Candy Bars Archives - Page 25 of 29

November 20, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

PayDay – Sweet and Salty Peanuts and Caramel

Candy Bars

I don’t think there’s any other bar out there quite like PayDay. It’s not particularly sweet, nor is it coated in chocolate like the usual candy bar. But it’s been around for almost eighty years, making it one of the oldest candy bars on the market – so it must be doing something right.

Payday is super simple: it’s a piece of chewy, somewhat crumbly caramel coated in whole, salted peanuts. The first thing you notice when you open the wrapper is the strong, peanutty aroma. If you like peanuts, then this is the bar for you, as it is surely the peanuttiest candy bar that you’ll find. Taking a bite, the first thing that hits you is the saltiness of the peanuts, followed by a mild sweetness from the chewy, grainy caramel.

It’s really quite good, though people who aren’t fond of the sweet/salty combo may be put off by the saltiness of the peanuts. However it does manage to strike a good balance between the two elements, with the caramel complimenting the nuts quite well. This is definitely one of the less sweet candy bars you’ll find – which would make it fairly ineffectual as a dessert. But as a satisfying mid-day snack, it definitely fits the bill.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (52 g bar): 250

November 18, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Colts Bolts – Further Proof of the Perfection of the PB/Chocolate Combo

Candy Bars

This is another item I found at the Cracker Barrel, which is somewhat of a treasure trove of hard-to-find candy made by smaller manufacturers (not to mention an above-average place to eat compared to similar family-friendly chain restaurants).

I think the easy comparison to make here is to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – but this is actually quite different from that, despite essentially being made up of the same components. Colts Bolts features a layer of milk chocolate, a very thick layer of creamy, sweet peanut butter with whole almonds mixed in, topped with another layer of milk chocolate.

The peanut butter is very smooth and sweet, and has a much more subdued peanut taste than your usual peanut butter – it almost tastes like peanut butter icing moreso than just plain PB. The addition of whole almonds gives the Bolt a satisfying crunch, as well as adding a nutty taste which helps compensate for the subtlety of the peanut butter. The almonds (rather than, as you might expect, peanuts) also contribute a unique flavour, which differentiates these from a standard peanut butter cup. The milk chocolate suits the peanut butter well, and the whole thing adds up to a pretty satisfying treat.

Manufactured by: Colts Chocolates
Calories (56 g cup): 300

November 13, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Whatchamacallit – Sweet and Peanutty, but Real Chocolate Would be Nice

Candy Bars

The oddly named Whatchamacallit is another bar affected by the recent Hershey cheapening, in which Hershey has replaced the chocolate in many of its products with a cheaper chocolate substitute (mockolate). Though real chocolate probably would have improved things, I don’t think its absence is particularly felt here (there’s so much other stuff going on in this bar that it’s doubtful that your average person would even notice that it’s mockolate rather than chocolate).

Whatchamacallit consists of a crispy hunk of peanutty puffed rice, topped with a thin layer of caramel and coated in mockolate. The bar is quite crispy with a fairly pronounced peanut flavour. The caramel gives it a lingering chewiness and adds some sweetness to the mix (this is a very sweet bar).

Because of the crispiness/chewiness of the filling, and the strongly sweet, peanutty flavour, the mockolate is pretty much completely unnecessary – it neither detracts from or adds to the bar. A stronger chocolate flavour might have helped. I recall liking this a bit better the last time I had it (in its Canadian iteration, called Special Crisp), though it’s been a while, so it’s hard to say.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (45 g bar): 220

November 12, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Mars Caramel – A Downgraded Mars Bar

Candy Bars

You can file Mars Caramel under “U” for “unnecessary” – not that it’s completely without virtue, it’s just that it’s essentially superfluous. It’s an offshoot of the Mars Bar (Milky Way in the states), which normally consists of nougat topped with a layer of caramel. Mars Caramel forgoes the nougat altogether, and consists entirely of caramel enrobed in milk chocolate.

The problem here is that the bar contains the exact same caramel you’ll find inside a regular Mars Bar, which normally, balanced out by the nougat, works quite well. Here, however, the soft, slightly chewy and very sweet caramel just seems to be missing something. You expect to taste the nougat, but of course, it’s not there. The caramel itself doesn’t really have the complexity to carry the whole bar, and while it does have that Mars Bar taste, it’s just kind of plain – sweet, but without anything to ever make you want to pick this over a standard Mars Bar.

Ultimately, Mars Caramel is unnecessary because it’s just a downgraded Mars Bar. It’s kind of like listening to a song you like with one of the main instruments removed – it’s a little bit interesting at first, but ultimately there’s a reason why all the instruments are there.

Manufactured by: Mars
Calories (45 g bar): 210

November 10, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Reese’s Pieces – Loved by Humans (and Aliens) Worldwide

Candy Bars

I don’t think there’s any other candy out there that can thank its success so thoroughly to a movie; I think it goes without saying that the movie I’m referring to is E.T.. If Reese’s Pieces hadn’t been so prominently featured in that film and subsequently found success because of it, who knows if we’d still be eating them today (and of course, there is the infamous story of the people at Mars refusing to allow M&Ms – Steven Spielberg’s first choice of candy – to be used in the movie. That’s one of those colossal blunders that you have to imagine still stings a little bit).

The question of “favourite candy ever” is one that, for me at least, probably changes on a daily basis depending on my mood. However, ask me that question, and more times than not I’ll probably say Reese’s Pieces. I mentioned in my review of Reese Peanut Butter Cups that it took me a while to warm up to their distinctive, crumbly peanut butter. I never had that problem with Reese’s Pieces; it’s always been one of my favourites.

There’s just something about the sweet, creamy peanut butter filling combined with the crunchy shell that hits all the right notes for me. The smooth peanut butter centre is sweeter than the average PB, and contrasts very nicely with the crunchy shell. They also happen to be highly addictive; once you start eating them, it’s pretty hard to stop until you’re scraping the bottom of the bag and wishing there could be just one or two more left.

I do have a small quibble with the packaging – I’m of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school of thought, and so I kind of miss the box. I guess it doesn’t make a difference, but I miss it nonetheless.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (51 g bag): 250