Tag: M&M’s

When I tore open the share size bag of these new Popcorn M&M’s that have milk chocolate with a crisp rice center, I was immediately transported to a movie theater.

Or, if you look at Blue on the package, it is to the stands of a football game chowing down on a chocolatey popcorn treat. The scent of these is outstanding as they do nail the essence of a creamy, buttery milk chocolate concoction.

However, please don’t get your hopes up too too much as the smell doesn’t fully translate to the taste of them, unfortunately, but it does get pretty gosh darn close.

Now, if you had asked me how these were when I first stumbled upon them at a random gas station in central Pennsylvania, I would have given them a 10 out of 10 and told you to drop everything, seriously drop EVERYTHING, and do whatever you need to do to indulge in these. It’s been a few days, so I have had time to come back down to Earth from the high of finding them unexpectedly and experiencing their intense aroma.

These come in perfectly themed colors of dark brown, neon yellow, and off-white to mimic the product they are trying to emulate. These being M&M’s there is, of course, the glorious hard candy shell to bite into first. The main flavor of these is definitely chocolate, and you can tell it is prevalent throughout the bite. And, technically, if you look at the packaging, these are CHOCOLATE popcorn flavored treats.

There is a definite butter flavor with a hint of salt, at least as far as I can tell, but it is very light. As I ate more, the flavor seemed to diminish, and I could see potentially without the shell colors, bag, or smell someone could mistake these for regular crispy M&M’s, although a very creamy milk heavy version.

One component that is a slam dunk, or field goal, I guess I should say based on the sponsorship is the crisp rice core. It adds another crunchy texture in addition to shell, and this being a lighter one definitely reminds me of the crunch that popcorn would give.

All in all, these are delicious M&M’s with a light popcorn flavor as I have already downed 2.5 share size bags singlehandedly. I also applaud Mars for thinking outside the box with this inventive flavor. I just wish the butter flavor (and maybe the salt) was dialed up a few more notches as it would have truly knocked these out of the park flavor-wise. (Eeek sorry, would have made the flavor make an amazing touchdown flavor-wise, keeping with the theme.)

P.S – I wish Blue would have been chilling in a movie theater auditorium seat instead of with a football and eye black. I get the sponsorship, and that popcorn is a snack at stadiums, but not having a movie theater connection seems wrong.

P.P.S. – Rather than Blue holding a bucket of chocolate popcorn, shouldn’t it be a mixture of M&M’s and popcorn since that is what I originally thought they were drawing inspiration from when hearing about this flavor. Although maybe that is too meta and also means Blue is a cannibal. Eeek.

P.P.P.S. – Let’s not end on thinking about cannibalism, these are milk chocolatey with a hint of butter goodness, try them!

Purchased Price: $1.75 (2 for $3.50)
Size: 2.83 oz. Share Size Bag
Purchased at: Sheetz
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 27 g (1/3 of bag) – 130 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

What are Fudge Brownie M&M’s?

Fudge Brownie M&M’s promise to be “everything you love about homemade brownies without even turning on the oven!”

How are they?

I was skeptical that candy could deliver the same experience as a baked good, but they really captured the essence of it!

The candy piece itself is large, like the size of a peanut M&M. But instead of a peanut center, it’s a chewy chocolate core that represents the fudge brownie.

There’s definitely something to be said about the textural contrast of the hard candy shell with the chewy center. That something is: it’s good and creates a candy eating experience that I haven’t had before.

On the flavor front, when I first eat it, I get the classic M&M’s taste from the shell, followed with a subtle fudgy note. This fudginess becomes more pronounced as the shell dissolves. I wouldn’t mind even more brownie flavor, but I get it – there’s only so much “batter” you can pack into a half-inch candy piece.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Aren’t M&M’s usually pretty uniform? I noticed that they were a bit lumpy looking. However, this did not take away from the flavor or overall eat for me!

Conclusion:

How many flavors are there now?! It’s a bit overwhelming on-shelf, but this one is worth a try — look for the light purple bag with Ms. Brown!

Purchased Price: $2.98
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 9.05 oz.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz/28g/11 pieces): 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 18 gram of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

What are Hazelnut Spread M&M’s?

M&M’s debuts its newest flavor which features a hazelnut spread center covered in milk chocolate all encased in a colorful candy shell. And yes it’s a riff on Nutella which is synonymous with hazelnut spread in most people’s minds. Look at the container on the package that Blue is holding! A clear jar. Verrrrrry interesting. Basically, these are bootleg Nutella M&M’s.

How are they?

These were announced way back in September which means a long time to get excited and build your anticipation for them. So how did they do? At first glance, they’re larger than standard M&M’s and breaking one opens reveals its two-toned interior. There’s the obvious chocolate layer and then the inner hazelnut portion, which is surprisingly light almost like a cookie butter color. It did seem to have speckles (maybe chocolate?) throughout though.

Initially, they were disappointing because they tasted like regular M&M’s. However, as I ate more, the hazelnut flavor came through. They were sufficiently nutty! I can’t mention Nutella as much as I have without putting the real thing to the test, so I grabbed a jar from my cupboard and dug in to compare.

It dawned on me instantly what these really are. They aren’t fake Nutella M&M’s or even Hazelnut Spread ones; they’re just Hazelnut M&M’s. What’s a more accurate comparison? They’re unlicensed Ferrero Rocher in a different form. While Nutella is insanely creamy with the chocolate and hazelnut as one, these aren’t creamy in the slightest. Also, chewing the crunchy shell along with the unmarried chocolate and hazelnut components evoke that gold wrapped confection way more than Nutella spread.

Is there anything else you need to know?

These aren’t the first hazelnut M&M’s to come to market as the UK got a version way back in 2017 although it looks like those contained actual hazelnuts instead of the mixture inside these.

Conclusion:

These are a pretty good new take on M&M’s, which makes you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Just don’t go in expecting the next coming of Nutella in a new portable form. These are more like smaller, cheaper Ferrero Rocher. If you like those, you’ll have no problem finishing a bag of these as quickly as I did.

Purchased Price: 99 cents
?Size: 1.35 oz. bag
?Purchased at: Wegmans
?Rating: 8 out of 10
?Nutrition Facts: (1 Bag) 190 calories, 10 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

What are White Chocolate Marshmallow M&M’s?

Because a bag of novelty-flavored M&M’s is easily stuffed into a bright plastic egg basket, Mars is dropping another installment of its special edition Easter flavors! This time, it’s white chocolate with marshmallow.

How are they?

You know how when you see cooking show contestants using the same batter/dough/base for multiple items, they are mostly likely not going to win? That’s what these M&M’s taste like. They’re essentially the same as the basic white chocolate M&M with the tiniest hint of another flavor zipping by at light speed.

In this case, the flavor isn’t even the marshmallow advertised – it’s closer to fondant icing. You know how cooking show judges howl in disappointment when cakes or cookies get covered in fondant? It’s a polarizing flavor. Fondant is supposed to taste like marshmallow, but is more like what a replicator on the Enterprise that needs a tune-up would spit out.

The good news is there’s so little of it – and the white chocolate is dominant enough – that if you don’t know what fondant is, you might not even notice it here. I’ve been making cakes with it for 18 years, so I’d recognize that sugary dough anywhere.

While they taste perfectly pleasant (relying on the strength of their white chocolate base flavor), there’s a huge wasted opportunity here and I’m deducting points for that. Why didn’t they play around with texture? Swap out the crispy malted filling of the M&M’s Mini Eggs with a breakfast-cereal-style marshmallow center?

Is there anything else you need to know?

The flesh-toned M&M’s are back in this mix, which is odd because they don’t seem to relate to the flavor here. As a color combination, I didn’t love it.

Conclusion:

If you love the white chocolate M&M’s, they’re not a bad purchase with lowered expectations. If you vehemently hate fondant and/or are a cooking show judge, proceed with caution.

Purchased Price: $3.19 (on sale)
Size: 8 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz./16 pieces) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 17 grams of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein.