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Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Brach’s Maple Nut Goodies
I got the package home, opened it up and the devils were hard as rocks. I must have gotten an old bag. So I kind of dismissed it mentally. About a year later a co-worker gave me a bag and I experienced the same issue - they were rock hard. Brach’s is now owned by Farley’s and Sathers and recently did a complete re-design of their packaging earlier this year. So when I spied the new, bolder purple and pink wrapper at the drug store, I thought this was a signal that the candy was fresh. (The expiration was March 2012.) I was still puzzled though, and part of it is because I have no awareness at all of this candy. There are plenty of candies, food, novels and movies that I’ve never tried but I’m at least able to identify. There’s nothing remotely familiar about this candy, probably because no one else makes a version of it. The package describes it as:
The candy outside isn’t some sort of maple flavored white chocolate (though I’d actually love to try real white chocolate made with maple sugar ... someone, could you work on that?). The coating is like a dried fudge or frosting glaze. The ingredients don’t really explain the candy very well either: Sugar, Peanuts, Corn Syrup, Palm Kernel Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel, Soybean and Cottonseed, Emulsified With Soy Lecithin), Modified Corn Starch, Maple Syrup, Gelatin, Salt, Artificial Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Blue 1. Freshness Preserved By TBHQ and Citric Acid.
So what I’m expecting is some sort of maple fudge covered peanut. What I got instead was a muddly wad of confusion. It was soft. I bit into it and it was like a peanut butter cookie, with a strong maple flavor to it. The center was more like a soft dough then a fudge. There’s gelatin in there and oodles of fat (from the peanuts themselves and the various added oils) but it doesn’t taste like it at all. It’s dry. The other thing is that there is no whole peanut in there. Granted, I only expected there to be one because the shape of the candy seemed rather like a coated peanut. Instead it’s little ground up peanut bits, like a chunky peanut butter. I figure this can’t be right. I’ve gotten a batch that wasn’t cured properly or maybe one where they left out the peanuts inside of all of them. So back to the store.
So this is bag number four. This one also has a far off expiration date, January 2012 and the new package design. The cross section above shows the detail a bit better. There are chunks of peanuts in some sort of soft, not quite crumbly, doughy fudge. The whole effect is fine, just not quite what I was expecting. For what it is, it’s certainly different. It’s sweet, but the robust peanutty-ness balances that pretty well. There’s a little hint of salt and the maple is a more defined sweetness that’s not as sticky, more woodsy. It’s more like a snack, more like a cookie than a candy. Just about every other candy I’ve had that’s been made by a major company for at least 50 years has its imitators. For some reason no one else makes Brach’s Maple Nut Goodies Here’s an old ad from LIFE magazine featuring the Maple Nut Goodies. It also shows Iced Jelly Cones and Chocolate Ripple Nougats, anyone else remember those? Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:58 pm
 
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2012 by Cybele May Please do not use my photos without prior permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop Studios & backend by Expression Engine
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These are a long time favorite of mine! I have seen private label versions of them at Tractor Supply and Bass Pro Shops.
That’s funny, because when I wrote my review of Maple Nut Goodies a couple of years ago, I could swear that they had whole peanuts in them. Maybe they changed the way the candy was made when they changed the packaging.
This was one of my ex-husband’s favorite candies. I’m almost certain they used to look a little different and have a whole nut in the center. (That description actually SOUNDS a little like my ex-husband, too.)
In the early 80s I worked part-time at the local Sears, which had a candy counter featuring all sorts of sweets by the pound (including Maple Nut Goodies). This is the sort of candy old women would buy. Cost-wise, a step up from hard candy but much less than chocolate. Definitely seems like a Depression-era treat.
As I recall, your description of the recently purchased MNG is exactly as they were 30 years ago. There were no whole peanuts inside the Goodie.
I’m sure if I had one today it would taste exactly as I remember them. Kind of satisfying in an odd way.
I’ve munched on Maple Nut Goodies since I was a kid. My grandfather had a serious sweet tooth and a big variety of the Brach’s candies were consumed. I don’t remember a whole peanut at any point since the 70’s. I will occasionally buy a bag and end up eating them all within a day. Everything you say is right but I can’t help loving them…and I must not be alone because they are always available at the checkout stands of Menard’s (a Home Depot competitor).
Keep up this vital work!
My mom and I have always loved these! I hadn’t seen them with Brach’s new packaging yet though. I actually really like the chewy center of them with peanut pieces. I bought some homemade Maple Nut Goodies from a mom and pop grocery store the other day, and they were literally maple fudge covered whole peanuts. They were good quality fudge, and sound much more like what you’re looking for, but they just didn’t scratch the itch for me!
Verrry sweet. That is for sure. Not my fav type of candy.
Well, my grandparents owned a candy store in the 40’s & 50’s. There was a lot of candy in those glass bins!! But, the iced jelly cones you mention, I cannot remember. That old-time photo is difficult to view the actual candy. Although I must say the various other candies are familiar to me. Ohh. Yuck. I really disliked each and every one of those. Just not appealing to my tastebuds.
I will take a few bites of a (frozen!) Hershey bar anytime!
After reading this, I went out and got a bag. They were actually pretty good! Apparently, Zachary makes something called “Double Dipped Maple Nut Treats”: Crunchy peanuts with two coats of our maple coating, which contains real maple syrup for your eating enjoyment! (sounds a little [or a lot] like Maple Nut Goodies!)
Hi we used to buy the maple nut buddies at Grant’s Department store in Buffalo in the 50s and 6os never in a bag or pouch always taken out with a scoop. No peanut inside that I remember just maple walnut nugat, maybe they did different versions in different areas? Haven’t had one in close to 40 years made me yearn for one just reading about them.
Can’t believe you’re downing Maple Nut Goodies! Geez! An All-American classic. Next you’ll be complaining that Apple pie is too soft and apple tasting.
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