Pretzel M&M’s – A Delicious Combo of Chocolate and Pretzels

I’ve mentioned on this blog a few times that Peanut M&M’s are the king of M&M’s; this remains true, and I suspect will always remain true.  There’s just something about them that can’t be beat.  But Pretzel M&M’s are pretty damn close.

Chocolate-covered pretzels are delicious.  M&M’s are delicious.  Combine the two, and yeah, the result is delicious.  What did you think was going to happen?

Pretzel M&M's

The generously-sized pretzel ball in the middle of each M&M does a great job of balancing out the sweetness from the candy shell and the milk chocolate, and of course, the sweet-and-salty mix that you’re expecting from a chocolate-covered pretzel is here, and it’s delightful.  It helps that the balance between chocolate and pretzel is pretty much perfect; neither overwhelms the other, and they both work so well together.

Pretzel M&M's

The texture is great, too; the combo of the crispy shell, the crunchy pretzel, and the creamy chocolate is thoroughly satisfying.  Peanut M&M’s may be the superior M&M, but they’re neck and neck.

4 out of 4

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1/4 cup, 35 grams): 160 calories, 5 grams of fat (3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 100 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 18 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, lactose, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavour, flavour), sugar, pretzel (enriched wheat flour, modified sago starch, salt, soybean oil, corn syrup, barley malt extract, baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, yeast), cornstarch, corn syrup, tapioca, dextrin, colour (with tartrazine), salt, carnauba wax, modified coconut oil and / or modified palm oil (medium chain triglycerides), gum acacia.

Kinder Country – Chocolate Crammed with Cereal

Kinder Country is basically Kinder Chocolate, but with a whole bunch of cereal crammed in (the ingredients lists barley, rice, wheat, spelt, and buckwheat).

Kinder Country

It’s interesting; the cereal here is incredibly abundant, and is clearly the dominant flavour, with an intense wheatiness and a mild bitterness that helps to offset the sweetness of the chocolate and the milky interior.

Kinder Country

It reminds me a lot of Sugar Crisp, a cereal I haven’t thought about in years, but which came to mind as soon as I took a bite of this thing.  The chocolate is creamy, but with a mild crispiness from all the grainy bits.  The flavour isn’t as chocolatey as you’d expect, but it works.

3 out of 4

Manufactured by: Ferrero
Nutritional info (1 bar, 23.5 grams): 132 calories, 7.9 grams of fat (5.1 grams of saturated fat, unknown grams of trans fat), unknown mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 12.9 grams of carbohydrates, 11.5 grams of sugar, unknown grams of fibre, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mash, emulsifier: lecithin (soy), vanillin), sugar, skimmed milk powder, vegetable fat, whole grains expanded (barley, rice, wheat, spelt, buckwheat), dehydrated butter, emulsifier: lecithin (soy), vanillin.

Kinder Happy Hippo – Kinder Meets Ferrero Rocher

Kinder Happy Hippo is kind of like a Kinder Surprise and a Ferrero Rocher had a baby.  A delicious, delicious baby.  It’s got the crispy wafer exterior and creamy interior of a Ferrero Rocher, and the white/milk chocolate combo of a Kinder Surprise.

Kinder Happy Hippo

This is a European import (the one I bought seems to be German) and I’m going to have to insist that they bring this to North America ASAP, because it’s surprisingly delicious.

Kinder Happy Hippo

It’s everything you like about Kinder Surprise and Ferrero Rocher crammed into one delicious package.  The interior is delightfully soft and creamy, featuring a nice balance between the chocolatey layer and the milky layer, and the wafer exterior features a nice crispiness and a subtle wheaty flavour that helps to balance out the sweet creamy filling.  I wasn’t expecting much from this thing and it kind of blew me away.

3.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Ferrero
Nutritional info (100 grams): 593 calories, 38.6 grams of fat (17.69 grams of saturated fat, unknown grams of trans fat), unknown mg of cholesterol, 26.4 mg of sodium, 53.6 grams of carbohydrates, unknown grams of fibre, 45.1 grams of sugar, 6.7 grams of protein.
Ingredients (Google translated from German): Sugar, vegetable fats (palm, shea), wheat flour (8.5%), whole milk powder (7.5%), low-fat cocoa (5%), skim milk powder (4.5%), hazelnuts, sweet whey powder, semi-dark chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier: lecithins (soya), vanillin), wheat starch, emulsifier: lecithins (soya), sunflower oil, milk protein, raising agent: ammonium hydrogen carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate: salt, vanillin.

Dairy Milk Toffee – Tasty Chocolate and Toffee

If you’ve ever had something like Heath or Skor, Dairy Milk Toffee is basically that, but with the ratio of chocolate to toffee tilted very much in favour of the chocolate.

Dairy Milk Toffee

It’s clearly about the chocolate first, but there are enough toffee bits to make it decently crispy, and to give it that distinctively buttery/caramely flavour.

Dairy Milk Toffee

The combo of the above average Cadbury milk chocolate and the small chunks of crunchy toffee is clearly a winner.  I mean, there’s not much more to say than that; Dairy Milk Toffee is exactly what you want it to be, and it’s delicious.

3.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (10 squares, 42 grams): 230 calories, 13 grams of fat (8 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 15 mg of cholesterol, 65 mg of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 23 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (milk, sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, whole milk powder, unsweetened chocolate, butter oil, soy lecithin, artificial flavour), toffee pieces (sugar, butter, glucose syrup, salt, soy lecithin).

Crunchie – Delicious Honeycomb Toffee with Chocolate

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat a Crunchie bar without thinking about my great grandmother, who used to dispense treats from a big bag next to her favourite chair.  Her candy of choice: honeycomb toffee, the crunchy candy that you’ll find inside of a Crunchie bar.

That stuff is delicious on its own, and it’s even better when it’s coated in chocolate.

Crunchie

It is, as the name implies, exceptionally crunchy, though it basically melts in your mouth, so it’s not the type of thing that you have to chew on forever.  It’s extremely sweet (it’s essentially just pure sugar), but is has enough of a deep caramelized flavour to balance that out.  The taste almost reminds me of the crispy top of a creme brulee.

Crunchie

The thick layer of milk chocolate complements it very well, with a nice creaminess and chocolatey flavour that goes perfectly with the crunchy honeycomb toffee.  It’s a top notch candy bar.

3.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (1 bar, 44 grams): 210 calories, 8 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 170 mg of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fibre, 29 grams of sugar, 0.5 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar glucose syrup, modified palm oil, modified milk ingredients, modified vegetable oil, cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, salt, baking soda, soy lecithin, calcium chloride, natural and artificial flavour.