It’s no controversial hot take to say that Hershey’s doesn’t make the highest quality chocolate around, not even the greatest chocolate at 7-Eleven or Walgreens; but they definitely know how to put together a good candy bar.

Among my favorite of their bars is the white chocolate Cookies ‘n’ Creme Bar, and with a twist of marketing genius Hershey’s have unleashed three new spins on that success with Cookie Layer Crunch Bars. The caramel flavor combines milk chocolate with shortbread cookie bits and a velvety caramel, packaged in mini bars of three breakable pieces.

The chocolate has a deeper fuller taste than what I’m used to with Hershey’s milk chocolate, lacking that undesirable slight graininess from their classic bar. It has an almost dark chocolate quality to it, a sensation that is created by the contrast of the sweeter caramel and salty cookie pieces.

The saltiness of the shortbread comes through beautifully, but the “bits” aren’t big enough to really get any of that lush buttery flavor usually associated with this type of cookie. I can’t knock Hershey’s here since they do use the small-implying word “bits” but the texture-fiend in me wants more crunch, especially with the word being in the name. 

The chocolate to caramel to cookie ratio is well balanced and doesn’t come across as overwhelmingly sweet, which can oftentimes happen in candy bars that feature caramel without any nuts.

I can’t say I’ve ever had a readily available candy quite like this and that’s a good thing because it’s fresh and it works. It teeters on the line of your typical grocery chocolate bar and something more gourmet you might find at a chocolatier like See’s or Godiva. Each piece is layered with that sweet salty crunch that shines in one of my other favorite Hershey’s products, the oftentimes overlooked and pretzel-prominent Take 5.

This might be the most repeat-noshable candy bar Hershey’s has released without peanut butter in it, and a great launch for a company that hasn’t done much to innovate the junk aisle game outside of weird seasonal flavors of Kisses. From the snack-style packaging to the different flavors to the multiple textures, Hershey’s has unleashed something simple but effective that should prove to be very popular and leaves itself open to new and limited/seasonal variations down the line.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 package (2 bars) – 200 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 2 gram of protein..)

Purchased Price: $1.29
Size: 1.4 oz. bar
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Smooth rich chocolate. Sweet salty fix. Great packaging. Most repeat-noshable Hershey’s without peanut butter.
Cons: Could use more crunch. Could use more shortbread butteriness. Could use peanut butter.