Tag: Mars

REVIEW: Snickers Peanut Brownie Squares

Leonard 1 Comment

Snickers Peanut Brownie Squares WrapperSnickers Peanut Brownie Squares Wrapper

What is Snickers Peanut Brownie?

It’s a candy bar featuring individual squares with a luscious caramel layer and a chewy peanut-brownie filling all coated in milk chocolate.

How is it?

Snickers Peanut Brownie Squares Coating

The Snickers name carries a lot of weight to it. It’s supposedly the world’s best-selling candy bar, and in a decade, it will be an entire century old!!! That is a big shadow for any candy bar, let alone one in the same family. So, I guess I’m trying to soften the blow that this is, well, just okay.

It is a good sugary confection and a nice little treat. It is undoubtedly chocolatey. Is it an ooey-gooey just baked brownie chocolatey? No, not really. The Fudge Brownie M&M’s are far superior in that regard.

Snickers Peanut Brownie Squares Interior

The two key components from the original also seem to be a little lackluster. The caramel is there but just doesn’t seem as thick of a layer as I remember and gets lost a bit. However, I was able to do that lovely trick where you pull two pieces apart and the caramel gloriously slowly separates. I’m sad about the peanuts, though. In one of my squares, there was maybe one full nut, and the other had maybe one and a half. It is really nice when you get one as the crunch and peanut flavor is superb. They also offset all the sweet chocolate, but there are just not enough!

Anything else you need to know?

You’ll be able to grab them in single-serving packs with two squares, share sizes with four, and also sharing stand up pouches with even more. If you are feeling extra hungry or want to be your co-worker’s best friend, you can also order an entire box from Walmart.com.

Conclusion:

I thought these were going to be Snickers bars, except delete the nougat and add in the delicious fudge brownie center from the recent Fudge Brownie M&M’s. Unfortunately, they fall a little short. Together, the four components are still a good mix and worth a try if you like the OG Snickers.

We owe it that, at least, because the brand had to fight in both World Wars and walk to school two miles in the snow! Just lower your expectations a bit before you dig in.

Purchased Price: 88 cents
Size: 1.20 OZ
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Package – 2 Squares) 180 calories, 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 18 grams of 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: Snickers Salty & Sweet, Espresso, and Fiery Intense Flavors

Rachel 17 Comments

Snickers Salty Sweet Espresso and Fiery Intense Flavors

When Snickers announced back in October that they would release three new varieties – “Intense Flavors,” I was intrigued. Salty & Sweet, Espresso, and Fiery sounded interesting. But that was crisp, cool autumn. Now it’s sweaty June, the Intense Flavors are here, and it seems like a curious move. Who wants melty chocolate all over their hot fingers? I’m guessing this release might have been timed to defeat the summer chocolate slump and tear us away from our ice cream cones. Could be a smart move – it got me on board at a time when I’d be more likely to reach for the freezer.

The Snickers Intense flavors packaging is a subtle shift from the usual Snickers wrapper – so subtle that in a bin of bars, I had to dig around to locate each flavor. They looked like a pile of the same product. But this similarity did effectively communicate one thing – these are essentially Snickers bars with flavors added.

Snickers Salty Sweet Espresso and Fiery Intense Flavors 2

Also, they’ve stuck with the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” themed logos. The Sweet & Salty bar says “Indecisive?” instead of “Snickers.” The Espresso says “Irritable?” and Fiery asks if you’re “Wimpy?” I hate this particular gimmick – the visual of all the different words offends my sense of graphic cohesion – so that definitely made me “Irritable.”

Snickers Salty Sweet Espresso and Fiery Intense Flavors 3

Snickers Intense flavors are slightly smaller than the basic Snickers. Now .04oz lighter doesn’t sound like much, but when I lined them up next to the Snick OG, it’s noticeable. The silver lining is that they’re 10 calories less than the original!

Snickers Salty Sweet Espresso and Fiery Intense Flavors 4

Aroma-wise, only the Snickers Espresso had a unique smell layered on top of the usual choco-nuttiness. The unmistakable scent of coffee.

Snickers Salty & Sweet tasted like a basic Snickers with a pinch of salt. That was the only difference I detected, but it was a welcome addition. It makes so much sense that I questioned for a hot second whether original Snickers had a salty kick all along. I had to go back and sample one to make sure. It may not be revolutionary, but it was delicious. Like a Snickers+.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: What can’t be improved with a pinch of salt? Just make this the default Snickers flavor already.
Cons: It’s so right, it should have existed already…so not surprising at all.
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 240 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 26 grams of total sugars, 25 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Snickers Salty Sweet Espresso and Fiery Intense Flavors 5

Snickers Espresso was the biggest departure. Coffee isn’t a new or risky flavor these days, but it’s done well here. The espresso was richer than the usual coffee flavor products. It was present from the first bite but didn’t smother the original Snickers combo that I love. This was my favorite of the three and I would definitely buy it again.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Great espresso flavor that works well with the basic Snickers formula.
Cons: Makes me ashamed of how much I hate coffee (the drink).
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 240 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 27 grams of total sugars, 25 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Snickers Fiery was disappointing. It felt like ages until the chili pepper heat hit me. I’d finished chewing and started swallowing when the back of my throat lit up and stayed that way for longer than I’d have liked. The heat level was about 3, which is fine for me, but it felt out of place. It didn’t have the fun flavor whiplash of the Skittles and Starburst Sweet Heat candies. Fiery is great for people who love low-level peppers that stick around like unwelcome houseguests.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: I ate it, so I must not be wimpy, as the logo implies.
Cons: Implying I’m wimpy. Heat that shows up to the party late, then refuses to leave – even after you’ve turned the music off and yawned loudly.
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 26 grams of total sugars, 24 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein

Purchased Price: $1.25
Size: 1.82 oz. bars
Purchased at: CVS

QUICK REVIEW: Milky Way Fudge Minis

Rachel

Milky Way Fudge Minis

What is it?

A Milky Way with the usual chocolate malt nougat swapped out for chocolate fudge nougat. That’s about it.

Milky Way Fudge Minis 2

How is it?

These are delicious, much the same way a regular Milky Way is. The fudge nougat has a slightly more pronounced cocoa flavor and the texture is a hair denser, the effect of which is 10 percent more chocolateness – not a huge bump. If I was blindfolded and someone handed me these and said “Here’s a Milky Way,” I likely wouldn’t be able to tell it was different.

Milky Way Fudge Minis 3

These made me ask “why?” in a way no other product variation has. It’s too similar to the original. When I bite into a Milky Way Caramel Apple or Midnight, I’m getting a materially different experience. I would give a plain Milky Way a 9, but I’m deducting a point for lack of originality here. They taste good, but a variant should stand apart from the original.

Is there anything else I need to know?

The package makes a bold promise on the stretchiness of the caramel.

Milky Way Fudge Minis 4

I tried to recreate it, but only got this far:

Milky Way Fudge Minis 5

Conclusion:

If you’re a Milky Way fan, just buy a Milky Way. The experience is so close, there’s kind of no point in these existing.

Purchased Price: $2.98
Size: 8.9 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (4 pieces) 150 calories, 6 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, 19 grams of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Peanut Brrr-ittle M&M’s

Kyle 3 Comments

Peanut Brrr ittle M M s

While the weather on this packaging is frightful, Mars has launched a new seasonal M&M’s flavor that they hope you think is delightful.

Just in time for the holidays, Peanut Brrr-ittle M&M’s have popped up on Target shelves. To be honest, I wouldn’t have pegged peanut brittle as a holiday flavor, but my recent internet searches suggest that homemade peanut brittle makes a great Christmas gift. A terrible gift, but a gift nonetheless.

It’s also possible that Mars only chose Peanut Brrr-ittle for the punniness of the name. If that’s the case, I’m glad that Brrr-occoli or Brrr-ussel Sprouts didn’t make it past the testing phase.

Since these M&M’s are a Target exclusive, you’ll have to journey through the holiday labyrinth that is the Target Christmas section. If you can avoid the shattered ornaments on the ground, the unorganized stockings strewn about, and the incessant droning of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from a chorus of battery operated gyrating conifers, you’ll land upon the Peanut Brrr-ittle M&M’s nestled between the other holiday varieties.

Peanut Brrr ittle M M s 2

Upon opening the bag, I was greeted by what looked like a traditional package of holiday Peanut M&M’s. I did a double take – had I picked up the wrong bag on the shelf? Had there been a horrible error on the M&M’s assembly line? Thankfully not – the smell of these M&M’s is very different from the traditional variety, a strong dark caramel scent that borders on artificiality.

Those same caramel notes come through in the taste, similar to what you’d find between the peanuts in a traditional brittle. While the basic peanut still sits in the center of each candy, the chocolate coating offers the aforementioned caramel flavors with hints of a more roasted flavor, similar to a hazelnut. I found the flavoring to be inconsistently applied across the M&M’s I sampled (read: most of the bag), as some tasted more heavily of the normal peanut interior, and some bordered on an overwhelmingly artificial caramel coffee creamer flavor.

Peanut Brrr ittle M M s 3

While I found these M&M’s to have a jarring taste at first, I warmed up to them over time as I got used to the nontraditional flavor. I will say that it’s difficult to eat more than a handful of these at each sitting, as the peanut brittle taste does get a little bit overpowering the more you munch.

Thankfully, the Peanut Brrr-ittle M&M’s feature a RESEALABLE ZIPPER! (their emphasis, not mine), so you can save a few to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Overall, these M&Ms are a perfect way to get your peanut brittle fix without any of the danger of burning yourself with hot sugar on the stove.

(Nutrition Facts – 1.5 ounces – 220 calories, 12 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 22 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.19
Size: 8 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Caroling while eating. Roasted, caramel flavor. Oh so punny. RESEALABLE ZIPPER!
Cons: Stocking slalom on the way to the shelf. Overwhelming in large quantities.