Cramming a peanut into Reese’s Pieces seems like it should be a match made in heaven — Reese’s Pieces are one of my favourite candies, and Peanut M&M’s are objectively the best M&M’s. So combining the two must be the greatest thing ever, right?
You’d think.
In practice, these things just aren’t that great. It’s weird; adding a peanut seems like it could only enhance an already delicious candy, but it throws off the balance. It muddles that distinctive Reese’s Pieces flavour. It does add a nice roasted nuttiness, but it turns out Reese’s Pieces doesn’t need that. It was already perfect on its own; the presence of a whole nut waters down what was already great about it.
It doesn’t help that the candy shell is slightly thicker than a standard Reese’s Piece (what, isn’t a single one of these a Reese’s Piece? Or does this always have to be plural?), which gives it an unpleasantly assertive crunchiness that’s a bit over-the-top. It’s not a big deal, but again, the balance is thrown off. The addictive, “just one more piece” quality of the original is diminished.
Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (13 pieces, 39 grams): 200 calories, 11 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 30 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fibre, 18 grams of sugar, 5 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugars (sugar, corn syrup solids, dextrose, corn syrup), peanuts, partially defatted peanuts, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel oil and hydrogenated soybean oil, confectioners glaze, corn starch, modified corn starch, salt, lecithin (soy), carnauba wax, artificial flavour, titanium dioxide, tartrazine, sunset yellow FCF, allura red, brilliant blue FCF, milk ingredients.
