candy Archives - Page 31 of 31

October 17, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Reese Peanut Butter Cups – A Delicious Combo of PB and Chocolate

Candy Bars

Is there a better combination out there than peanut butter and chocolate? There’s something about the creamy sweetness of milk chocolate combined with the nutty richness of peanut butter that make them perfect bedfellows. So it’s a bit odd to note that if you want that particular combination, the Reese line of products are pretty much the only ones around to scratch that itch. Yeah, there are a few other candy bars that feature chocolate and peanut butter – mostly modifications of existing products, such as Twix PB – but they’re few and far between.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the wrapper was a pleasant, nutty aroma. I’m not sure if I’ve ever noticed that before; I guess when you’re eating something with the intention of reviewing it you pay more attention to those types of things. Inside the wrapper are three cups, each sitting in its own paper… cup? What do you call those things? Wrappers? Paper thingy? Taking the peanut butter cup out of the paper thingy, and inevitably leaving a little chocolate residue at the bottom of the paper, it’s clear pretty much instantly that this chocolate is softer than average, and almost fudgy in consistency.

As for the peanut butter, I think everyone is familiar with the unique consistency of Reese’s peanut butter. It’s not very creamy at all; it’s dry and a bit crumbly. It has a nice peanutty flavour, and contains an ever-so-slight amount of saltiness that helps balance out the overall sweetness of the cup.

Because of the really specific taste of the peanut butter, it actually took me a while to warm up to Reese’s products. I still wish there was a candy out there with real, creamy peanut butter (and actually, there was – it was called PB Max and it was glorious, but I’ll save that rant for another post). But for what it is, Reese Peanut Butter cups are pretty damn good.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (3 cups, 51 g): 280

October 16, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Twix – The Only Candy with the Cookie Crunch

Candy Bars

Twix is (as George Costanza describes it) “the only candy with the cookie crunch.” I recall wondering, when that episode first aired, if this was really the case – is Twix the only candy bar with a cookie in it? And as far as I can tell, it’s true, at least as far as candy bars manufactured by the big guys go (ie. Hershey, Nestle and Mars). That pretty much puts Twix in a league of its own; if you’ve got a craving for a bar with cookie in it, Twix is the only game in town.

(And I wonder: is it even possible to watch that episode of Seinfeld without having a massive craving for a Twix bar? I remember watching that episode and then immediately going out and buying a Twix the next day.)

As far as candy bars go, Twix is pretty simple: it’s a plain vanilla cookie, topped with soft caramel and enrobed in milk chocolate. It’s basically equal parts cookie and caramel, with caramel that is nicely chewy, and neither too soft nor too dense. The cookie itself is sweet (perhaps too sweet – more on that in a bit) and crumbly, kind of like a crunchier shortbread. It does a good job of complementing the caramel. The chocolate coating rounds things out.

My only real complaint about Twix is that the whole thing is a bit too sweet. I don’t know how many people this happens to, but when I eat something that’s super sweet I get a mild pain in my forehead. Twix kind of gives me that. I think both the cookie and the caramel could stand to be toned down a bit as far as sweetness goes, though mostly the caramel – it’s easily one of the sweeter caramels you’ll find in any candy bar.

Manufactured by: Mars
Calories (2 bars, 57 g): 290

October 15, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Oh Henry! – Sweet and Substantial

Candy Bars

I should probably mention that the Oh Henry! bar that I’m reviewing probably isn’t the Oh Henry! that you’re used to – unless, that is, you’re a Canadian. In the U.S., Oh Henry! is made by Nestle, while here in Canada it’s manufactured by Hershey. This is one area in which I’m definitely glad to be a Canadian; while I don’t remember the American Oh Henry! well enough to talk about it in any amount of detail, I do recall eating it and thinking that the Canadian version is clearly better.

The first thing I noticed is that the bar is covered in fake chocolate (the wrapper states that it contains “crunchy peanuts, chewy fudge, [and] creamy caramel covered in a chocolaty coating” (emphasis mine). The word “chocolaty” is a sure sign that shenanigans are afoot. Sure enough, a quick peek at the ingredients reveals no sign of chocolate of any kind. I’m not sure if this is a result of the recent Hershey cheapening, or if Oh Henry! bars have always been made like this. Though I have to admit, in this kind of candy bar I don’t think the absence of real chocolate particularly hurts it that much.

I like Oh Henry. It’s always been one of my favourites, and though it isn’t the most exciting bar you can buy, it gets the job done. It’s definitely one of the chewier bars around – the “chewy fudge” (which seems more like a thick nougat to me) combined with the caramel and peanuts definitely give this bar some real substance. If you want value for your money, Oh Henry is one of the better bars around, just because of how much you have to chew that sucker to make it go down. The bar also isn’t stingy with the peanuts; it’s completely covered in nuts, which helps give Oh Henry its distinctive taste, and adds to the sense that this is a bar with substance. It’s not an overtly sweet candy bar, and has a nice vanilla-y taste thanks to the fudge/nougat.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (62.5 g bar): 300