Friday, January 13, 2012

Hershey’s Pieces - Milk Chocolate with Almonds

DSC_9765rbHershey’s has been chugging along with their Pieces line, the long-overdue expansion of the Reese’s Pieces product into other pelletized versions of popular Hershey’s candy bars.

The new Hershey’s Pieces - Milk Chocolate with Almonds isn’t as innovative as some of the other candies, such as the Almond Joy Pieces or the initial Reese’s Pieces. But they fill a void in Hershey’s offerings and I was looking forward to them.

The first big stumbling block I had, though, was the price. 8 ounces for about four dollars. Other stores sell them for $4.50. I have a hard time paying 8 or 9 dollars a pound for Hershey’s candy in bulk quantities.

They also don’t reinvent the niche with some new quality. They’re not low in allergens, the list on the back says that they may contain soy, wheat, other tree nuts and peanuts. A great selling point would have been a nutty candy that is actually peanut and/or gluten free.

Hershey's Pieces - Milk Chocolate with Almonds

The Pieces look like the package illustrates. They come in three colors: dark brown, brown and cream. They vary widely in size, based on the core of almond. Some are as small as a Peanut M&M, others are huge, sometimes over an inch long.

They’re a standard construction of a well-roasted almond, a milk chocolate coating and then a colored candy shell. The colors are pleasing. I actually enjoyed their muted tones more than the loud and artificial M&Ms Almond. Of course these are also artificial, with Red 40, Yellow 6 and Blue 1 & 2 ... just less bang for the coloring.

The almonds are roasted to a very dark color, roasted in cocoa butter and/or sunflower oil). This is a good choice. I found them all crunchy and fresh tasting, not a single fibery or bitter one in the bag.

The shell is thin enough to crunch easily and provide only a modicum of sweetness. The milk chocolate is only marginally acceptable. It has the Hershey’s sour note to it, which I actually like sometimes, especially when mixed with more savory elements. Here it was such a back seat to the large almonds, it worked.

I prefer this, by far, to the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds bar. But I don’t like it better than M&Ms Almond, because of the difference in the chocolate flavor. What I’d really like to see is a Heath Pieces at this point, that’d really set the Pieces line apart from their current iteration as an M&Ms clone.

Related Candies

  1. Hershey’s Special Dark Pieces
  2. Hershey’s York Pieces
  3. Hershey’s Almond Joy Pieces
  4. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Almonds
  5. Sconza 70% Dark Chocolate Toffee Almonds
  6. Reese’s Pieces
  7. M&Ms Line
  8. Reese’s Pieces with Peanuts


Name: Milk Chocolate with Almonds Pieces
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Hershey’s
Place Purchased: Rite Aid (Sherman Oaks)
Price: $3.99
Size: 8 ounces
Calories per ounce: 142
Categories: Candy, Hershey's, Chocolate, Kosher, Nuts, 7-Worth It, United States, Rite Aid

POSTED BY Cybele AT 4:18 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyMorselizationReviewHershey'sChocolateKosherNuts7-Worth ItUnited StatesRite Aid

Comments
  1. Found them last week and tried them too! Totally agreed with your comments, especially that you preferred M&M’s Almonds. They just weren’t as crunchy as i like. I’ve been eating them, but not really enjoying them as much as I love jordan almonds and the M&M’s Almonds.  BTW—Are you going to the Fancy Food Show this weekend?

    Comment by Chefamyj on 1/13/12 at 7:33 pm #
  2. What *I* want to see is Hershey’s resurrect the inexplicably discontinued Kit-Kat Bites, which were around back when what are now being called ‘Pieces’ were branded ‘Bites’.

    Comment by lharris on 1/13/12 at 7:43 pm #
  3. Cybele's avatar

    Chefamy - I will be at the FFS, just Monday & Tuesday though (maybe Sunday afternoon depending on how early I leave for the drive).

    lharris - There are still a KitKat Bites type product in other parts of the world, especially Japan (this version with dark chocolate and oreo crumbles in the cream are fantastic) and Europe.

    Comment by Cybele on 1/13/12 at 8:06 pm #
  4. I likes the Mr. Goodbar Bites too! They were like Goobers, but had a salty peanut in them.

    Comment by Ken Moore on 1/13/12 at 9:03 pm #
  5. There already IS a Heath Pieces—just enjoyed some while visiting Orlando last week!  I cannot seem to find them anywhere back home…  Is it a test market?  A regional thing?  A slow rollout?  At first they weren’t what I was hoping for, but then I fell in love.  I WANT THEM NOW

    Comment by Clareece Precious Jones on 3/16/13 at 3:00 pm #
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