crunchy Archives - Page 2 of 9

April 14, 2021 Michael

Reese’s Pieces Peanut – A Big Downgrade from the Original

Candy Bars

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.

March 11, 2021March 14, 2021 Michael

Reese’s Crispy Crunchy – Much Better than the Competition

Candy Bars

I mentioned in my review of the Clark Bar that I thought I had finally reviewed every candy bar in the genre of crispy, sugary, and peanut buttery (stuff like 5th Avenue, Butterfinger, and Crispy Crunch). But it turns out there is (at least) one more: Reese’s Crispy Crunchy, a bar whose very existence had somehow completely passed me by until recently.

And I guess I saved the best for last (is it the last, though? Probably not); this one is everything I wanted all the others to be.

It’s a bit different from the others — along with the crispy peanut butter candy and the chocolate exterior, it features peanut chunks and actual peanut butter.

First point in its favour: it’s coated with a very generous amount of real milk chocolate. This is in contrast to the waxy mockolate you’ll find on a Butterfinger or a 5th Avenue.

Second point in its favour: between the thin layer of peanut butter and the peanut pieces on its exterior, Reese’s Crispy Crunchy has a very pronounced PB-infused flavour that the other bars are lacking. It’s quite satisfying.

Third point in its favour: the crispy peanut butter candy in the middle is surprisingly delicate, with a wafer-like lightness that doesn’t stick to your teeth.

I have no idea why this isn’t a bigger deal, because it’s clearly the king of this type of candy bar. My only real complaint is that it is very, very sweet — unlike most Reese’s products, it doesn’t really have a salty kick to balance out the sweetness. But that’s a minor complaint for a top-notch bar.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (1/3 pack, 29 grams): 140 calories, 8 grams of fat (3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 13 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fibre, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Peanuts, milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milk fat, lecithin (soy), PGPR), sugar, corn syrup, vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, palm oil), contains 2% or less of: molasses, cocoa, whey (milk), salt, lecithin (soy), artificial flavor, TBHQ and citric acid, to maintain freshness.

January 27, 2021January 30, 2021 Michael

Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme – An Oreo Transformed into a Candy Bar

Candy Bars

Do you like Oreo cookies? If you do, you’re almost certainly going to like Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme; it’s basically an Oreo in candy bar form.

(And if you don’t, what is wrong with you?? Go jump into a volcano so you don’t inflict your weird defective taste buds onto the next generation.)

The bar features something resembling white chocolate that’s studded with a whole bunch of chocolate cookie pieces. Sadly, it’s not actually white chocolate — a quick perusal of the ingredients reveals a whole bunch of oil and zero cocoa butter. But in the context of this particular bar, it doesn’t really matter. There are so many cookie pieces here that the fake chocolate’s lack of creaminess never particularly feels like an issue. The chocolate is almost just there to bind the cookie bits together.

It’s quite tasty. It’s very, very sweet, but like with an Oreo, the pronounced cocoa flavour helps to balance out the sweetness — and because there are so many cookie pieces, that’s the primary flavour. The white mockolate basically tastes like a slightly more solid version of the creme in an Oreo cookie. It’s a delightful combo.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (1 bar, 43 grams): 220 calories, 11 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 100 mg of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, modified palm oil and modified vegetable oil (shea, sunflower and/or safflower), modified palm kernel oil, modified milk ingredients, corn syrup solids, wheat flour, lactose, cocoa powder, lecithin (soy), high fructose corn syrup, unsweetened chocolate, baking soda, salt, natural and artificial flavours, polyglycerol polyricinoleate.

December 30, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Clark Bar – Crunchy, Chewy, and Odd

Candy Bars

I think at this point I’ve reviewed every candy bar in the genre of crispy, sugary, and peanut-buttery. There’s 5th Avenue, Butterfinger, Crispy Crunch, Zagnut, and now Clark Bar. Is that it? Am I done? I think I’m done.

Until now, they had all been mostly interchangeable (outside of Zagnut’s delightful substitution of toasted coconut for chocolate), but Clark Bar is actually a bit different. Is it different in a good way? I don’t think so, but maybe you’ll disagree.

It’s weird. It starts out incredibly crunchy — it’s oddly difficult to even bite into — but then it becomes chewy and you’re thinking, wait, is this stale? But no, that’s just part of it. Once you’ve munched out the crunchiness, you’re left with a gummy, taffy-like sugary blob in your mouth that you have to chew on for quite a while.

It’s interesting, I guess, and the bar has a deeply caramelized flavour that helps to round out its intense sweetness. But it’s also lacking in peanutty flavour, which makes it taste a bit one-note sweet.

After a while the in-your-face sugariness and the off-putting chewy/crunchy contrast becomes exhausting. It’s easily my least favourite of the aforementioned candy bars.

Manufactured by: Boyer
Nutritional info (1 bar, 57 grams): 250 calories, 6 grams of fat (3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 10 mg of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, <1 grams of fibre, 37 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, milk powder, butter oil, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), corn syrup, sugar, peanuts, molasses, invert sugar, salt, coconut oil, vanilla extract, soy lecithin.

December 27, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Snickers Peanut Brownie Squares – Tasty, But Not Enough Brownie Flavour

Candy Bars

I can’t think of a single candy bar that wouldn’t be improved by cramming a brownie into it. Think about it: picture a candy bar. Any candy bar. Now picture brownie inside of it. It’s better, isn’t it?

So obviously the Peanut Brownie version of Snickers (which features peanutty brownies covered in a layer of soft caramel and coated in milk chocolate) is good. How could it not be?

The biggest problem here is that the “brownie” isn’t particularly brownie-like. It basically has the taste and texture of a cocoa-tinged version of the usual Snickers nougat. Looking at the ingredients reveals a lack of flour or butter or any brownie ingredients outside of cocoa (aside from egg whites, which are already present in the nougat you’ll find in a regular Snickers).

Still, it’s tasty; it’s essentially a normal Snickers bar, but with more cocoa flavour. Nothing wrong with that — though like with the original, it’s a bit sweeter than it needs to be.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (2 squares, 34 grams): 180 calories, 8 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 85 mg of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 18 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin), corn syrup, sugar, peanuts, chocolate, milkfat, semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate processed with alkali, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavor), less than 2% – cocoa powder processed with alkali, invert sugar, palm oil, skim milk, lactose, salt, egg whites, artificial flavor.