Monday, June 1, 2009

Hershey’s Almond Joy Pieces

Almond Joy PiecesIt’s sad in a way that I’m writing about these now, since they’re not due in stores until December, but I really couldn’t wait. (I know Candy Addict was also too excited for them to hit store shelves.)

The new line of Pieces is the expansion of the Reese’s Pieces line after a mere thirty one years since their introduction. (More here)

The choice of Almond Joy as one of the first lentilized Hershey’s bars in this line is kind of odd, but a welcome one as far as I’m concerned - coconut candies are few and far between.

The samples I got were directly from Hershey’s and came in little “for sales samples only” packets of only .7 ounces each. I’m not certain what the final packaging sizes will be.

The nutrition information is missing but the ingredients are here:

Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, milk, corn syrup solids, milk fat, nonfat milk, soy lecithin, PGPR), sugar, coconut, almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and.or sunflower oil) contains 2% or less of artificial color (blue 1, red 40, yellow 5, blue 2, yellow 6), resinous glaze, gum acacia, modified cornstarch & carnauba wax.

Almond Joy Pieces

The pieces are similar in size & proportion to M&Ms, perhaps a little thicker. The sizes and manufacturing are quite consistent. The colors are blue, dark brown and tan.

The candy shells are rather thick & crunchy, the candy center is a milk chocolate base studded with coconut bits and crushed almonds.

They’re quite sweet and taste mostly of coconut, but the texture combinations are fantastic - the light crunch of the candy shell combined with the chew of the coconut bits and the occasional appearance by an almond bit. The flavors are a bit mild but I enjoyed these quite a bit and if I had an opportunity to chose them for a snack at a movie or while at my desk, I certainly would, mostly because they are unique, there are no other candies like this.

There’s no Kosher status listed on the package (though that may be because this is not final packaging), and it also says that it’s not nut, peanut, wheat, egg or soy free. Further, the use of resinous glaze means that this is not a vegetarian product.

Related Candies

  1. Limited Edition M&Ms Coconut
  2. Sunspire Coconut Bars
  3. Atkinson’s Coconut Long Boys
  4. Reese’s Pieces
  5. Almond Joy Cookies
  6. Reese’s Pieces with Peanuts
Name: Almond Joy Pieces
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Hershey's
Place Purchased: samples from Hershey's
Price: unknown
Size: unknown
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, Coconut, Nuts, United States, Hershey's, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:18 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. These do sound good, but I am afraid that these would often have that greasy shell that Reese’s Pieces often have from the peanut butter leaching through.  Coconut seems to have even more of that effect that PB.

    Comment by Dave on 6/01/09 at 2:03 pm #
  2. Oooooh - what a tease!!!  These do look yummy!  Three of my favorites in a little munchable package.  I’m going to have to be like those Raisin Bran guys waiting outside the store all night when these come out.  Hmmmm - I wonder if I can pre-order them on-line!!!

    Comment by Amy on 6/02/09 at 6:27 am #
  3. We tried these at the Candy Expo and thought they were delish (especially after we didn’t get to try the coconut M&Ms; which we were looking forward to). The coconut content is minimal and dry, so I don’t think there’s any danger of a greasy shell. I have to say, though, that the bright blue color was rather alarming.

    Comment by Dawn on 6/03/09 at 8:09 am #
  4. This is too cruel. These sound insanely good.

    Comment by Patrick on 6/03/09 at 12:51 pm #
  5. Found these at the store (on sale!) for the first time a few nights ago.  After trying the Coconut M&M’s, I found these to be vastly superior.  Real coconut?  Real almonds?  I wasn’t expecting that from Hershey, which has been going the “cheap” route lately.  These are vastly superior to the Coconut M&M’s, which have no coconut in them at all.

    If you let them melt in your mouth, they aren’t greasy or dry, they really pull off the Almond Joy taste.

    Comment by Paul on 1/19/10 at 8:49 am #
  6. I am totally hooked on these!  I bought them at a Wal-Mart in north Ga. mountains and just happened to walk by and see them.  I was hesitant at first thinking they would not be that good with the hard covering…. boy was I wrong.  I had to really abstain from sitting down and eating the entire bag at one time.  I haven’t found them in any stores around me in Charlotte, and there is not a Wal-Mart near me.  I will be making a trip across town in the new future to get them!!!  My favorite candy is the almond joy, but I think I like these better than the bar!!!

    Comment by Linda on 1/31/10 at 3:11 am #
  7. I mixed these with a oatmeal cookie dough and baked…...It was sooooo goood!

    Comment by Karen Reenders on 2/12/10 at 8:05 am #
  8. I love these! IMO The Almond Joy Pieces are way better than the Coconut M&Ms; that are out.

    I’m even running a poll on my site to see what everyone else thinks too.

    If you haven’t tried these, you have to get a pack…

    Comment by Fadere Made on 5/09/10 at 3:29 am #
  9. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

    I love almond joys, but one handful of these & I had to force myself to swallow. 
    First, even splitting these in half, i saw NO trace of coconut or almonds…if they are there, they are so finely ground that you could not see them.
    Second, the candy coating was so thick, that’s all I could taste…kinda like chewing up plastic. 

    save your money

    Comment by kim on 5/17/10 at 10:45 am #
  10. These are soooooo good!! I have to buy them everytime I go to Wal-mart. I take them everywhere with me in my purse. The bag they are in is resealable which to me is a definate plus!! I make everyone try them lol. I had to buy my son his own bag cuz I didnt want to share mine!!

    Comment by Samantha on 5/20/10 at 4:16 pm #
  11. I’ve been searching high and low for these and I finally found these when my wife and I went to the Hershey store in the loop of Chicago.  It’s been love at first bite smile~ But, don’t worry, gang, my wife is/will always be my #1 love smile

    Comment by Jerry on 7/19/10 at 5:21 am #
  12. The blue ones make your pooh green :(

    Comment by Mike on 10/10/10 at 5:43 pm #
  13. I’d like to second the comment made by Mike (#12 above). Have been slowly working my way through a bag of these over the last three weeks and every time I eat more than a small handful… well, let’s just say you won’t find *that* color in the crayon box.

    Comment by Deadeye on 10/15/10 at 11:21 am #
  14. I absolutely LOVE these! They’re delicious! I haven’t tried the coconut M&Ms; & don’t plan to! They do make your poo green though. SMH…

    Comment by Blue Ivy on 1/12/12 at 6:36 pm #
  15. NEVER!

    Comment by we on 7/07/13 at 7:18 pm #
  16. I know this post is old..but I just came across it. These are BY FAR my fav mini. And now, at least in this area, are getting hard to find…so sad.

    Comment by Amy on 9/19/14 at 10:14 am #
  17. Heartbroken, Devastated, Mad as Heck!!!!

    Almond Joy Pieces are heaven in a bag. I can’t just sit down and eat a few. I’ve tried portioning the bag out into a serving size in snack bags and I find myself grabbing 2 bags. I love them. The almonds, chocolate and coconut have been blended to perfection. Now Hershey has decided to discontinue them. The only store over here that carried them has run out. Hershey discontinuing these is devastating. The only way to possibly convince Hershey to keep,them is to bombard the marketing department with emails and letters asking them, telling them or begging them not to take these away from their diehard fans. I hope anyone reading this will join me in the fight to keep them in the marketplace.

    Comment by Aimee on 3/24/16 at 6:27 am #
  18. These little candies are the best!  Please keep them in production, even if it is just a short time each year.  (Like Tootsie Roll does with the all vanilla bags)

    Comment by Michelle Brown on 6/06/17 at 8:21 pm #
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