For the Love of Candy

Like all miniatures, these things come in a ginormous bag. Fortunately, I did not have to purchase said ginormous bag. My mom bought a bag for her office and I took one of each kind represented in the bag. I did close the bag back up with a clip, though. I’m mostly thoughtful.

Each little bar is wrapped in gold foil and an outer wrapping that’s coordinated to what type it is. Special Dark is brown and red, Special Dark with Peanuts is yellow, and Special Dark with Crisped Rice is orange. I think these may have been part of a fall mix, I’ve had these little bars in my candy stash for awhile now.

The plain Special Dark bar is a sort of dark chocolate for beginners–it smells slightly smoky, and its sweetness is slightly more reserved than in Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, but it doesn’t quite come across as “dark” to me.

The rice in the Crisp Rice version is concentrated to the bottom of the bar, and because of this, the taste doesn’t come through. It simply lends a textural element to something that otherwise tastes like the plain bar. More rice, and better mixing, would improve this bar.

Special Dark with Peanuts is my favorite–the Mr. Goodbar is my favorite in the standard miniatures mix, and this is like a less sweet version of it. The peanut pieces are generous and well-mixed, and they lend a wonderful nutty flavor to the bar.

I’m giving these a 3.5. On one hand, they’re nothing special, and I hesitate to call them “dark.” On the other hand, the peanut one is so delicious.

I’ve had this sitting in my candy stash for awhile now; I wanted to wait a little closer to Christmas to review it, since it’s seasonal. It’s two days after Thanksgiving now so that’s close enough, right?

The box for their holiday edition is now red-and-white, with the Junior Mints logo in its classic green, and it promises a “real candy crunch.” I’ve read Cybele’s review of this candy last year, so I’m rather skeptical. Let’s see if this year’s formula is any different.

The candies certainly look different–each piece is studded with little red dots. It sort of looks like the candy has the measles, actually. Other than that, it’s your typical Junior Mint–dime-sized, made of dark chocolate, filled with white filling.

And they taste like your typical Junior Mints–a sweet dark chocolate melting into a nice, mild peppermint filling. The problem is the supposed candy crunch. It’s only occasionally detectable, and when it is, there’s no discernible flavor at all–just a sort of grit. It tastes more like Junior Mints Now with Beach Sand.

I’m giving this a two–the only thing that’s keeping it from getting a 1 is the fact that most of the pieces don’t have the grit feel, and I love the taste of regular Junior Mints.

Happy Thanksgiving! I though I’d do a candy that is on many tables tonight–Andes Mints! For many a child, these shiny-wrapped treats are the height of sophistication

Andes Mints are long, thin, and wrapped in a shiny green wrapper with the Andes logo. Each chocolate has the Andes logo in front of a mountain range embossed on it. They’re a pretty light brown, with the light green stripe in the middle.

The texture of these is neat–the milk chocolate is thin and slightly crunchy, giving way to a smooth, melted mint. The mint is refreshing but not too strong, and the chocolate is sweet, but not too sweet. The very definition of a 3–unremarkable but pleasant.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers!

Wh yes, we are having two reviews today! I would have done these in my first post of the day, but our neighbor came by with them ten minutes ago, and my mom is putting them out with dessert at Thanksgiving tomorrow. So I had to act fast.

These are so simple. It’s just whole pecans in a candy glaze comprised of honey, butter, and salt. But they’re sooo good. The nuts are fresh and the glaze is a reserved sort of sweet–delightfully there, but not enough to make your teeth ache. The salt is an excellent contrast. They’re dangerously poppable.

This might not qualify strictly as candy, but they have “candied” in the name, so hey, why not. I hope my neighbors bring these back from South Carolina again. An absolute 5.

I’ve actually had these before, but saying I needed to review them was an excuse to buy them and feel virtuous about it. It’s for my readers, of course.

Anyway, these come in a bag with a close-up of a picture of grapes on it, and some very amusing Engrish. The way the bag talks these up, you would think they were the nectar of the Gods. Each gummi is wrapped in a pretty purple wrapper with kanji on it, with the words “Grape Gummy–Super Juicy” written under it.

Each gummy is dark purple, heart-shaped, and slightly sticky, which necessitates the individual wrapping. I don’t mind, it keeps me from plowing through half a bag of these things. They smell like grape Kool-Aid, but they don’t taste artificial–both tart and sweet, they’re very much like eating grapes.
The texture is nice too–it’s firm, but cleaves easily when bitten into.

There’s other flavors out there-I may have to try them!

It’s another candy from my friend Laura’s “horrible candy” list! Let it be known that I don’t like raisins on their own–they’re bland and sort of have a creepy texture. I like them, however, on peanut butter sandwiches, in cookies and, of course, with chocolate.

I got my Raisinets at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They came in one of those big “theater boxes.” They also have one of those giant ZOMG ANTIOXIDANTS! labels. This is based on the dark chocolate, which is not standard for Raisinets. The ingredients list milk fat, which means this isn’t a true dark chocolate. We’ll see if it tastes any different.

The chocolate smells a little smokier than milk chocolate, and the coating looks slightly darker. I’ll be honest though–besides a slight acidity on the tongue, I’m not really getting “dark” out of this chocolate. The chocolate is pleasant and the raisins are good quality, like regular Rasinets, but I feel slightly cheated.

I’ll give this a 3. Regular Raisinets would get a 3.5–they’re my movie candy-but I’m giving these a 3, because I didn’t get what was promised on the box.

Like Nips, these were another candy my dad kept in his briefcase. We also used to bring these on vacation with us, and once we were in the hotel room, I’d take a couple from the snack bag when I thought no one was looking. I doubt my ten-year-old self was that stealthy, so my mom probably just let me indulge, since we were on vacation.

Riesens come wrapped in waxy paper in a plastic bag; the wrappers are a distinctive brown with gold lettering. The candy comes in short, cubes and there’s an immediate smell of dark chocolate.

The dark chocolate is what you taste first–bittersweet, with almost fruity undertones. It’s very good, and takes awhile to melt, adding to the longevity of the treat. The caramel is flavored with chocolate as well, but it’s not cloying in the least–the balance is perfect. It’s moderately stiff and moderately sticky, which brings its rating a bit above Nips–my fillings don’t feel in danger of being ripped from my teeth.

I rate these a five–they’re delicious, satisfying, and totally worth stealing from any snack bag.

Nips have always been a “cache” candy for me. No, they aren’t expensive. They’re not really gourmet. But when I was a little kid, Nips were one of the candies that my dad carried in his briefcase, which instantly made them a little more grown-up than the candy my sister and I bought at the gas station. Nips were also the candy my parents brought with us when we all went to say a play or musical. Just going to an event like that seemed glamorous, and it made Nips seem glamorous too.

Nips are individually wrapped, and they come in a cellophane-encased cardboard box (wow, the people in the audience with us at all those shows must have loved us). They come in several different flavors, but I chose caramel, since that’s the one I grew up. The candies are a little larger than your standard hard candies, and very thick. They’re a lovely light brown.

I was pretty sure these wouldn’t measure up to childhood memories, but these are sooo good. As soon as you begin to suck on it, you’re rewarded with a very smooth, rich caramel taste that manages to be satisfying without making my teeth ache. Once the candy has been softened up by sucking on it, it can be chewed on, although it’s a very stiff chew. They last a really long time, too. The only problem is that it becomes extremely sticky, with the power to pull out fillings, and it tends to get stuck in teeth.

Nips earn a solid 4.5 for me–the taste is a 5, but the stickiness is a problem. I’m having some temporary crowns put in next month, and I’m making sure I finish the box before then so I don’t end up making a pest of myself at the dentist office. Still though, highly recommended for work, studying, or the next theatrical production you find yourself at–just make sure to unwrap them first!

This treat comes to me courtesy of my dad, from whom I got the candy habit–as long as I can remember, he’s always had candy in his briefcase and desk at work. This is one of the candies he has in his briefcase right now, and he graciously offered me a sample for review. Yay!

The bark isn’t in the traditional shape chocolate bark usually takes–uneven, jagged slabs. Instead, the candy is in the format of Ghiradelli’s tasting squares. It comes in a festive peppermint-stripe-and-holly wrapper.

The candy is a small square, on the thin side, with the Ghiradelli logo embossed on the top. The top is white chocolate with visible bits of bright red peppermint, and the bottom is a very thin layer of milk chocolate. The mint scent cuts through the chocolate immediately upon opening the wrapper, and it’s a nice mint scent, too. Some mint candies can smell like toothpaste or Ben-Gay, and I’m happy to report this is not the case here.

White chocolate can be overly sweet, but this candy is a nice surprise–the white chocolate is a smooth, creamy background to the peppermint bits, which are fresh and delicious. The milk chocolate does tend to get lost in the peppermint flavor, though–if I didn’t know it was there, I wouldn’t have tasted it.

This gets a 4 from me–it’s smooth, creamy, and delicious. The one thing I would change is the second chocolate layer–I think dark chocolate would offer more of a contrast to the white chocolate and would “pop” better against the peppermint bits. Still, it’s a good thing my dad takes this to work, otherwise the bag might be mysteriously finished by the end of the week.