Monday, November 14, 2011

Brach’s Milk Chocolate Stars

Brach's Milk Chocolate StarsBrach’s, now owned by Farley’s and Sathers has had its ups and downs. Lately I’d say they’re on the upswing. They have newly designed packaging and a new logo along with a return to their classic formulas.

One of Brach’s standard candies for many years has been their Brach’s Milk Chocolate Stars which are not only a favorite for candy dishes, they’re occasionally featured in cookie recipes. This explains why I spotted this bag not in the candy aisle at Target but with a special display of holiday baking items.

Brach's Chocolate Stars

The pieces are large what I’d consider a big bite or two small bites. They’re a full inch across and weigh a little less than 4 grams each. (For comparison, a Hershey’s Kiss is about 4.5 grams.)

Brach's Milk Chocolate Stars

The front and back of the package make multiple mentions of the fact that the stars are made from 100% milk chocolate. Some Brach’s items stopped using real chocolate over the years (oddly enough some of that cheapening occurred while the company was run by Barry Callebaut, a Swiss company and one of the largest makers of chocolate in the world. (But they also make mockolate.)

The ingredients do actually qualify this product as milk chocolate, though the list is very long for what is usually a six ingredient product:

Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, whole and skim milk powder, lactose, butter fat, cocoa powder, milk fat, salt, soy lecithin, PGPR, vanillin

Brach's Chocolate Stars

The stars a bit scuffed up but I was still pleased at how attractive they are. They vary a little bit, as they’re not molded but squirted out onto a line. The have a sweet scent, a bit on the caramel side of milk chocolate. The melt is pretty quick and very sweet but with a very mellow salty note to it.

Though the melt is passably smooth, it is quite sticky. I did a quick analysis of the chocolate compared to Hershey’s Kisses. There’s just a smidge more sugar in it and a little less fat. (Basically, my calculations put Hershey’s Kisses at 29.3% fat by weight and Brach’s Milk Chocolate Stars at 26.3%. So if there’s less fat there’s either going to be more sugar or more protein, in this case it’s the sugar with Hershey’s at 56.1% and Brach’s at 57.9%.)

The flavor is not complex or difficult. There’s a slight dairy twang to it, but nothing like the sour belch of a Hershey’s Kiss nor the powdered dairy taste of Cadbury. I suspect that they stand up well in the oven and probably get an even better toasted taste to the sugars that bring out the fudge notes. It’s a little too sweet and sticky for me to eat alone, but with some nuts or pretzels or really anything else like a tall glass of water or strong coffee to cut it, I’d find them passable.

If I were baking the only reason to use them would be for aesthetics. If I were going for taste, I’d pick up Ghirardelli or Guittard which are only slightly more expensive ... or if I needed something really stunning Valrhona.

They’re made in a facility with nuts, peanuts and wheat plus they contain soy and dairy. Not Kosher.

Related Candies

  1. Brach’s Maple Nut Goodies
  2. Hershey’s Kisses Air Delight
  3. Brach’s Peanut Butter Poppins
  4. Brach’s Christmas Nougats
  5. Brach’s Peanut Butter and Caramel Pumpkins
  6. Limited Edition Hot Cocoa Kisses
  7. Dove Chocolate
  8. My Favorite Chocolate


Name: Milk Chocolate Stars
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Brach’s
Place Purchased: Target (Eagle Rock)
Price: $2.99
Size: 12 ounces
Calories per ounce: 142
Categories: Candy, Brach's, Farley's & Sathers, Chocolate, 5-Pleasant, United States, Target

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:12 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewBrach'sFarley's & SathersChocolate5-PleasantUnited StatesTarget

Comments
  1. I grew up eating this every Christmas in peanut butter blossom cookies, in part because Brach’s was a Chicago based company. Making peanut butter blossom cookies with hershey kisses was a last resort when I couldn’t find the stars a few years ago. I think they work better than the kisses… but so do Fannie May’s molded novelty chocolates (frankenstein heads, little santa clauses) that are sold by the pound.

    In light of your Halloween post, I’m wondering if it would be possible for you to indicate whether chocolate is Fair Trade or not? It would mean extra work on your end (on top of the work you’re already doing) but I’ve been trying to cut non-fair trade chocolate out of my life for a while now. You review a lot of stuff I’m interested in that I wouldn’t come across accidentally—I’d have to pursue it—and knowing if it was fair trade or not would be super helpful.

    Comment by Brigid Barjaktarevic on 11/14/11 at 8:39 pm #
  2. The stars taste different. What’s going on?

    Comment by Gary Roberts on 9/19/14 at 6:20 pm #
  3. They do taste as good. I spent 6.00 on 2 bags I will never use them again. They taste like cheap chocolate.

    Comment by Cheri Stallman on 12/07/14 at 10:36 am #
  4. I noticed that they taste different now, too.  Sort of waxy and don’t melt as easily in my mouth.  I don’t like them as much, and it makes me question whether to seek out the Brachs brand for chocolate stars in the future.

    Comment by marciamn on 12/11/14 at 6:12 pm #
  5. Trying to find Brach’s Chocolate Stars near Burgaw NC 28425

    Comment by Richard Beacham on 12/31/15 at 8:29 am #
  6. In regards to Brach’s chocolate stars.  They should go back to the recipe they had in the 70’s.  They were the best chocolate around along with Nestle’s crunch.  Now both of these taste very cheaply made.  I have tried them twice & thrown them away each time.  They both have too much wax, & don’t have the melt in your mouth quality they once had.  They also are more on the sweet side & do not contain the salty sweet contrast.  I no longer buy them for these reasons.

    Comment by lana burnell on 2/21/16 at 10:59 am #
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