If you liked the Despicable Me movies, and more specifically, the Minions, might I interest you some Mike and Ike: Minion Mix?

The box is quite cute. Both the front and back feature Minion characters. (The back is formatted to stand on its end instead of the long side, and has a Minion holding up a banana.)

The mix is not very mixy, it’s just two flavors: Banana and Blueberry. The yellow and blue colors go thematically with the colors of the Minion worker overalls and their skin (?) color.

The blue Blueberry Mike and Ikes are blue. Very blue. The blueberry flavor is, well, a flavor. It doesn’t taste like blueberries, but it’s pleasant enough. It’s tangy and sweet.

The yellow Banana Mike and Ike are great. I don’t know if they’ve done a straight banana before (plenty of banana blends), so this was a pleasure since it’s such an uncommon flavor. It’s sweet with no weird acetone burn to it. It’s just, well sweet banana with a little toffee note like it’s very ripe.

This particular mix hit 100% for me, as I liked both flavors and didn’t need to do any picking. They combined nicely, but were good on their own. I can’t think of anything to improve it. It’s a quality movie tie in, instead of just throwing some movie logos on an existing product, they made something that had a fun little flair that goes with the show. (Kind of like the Jelly Belly mixes that have been coming out lately.)

Related Candies

1. Chocolate Covered Banana Gummi Bears
2. Mike and Ike Strawberry Reunion
3. Bonomo & Doscher Banana Taffy
4. Mike and Ike Autumn Medley
5. Mike and Ike Berry Blast
6. Mike and Ike Italian Ice
7. Banana n Cream & Red Orange Mentos
8. Mike and Ike Alex’s Lemonade Stand

Brach’s has quite a few new candy products on shelves, including some for Halloween. One of the new seasonal twists on Candy Corn is Brach’s Apple Pie Candy Corn.

Brach’s Candy Corn is widely available this year in a variety of flavors and shapes. I was able to find my 4.2 ounce peg bag at the Walgreen’s near my house and on sale. The previous bags I’d seen were over 10 ounces, which is too much of a novelty flavor. (But I admit that I did buy two bags of the Halloween Mellocremes.)

There is no description on the package of what the Apple Pie flavor is supposed to be. Just a picture on the front of a slice of apple pie with a dollop of whipped cream on top. I’m amused the shape of a slice of pie and a Candy Corn piece a similar, though the stacked nature of the Candy Corn layers doesn’t say pie.

It smells like a bad candle (of course I just watched this, so maybe I have Bath & Body works on my mind).

Brach’s Candy Corn is always some of the nicest at stores. The pieces are elegant and tall, and are unusually durable. Many other Candy Corn brands are easily broken or have a problem with sticking together.

These are subtle, just a creamy white base and a caramel middle/top.

The flavor is definitely like apple, like a baked apple. It’s very sweet but has a little hint of salt as well (75 mg per serving). The apple flavor is like a hint of juice, but there’s no citrus tartness at all. The cinnamon note is very mild, but welcome.

It’s not an ideal flavor for adaptation ... though I could see a whole Pie Candy Corn series, with Chocolate Cream Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Cherry Pie, Pecan Pie and of course they already have Pumpkin Spice.

Like other Brach’s mellocremes, this contains gelatin so it’s not suitable for vegetarians and not kosher. Though the packaging makes note in several places that they’re America’s Candy Maker (tm), these were made in Mexico.

Related Candies

1. Brach’s Caramel Macchiato Candy Corn
2. Brach’s Carrot Cake Candy Corn
3. Brach’s S’mores Candy Corn
4. M&Ms White Chocolate Candy Corn
5. Pumpkin Pie Gourmet Candy Corn
6. Milk Maid Caramel Candy Corn
7. Brach’s Autumn Mix

With Mars newest product, their Mint 3 Musketeers Bites, morselization of all of the classic Mars candy bars is complete.

The new bite sized version of the Mint 3 Musketeers is dark chocolate and features a minty nougat center. The Mint 3 Musketeers Bars were introduced in 2007, and though it’s not the powerhouse that Twix or Milky Way represent for Mars, it still fits neatly into the candy bar selection from Mars in a unique way. The regular 3 Musketeers bar only got the mini treatment earlier this year.

The dark chocolate covered mint nougats are about 3/4 of an inch square, a little shorter than that. The sharing size package holds two servings, which seems like a lot, considering the fluffy nature of the pieces. (Even if you went on a binge and ate the whole bag, it would only be 360 calories.)

The pieces are easy to bite. The nougat is soft and airy, the chocolate is thin but doesn’t flake off easily. The nougat is almost marshmallowy, it’s fluffy but doesn’t quite have that latexy bounce. Instead the peppermint flavor and smooth dissolve gives it all a fresh feeling.

I liked them. I didn’t feel the need to overeat or stuff myself. Each piece was nicely sized, the proportion between nougat and chocolate was balanced. I’d probably buy these again ... I’m not sure how they stack up to the York Minis, which are a little denser, but also have their pleasing textural qualities. I’d say I’m just as likely to eat those, although I think the York Minis fare better in transit to the Mint 3 Musketeers Bites.

3 Musketeers items contain dairy, soy and eggs and may also have traces of peanuts. There’s no statement about gluten on the package or about the sourcing of the cocoa.

Related Candies

1. York Peppermint Pattie Minis
2. 3 Musketeers Bites
3. Klondike Mint Chocolate Chip: The Candy!
4. Fralinger’s Creamy Mint Sticks
5. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Honey Mints
6. 3 Musketeers Truffle Crisp
7. 3 Musketeers Mini Mix
8. 3 Musketeers Mint with Dark Chocolate

While Trader Joe’s has been pouring on the pumpkin around their stores, they haven’t forgotten about one of their other core flavors: Speculoos. Their newest item is their Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Speculoos Cookie Butter Cups.

There are a few spice mix flavors that are popular right now: Chai Spice, Gingerbread and Pumpkin Spice. Another one would be Speculoos. The odd thing about the Speculoos flavor is that it’s not just the mild cinnamon and nutmeg mix which is similar to Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread, it includes the actual cookie. The Speculoos cookie is a crispy butter cookie with some brown sugar notes along with the mild spice. I grew up eating Speculoos, though I didn’t know it by that name, they were just called Windmill Spice Cookies.

The tub holds 11 ounces of foil wrapped cups. This quantity doesn’t fill the tub completely, but it’s true to its weight. The cups are wrapped in gold foil, and inside each little piece does not actually have a fluted paper cup like the dark chocolate Peanut Butter Cups which come in a similar format. Each cup is about 11 grams, basically the same size as a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniature.

Trader Joe’s also offered up a bar version of the Cookie Butter in dark chocolate a couple of years ago. That bar was made with Belgian chocolate in Belgium. This version is made in Canada (the Peanut Butter Cups that Trader Joe’s sells are made in the USA, which might also explain some of the small cosmetic differences.)

INGREDIENTS: Dark Chocolate (Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin [Emulsifier], Natural Vanilla Extract), Speculoos Spread (57% Speculoos [Wheat Flour, Sugar, Margarine {Palm and Rapeseed Oil}, Water, Emulsifier {Mono-and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids}, Citric Acid, Sugar Syrup, Sodium Bi-Carbonate], Salt, Cinnamon), Palm and Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Spices, Citric Acid, Hazelnuts, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Butter. CONTAINS WHEAT, MILK, SOY, HAZELNUTS. MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS, EGG & OTHER TREE NUTS.

They smell lightly spicy, like cloves and cinnamon. The cups are shiny and nicely formed. The bite is easy, the center is soft and mostly creamy. It’s not as crumbly as a peanut butter cup can be, with a much creamier texture. The chocolate isn’t overpowered by the center, the chocolate flavors are well balanced with a berry/fruit note and a little dry finish to the quite slick melt. The cookie butter center is not overly sweet, not overly grainy. There are a few little bits of cookie, but for the most part it’s more like a batter than a paste. 

They’re not completely peanut free, so it’s not like these are a great option for those with allergies. But if you’re a lover of candy cups but don’t actually like Peanut Butter, this might be what you’ve been searching for. I think it’s a unique new product and look forward to more cupification of Trader Joe’s products, such as the new Cookies and Creme Cookie Butter.

Related Candies

1. Flipz Gingerbread Flavor Covered Pretzels
2. Russell Stover Santas: Gingerbread, Peppermint and Maple
3. M&Ms Milk Chocolate Gingerbread
4. Twix Gingerbread
5. Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels
6. Peeps Gingerbread Men
7. Trader Joe’s Les Chocolats Belgique (Belgian Bars): Caramel, Chocolate Buttercream & Speculoos
8. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Name: M&Ms Crispy
Brand: Mars
Description: New M&M’S® Crispy Chocolate Candies feature a unique, crispy center covered in creamy milk chocolate, enclosed in a colorful candy shell. This crispy, crunchy and delicious treat is the texture and flavor variety consumers seek in their snack repertoire. Mars Chocolate first introduced this flavor variant as a limited-edition item in 1998, and consumers have been asking for its return via Facebook, online petitions and phone calls.
Introduction Date: January 2015
Notes: This is one of those instances where people have said they want a product to return, and now a lot of other brands are going to check back to see if the sales will support its permanent return. With lower-calorie snacking in vogue, this crispy version is filled with air and less fat, so it may get more snackers who weren’t even buying chocolate snacks.

Name: 3 Musketeers Mint Bites
Brand: Mars
Description: Each bite-sized piece features dark chocolate enrobing mint-flavored nougat, with the classic fluffiness consumers love about 3 MUSKETEERS® Bar.
Introduction Date: November 2014
Notes: I’ve been waiting for this. Nope, correction, I’ve been waiting for them to discontinue the mint bar, I’m glad to see they’re doubling down with the Bites version.

Name: TWIX Creamy Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Brand: Mars
Description: The #1 consumer request among TWIX® Brand fans was to “bring back the classic cookie” - so the new recipe includes a traditional crunchy, flavorful TWIX® Cookie Bar instead of a chocolate cookie.
Introduction Date: January 2015
Notes: Back in 2007 Mars changed the Peanut Butter Twix a bit, by taking out the standard cookie and putting in a chocolate cookie. Both were good, but apparently, like the Crispy M&Ms, the die hard fans of the original wanted it back. (I’m wondering where the Cookies ‘n Creme Twix is, then.)

Name: Snickers Mixed Nuts Bar
Brand: Mars
Description: Mix it up with SNICKERS® Brand Mixed Nuts Bar—a satisfying mix of peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts combined with SNICKERS® Brand caramel and nougat, all coated with creamy milk chocolate.
Introduction Date: November 2015
Notes: Why is this taking so long! 2015? ... I want it now! (It will also be a limited edition item.)

Name: Toblerone Crushed Corn
Brand: Mondelez (Kraft)
Description: Aimed at strengthening Toblerone’s position in the confectionery category, Toblerone Crushed Corn is said to deliver a new taste and texture experience. The 400g bar combines Swiss milk chocolate with almond and honey nougat and pieces of crunchy roasted corn. It will be introduced to travel retail locations in October following an exclusive pre-launch in Gebr Heinemann’s stores, including Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Vienna and Oslo airports. 
Introduction Date: October 2014
Notes: The name is certainly unique, but perhaps not enticing. Still, I enjoy the combination of corn flakes and even corn nuts with chocolate.

Name: Temple Run Gummies
Brand: Mount Franklin Foods LLC dba Sunrise Confections
Description: This new gummy treat ties into the popular mobile game. It features six delicious Temple Run gummy icons in a variety of colors and fruity flavors including: apple, cherry, lemon, orange, pineapple, and blue raspberry.
Introduction Date: September 2014
Notes: It’s not a new trend, by any stretch, for candy companies to make versions of popular products in shapes to tie into a video game. In this case the little shapes fit well with gummi production technology. But aside from the box and the little shapes, I don’t see why I’d pay extra for a licensing fee when I could just buy really good gummis.

Name: Haribo Sour Gold-Bears
Brand: Haribo of America, Inc
Description: The number one selling Gummi Bear in America now SOUR!
Introduction Date: October 2014
Notes: It’s so odd that Haribo hasn’t introduced sour sanded bears since just about every other gummi brand does make them. I’m looking forward to seeing them in stores, since the texture of Haribo is so different from the American “juicy” style.

Name: Taffy Flipstick Bars
Brand: The Warrell Corp
Description:
The original Flipstick Taffy now comes in a bar! It’s available in four delicious flavors, including: Wild Cherry, Sour Apple, Sour Blue Raspberry, and Watermelon. .5 ounce each, 25 cents per bar.
Introduction Date: September 2014
Notes: Taffy seems to be back in vogue, and a lot of companies are going for the bar format instead of the hunks that are twisted at the ends.