peanut butter Archives - Page 2 of 6

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.

February 21, 2021February 21, 2021 Michael

Reese’s Bar – Like a Reese Peanut Butter Cup with More Chocolate

Candy Bars

I don’t normally comment on (or care about) candy bar packaging, but the wrapper for Reese’s Bar is admirably uncluttered and really catches your eye. I like it.

Okay, maybe I’m commenting on the packaging because there isn’t a whole lot to say about this one — it’s pretty much exactly what it looks like. If you enjoy Reese Peanut Butter Cups but wish the PB-to-chocolate ratio were skewed a bit more in favour of the chocolate, then Reese’s Bar will be right up your alley.

I actually do wish that a Reese Peanut Butter Cup featured more chocolate, but this is a clear case of being careful about what you wish for, because the Hershey chocolate here is… well, it’s Hershey chocolate. It is what it is.

The whole thing is tasty enough, but the very sweet milk chocolate is overwhelming; the nice salty counterbalance you get in a standard Reese PB Cup is somewhat minimized.

Still. It’s peanut butter and chocolate. That’s never not going to be tasty.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (4 blocks, 40 grams): 200 calories, 12 grams of fat (6grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 80 mg of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 22 grams of sugar, 3 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugars (sugar, lactose), cocoa butter, milk ingredients, unsweetened chocolate, lecithin (soy), polyglycerol polyricinoleate), peanuts, sugars (sugar, dextrose), cocoa butter, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm oil, palm kernel oil, salt, corn starch, TBHQ, citric acid.

January 3, 2021January 10, 2021 Michael

Reese Sticks – Familiar Reese Flavour with Bonus Crispiness

Candy Bars

Reese Sticks is one of those things that’s so obviously appealing, you pretty much don’t even need to eat it to know that it’s going to be good. It’s crispy wafers, creamy peanut butter, and milk chocolate. You’d have to work pretty hard to mess that up.

And hey, what do you know, it’s really good. Shocker.

Like with most Reese stuff, it’s a bit too sweet, and I wish the chocolate coating were more generous (the chocolate flavour is somewhat lost among the PB and the wafers). But other than that, this is exactly what you want it to be, with the saltiness of the peanut butter doing a great job of at least partially smoothing out the intense sweetness. It’s crispy, peanut buttery, chocolatey, and delicious.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (2 sticks, 42 grams): 210 calories, 13 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 135 mg of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 18 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk ingredients, unsweetened chocolate, lactose, lecithin (soy), salt, polyglycerol polyricinoleate), peanuts, sugar, wheat flour, dextrose, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm oil, palm kernel oil, modified palm oil and modified vegetable oil (shea, sunflower and/or safflower), modified palm kernel oil, cocoa butter, salt, modified milk ingredients, unsweetened chocolate, corn starch, lecithin (soy), baking soda, TBHQ, artificial flavour, citric acid.

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 24, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Reese’s Mallow-Top Peanut Butter Cups – A Tasty Combo

Candy Bars

Marshmallow and peanut butter is an odd combination. I can’t think of another candy in which those two flavours are combined, and the very idea of it is vaguely funky. Mostly, however, I think the combo is off-putting on a textural level rather than a flavour level.

The people at Hershey seem to agree with me, because the “mallow-top” here is entirely about flavour rather than texture. The packaging uses the term “marshmallow flavored creme,” which makes me think of stuff like Mallo Cups and Valomilk. But it’s basically marshmallow-flavoured white chocolate (it’s technically mockolate, hence “creme” instead of “white chocolate”).

It’s a lot better than I thought it would be. The “creme” has a decent amount of sweet marshmallow flavour, which works surprisingly well with the creamy peanut butter. There’s also the milk chocolate, which obviously complements the marshmallow and the PB quite nicely. And the mild saltiness of the peanut butter does a great job of rounding out the sweetness of the chocolate and the creme.

It’s everything you want an offshoot of a candy to be; it’s tasty in all the same ways that the original is tasty, but with something new to mix it up. It’s great.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (2 cups, 34 grams): 180 calories, 10 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 115 mg of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 16 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Peanuts, milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, milk fat, lactose, lecithin (soy), PGPR), sugar, vegetable oil (palm oil, shea oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel oil, and/or safflower oil), dextrose, skim milk, corn syrup solids, contains 2% or less of: lactose (milk), salt, natural flavor and artificial flavor, lecithin (soy), PGPR, TBHQ and citric acid to maintain freshness.