sweet Archives - Page 18 of 26

January 9, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Coconut Patties – Coconut Candy Done Right

Candy Bars

This is the second coconut confection that I purchased from the Cracker Barrel, and it’s pretty much the complete opposite of the 3 Color Coconut, at least in terms of quality. Where 3 Color Coconut features the worst qualities of coconut candy (unpleasant chewiness combined with a lack of flavour), Coconut Patties features the best. It’s definitely one of my favourite coconut candies, alongside Bounty (which is still the king, as far as I’m concerned).

A package of Coconut Patties consists of two chewy, sweet patties of coconut, each one partially dipped in “chocolate.” The package does seem to claim that it’s real chocolate, though as far as I’m aware it is illegal to call something chocolate if it doesn’t contain cocoa butter, which is suspiciously absent on the list of ingredients. I’m not sure what the story is there, but it’s pretty much redundant anyway – the “chocolate” here only adds a subtle chocolatey flavour, so I doubt it would make much of a difference if it were real or if it were fake.

As for the coconut, it has a really rich flavour and is sweet without being too sweet. It’s chewy, but without that unpleasant “the flavour is gone, why am I still chewing this??” sensation. It’s definitely coconut done right.

Manufactured by: Anastasia Confections
Calories (2 patties, 75 g): 300

January 7, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Kit Kat Senses – A Half-Baked Kinder Bueno Knockoff

Candy Bars

Kit Kat Senses is clearly Nestle’s take on the Kinder Bueno: it looks pretty similar, and is made up of essentially the same elements (creamy hazelnut filling, crispy wafer and milk chocolate). I like Bueno and I like Kit Kat, so combining the two seemed like a sure thing.

The first thing I noticed was that this bar has a very pleasant, hazelnutty aroma. So, score one for Kit Kat Senses. Actually eating the bar, however, it became less of a clear winner. It’s quite different from a Kinder Bueno, though obviously you can’t really hold that against it. The hazelnut filling is much more dense, and much less smooth and creamy. It’s kind of peanut buttery in consistency, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. However, it’s really sweet and doesn’t really have the strong hazelnut taste that you might expect. That, combined with the very sweet milk chocolate and the sweet wafer, results in a bar which is kind of overwhelmed by sweetness.

It’s not bad. I guess I might buy it again if I have a craving for that sort of thing and Kinder Bueno isn’t available. But between those two candy bars, Bueno is the definite winner.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Calories (31 g bar): 170

January 5, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Drifter – Delicious Crispy Wafers and Chewy Caramel

Candy Bars

This is another British bar, and I’m really not sure if there’s anything else quite like it. I’m starting to get somewhat bitter eating all these imported products; it’s giving me a bunch of new candy bars to crave, most of which are almost impossible to find. Oh well; such is the life of a candy blogger, I suppose.

At first glance Drifter looks kind of like Twix – two smaller bars sitting side-by-side. But it tastes almost nothing like Twix, with each bar consisting of a piece of wafer covered in chewy caramel and enrobed in milk chocolate.

Sometimes the caramel in a candy bar has the problem of being sweet without having much of a flavour at all. Drifter doesn’t particularly have that problem, with caramel that is sweet without being too sweet, with an appealing almost Golden Syrup-like flavour. It’s really chewy and slightly grainy. The wafer is crispy and has a particularly pronounced wheaty/wafery taste, which works quite well with the chewy caramel.

So basically, Drifter is definitely another addition to the “candy bars I like but can’t really buy” list.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Calories (2 bars, 52 g): 264

December 29, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Zagnut – Like a Butterfinger, but Better

Candy Bars

Zagnut surprised me. It’s one of those “classic” bars, and it’s always struck me as being somewhat ho-hum. That, combined with its limited availability (it’s not sold at all in Canada, at least outside of specialty stores), has led this to being one of the few major candy bars that I’ve never actually tried.

The bulk of Zagnut consists of crispy, crunchy peanut butter which is fairly similar (if not identical) to the stuff found within a 5^th Avenue or a Butterfinger. Both 5^th Avenue and Zagnut are made by Hershey, so it’s possible that both bars have the same base. Where Zagnut differs from the two other bars is its coating: Zagnut is covered in a layer of toasted coconut, as opposed to the chocolate (or mockolate, to be more accurate) found on 5^th Avenue and Butterfinger.

It’s surprisingly good. The toasted coconut gives Zagnut a pleasant coconutty taste, and proves to be a much better accompaniment to the crunchy peanut butter than mockolate (or even real chocolate). In fact I’m kind of surprised that Zagnut isn’t more popular than it is, as the toasted coconut works perfectly, and definitely makes this superior to both 5^th Avenue and Butterfinger. I guess the fact that it isn’t covered in chocolate probably works against it, as does the general ho-humness of the name and the packaging. Regardless, it is delicious, and definitely something I’ll be buying more often, at least when I can find it.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (49 g bar): 230

December 22, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Aero – Uniquely Bubbly Chocolate

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Aero is another British bar that, for whatever reason, is sold pretty much everywhere in the world except for the States. I’m really not sure why; it’s pretty good, and as far as I’m aware, there’s nothing else in the US quite like it. There’s Mirage, but I think that may only be available in Canada.

Aero is just pure milk chocolate. What sets it apart is the unique way it’s made – the inside of the bar is filled with tiny bubbles, which gives Aero its unique texture. This uniqueness helps compensate for milk chocolate which isn’t exactly of the highest quality; it’s decent, but it’s too sweet and not really creamy enough.

I actually prefer the dark chocolate variety (which features dark chocolate on the outside, while the inside – ie. the bubbles – remains milk chocolate) because the dark chocolate helps to balance out the overall sweetness of the bar. But even if the chocolate itself isn’t that great, I still enjoy eating these on occasion, if only for the uniqueness provided by the bubbly consistency of the bar.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Calories (42 g bar): 220