crunchy Archives - Candyrageous

August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 Michael

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

Candy Bars

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?

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.

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.

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.

July 13, 2021 Michael

Dairy Milk Toffee – Tasty Chocolate and Toffee

Chocolate

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.

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.

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.

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).

July 6, 2021 Michael

Crunchie – Delicious Honeycomb Toffee with Chocolate

Candy Bars

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.

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.

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.

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.

May 30, 2021 Michael

Planters Salted Caramel Nut Bar – Like PayDay, but Better

Candy Bars

At first glance, the Planters Salted Caramel Nut Bar looks like it should be identical to a PayDay. Like PayDay, it consists of salted peanuts, caramel, and a nougat centre (well, PayDay is technically caramel all the way through, but the “caramel” base is actually quite nougat-like).

It tastes quite different, however, thanks to the nougat centre, which is delightfully soft and creamy, with a fluffy consistency and an almost marshmallow-like flavour. It’s very sweet, but it’s perfectly balanced by the salted caramel and the very generous amount of salty peanuts, which have a nice roasty flavour that adds a lot to the bar.

It’s kind of like a cross between a PayDay and the Pecan Log Rolls they sell at Cracker Barrel (which, FYI, are amazing — the next time you find yourself in a Cracker Barrel, buy one. Trust me, you’ll thank me later). It’s crunchy and creamy, sweet and salty, and it’s delicious.

Manufactured by: Planters Peanuts
Nutritional info (1 bar, 85 grams): 390 calories, 22 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 36 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fibre, 9 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Peanuts, sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, reduced lactose whey (milk), salt, coconut oil, natural and artificial vanilla flavouring, soy lecithin, modified soy protein, invertase, natural antioxidant (canola oil, rosemary extract, natural mixed tocopherols, sunflower oil).

May 26, 2021 Michael

Dairy Milk: Peanut Butter Cookie – As Delicious As You’d Hope

Chocolate

There are some chocolate bars that you can tell are going to be good just by looking it. Peanut Butter Cookie Dairy Milk is one of those bars. Dairy Milk: delicious. Peanut butter cookies: delicious. Chocolate + peanut butter: delicious. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is probably going to be delicious.

And hey, what do you know: it’s delicious. Who could have predicted that??

The wrapper describes this as “milk chocolate with cookie pieces and peanut butter chips.” The biggest surprise here is that the cookie pieces aren’t actually peanut butter cookies — all of the PB flavour comes from the peanut butter chips. This works out fine, however, with a nice combo of crunch and peanutty flavour. It’s not as peanut buttery as something like a peanut butter cup, but the flavour is there and is unmistakable.

The sweetness is surprisingly restrained, mostly thanks to the crispy cookie bits, which aren’t as sweet as you’d expect, with a fairly distinct wheaty flavour.

And of course, the milk chocolate is classic Dairy Milk, and is as tasty as always.

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (10 squares, 42 grams): 200 calories, 12 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 55 mg of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 22 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), Cookie pieces (wheat flour, sugar, palm oil, natural and artificial flavours, glucose syrup, corn flour, salt, soy lecithin, baking soda, com starch), peanut butter chips (sugar, modified oil (palm and palm kernel), peanut flour, modified milk ingredients, peanuts, dextrose, salt, soy lecithin, lactose).