Monday, October 27, 2008
Caramel Apple Kisses & Caramel CreamsI’ve been searching high and low for the Hershey’s Caramel Apple Kisses and finally found them in the Hershey’s homeland, Hershey’s Chocolate World in Pennsylvania. The Kisses join the large array of Limited Edition Kisses. The Fall themed ones this year are the return of the Candy Corn Kisses and the new Pumpkin Spice Kisses. These are the only milk chocolate Kisses in the bunch. Caramel apples are kind of fun, and a rather simple idea. An apple, on a stick, dipped into caramel. This candy is like dipping an apple into caramel and then dipping that into chocolate. (Well, it’s actually more like flavoring some caramel with apple and injecting that into a Kiss shaped chocolate mold. The wholesomeness of the actual apple is completely missing here.) As usual, Hershey’s has created an appealing package. The foils are swirls of orange and red with flags that say Caramel Apple on them. Since I picked these up right at the factory, they were fresh and stored well. Each Kiss was glossy and firm, nicely molded. They smell mostly of chocolate. The caramel innards are soft and flowing, more like a sauce than a chewy caramel. It’s smooth and has an apple peel flavor to it along with the caramel flavor. The authentic caramel notes of burnt sugar are absolutely missing as is the butter flavor. It’s pleasant though, but throat-searingly sweet after two or three. I can say that I appreciate them, and it’s a nice flavor combo without tasting overly artificial but lacks any of the experience of a true Caramel Apple. Not the nicest looking list of ingredients, the chocolate wasn’t stellar and the combination of flavors was still way too sweet. I give them a 5 out of 10. (Kosher) The second caramel apple themed item I stumbled on last week are the Goetze’s Apple Caramel Creams. Bullseyes are a bit harder to find on the West Coast, but I ran across lots in Ohio and Pennsylvania. As is often the case with Goetze’s, this is a repack of the individually wrapped product under the Giant Eagle “Candy Place” label. But they were also only a dollar, so I can’t complain about the house branding. They’re rather odd looking, but only because I’m used to the mellow caramel color and the shocking white center. Here it’s the same caramel donut shape with a filling of intense red. For some reason these are a little greasier on the surface than other Bullseyes that I get, but they were also soft, so maybe that’s a side effect of freshness. They smell more like Green Apple Jolly Ranchers than caramel and sugar. I didn’t know what to expect, so I what I got was a shock. The cream center is tart. It’s like a cream paste of apple SweeTarts. It’s soft and tangy and does have a nice artificial apple flavor. In a way this is more “authentic” to the experience of combining an actual apple with caramel. Apples are tangy. But here it’s a very tangy apple, soft and cool on the tongue. I’ve eaten quite a few of them now and I’m still debating whether I enjoy them or not. The stick-to-your-ribs, cookie-dough-like caramel is satisfying and filling, but the chemical aftertaste of the apple cream center is very odd and it just makes me want a regular Bullseye (and the bitter aftertaste from the Red 40 coloring is never pleasant for me, but your mileage may vary). I give them a 5 out of 10 as well. This may be my overall feeling about real caramel apples as well. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:55 am |
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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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Goetze Caramel Creams sell like crazy here (Cincinnati)
when I do eat them, which isn’t very often because I’m not too fond of the caramel part, is because I love the center of them
they also make cow tails which are long, straw-like( which is probably a wrong way to describe them because they aren’t hollow in the middle and are much thicker than a straw but the shape is the same) with the cream in the middle
Goetze Caramel Creams sell like crazy here (Cincinnati)
when I do eat them, which isn’t very often because I’m not too fond of the caramel part, is because I love the center of them
they also make cow tails which are long, straw-like( which is probably a wrong way to describe them because they aren’t hollow in the middle and are much thicker than a straw but the shape is the same) with the cream in the middle
They also make a Caramel Apple Cow Tale - it’s really good. You might enjoy it more since the proportion of apple-flavored filling is less. I’ve had the Caramel Apple Kisses and they taste like candy that’s been in a lunch box with apples for too long. Not a favorite.
By the way, I picked up a “Hershey Milk Chocolate with Crisp Corn Bits” bar at my local grocery store today. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will definately be comparing it to Ritter Sport Knusperflakes.
I really like Tootsie’s Caramel Apple Pops which are just green apple lollipops with a layer of caramel on them.
The Caramel Apple Kisses sound like they could be good but the thought of apple-flavored caramel seems a little strange. I think I’d like to try those Apple Caramel Creams, though.
The caramel apple kisses are pretty tasty, especially with caramel apple coffee, but for the life of me I can’t find the pumpkin spice kisses! Stupid local Target.
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