into a bag of Combos and thinking, “Oh boy, these are good for me!” Who eats one ounce of anything? If I had to wager a guess, one ounce is like eight Combos. I can eat eight slices of pizza, why exactly am I stopping at eight Combos?

But I digest…

You kind folk came here to read a review about the taste of new Sweet & Salty Chocolate Fudge Combos, and I’m loading this article with way too much filler… unlike the Sweet and Salty Chocolate Fudge Combos. *fake golf swing.*

So all in all, these are good. They could have been great. You’ll still have no problem polishing off the entire bag. They probably aren’t going to curb your sweet cravings, but they might do fine as a savory snack replacement.

Combos has now blessed us with Caramel, Vanilla, and Chocolate. I’m anxiously awaiting the inevitable Peanut Butter revival. And after that, I want a mixed bag of all of them. Let’s turn these into the new Oreos and just go balls to the wall on potential sweet flavors.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 oz. – 130 calories, 45 calories from fat, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 260 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 6 gram of sugars, 2 grams of protein, and 2% iron.)

Item: Combos Sweet & Salty Chocolate Fudge Pretzel
Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 6 oz. bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Good, but not great. Bag goes down easy. Good crunch. Chocolate and pretzel are a great mixture no matter what. Grade school memories. The occasional chocolate heavy piece.
Cons: Overly salty to me. Not enough filling. Overall weak chocolate taste. Not as good as other sweet Combos flavors. Customer bamboozling, My real golf swing. Took to long to produce. Bachman Pretzel Stix