Friday, March 2, 2012

Brach’s Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs (2012)

Brach's Fiesta Malted Milk EggsThis is another one of my re-reviews this year for Easter as I’m getting reports that the product has once again changed.

Brach’s has gone through a lot in the past few decades. Like many American candy companies, it was started by a real guy who put his name on the brand, Emil J. Brach, in Chicago, Illinois. In my lifetime though the company has been through many hands. It was owned by American Home Products, who sold it in 1987 to Jacob Suchard which was bought up by Callebaut in 2003. Callebaut sold off Brach’s to Farley’s & Sathers in 2007. Farley’s & Sathers have since tried to make over the brand to restore it to its roots and classic recipes.

The Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs of my recollection have always been pastel colored, speckled and the size of a small pecan in the shell. Last year I picked them up and they were white but more importantly, they actually used real milk chocolate which has become a rarity for an Easter malt product. Still, they weren’t great.

Brach's Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs

What makes the Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs different this year is the amazing size of them. They’re large: absurdly, ridiculously and tooth-dangerously huge. Most are about 1 1/2 inches long. The nutrition facts panel is exactly the same as last years, saying that each egg is about 0.275136903 ounces each. But I’m calling shenanigans on that, these ovoids are at least a third of an ounce, if not heftier. The nutrition panel does actually have one anomaly, it says that the suggested serving size is 39 grams and the calories are 160. But that works out to 113 calories per ounce, which is pretty low for a chocolate product.

Brach's Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs

I had to crack them on a hard surface first to eat them. The shell is very thick and trying to bite them was downright dangerous to my choppers. (And I often ended up with a slobbery and sticky mess, as well.) Think of them as an Everlasting Gobstopper that instead of having a SweeTart at the center, has a malted milk crisp. The shell with the real, but poor quality, milk chocolate coating comes apart from the malted milk crisp center quite easily. So I ate most of these in pieces. I’d pull off the shell and eat that, reserving the malted center for last. They were well protected by the shell, so they were dry, crisp and melted easily on the tongue. They’re milky and barely sweet with that inimitable malty flavor.

I love the fact that there’s so much malt inside, but the chocolate is just plain weak and the space-age strength of the shell was not exactly a selling point. I was actually wondering if one of those soft boiled egg cutters would be of use. (True candy needs no tools, assembly or dis-assembly.) I have to downgrade them to a 5 out of 10.

Related Candies

  1. Wonka SweeTarts Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies (2012)
  2. Brach’s Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs
  3. Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate Malted Milk Eggs (Plus a Bonus)
  4. Necco Conversation Hearts (Sweethearts) 2010
  5. Brach’s Fiesta Eggs
  6. Mighty Malts
  7. Jelly Belly Chocolate Malt Balls


Name: Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs (2012)
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Brach’s
Place Purchased: Target (WeHo)
Price: $1.89
Size: 7.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 116
Categories: Candy, Easter, Brach's, Farley's & Sathers, Chocolate, Malt, 5-Pleasant, United States, Target

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:15 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewEasterBrach'sFarley's & SathersChocolateMalt5-PleasantUnited StatesTarget

Comments
  1. I’m guessing the low cals are on account of the huge proportion of malted milk crisp. If you tried to smash these would you get decent sized pieces or a million little shards?

    Comment by Rodzilla on 3/03/12 at 5:11 am #
  2. Fiesta Eggs are my favorite candy in the world, and I wait eagerly for them all year.  I buy bags by the dozen.  But I was so disappointed this year.  I like all the malt, but the taste of the shell is different and they’re huge!!!  They’re twice the size that they used to be, making them hard to enjoy.  I liked the white ones best, because they were so bright and pristine, but now the “white” ones have an unappetizing yellowish cast to the shell.  I’m very disappointed, and won’t be buying more than the one bag this year.

    Comment by Mary D. on 3/09/12 at 1:09 pm #
  3. What happened to the thread about Brachs Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs….with the 108 posts up to and including 3/7/12 at this link: http://www.candyblog.net/blog/item/brachs_fiesta_eggs

    The 2 posts above from Rodzilla and Mary D. WERE NOT ON THE ORIGINAL THREAD and now this thread is a different link:http://www.candyblog.net/blog/item/fiesta_malted_milk_eggs_2012

    Why did you do away with all the posts (108)of them, on this candy dated as far back as 4/2/2007?????????????


    And CYBELE, why did you put your write-up post here on 3/2/2012, when at the original link listed by me above is where you have your other write up review and also you posted there on 2/28 you would be trying the candy and then doing a review…..now I find your review on this page and not on the original page and link, what is going on. I never received emails about the 2 posts above by Rodzilla or Mary D. as I had been receiving the 108 posts from the other link and page….which also means none of the others are receiving the posts either…what is going on?

    Comment by Debbie Lai on 3/10/12 at 2:40 pm #
  4. Have you seen the Brach’s Malted Milk Eggs (no “Fiesta” candy coating)? They are my favorites but no love this year anywhere!

    Comment by Kelly on 3/16/12 at 3:42 pm #
  5. Funny, these are finally in stock in local Targets in Austin an they can’t keep them on the shelves despite jacking the price north of $2.50 a bag.  Sellers on Amazon are asking $35-$40 for six bags.  So, you may think they’re “meh,” but there are a lot of people like me who are crazy about them.

    Comment by Bob on 3/30/12 at 2:07 pm #
  6. I’ve loved these ALways!  I know they have changed over the years, but who hasn’t? Im on my 3rd bag this year (2013)  I liked the larger ones last year just fine…I made a facebook page.  I long talk to others who love these as much as I do.  Everyone I talk to thinks I’m nuts.  Please look for Brachs pastel fiesta malted milk eggs on fb and say hello!

    Comment by brenda on 2/21/13 at 5:13 am #
  7. I am soooooooo disappointed.  The eggs have been my favorite for years !  and I always buy several bags.    but this year the outside coating has changed/////// and the eggs are smaller.  taste has changed/////// taste like cheap ingredients.  PLEASE CHANGE THEM BACK !  Always loved your candy…. Also when will you bring back the colorful candy coated bridge mix ?  It was awesome ?

    Comment by janet davis on 2/26/13 at 6:48 am #
  8. I always look forward to easter so I can get the fiesta eggs. I have been looking for them this year and haven’t been able to find them. Could you please send me an email and let me know where i can get them in the Lansing area. I am having fiesta egg withdrawl!!! Thanks

    Comment by Debbie on 3/09/13 at 7:29 pm #
  9. It’s funny to read these reviews, I thought I was the only one so unhappy with these last year (2012).  They are hands down my favorite easter candy so I bought 3 bags last year when I found them.  I ended up having to smash them with a tenderizing mallet just so I could eat one without risking breaking my teeth.

    I actually wrote to Brach’s to complain about the size and the ridiculously thick shells.  They politely acknowledged my complaint and said that the molds they use have apparently been worn down through the years, resulting in an increased mold size to the eggs.  While they didn’t promise they’d fix it, the 2013 eggs seemed more manageable in terms of the shell thickness at least. 

    And Debbie, I bought mine in 2013 at Target, the only place I could find them.

    Comment by sharyn on 4/05/13 at 12:01 am #
  10. I just finished my last bag of 2013 Fiesta Eggs yesterday! I thought they were better than last year. The reduction in overall egg size is much appreciated. I noticed the ‘Real Milk Chocolate’ printed on the bag, which is always good to see as well as taste. The proportion of shell to chocolate to malt center was perfect! So good. 8^D

    I bought three bags at Target, but wanted to buy seven. They’re still so difficult to find, I looked at least five times, and they turned up about a week before Easter. Still, having gone without them many a year, I’m just happy to be able to buy them at all. Wish I could get ‘em year-round!

    Comment by tigerstripes on 4/14/13 at 8:45 am #
  11. Hi, I have looked without luck at EVERY local chain store for fiesta eggs this year. Target had them last year (2013), but does not have them this year. Brach’s gave me a useless list of distribution companies that don’t deal w/regular consumers and so I cannot find any except at double the price on Amazon, Candy Warehouse, etc. Please help….I’m in Oregon. Thank you!

    Comment by lalit on 3/11/14 at 3:23 pm #
  12. @lalit The cheapest price I could find online is at World Market at $3.99 each. http://www.worldmarket.com/product/brachs+pastel+malted+eggs.do?&from=fn
    I ordered two bags Tuesday, and my order (including other goodies), will arrive on Friday. Last year, I found Ferrara Malted Milk balls at my local Dollar Tree, but I can’t find them there anymore. Ferrara is the parent company of Brachs. I loved the Ferrara ones, much better than Whoppers and Mighty Malts. I don’t know if you set up for notifications on replies, so I hope you see this.

    Comment by CarolL on 4/02/14 at 9:37 pm #
  13. Thank you, CarolL! I bought five bags at World Market right after I read your post.

    My review: For 2014, Brach’s Fiesta Eggs are smaller—about the size of a large marble. They are round this year, rather than egg-shaped.
    Although chocolate is first on the list of ingredients, the chocolate layer is only about half as thick as the one in this article’s photo. The malt center is too dense and could be airier.

    All that said, I’m still very happy to have found some! Brach’s Fiesta Eggs are the only malted eggs I’ll buy. The real chocolate makes all the difference.

    Comment by tygerstripes on 4/12/14 at 9:41 am #
  14. Glad to be of help, tygerstripes. I agree with you about Brach’s being the only malted milk eggs I’ll buy. They actually look like the Ferrara balls with a pastel candy shell coating. Whoppers once were good, but now they use a chocolate wax-like coating that doesn’t melt. Even my niece noticed that, she said that it felt weird on her tongue. Mightly-Malts don’t even have chocolate, the malt center is chewy instead of crunchy, and they taste awful.

    Comment by CarolL on 4/12/14 at 8:27 pm #
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