psycho candy

There are several dream jobs I wish to have one day lined up in my head, none of them actually have lucrative paths. One of those jobs on the list is official candy taster/ review writer. Today I will pretend to have this job.



1) Reese's Whipps.

Um. This is a no for me. I am not a nougat fan so I am not sure why I was tempted by this one. But I love the Reese's chocolate in general, so thought it might work out. Turns out, I still hate the texture of mushy, dense, mush in my mouth and it's even less appealing to me when it has a fake peanut butter tint of flavor added to it. My lease favorite candy bar is 3 Musketeers, this candy bar rates below that one.
___________________________________________________________



2) Crunch Crisp.


Yes. This is a thumbs up. Although I have to warn you, get two for a full chocolate fix. The wafers are sturdy and fresh, so you get the snappy crunch. The flavor immediately reminds me of the messy wafer cookies your grandma always has in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. If you like those, this will be a huge hit with you. The crunchies on top are the bland and dull part and the chocolate just thin enough. Eats more like a wafer bar than a candy bar. I wonder if they would be brave enough to try strawberry flavor? But if they do, I hope they keep the milk chocolate and don't try to go white chocolate on me.

one for the kids

In honor of Halloween this week, I want to review the Do and Don't List of Trick-or-Treat offerings. Thoughts inspired by my toddler's collection via weekend party, which btw was a happy candy experience for the most part.

Do

chocolate of almost any combo

twizzlers

skittles

suckers

ring pops

spooky eyeball chocolate/ candy

any Halloween novelty candy [molded or wrapped in holiday icon]

glow sticks, glow wands, etc.

tootsie rolls (only chocolate variety)

original life savers mini packs

spider rings

candy corn packets

gum

bit-o-honey

sugar babies

dots

nerds

junior mints

Don't

chocolate of mini-snack size (too small!)

wacky 'hot dog' gummi nonsense (yuck)

pennies, any change

baked goods (boring)

toys (lame)

flavored tootsie rolls (yuck)

hershey kisses (too small, too common)

whoppers (yuck)

sweet tarts of any variety (boring)

gummy life savers (yuck)

mint life savers (too small)

hard mint candy in general (yuck this time of year)

jaw breakers (unless it's a spooky eye)

pixie stixx (too instant, makes me choke)

plain m&m's (too common)

taffy (too sticky)

coupons

jolly ranchers (too common)

bottle caps (yuck. sorry lindsey)

A+ Treat

Yes, yes, and YES. This Hershey's caramel chocolate bar is the best *new* item I have tried all year. It's huge, heavy, and will last even the biggest sweet tooth several days. The caramel is as perfect as in the Caramello, but I prefer this chocolate better. It is less of a mess compared to the Caramello in that you can break off a piece and the whole thing doesn't explode into a gooey mess. They got this one completely right.

This is an absolute winner- 100%. It will replace my Moose Munch Target shopping treat.

chocolove

The chocolate portion of the bar is rich and dreamy. If you are looking for a toffee fix, stick with Skor or Heath (in that order).

Love the packaging.

Moose Munch Bar

Let's zero-in on this Harry & David Moose Munch Bar I sent in cjane's package.


It's a delightful treat I cannot resist with each trip to Target, as it is conveniently placed near the checkout.

The packaging keeps it intact, never a broken or crushed bar yet. It's tall and hearty in size, just how a candy bar should be.

The outside is a dark chocolate (milk chocolate is also an option) coating that allows your teeth to sink in, genuinely rich and luscious chocolate; not waxy. The inside chocolate is even better (so rare!) with a creamy smoothness perfect for smuggling almonds, cashews, and toffee bits. It is not as gooey as a truffle, but not as hard as a typical candy bar. I love it even better than a bag of their Moose Munch popcorn mix.

There is nothing to compare it to, it is in a category all its own. And it's perfect.

Reese's & KitKat Variations

I found these guys hanging out and had to try them.

Let's start with the Kit Kat Caramel.

It was one giant Kit Kat stick, which I wasn't expecting. It was good, but not satisfying enough to crave it another time.

While the taste and texture of the creamy caramel was prefect,

the was overpowered with too many stacks of wafer.

Next is the Reese's Crispy Crunchy Bar.

I love the flakey, loose layers in the middle. They are much like thin layers of a Buttefinger. The chocolate coating is perfect, just as sweet and smooth as the chocolate in a PB cup. The fact that it is rolled in crushed peanuts is the only thing wrong with this candybar. It's basically what happens if you marry a Butterfinger and a Payday. If I could change it I would make it longer and taller, remove the outer layer of peanuts and increase the amount of chocolate on the outside.

I have been a repeat eater of this one, might even put it towards the top of my candybar list.

Junior Caramels

I consider myself a bit of an expert on the chocolate and caramel front, 29 years of experience seeking the best. I saw these on the shelves for quite some time and finally decided to try them out.

The chocolate coating was too hard, too waxy. Each bite was like breaking into a shell, there was no melting of the chocolate in the mouth.

The caramel was not gooey, as a good caramel candy should be. It was like a mass of brown sugar, somehow held together and less crumbly.

My instinct was to compare it to the pleasure of eating Milk Duds, an obvious competitor. I would have to say this one fails to catch my interest; I am sticking with Milk Duds.

Vertigo Sucker

Eating and writing about candy makes me happy. Photographing candy, not so much happy times. It's harder than I expected and Cybele does it over at Candy Blog like a pro.

I bumped into this Vertigo sucker recently. It's like a solid milk chocolate and hard candy hybrid. Naturally, you bite into the bland chocolate too soon and you are left with the hard candy portion. It is suppose to taste like caramel, but it doesn't. It was a sugary mass that I would consider borderline repulsive. Somehow there was an unintentional hint of a raspberry aftertaste (?) that resulted in me tossing the pop before finishing half of it. The only positive thing I can say about this product is the plastic stick, so much better than paper sucker sticks.

It's quite the disappointing product if I have to throw it into the garbage.

mint w.style

I remember being on my lunch break one afternoon at a big, fancy bookstore getting a gift for someone. At the checkout counter I noticed this smooth package of cinnamon mints. The following week I had several meetings and each time I pulled out this charming package of mints without expecting the cool factor to increase so rapidly.

Every person in the room at each meeting was impressed not only with my sparkly breath, but with the packaging AND delightfully solid flavor of Hint Mints. The cover slides on and off like that 80's lip gloss. It fits snugly in your purse, bag, or pocket without spilling. It has every bit of charm the old skool metal cigarette cases you see in black and white movies held.

I was going to tell you they are hard to find, but their website gives you the option to order various flavors online.