Tag: Candy

REVIEW: Kit Kat Duos Mocha + Chocolate

Leonard 10 Comments

Kit Kat Duos Mocha + Chocolate Wrapper

What is Kit Kat Duos Mocha + Chocolate?

After last year’s introduction of Mint + Dark Chocolate, Kit Kat Duos are back with a second flavor, Mocha + Chocolate. It’s described as crisp wafers in mocha crème with coffee bits and chocolate.

How is it?

A small disclaimer that I do love, love, love coffee. Like I can’t function in the morning without a large cup to get me going. Then maybe I’ll have another to counteract the mid-day slump. Sometimes one more is calling my name so I can finish out the day. A late-stage one…you get the point!

I did enjoy the first Kit Kat Duos, but I would take coffee over mint any day of the week, so I was pumped for these. That being said and with my high tolerance/love for all things coffee, holy crap, these are fantastic.

Kit Kat Duos Mocha + Chocolate Fingers

The name Mocha + Chocolate is actually doing a disservice to these because the coffee flavor is so superb and way more prevalent than you would expect from the name. Of course, the chocolate is there, but these are coffee flavored through and through, and the flavor is so intense it could probably even be called Espresso + Chocolate. The profile actually comes remarkably close to actual chocolate-covered coffee beans in all their glory. WOW.

Kit Kat Duos Mocha + Chocolate Split

The crisp wafers have the usual great Kit Kat crunch, and even though I was excited about the coffee bits and thought they might provide a different level of crunch or texture, that’s not really the case as they pretty much get lost among the signature wafers. However, they might be the main factor contributing to the amazing flavor, and they do give the tops of the bars a nice speckled look.

Anything else you need to know?

Kit Kat Duos Mocha + Chocolate Ingredients

The ingredients list does show coffee, so heads up if you stay away from that glorious but addictive stimulant. These are also a permanent addition to the Kit Kat lineup, so you don’t have to rush out now to find them if you really want to try them.

Conclusion:

A behind the scenes secret is that I usually like to have at least two packages of something when I review it so I can take great pictures with one and thoroughly enjoy the other.

I have a confession, though.

These Kit Kat Duos were the first time I almost cleaned myself out of the product before my official reviewing even began! I had to hit up Walgreens again so I could get a few more while simultaneously praying that they were still in stock and that the masses hadn’t discovered these treasures. That’s how much I enjoyed these. They are Kit Kat’s version of chocolate-covered coffee beans and pretty much crispy chocolatey coffee heaven.

Purchased Price: $1.39
Size: 1.5 oz bar
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Package) 210 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7g of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 2 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Hershey’s Sugar Cookie Kisses

Mark 7 Comments

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Kisses Bag

For as long as I can remember, the Hershey’s Kisses have been literally ringing in the holiday season.

But as iconic as that commercial is, I have no reason to buy those red- and green-wrapped Kisses. That may have been exciting in the 1980s and ’90s, but in the 21st century, we like seasonal flavors to go with our seasonal wrappers.

Fortunately, Hershey’s has done exactly that by gifting us with its new Sugar Cookie Kisses, described as “sugar cookie flavored white creme with cookie pieces.”

When I open the bag, there’s a strong scent, but it doesn’t remind me of sugar cookies. It’s just vague sweetness.

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Kisses Star

Each Kiss is wrapped in silver foil with classic shapes printed on it: trees, stars, ornaments, hearts, and bells. It’s a subtle touch that brings me joy.

Inside the wrappers, the Kisses are standard white creme with red and green cookie pieces throughout. They’re nice and festive, but how is the taste?

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Kisses Split

Well, I don’t know how the creme is supposed to be “sugar cookie flavored,” but it tastes like regular white creme to me. The cookie pieces are crunchy like you’d find in a standard Hershey’s Cookies’ N’ Creme bar, just without the chocolate flavor. This summer, Hershey’s had Red White & Blue Cookies’ N’ Creme Bars. These Kisses remind me of those, almost exactly. But they certainly don’t taste like sugar cookies.

There is one way I am able to get a sugar cookie flavor. Instead of chewing, I let the white creme melt in my mouth until I have a lump of cookie pieces, then I chew on those. And they do taste like sugar cookies! I just wish the Kisses tasted like that no matter how I choose to eat them.

Hershey s Sugar Cookie Kisses Bowl

Even though I’m a little disappointed in Sugar Cookie Kisses, I’m not mad at Hershey’s. I appreciate that it creates these different seasonal flavors, and I hope it keeps doing so. Next year, if it used ginger cookies instead of these plain ones, that could be speculoos-tacular!

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 9 oz bag
Purchased at: Smith’s Marketplace
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (7 pieces) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, 12 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: White Chocolate Sugar Cookie M&M’s

Rachel 10 Comments

White Chocolate Sugar Cookie M M s Bag

What are White Chocolate Sugar Cookie M&M’s?

M&M’s is taking a softer approach to the Christmas creep this year. “Sugar cookies are year-round favorites, right? They’re sugar cookie flavored. No big deal. Just a little red & green sugar on the bag…oh, and Red’s wearing a little Santa hat. Shhh, it’s okay. Just buy the small pack. We know it’s too early, but you want to try it, don’t you? Yeah, put down that candy corn…”

White Chocolate Sugar Cookie M M s 2 Cookies

This is one of those flavors that seems like it should have existed already, but – surprise! – has somehow escaped the novelty flavor grinder until now. They have crispy rice centers – I believe this is the first time we’ve seen a white chocolate/crispy center combo (correct me if I’m wrong). They’re the standard M&M’s size and come in the usual holiday red-green-white candy coating color combination.

How are they?

These were delicious – the creamy white chocolate worked really well with the crispy rice center. The crunch gave them the texture of thin sugar cookies. I inhaled the first single-sized bag without even realizing I’d eaten them all. Dangerous.

White Chocolate Sugar Cookie M M s 3 Closeup

They didn’t quite capture the flavor of sugar cookies, however. I wanted to taste the “bake” here – caramelized sugar, butter and flour. I didn’t get any of that. They tasted, to me, like a fantastic white hot chocolate I used to buy cups of every winter at a defunct, ritzy grocery store in Manhattan. It was milky and thickly sweet with white chocolate. These M&M’s were exactly like that – more like milk that might have had a sugar cookie dunked in it, but definitely a pound of white chocolate. I had to ding them for not being what they claimed. If they were called M&M’s White Hot Chocolate, they’d rate higher.

One other tiny thing – I did wish there were some red and green sprinkles inside to give the centers some color, but not a deal breaker. Just a sprinkle-obsessed request for next time.

White Chocolate Sugar Cookie M M s 4 Inside

Anything else you need to know?

Not sure if it’s sabotage or synchronicity, but Hershey’s also has sugar cookie-flavored Kisses hitting shelves as well. 2020 will go down in history as the Year of the Sugar Cookie!

Conclusion:

If you’re here for wonderfully tasty M&M’s, come right in. If you’re here for sugar cookie flavor, buy a box of sugar cookies.

Purchased Price: $1.09 (on sale)
Size: 1.35 oz bag
Purchased at: Duane Reade by Walgreens
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 pack) 180 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar, including 21 grams of added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Big Cup with Pretzels

Marvo 5 Comments

Reese s Big Cup with Pretzels Wrapper

A successful stuffing of Reese’s Pieces into Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has led us down the sticky hole to the new Reese’s Big Cup with Pretzels. It’s taken four long years to go from Reese’s Pieces to pretzels, but if you’ve ever gone through a sticky hole, you know it takes a while to go through one.

While previous stuffed Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were available in Big Cups and the original size, these are currently only available in these honkin’ Big Cups. Although, I’ve been told by a little peanut butter cup that a bag of pretzel-stuffed miniatures will be sold starting in January.

Why a thicker peanut butter cup and not a regular-sized one? Your answer is probably as good as mine. I think the pretzel pieces might not be thin enough for a normal-sized cup.

Reese s Big Cup with Pretzels Closeup

While they might not be thin enough, the pieces are still small. It’s as if Hershey’s factory workers were allowed to let out their 2020 frustrations onto bags filled with skinny pretzel knots and used the shattered pieces in these. They’re just bits, but they provide a satisfying crunch that no peanut, cookie, or Reese’s Pieces could come close to.

But here’s the thing, while it has the popular snack’s crunch, I don’t notice a pretzel flavor. Even in bites that seemed to be mostly pretzels, I didn’t get that unique flavor.

I thought the savory snack might make the candy noticeably saltier than a regular Big Cup, but they don’t. Also, because of the added ingredient, this isn’t as sweet as a standard Big Cup.

So does that mean this a big bland brown disk? No.

That signature Reese’s peanut butter and chocolate flavor is still there, although subdued a bit. They’re basically Reese’s Big Cups with a BIG crunch, and I’d still stuff these into my big mouth.

But here’s another thing. I have to admit my taste buds weren’t too excited about these because they’re more intrigued by a similar product from Reese’s announced around the same time. However, it won’t come out until March 2021, and that’s Reese’s Big Cups with Chips. Yes, potato chips.

I’m someone who prefers chips over pretzels. If I’m watching a major sporting event, like the World Curling Championship, I’m going to be watching it while sweeping some chips into my house for all eight to ten ends. It’s not going to be pretzels. So it makes sense that my taste buds are looking forward to the chip version more.

But as for this Reese’s Big Cup with Pretzels, it’s worth a try. But buy a bag of Synder’s of Hanover with it if you want a bit more pretzel flavor.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. (Thanks, Reese’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 2.6 oz (King Size)
Purchased at: Received from Hershey’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 180 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Hershey’s Vampire Kisses

Mike 11 Comments

Hershey s Vampire Kisses Bag

What are Hershey’s Vampire Kisses

Just in time for the Halloween season, Hershey’s has introduced Vampire Kisses, a variation of its classic milk chocolate candy. Along with the chocolate, it’s filled with strawberry-flavored crème.

How are they?

Hershey s Vampire Kisses Chocolate

The milk chocolate shell is the same tangy butyric acid-infused Hershey’s chocolate to which American consumers are accustomed. I’ve recently heard the flavor described as “yogurty,” which is all I can think of when tasting it now.

Hershey s Vampire Kisses Filling

According to the package, the filling is a strawberry-flavored crème, but there’s a lack of distinct strawberry flavor in it. It’s better described as generically fruity and without creaminess either.

Though, in a bit of flavor serendipity, the combination of acidic chocolate and fruity filling combine to remind me of the berries and Greek yogurt parfait I had for breakfast. I doubt that’s intentional.

Anything else you need to know?

The fanged Kisses depicted on the packing suggest that the candies themselves have been turned to undead creatures of the night. That’s ridiculous, of course. Instead, I propose that these are candies meant for vampires. Here’s how I think some famous blood-suckers would consume a Vampire Kiss.

Count Orlok – This rodent-looking guy nibbles the top off, then attempts to suck the strawberry filling out. Unfortunately for Orlok, I can confirm that the filling is much too viscous to be consumed in this way.

Vlad “The Impaler” Dracula – Individually, with a toothpick. It can be done, but the candy shell is liable to crack unless it’s well-chilled, and no self-respecting vampire is going to devour a victim that’s gone cold.

Louis de Pointe du Lac (A.K.A. Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire) – After monologuing about the dark-as-night chocolate and filling sweet as the crimson sun at dawn that shall never again greet him, Louie quickly tires of them, lamenting that each Kiss is dust to his undead palate.

The Count – This denizen of Sesame Street knows that these are 55 individual Kisses in his bag. Being a nobleman with an appreciation for aesthetics, he doesn’t eat any since 55 is such a pleasing number.

Edward Cullen – Edward’s fervor for Hershey’s Kisses is unparalleled, but he knows that to succumb to temptation inevitably leads to their destruction. He keeps a bag in the back of the cupboard, knowing it’s only a matter of time before he gives in.

Angel/Angelus – Angel, the beau of Buffy, the vampire slayer, would never risk a Kiss. Kisses lead to more intimate encounters, which lead to the one moment of perfect happiness that would rip his soul away, turning him to the evil Angelus. Angelus is a total chocoholic, so he eats the entire bag.

Conclusion:

In fiction, a kiss from a vampire (that is, being bitten) has one of two consequences. Either you’re turned superhuman being beyond human reckoning, or you’re a left a lifeless husk drained of all vitality. There’s not much in-between, which is why these candies falling into mediocrity is so disappointing.

Purchased Price: $3.59
Size: 9 oz bag (255g)
Purchased at: Piggly Wiggly
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (6 pieces) 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar including 13 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.