REVIEW: Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Latte Nuggets

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Many of us here at The Impulsive Buy hold strong candy convictions in our hearts (including candy heart convictions, but let’s wait until Valentine’s Day to debate those). Here is a Whitman’s sampler of mine:

  • Hershey’s chocolate is at its absolute best in nugget form.
  • Chocolate and warm spices pair beautifully.
  • July is not too early for pumpkin spice season. After a season of sticky humidity, I’m ready to pre-game fall.

Given the above statements, it’s not a surprise that I really liked Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Latte Nuggets, Hershey’s limited time ode to autumn’s favorite beverage. Described as “extra creamy milk chocolate with pumpkin spice latte flavored crème,” these nuggets are soft, creamy, and rich inside and out.

If you’ve ever tried the Hershey’s Nuggets Truffles line (and if you haven’t, you absolutely should—add that recommendation to my list of convictions above), know that the Pumpkin Spice Latte Nuggets are a version of that product. Inside the creamy milk chocolate shell is flavored creme, which is thick, supple, and ganache-like. The nuggets melt easily in your mouth, in the summer sun, or if dropped into a steaming hot PSL. As far as luxuriousness goes, they are a worthy opponent to brands like Lindt or Ghirardelli.

The pumpkin spice creme filling is flavored delicately but very well: there is enough warm cinnamon spice to complement the chocolate without overwhelming it or tasting too artificial. The flavor certainly reads as pumpkin spice, but the latte part is missing. I could not taste any coffee flavor whatsoever, even after savoring three nuggets. (Man, these reviews are hard work.) Hershey’s Nuggets have dabbled in coffee flavors before, namely the fantastic Café Espresso and Caramel Macchiato varieties that appeared last holiday season in stocking-stuffer-size assortments and are now available exclusively online. I expected a spiced twist on one of those products, but Hershey’s swapped the coffee for hot chocolate instead.

Although Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Latte Nuggets has one unnecessary word in its product name, the candy itself is a decadent seasonal delight. The nuggets’ smooth chocolate, luxurious filling, and warm spices are more than enough to forgive the misnomer. Just as I yearn for a chilly autumn breeze in the dog days of summer, I hope that Hershey’s will grant us more seasonal flavors.

Purchased Price: $6.79
Purchased at: CVS
Size: 8 oz (227 g) bag
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 3 pieces)150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Hershey’s S’mores McFlurry

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Just in time for the hot summer months and to join the annual deluge of s’mores-flavored products, McDonald’s has rolled out its new Hershey’s S’mores McFlurry. It combines McDonald’s ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate bits, graham crumbs, and white marshmallows.

While my photos make my McFlurry look like it’s been hanging out in a woodworker’s shop, talking about joinery techniques and snickering every time the butt joint is mentioned, I assure you that this dessert has all the flavors of the classic campfire treat.

The mix-ins give varying textures that contrast the creamy nature of the sweet ice cream. While I described them as “marshmallows” above, they’re similar to the crunchy marbits you’d find in a cereal, and they’re a little bigger than the marshmallows you’d see in an instant hot cocoa packet. They may be small, but they do pack a sweet punch. And with their crunchiness, they are an excellent addition to the dessert.

Bringing all the chocolate flavor are small dark pieces floating in the white frozen dairy. Even though Hershey’s has partnered with McDonald’s on the dessert, the bits didn’t instantly evoke thoughts of Hershey’s milk chocolate and its distinctive flavor. It tasted a little darker to me. Nevertheless, they added a choco flavor that was as sweet and tasty as the marshmallows. They also had a nice candy bar snap to them that complemented the crunchy marshmallows and creamy ice cream.

Finally, we have the mostly crunchy graham crumbs, which I was concerned wouldn’t be noticeable, as many s’mores-flavored products struggle to convey the graham flavor effectively. But my first spoonful from the McFlurry allayed my fears. As Yoda once said, “The graham is strong with this one.” There were moments when I got more of a waffle cone flavor, but that is definitely not a complaint. Hey! I just came up with a brilliant idea. How about a s’mores treat that involves toasting marshmallows and dumping them into a waffle cone with some chocolate in it? Did I just invent something? (Searches internet) Nope. It’s been done many, many, many, many times.

All together, the mix-ins and ice cream create a delicious treat that evokes the sweet campfire delicacy. The next time I indulge in the McDonald’s Hershey’s S’mores McFlurry—and trust me, there will definitely be a next time—I think I’ll enhance it with some hot fudge to give it the feeling of melted chocolate.

Purchased Price: $4.99*
Size: Regular
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 460 calories, 15 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 70 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 57 grams of sugar (including 47 grams of added sugar), and 10 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Reese’s PB&J Big Cups

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I’m a big fan of the current Renaissance Reese’s is having these days. It feels like we’ve had more peanut butter cup innovation over the last 12 months than the previous 12 YEARS, and I, for one, am there for it. I have to admit, I’ve had mixed feelings about some of the newer creations, but on the whole, I am just happy for all the new treats.

In addition to some heavy hitters that dropped recently, like the Caramel Big Cup and Red Velvet, we now have PB&J with strawberry and grape flavors! Honestly, the only real surprise is how long it took Reese’s to come out with such a classic peanut butter pairing, especially as we’ve had things like cereal, sugar cookies, and pretzels featured in peanut butter cups. But the wait is over! It’s peanut butter jelly time sans baseball bat.

Let’s start with the grape, if only because it comes first alphabetically.

After opening the package, there is a whiff of chemically grape and then the familiar peanut butter and chocolate combo. That fruity scent almost brings to mind the grape flavor of Big League Chew. I cut the first cup in half to get a view of the inside and was disappointed at the ratio of peanut butter to jelly inside. If this were a sandwich, it would absolutely not pass muster. This is disappointing for two reasons: 1) It throws off the flavor balance in the candy. 2) I KNOW Reese’s can and has done better! The ratio in the recent Chocolate Lava Cup and the aforementioned Caramel Cup was much better.

The chocolate and peanut butter you know and love are the same as you’d expect, with the artificial grape flavor playing a distant third. It tastes very fake when my tongue could pick it up. I even pulled apart the cup to get a better taste, and it was hard to get much flavor, even with a finger swipe of just the sticky purple goop itself. What is there is very reminiscent of grape Kool-aid with a bit too much water mixed with it.

Now, onto the strawberry.

The initial scent upon opening these is oddly both stronger *and* weaker. Stronger in that there’s definitely more there, more present than the grape, weaker in the sense that it smells less like the intended flavor. It’s less of a specifically strawberry fragrance and more of a generically sweet, fruity candy scent. That didn’t bode well.

As with the grape, the strawberry layer is pitifully thin and utterly lacking. Interestingly, it had a stickier consistency though. It reminded me of the squeeze tube-type candy like Ooze Tubes.

Just like with the grape, the flavor was faint and very artificial. It reminded me of mixing green gummy bears into Sprite and letting them sit long enough to start dissolving. It was like someone turned down the flavor without turning down the sweetness.

All in all, both flavors are good for peanut butter cups but really weak if you’re specifically looking for peanut butter AND JELLY cups.

Purchased Price: $3.19 each
Size: 2.8 oz
Purchased at: CVS (Grape), Cumberland Farms (Strawberry)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (both)
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 190 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams of total sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Hershey’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch Kisses

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Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been having a bit of a moment with a host of new-ish to hot-off-the-presses products and flavors (including Strawberry and, if you were lucky/crazy enough to win a recent sweepstakes, a collaboration with TOTINO’S freaking PIZZA).

Hershey’s Kisses is also an iconic snack brand that has recently been flirting with souped-up special editions (Butterbeer, anyone?) So, it might not be surprising to learn that these two powerhouses have gone ahead and teamed up for Cinnamon Toast Crunch Hershey’s Kisses—and if you’re like me, an aficionado of both overly sweet cereal and white crème candy, this is a total dream come true.

I had a good feeling the moment I found these on proud display at Target. The indulgently enormous Share Pack size promises luxurious abundance, and the appealing design of the bag—a crisp white with friendly swirls of star-studded bright green, purple, orange, and blue to mirror the cereal’s box—is a harbinger of the high quality and attention to detail ahead. Even the wrappers, another riff on that psychedelic color palette, are delightful, suggesting much more whimsy than the classic staid silver of the OG Kiss.

I might be establishing a high bar for the candies to live up to, but when I unwrapped my first one, I wasn’t disappointed at all. They’re beautiful little morsels of white crème run through with rich butterscotch-colored stripes, reminiscent of a lighter-colored Hershey’s Hug. Oh yeah, and they smell fantastic! The cinnamon aroma is strong; more specifically, it really does seem like a Cinnamon Toast Crunch aroma, as there’s a slightly-cloying-but-not-quite-overwhelming, powdered sugar-esque sweet undertone that specifically evokes cereal rather than any old cinnamon-y baked good. Clearly, I was extremely pleased with everything I saw and sniffed, so I barely made it two steps past the self-checkout before sneaking a snacking.

They say don’t meet your heroes, but you know what? This flavor actually lived up to all of my expectations, tasting exactly as delicious as it looks and smells. Food science really is magical—if you asked a wizard to conjure up the perfect blend of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Hershey’s Kisses, this is exactly what I imagine they’d poof into existence. (Does Hershey’s have actual wizards working for them? Come to think of it, that would explain the Butterbeer Kisses…)

One more neat touch, which the product image on the packaging exaggerates but which you can’t quite see on an actual Kiss until biting into it, is the crunchy bits on the inside. According to the Hershey’s website, they’re graham-flavored, and while I didn’t immediately identify that (they seemed to me more like a fun textural enhancement with the added bonus of slightly cutting the sweetness), it made sense, doubling as both a satisfying explanation for their more subdued taste and an additional nod to the cereal inspiration.

If you’re the type of Cinnamon Toast Crunch fanatic who’ll have a bowl for breakfast, a Creamy Cinnamon Spread sandwich for lunch, and a Cinnadust-seasoned entrée for dinner, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Hershey Kisses would make the perfect dessert… and even if you like CTC just a normal amount, I promise you’ll still love these. (If you somehow don’t, don’t worry; I’d be happy to take them off your hands.)

Purchased Price: $6.52
Size: 9 oz bag (Share Pack)
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (7 pieces) 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie Miniature Cups

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If you Google “peanut butter pie,” you’ll see slices of pure luxuriousness—mounds of whipped cream, swirls of creamy peanut butter filling, and, often, a chocolate drizzle or chopped up Reese’s cups for garnish.

It’s hard to imagine recreating the excitement of this no-bake classic in a miniature (!) Reese’s cup, but Reese’s has a trick up its chocolate-stained sleeve, which is peanut butter-flavored chocolate. While the brand has utilized flavored crème confection, including marshmallow, vanilla, red velvet, and, yes, peanut butter, Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie Miniatures are the first to imbue milk chocolate with flavor.

The chocolate shell’s flavor profile is equal parts chocolate and peanut butter, which amounts to Reese’s Cup-flavored chocolate. The chocolate tastes like when you have chewed your Reese’s several times and the peanut butter and chocolate flavors have melded together. When eaten whole, the cup has a slightly more peanut butter-forward taste than your average Reese’s.

While enjoyable, the flavored chocolate is hard to assess. If this were a new candy, I would be thrilled with the result. But the flavored chocolate here felt a little redundant. I didn’t feel like I was tasting something new, so much as I was beginning my familiar Reese’s eating experience at the five-second mark. Given that its namesake pie contains whipped cream or cream cheese, a flavored crème might have made more sense for this product.

It took me a while to work through my dilemma, and once I did, I remembered that Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie Miniatures utilize crunchy graham cookie pieces to represent a graham cracker crust. The crunch of these pieces is hearty (think Teddy Grahams, not graham crackers), but there is no real added flavor. It would have been cool to include a graham cracker layer at the base of the cup, and I plan on testing this hypothesis next time I buy a box of Honey Maid.

The back of the package suggests using Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie Miniatures within a peanut butter pie recipe, just in case there is not enough peanut butter pie in your peanut butter pie. It’s a suggestion I support. The extra crunch in these cups would complement a creamy pie while giving the chef the opportunity to make lame jokes about peanut butter pie inception. While a taste of these Miniatures will quell the craving for chocolate and peanut butter, the buyer’s creativity may yield a more exciting result.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Purchased at: Giant Eagle
Size: 9.6 oz (272 g) bag
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 3 pieces)130 calories, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

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