Monday, November 13, 2006

The Mint Kisses: Chocolate Mint & Candy Cane

Hershey’s has been furiously releasing limited edition Kisses. The interesting thing to note is that sometimes these Kisses become permanent additions to the line, such as the Peanut Butter Kisses earlier this year. Other Kisses have been returning as seasonal or limited edition items, such as the reappearance of the Cherry Cordial Creme Kisses.

imageThe Mint Kisses seem like a natural brand extension. They were first introduced in 2002 and are released before the holidays each year. Simply put, it’s mint infused milk chocolate. The wrappers are a racing style green and silver check pattern, which I’ve always found rather cute.

As a candy they’re very strongly minted. They’re very sweet but with that familiar Hershey’s tang to the chocolate. Slightly grainy but overall smooth, they’re a fun change from the normal Kisses. My only caution is that when I put them in a bowl or bag with other Kisses the mint will infect the others.

An interesting thing to note about all the new Kisses. They’re molded. The traditional Kiss that’s been made for the past 100 years are extruded by machine to create a consistent kiss shape. They used to have a rather dependable little bend at the top, like chocolate chips to, but less so these days. It’s easy to tell them apart by looking at the bottom of it, where the traditional Kiss has a little cinch at the bottom instead being completely flat. Any other Kiss you might come across, however, is molded. Basically, they’re made upside down, with the chocolate deposited into a Kiss shaped tray.

imageThe Limited Edition Candy Cane Kisses are new this year, though really just a new format for another Limited Edition product from last year. Last Christmas saw the introduction of a set of Miniatures called Mint Mix Miniatures which included minted dark chocolate, minted milk chocolate and minted white chocolate bars ... with the white one sporting little red and green nonpareils in it.

With the name being Candy Cane I was hoping that the candy bits in there were be actual hard candy like candy canes. But they’re just crunchy nonpareils like the miniatures last year.

I can’t help loving these. I don’t know why I do, but they’re positively addictive. I had a lot of Kisses for some photos I was shooting and I found myself digging through the assortment and eating all of these first. They’re a little grainy but have a good minty feel in the sinuses and the crunchy bits are kind of fun to roll around on your tongue as it melts.

Another production note. After seeing the Orange Creme ones last year that were white with orange stripes on the outside, I figured out how they make these. They create stripes of molten colored white chocolate on the inside of the mold, then deposit the rest of the white chocolate. The strips of colored chocolate spread out and make the stripes.

The only disturbing thing I have to report about this pair of candies is that both ingredients list PGPR (Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate - an emulsifier used to replace some of the cocoa butter in lower quality chocolates). Sigh.

If you need more Kisses, check out SugarHog.net, which is running a series of reviews on all the regular and limited edition Kisses. (Including the coconut ones that I haven’t been able to find ... well, I haven’t looked very hard.)

UPDATE 10/28/2007: The Candy Cane Kisses are back for 2007 ... however, they are no longer made with cocoa butter, instead it’s a mix of tropical oils. I do not plan on buying them again.

Related Candies

  1. Hershey’s Mint Truffle Kisses
  2. Candy Corn Kisses
  3. Kisses Coconut Creme
  4. Kisses Chocolate Truffles
  5. Peanut Butter Kisses
  6. Cherry Cordial Creme Kisses
  7. Head to Head: Rolo vs Caramel Kisses
  8. Short & Sweet: Caramello /  Mega M&Ms / Orange Kisses
Name: Chocolate Mint and Candy Cane Kisses (Limited Edition)
    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 CandyWarehouse.com
Price: $2.59 each retail
Size: 8.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 155
Categories: Chocolate, Mint, United States, Hershey's, Limited Edition, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:26 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. Oh man, what I would do to be able to eat a Kiss. So yum, and the mint sounds great.

    Comment by Julia on 11/13/06 at 9:49 am #
  2. I still say the toffee kisses were BY FAR the best..but I yet to see them again…and it’s been at least a few years…ahh well…

    Comment by Amy on 11/13/06 at 10:37 am #
  3. I love the mints ones, just bought the canady cane ones.  We don’t have cherry cordial up here. I’m dying to try those

    Comment by Janet shum on 11/13/06 at 10:44 am #
  4. I’ve noticed the same thing - all the kisses I’ve reviewed have been molded.  I miss the character of the deposited ones.  I liked the candy cane ones - I had to hide the bag to stop munching on them.
    Rebecca

    Comment by Rebecca on 11/13/06 at 1:32 pm #
  5. I saw these along with Special Dark Orange Kisses and Special Dark Strawberry Kisses at CVS. (Ohio) I don’t believe they were fillings, but more of an infusion. Still working on my chocolate truffle Kisses bag, so my own taste test will have to wait.

    Comment by Lauren on 11/13/06 at 4:04 pm #
  6. JUM….Every time,when i have been reading your blog,i must go and eat something sweet smile .But here in Estonia we have really good candy to
    http://www.kalev.ee

    Comment by Piret on 11/14/06 at 2:02 am #
  7. I don’t know what it is about white chocolate and mint, but for some reason I really like the combo.  I look forward to the Candy Cane Truffles from Godiva each year and love them to death so I think I’m going to have to give these a try.

    Comment by william on 11/14/06 at 3:34 am #
  8. Oh, the Candy Cane kisses are truly a candy delicacy! A tiny drop of creamy, minty yumminess—the sweet of the white chocolate, the fresh of the mint, the crunch of the bits. Reminds me of the pastel “misty” mints that were one of my favorite candies when I was a young teen! I give the CCKs a big honkin’ 10!

    Comment by Sparkina on 11/14/06 at 3:58 am #
  9. Just thought I’d say hi as I’m trying to visit and comment on as many of the NaBloPoMo blogs as I can. smile

    Those mint ones are very addictive; I have to make sure I hide the bag otherwise I’ll just engorge myself on them. smile

    Comment by Sephiroth on 11/14/06 at 6:56 am #
  10. You have made my life a living hell by showing these pictures, talking about kisses - - I can’t get them here now can I?!!?!?! (Thank you for this post, it’s pretty, looks good and has a wonderful caramel suprise inside.)

    Comment by koria on 11/14/06 at 11:15 am #
  11. Special Dark Orange Kisses? Whoa! When’s the next bus to Ohio??

    Comment by Tricia on 11/14/06 at 4:12 pm #
  12. I just bought a bag of Special Dark Orange Kisses today at the CVS Pharmacy at Wellworth and Westwood (one block south of Wilshire) in West LA. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by.

    They’re GOOD.

    Comment by Bruce Anderson on 11/16/06 at 5:15 pm #
  13. Oh, yeah - they’re not filled. It’s orange flavoured dark chocolate. SO. GOOD.

    Comment by Bruce Anderson on 11/16/06 at 5:17 pm #
  14. It’s probably a good thing that the mint Kisses are not available year round, for me anyway. Instead I have to hoard them and even then I can only buy enough to last until April.

    Comment by Elizabeth K on 11/19/06 at 6:04 pm #
  15. I just tried one of the Candy Cane Kisses and all I can say is, yuck. I don’t know why, but I can’t stand white chocolate with mint. Proper chocolate (milk and dark) are great with mint, but white…blech.

    So, more for you! Enjoy! smile

    Comment by Bruce Anderson on 12/22/06 at 12:21 pm #
  16. i actually thought that the bits were bits of candy cane until i bit a CCK in half…turns out they’re sprinkles [of some sort]!! what a disappointment…

    Comment by Emily on 1/12/07 at 5:01 pm #
  17. I just got the candy cane kisses yesterday as part of a christmas gift from my Taekwondo instructor. I’m not a big chocolate fan but OMG I couldn’t put the bag down MMMMMM! now I want to try the cherry cordial ones because my fave chocolates are those Queen Anne chocolate covered cherries.

    Wish I could find then though I’ve seen regular mint ones and the regular old fashioned origional kind but that’s it, Maybe we don’t get as many flavours in Canada, will have to ask the instructor where he found those I want more MMMM.

    Comment by Rochelle on 11/27/07 at 8:35 pm #
  18. Rochelle,
    I’ll send you the Hershey’s Cherry Cordial kisses if you send me the Hershey’s Mint Kisses!!!

    Comment by Debbie on 12/03/07 at 2:48 am #
  19. What happened to the limited edition Hershey’s Mint Kisses this year?  Has Hershey’s stopped making them?

    So far I have only seen the new Mint Truffle Kisses.
    I bought a bag, and they are not nearly as good.

    Comment by Colorado Russ on 12/04/07 at 5:02 pm #
  20. I will really miss the Hershey?s Mint Kisses this year! I used to stock up for the year (20 or
    so bags), eating the last bag only when the next
    years’ supply show up in the stores. Now I have
    to stretch out my last bag. The closest thing available (Fanny May Mint Meltaways) costs $20 a
    pound. Now my Christmas season STINKS(chocolate-wise)!!!!!

    Comment by Dennis on 12/29/07 at 8:31 pm #
  21. Damn, no Mint Kisses this 2007!  I bought a bag of the Kiss Marshmallow but haven’t tried them yet.  We need to start a petition to wake Hershey up!

    I wonder if they are introducing it as a standard flavor.  Three Musketeers introduced the mint version this year!  I still have to find them at the store.

    Comment by Emmanuel on 1/09/08 at 11:47 am #
  22. I agree with you guys - I really miss the original Mint Kisses! They were a limited holiday edition, but they haven’t been around for a couple years. I’ve tried the mint truffle kind and while I like the dark chocolate outside, the truffle filling is nasty! It tastes like NyQuill! I wish they would bring the original ones back!

    Comment by Dave C on 11/20/08 at 8:01 am #
  23. I finally got to try the cherry cordials mmmmm yummy but they’re only around at Valentines, hope they come out again in february so I can stalk up. Today I bought more peppermint kisses and bought mint cream truffle ones YUMMY!!!

    Comment by Rochelle on 11/21/08 at 1:58 pm #
  24. I’ve been looking for the mint ones; friend of mine’s Mom loves the cookies made with those. She has brain cancer, this is her last Christmas. I have hunted far and wide for those, no luck. The truffle ones are awful and I wouldn’t put them out for rat bait. Sad, I wanted to make those for her for her last Christmas, no luck. :’-(

    Comment by Veronica on 12/20/08 at 5:33 am #
  25. Veronica,

    Send me your email address and I will make arrangements to send you a package I have left. They should still be good. I’m at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

    Comment by Dennis Teixeira on 12/20/08 at 5:43 pm #
  26. I love choc-mint so I tried the mint kisses. OH YUK! I think they used SPEARMINT instead of peppermint! I dont like spearmint. Also, its just too much mint. I think they need a do-over! Chocolate peppermint like Andes would be really nice!

    Comment by pattie on 11/20/11 at 10:25 am #
  27. I love the Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, I buy 24 Big bags, to last me the year. I always buy that many since I came across them a few years ago and hide them to keep everyone else out. To me, they rate a 10. The only other candy bar I use to eat was the Sir candy bar. They stopped making them in the 70’s.

    Comment by Bob McKown on 12/31/11 at 2:27 pm #
  28. I thought my niece had blown her top because she buys out the store when she visits for the Holidays and hides them in her closet from her kids.  She loves the mint ones, but after reading all the comments shes not the only one.

    Comment by g on 5/06/15 at 4:54 pm #
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