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.

Reese’s Take 5 – Sweet and Salty Goodness

Reese’s Take 5 was formerly just known as Take 5, but last year Hershey crammed the Reese name onto it, because apparently all candy bars have to be affiliated with another candy bar.  Think about it: pretty much every bar under the sun has about a billion variants (there are about a thousand different Kit Kat and M&M varieties alone), but when was the last time one of the major candy companies came out with an all-new candy bar?

Reese's Take 5

By 2032, all candy bars will converge into one mega-flavour that will cause the universe to fold into itself and reset: a new big bang that’ll start this whole rigmarole over from scratch.  Which, let’s face it, is probably for the best.

Until then: Reese’s Take 5, a combo of pretzels, peanuts, peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate.

Reese's Take 5

It’s pretty good, though if you don’t like chocolate-covered pretzels you’re probably out of luck, because that’s clearly the dominant flavour here.  I do like that combo, so I quite enjoyed it.  In particular, the nice hit of salt you get from the crunchy pretzels does a great job of balancing out some of the sweetness from the rest of the bar.  Which is a good thing, because Take 5 (sorry, Reese’s Take 5) is a scorcher; it’s intensely sweet.  The caramel is probably superfluous, but the combo of chocolate, peanut butter and pretzels is so delicious that it barely matters.

3 out of 4

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (1 package, 42 grams): 210 calories, 11 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 210 mg sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 18 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fibre, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), peanuts, vegetable oil (palm oil, shea oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel oil, canola oil, and/or safflower oil), high fructose corn syrup, chocolate, hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil), partially defatted peanuts, skim milk, contains 2% or less of: dextrose, whey (milk), salt, corn syrup solids, dairy butter (milk), glycerin, corn syrup, lecithin (soy), sodium hydroxide, mono- and diglycerides, artificial flavor, baking soda, carrageenan, milk fat, yeast, TBHQ and citric acid, to maintain freshness, disodium phosphate.

Reese’s Big Cup with Pretzels – Where Have the Pretzels Been All My Life?

Kudos to Hershey for coming up with the idea to fill a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with pretzels, but also, why did it take so long?  It’s one of those ideas that’s so obvious, you have to wonder how Reese managed to be around for almost a hundred years before they came up with it.

Pretzels and peanut butter is a boffo combination.  Anyone who’s had those pretzel bites that are filled with peanut butter knows that’s true.  So seriously: what was the hold-up?  Why have I been forced to go my whole life eating peanut butter cups without pretzels in them?  Like an animal?

Reese's Big Cup with Pretzels

My only complaint is that I wish this were a regular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup rather than a Big Cup, because I feel like the former has a slightly better ratio of peanut butter to chocolate.  But that’s really not a big deal.

Otherwise, this is exactly what you’re hoping it’ll be.  The pretzels are fairly abundant, and do a great job of adding their distinctive flavour and salty pop to the Reese formula.  That’s not to mention the delightful amount of crunchiness they bring, which contrasts quite nicely with the creamy peanut butter and chocolate.

Reese's Big Cup with Pretzels

Suffice it to say, if you’re intrigued by the idea of a peanut butter cup with pretzels in it, you’re going to like this.  It’s exactly what you want it to be.

3.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (1 cup, 36 grams): 180 calories, 10 grams of fat (3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 140 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 18 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, milk fat, lactose, lecithin (soy), PGPR) peanuts, sugar, dextrose, brown rice flour, potato starch, contains 2% or less of: modified cornstarch, soluble corn fiber, canola oil, salt, sea salt, baking powder, cellulose gum, sunflower lecithin, TBHQ and citric acid to maintain freshness.