Mars Archives - Page 4 of 6

September 27, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Twix Cookies & Creme – You Should Probably Nix this Twix

Candy Bars

Between the Peanut Butter and Triple Chocolate varieties, I was starting to think that Twix could do no wrong. But I guess no one’s perfect.

Apparently Cookies and Creme was discontinued in the ’90s and recently revived. If you have fond, decades-old memories of this thing, I’d suggest that you pretend that it never came back and let your fond memories stay fond.

Well, it’s not that bad, I guess. It’s fine. It consists of chocolate cookies topped with some kind of sweet creme that’s studded with tiny little chocolate bits, and enrobed in milk chocolate.

It’s mostly inoffensive, and as usual for a Twix bar, the combo of creamy milk chocolate and crunchy cookies is a winner. But the creme has an off-putting lack of flavour; it’s thick and sweet, and… that’s about it. There’s not much to it. I would have rather just had cookies covered in chocolate. The creme adds nothing to the equation, and in fact only detracts, because what’s it even supposed to be?? It’s not really sweet enough to be icing, and it doesn’t particularly taste like cream, so what’s the point of it? I guess it’s supposed to be Oreo-like, but that connection only occurred to me long after I ate it, so clearly the flavour isn’t there.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 pack, 38.6 grams): 200 calories, 11 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 85 mg of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, <1 grams of fibre, 17 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, PGPR, artificial flavor), palm oil, enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, corn syrup, less than 2% – cocoa powder processed with alkali, skim milk, modified corn starch, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, soy lecithin, whey protein isolate, artificial flavor.

September 20, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Mars Fudge – A Pleasant Variation on a Classic Candy

Candy Bars

The last Mars Bar variant I tried was Mars Caramel, which was a pretty clear downgrade from a standard Mars Bar. So my expectations weren’t particularly high for this one, which replaces the original’s nougat with fudge.

But hey, what do you know — it’s actually not bad. It probably helps that unlike the Caramel version, this one feels more like a tweak than a huge change.

Mostly, it tastes like a standard Mars Bar, but with a slightly stronger punch of chocolate flavour (though I will admit that it’s been a few years since I’ve had the original, so I might not be the best judge of this). If there’s a huge difference between the original’s nougat and the fudge here, I certainly couldn’t tell.

It’s quite satisfying, with a nice chewiness from the fudge and the caramel, and an intense sweetness that’s in-your-face but not too overpowering. It’s nothing to get too excited about, but it’s a solid candy bar.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 bar, 50 grams): 230 calories, 9 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 75 mg of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 30 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and/or palm oil, cocoa mass, cocoa powder, lactose, soy lecithin, salt, dried egg-white, natural and artificial flavours.

September 13, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Twix Peanut Butter – Obviously Delicious

Candy Bars

Twix Peanut Butter is one of those things that you don’t even need to try to know that it’s going to be good. I mean, it’s chocolate, peanut butter, and cookies. That’s going to be delicious by default. You’d have to work hard to mess that combo up.

And yeah, it’s good. Of course it’s good. Again, it’s chocolate, peanut butter, and cookies. How could that be bad? The chocolate is nice and creamy, the cookie is crispy and sweet, and the peanut butter has a decent amount of saltiness that helps to balance out the sweetness of the bar.

I think the cookie might be slightly different than the cookie in a standard Twix bar? That one has a buttery, shortbready quality to it, but this one seems a bit lighter and crispier. That might be my imagination, however, and either way the cookie here compliments the rich peanut butter quite well.

My only real complaint is that I wish the peanut butter were smoother and creamier. It’s certainly tasty enough, but it’s quite dry and crumbly. Alas, that’s par for the course for a candy bar. I think the only mass market chocolate bar I’ve ever had that featured peanut butter with the consistency of actual peanut butter was PB Max (R.I.P. PB Max; you were too beautiful for this world).

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 pack, 47.6 grams): 250 calories, 14 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 130 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fibre, 25 grams of sugar, 5 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavour), peanuts, wheat flour with folic acid and iron (ferrous fumarate), sugar, palm oil, maltodextrin, less than 1.5% – hydrogenated rapeseed and cottonseed oil, modified corn starch, salt, glucose syrup, soy lecithin, baking soda, propyl gallate to maintain freshness.

August 19, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Hazelnut Spread M&M’s – M&M’s + Nutella = Delicious?

Candy Bars

Hazelnut Spread M&M’s are basically M&M’s stuffed with Nutella. That’s about as close to a surefire hit as you can get, isn’t it? M&M’s and Nutella are both delicious, obviously, so there was no way this wasn’t going to be good.

And yeah, it is predictably tasty, if not quite the taste extravaganza I might have hoped.

I should note that the wrapper states that it’s a new recipe, so if you’ve had this before, maybe they’ve improved it? Or maybe they’ve made it worse? I have no idea; this is my first time trying it.

It basically tastes how you want it to taste, with a few minor caveats. There’s something slightly off about the flavour that I couldn’t quite put my finger on; it was also a bit more sweet than it needs to be. And I wish the hazelnut filling were creamier, or more accurately, creamy at all — it’s dense and grainy. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it feels like a missed opportunity (and a bit misleading; there is literally nothing spreadable about the “spread” in the middle of these candies).

Also, it’s not a Peanut M&M — the undisputed king of M&M’s — which makes me wonder: why would I eat this when Peanut M&M’s exist in the world? Peanut M&M’s are the ultimate M&M, and if you disagree with this, you’re wrong about M&M’s and wrong about the way you’ve chosen to live your life.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 pack, 38.3 grams): 200 calories, 10 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 15 mg of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 22 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, salt, artificial and natural flavors), sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hazelnut flour (hazelnuts, safflower oil, TBHQ to maintain freshness), dextrose, cornstarch, cocoa powder, less than 1% – corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (includes blue 1 lake, red 40, yellow 6, yellow 5, blue 1), carnauba wax, natural flavor, propyl gallate to maintain freshness, gum acacia.

August 16, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Twix Triple Chocolate – Delightfully Chocolatey

Candy Bars

I quite like Twix. Aside from the fact that it’s the only candy with the cookie crunch (at least according to George Costanza), it features a great balance of crunchy cookie, chewy caramel, and creamy chocolate.

Like the Snickers Creamy Almond Butter that I just reviewed, Twix Triple Chocolate is weirdly small. Presumably this is because a regular Twix is closer to 300 calories, and 200 seems to be the magic number. Suffice it to say, if you attempted to stage a candy line-up with this and standard Twix bars, the size would be a dead giveaway.

Basically, Twix Triple Chocolate is a standard Twix bar, but with cookies and caramel that are infused with cocoa. I was afraid it would be some kind of weird bastardization, but I actually think I prefer this to regular Twix. It’s got everything you love about Twix — the crunchy/chewy/creamy combo is delightfully intact — but with a satisfyingly chocolatey flavour.

My only real problem with a normal Twix bar is that its level of sweetness is a bit intense; the cocoa-packed flavour here does a great job of offsetting that. It’s delicious.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 pack, 40 grams): 200 calories, 9 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 95 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, <1 grams of fibre, 19 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, PGPR, artificial flavors), sugar, enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), palm oil, corn syrup, skim milk, dextrose, less than 2% – cocoa powder, chocolate, modified corn starch, salt, soy lecithin, baking soda, artificial flavor.