Reese’s is the elite, the S-tier. So, when it came out with its new Cluster Bites, I was immediately intrigued. All its new items have been pretty fire so far, from the DiPPeD line to the Big Cups with various inclusions.

While the name itself is a mashup of the now-discontinued Reese’s Bites and the current Reese’s Clusters, the offering is a bit different from both. It touts “creamy peanut butter, gooey caramel and crunchy peanuts, all covered in smooth milk chocolate.” So, unlike the clusters, there are no pecans! But honestly, it may have benefitted from it.

I ripped open the bag to find bigger clusters than expected. I thought it would be smaller because of the bites part of the name. For once, the food itself actually matched the size of the picture on the bag!

Unlike a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, it smelled more like peanut butter. But, it was its texture that shook me. It was quite a different eating experience compared to a Reese’s cup, which has that distinct texture of the thin chocolate snapping under the pressure of your teeth. Instead, these clusters were soft and squishy, particularly because of the caramel. The texture primarily came from the whole peanut rather than tempered chocolate. Its flavor was like eating a softer, smaller nougat-less Snickers bar. Meh.

All good things come to an end, including Reese’s streak of fire innovations. This was just OK, but maybe it’s because Reese’s other new items have been so good that they set the bar way too high.

I will say that the new Cluster Bites are indeed more “snackable,” and I can appreciate the volume. I can eat many without feeling as guilty or full as I would if I ate an equivalent number in mini cups or DiPPeD pretzels. Even so, I don’t see this replacing or being added to my weekly Reese’s rotation.

Purchased Price: $4.42
Size: 7 oz pouch
Purchased at: Menard’s
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (4 pieces – 30 grams) – 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar (including 11 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

While I love The Impulsive Buy for padding my grocery list with fun new items, I also value it as a historical record of all the products I’ve loved before (or never got to try or barely remember).

Digging into the archives reminded me that a Reese’s Caramel Cup once existed circa 2005. But that was then, and now it’s time for an upgrade. After recent varieties filled with such treats as salty snacks, candy pieces, and cereal, Reese’s Big Cup is embracing caramel, that candy bar classic. Combining a layer of caramel with its quintessential peanut butter filling, Reese’s Caramel Big Cup is available in standard or King Size packages.

Knowing what to expect from a standard Big Cup, I was most interested in the caramel element. A slim layer sits at the bottom of the cup, beneath the generous peanut butter core. It’s smooth and loosely textured, but not runny. When I cut the Big Cup in half with a knife, the caramel reminded me of jarred caramel ice cream topping: it is soft enough to coat parts of the blade, but not so thin as to be messy. Yes, I did feel like Sweeney Todd in this moment if he were either very hungry for a sweet treat or just trying his best to transfer his dark urges to something more wholesome.

There seems to be a very thin layer of chocolate separating the peanut butter and caramel, so the two don’t mix together too much. It’s possible to taste them separately. The caramel is sweet, buttery, and soft. You don’t get the chew of a Twix or Snickers caramel here. When all elements combine, the caramel gets a little lost, but it enhances the Big Cup’s sweetness. Overall, the Big Cup tastes like a regular Reese’s, just sweeter. The Big Cup is a good vehicle for caramel because it provides a solid structure to encase what is often a messy ingredient. If the cup had dedicated a tad more space to it, the caramel’s buttery tones might have harmonized more equally with the peanut butter flavor.

Without the historical archives of The Impulsive Buy, I might not remember the Reese’s Caramel Big Cup in ten years’ time. (That Great Gatsby-level of pining is reserved for the Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana Creme Reese’s Cup, thank you very much!) But for now, it’s a nice, slightly sweeter variation that I may pick up next time my sweet tooth goes into overdrive.

Purchased Price: $2.28
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 2.8 oz (79 g) King Size package
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 cup) 190 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

I – and likely you, too – have tried a lot of Reese’s products over the years. While the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup may be the perfect candy creation, its variations often taste just as delicious while keeping the spirit of the original product. Reese’s Creamy and Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups fall perfectly in line with this pattern, as both tweak the textures of their fillings just enough to generate distinctive taste experiences. Reese’s Creamy Peanut Butter Cups offer smooth peanut butter filling, while Reese’s Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups contain peanut pieces for an extra crunch.

Although both are returning products, I hadn’t previously tried either. I love peanut butter in all varieties, so I often refuse to take a side in the Team Creamy vs. Team Crunchy debate. If chocolate and peanut butter are involved, Team Me wins every time. So, upon finding both varieties in King Size packages at Sheetz, I thanked George Washington Carver for the bounty I was about to receive.

I started with the Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups, which pair Reese’s classic peanut butter filling with loads of crunchy peanut pieces. The balance of filling and peanuts is just right. The pieces are mixed well throughout the filling so that the candy holds together in one bite. They vary in size, but all are large enough to satisfy a crunch craving. They also provide an extra hit of saltiness that complements both filling and chocolate perfectly.

That’s one point for Team Crunchy.

Next were the Creamy Peanut Butter Cups, which taste almost exactly like standard Reese’s. The filling is thick and definitely smoother than the crumbly texture found in most Reese’s cups. The filling is still on the dry side, though. It cracks easily and isn’t creamy enough to spread. I can’t dock too many points from Team Creamy because the cups are obviously delicious.

But I’d hoped for a much creamier texture (in the realm of buttercream frosting), so these Creamy Peanut Butter Cups fell short of my expectations. If I had instead grabbed a package of standard Reese’s cups at the checkout, I probably wouldn’t have recognized my mistake until the creamy peanut butter lovers of the world showed up at my door chanting, “One of us! One of us!”

If this Reese’s taste test forced me to pick a side, I would choose the Reese’s Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups. Their filling reminds me of what I would scoop from a jar of chunky peanut butter. Even though the Creamy variety doesn’t spark a similar comparison, it is the yin to Crunchy’s yang. It’s fun to have a choice of textures that only enhance an already irresistible peanut butter and chocolate flavor combination.

Maybe I’m Team Harmony after all.

Purchased Price: 2 for $5.59
Size: 2.8 oz (79 g) King Size package
Purchased at: Sheetz
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Creamy), 8 out of 10 (Crunchy)
Nutrition Facts: (per 2 cups) Creamy – 200 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, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein. Crunchy – 200 calories, 12 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.