Candy Blog

Whee! It’s a three day weekend and the start of summer.

Just Born is more than just PEEPS, they also make Mike and Ike and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. At Sweets & Snacks Expo they announced their new products for 2010-11.

• NEW PEEPS Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pumpkins available in single-serve packages.
• PEEPS Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Cats in a Take-Home packages.
• PEEPS Sugar-Free Pumpkins in Count-Good packages.
• PEEPS Pumpkins and Ghosts in both Count-Good and Take-Home packages.
• MIKE AND IKE HOT TAMALES and PEANUT CHEWS Brand Candies available in a variety of treat-giving snack size bags.

My take: I’d love to see these “treat-giving snack size bags” of Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. I only see the in the single serve package in my area but I would actually give them out as a Halloween treat if I had the option (the dark one is vegan). The rest of the product line is pretty much the same as this year’s Easter. The addition of the chocolate covered pumpkins is new - though I have to say that I’m disappointed that they’re making the marshmallow center orange instead of leaving them natural like the Peeps are (on the inside at least).

• NEW PEEPS Chocolate Covered Mint Flavored Marshmallow Trees in single serve packages. The PEEPS Brand is offering fans its most extravagant PEEPS yet, PEEPS Chocolate Covered Mint Flavored Marshmallow Trees, heralding the Brand’s first chocolate-covered item with a flavored marshmallow center.
• NEW PEEPS Sugar-free Peppermint Stars in Count-Good packages.
• PEEPS Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Reindeer available in Take-Home packages.
• PEEPS Marshmallow Trees and Snowmen in both Count-Good and Take-Home packages.
• PEEPS Sugar Cookie Flavored Marshmallow Cutouts in Take-Home packages.
• PEEPS Peppermint Flavored Marshmallow Stars in Take-Home packages.

My take: I’m really excited about the Chocolate Covered Peppermint Peeps. I hope they don’t have artificial sweeteners in them like the uncoated marshmallows do right now. They seem like they’d be a refreshing chocolate treat but still spare on the calories.

• New PEEPS Chocolate Covered Raspberry Flavored Marshmallow Hearts in single-serve packages. This year, PEEPS Brand Marshmallow Candies are melting hearts with their new PEEPS Chocolate Covered Raspberry Flavored Marshmallow Hearts. Delicious milk or dark chocolate cover raspberry flavored PEEPS to create a scrumptious chocolate and marshmallow experience.
• New MIKE AND IKE Passion Mix in 6 oz Theater Boxes.
• New HOT TAMALES Untamed Love Mix in 6 oz Theater Boxes.
• PEEPS “I (heart) U” and Pink Hearts in both Count-Good and Take-Home packages.
• Red PEEPS Sugar-Free Hearts in a Count-Good packages.
• PEEPS Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Bears in a Take-Home Packages.
• PEEPS Vanilla Creme and Strawberry Creme Flavored Hearts in Take-Home Packages.

My take: Raspberry chocolate covered Peeps for Valentines ... what more do I need to say?

Last year Hershey’s announced their new expanded Hershey’s Pieces line at National Confectioners Association’s Sweets & Snacks Expo. This year the new product line is Hershey’s Drops.

Hershey’s Drops are billed as Hershey’s Happiness in a little drop of milk chocolate without a candy shell and featuring a light, shiny, mess free finish. They’ll be on store shelves starting in December 2010, starting with King Size packages of 2.1 ounces.

The packages I got to try are just sales samples, in little .6 ounce packets with ingredients listing but no final nutrition panel (which isn’t that surprising since they won’t be available for another six months).

Now your family can have all the goodness of bite-sized chocolate without the candy shell.

HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate DROPS have a light shiny finish, so there’s no mess. They’re perfect for snacking and sharing anytime, anywhere!

The drops are larger than the Pieces about as big around as a nickel. Brits may be familiar with the size and shape, they’re rather similar to Mars’ Galaxy Minstrels, except without the shell - in fact, they’re exactly like the re-released Galaxy Counters (which I haven’t tried, but Chocablog did a nice review of a couple of months ago).

Some may wonder if the light coating is like that on M&Ms Premiums. There is a light waxy coating on there, but it’s thinner than the latexy and colorful stuff on the M&Ms Premiums. It’s more like what you’d find on Junior Mints or Whoppers. Just a simple glaze that melts away quickly.

The flavor is pure Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, not much else. A little tangy and fudgy, sweet and milky. The coating keeps them fresh and smooth, I’ve found that Kisses can taste a little rancid when left out of the bag, even though they have a foil wrapping. Of course I didn’t have these candies for very long, so I can’t say for sure that they’d be like that if left out in a dish.

The second item in the Drops line is a bit more inventive, Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Drops.

The confection is made of a white chocolate with cookie bits like Oreos mixed in. The white chocolate ingredients are a little muddy, the label says “cocoa butter, palm, shea, sunflower and/or safflower oil” so I don’t know how much of this white chocolate is actually cocoa butter. That and/or confuses me.

Hershey’s currently offers the Cookies ‘n’ Creme in a few formats. The original is their bar but there are also Kisses from time to time, Nuggets, as well as holiday foil wrapped versions. This little morsel version with no wrapper is actually a great new take on the candy.

I have to admit they don’t look so great. They look muddy and dirty. The cookie bits show through. They’re consistently shaped, but the white isn’t quite white and not even that light yellow that French vanilla ice cream sports.

They smell especially sweet and milky. The texture is thick and a little fudgy and heavy on the dairy flavors. The crispy bits of cookie are crunchy and crumbly, with a sandy grain to them that sets off the sticky melt of the white confection very well. It’s a little salty, so though it’s sugary at times and kind of throat searing, it doesn’t stay that way to the end. It’s more like cookies and cream ice cream than a candy version of a chocolate sandwich cookie.

I haven’t been much of a fan of the Cookies ‘n’ Creme bar up to this point, but I have to say that the smaller discrete bites do help. They’re best, as far as I’m concerned, mixed with the Milk Chocolate ones to keep it all from getting too sweet.

Overall, I think this is a fun new take. I’m glad that Hershey’s is making them with the bar version ingredients, instead of going the route they did with Kissables as a “chocolate candy”. I see the benefits to getting rid of the foil wrappings and the candy shells plus making the morsels larger than a chocolate baking chip. I’m sure some folks will be happy to see that there are no artificial colors in here either, since there’s no colored shell.

The ability to combine these with other items to create a custom trail mix snack is also intriguing. I’d like to mix them with nuts, pretzels or sesame sticks. I can also see a lot of possibilities with expanding this with other candies in the Hershey’s line.

Related Candies

1. Cookies ‘n’ Creme Showdown
2. Galaxy Minstrels
3. Hershey’s Nuggets Double Chocolate
4. Kissables (Reformulated)
5. UK Smarties (no artificial colors)
6. Hershey Eggs
7. Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Mint

Following up on yesterday’s honey theme, here’s a foil wrapped honey caramel from Lake Champlain Chooclates.

Name: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Drops
Brand:  Hershey’s
Description: Introducing Hershey’s Drops and Reese’s Minis! These new items will further expand the hand-to-mouth segment by offering iconic brands in a small, unwrapped, easy-to-eat format. Hershey’s Drops offer a lot of Hershey’s Happiness in a little drop of milk chocolate or cookies ‘n’ creme candy. Drops are bite-sized candies without a candy shell, featuring a light, shiny, mess-free finish. 
Introduction Date: 12/03/2010
Notes: I don’t know quite what the “hand-to-mouth” segment is, I thought it was something discussed in the financial sector. These are certainly a curious product. They’re similar in construction to the M&M’s Premiums introduced two years ago in that they have only a thin glazed coating instead of a full candy shell. But they’re much larger, a full bite of chocolate. The fact that they’re releasing them in the Cookies ‘n’ Creme version I think will really help these stand apart from the M&Ms sector.

Name: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis
Brand: Reese’s (Hershey’s)
Description: Reese’s Minis offer the perfect combination of milk chocolate and peanut butter in a convenience, unwrapped peanut butter cup. Reese’s Peanut Butter Lovers everywhere can now enjoy Reese’s in a mess-free, bite-sized product experience. Available in take home pouches and instant consumable King Size packages.
Introduction Date: 12/03/2010
Notes: It’s tough to even think about these after having the Trader Joe’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups for all these years. It seems so silly that Reese’s wasn’t making them all along. Anyway, probably great for baking and eating at the movies.

Name: Ice Breakers Frost
Brand: Ice Breakers (Hershey’s)
Description: Ice Breakers Frost, in Wintercool and Peppermint. Strong mint users want a mint that provides powerful breath freshening without the harsh, bitter taste associated with existing strong mints. Ice Breakers Frost Mints deliver the intensity and long-lasting freshness strong mint user expect PLUS the great taste of Ice Breakers. Frost Adds POWER to the Hershey Mint Portfolio! 
Introduction Date: 09/03/10
Notes: The package is kind of interesting, but the world of mints is getting mighty confusing.

Name: Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome
Brand: Jolly Rancher (Hershey’s)
Description: Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome Chews offer two flavors in one candy - including chewy watermelon wrapped around a green apple center and cherry wrapped around an soft orange center.
Introduction Date: 12/3/2010
Notes: I don’t quite understand how these are a Jolly Rancher product instead of a Twizzler item. Except for the fact that there was a Twizzler product like this called Twerpz which was just single flavors, but still similar enough in concept.

Name: Jolly Rancher Tropical Fruit Chews
Brand: Jolly Rancher (Hershey’s)
Description: Pineapple, Lemon-Lime, Tropical Punch and Strawberry-Kiwi
Introduction Date: 6/4/2010
Notes: Jolly Rancher introduced their fruit chews back in 2001. They’re kind of like Starburst, except they seem to come in a box instead of a pack. Of course Pineapple sounds like the most promising flavor to me. Come to think of it, a Pineapple Jolly Rancher hard candy sounds good, too.

Name: BREATHSAVERS Cinnamon
Brand: Breathsavers (Hershey’s)
Description: Hershey’s is the mint leader in convenience stores. 
Introduction Date: 3/26/2010
Notes: Honestly, I thought there already was a cinnamon Breathsaver.