Hershey’s won the The Most Innovative New Product Award at the 2014 Sweets & Snacks Expo last week for their new York Peppermint Pattie Minis.
This innovative new product innovatively reduced the size of a regular York Peppermint Pattie to the diameter of a penny. Hershey’s previously used this innovative innovation to shrink the size of their Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, KitKat and Rolo. It’s a stunning development in the world of confections ... duplicated only by the recent innovations by Mars (with their Bites format of Snickers, Milky Way, Simply Caramel, 3 Musketeers and Twix) and Wrigley’s (Starburst Minis). The morselization world is actually quite busy and crowded.
It’s not Hershey’s fault that they were declared innovative (well, they probably entered the product in that category). The point is that there is an new, unwrapped version of York Peppermint Patties.
The package is simple, though it’s King Size bag holding 2.5 ounces, it was still listed as 1 portion on the nutrition panel and had no front of package tally of the calories and serving. Even though it’s a massive amount of candy, because it’s almost all sugar, it’s pretty low in calories: 260.
The pieces are really just tiny peppermint patties, a fraction of the size of the small snack sized versions, which are the preferred size for me. In the case of these, the ratios are particularly nice, as there’s just slightly more consistent distribution of chocolate in each bite ... because each piece is a bite. The chocolate is quite bitter, and though it’s not particularly creamy, it sets off the sweet and soft fondant well.
It’s not innovative, but it is successful. The texture difference from Junior Mints is notable. Junior Mints have a runnier center, a thicker chocolate shell and a light waxy glaze that keeps it from melting right away.
Like the other sizes of York Peppermint Patties, the Minis are made in Mexico. There is no notation on the traceability of the cacao for the coating. York Peppermint Patties contain egg whites, soy and milk. There’s nothing on the package about gluten or nuts/peanuts, but the AskHershey.com website specifically says that York Minis are not gluten free.
Related Candies
- Airheads Bites
- Giant York Peppermint Patties (1 Pound)
- Nestle Butterfinger Bites
- Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Honey Mints
- Rolo Minis
- Zachary Mini Mints
- Hershey’s York Pieces
- York Mints
- Junior Mints - Heart Shaped
I wonder if people actually eat more of these because they’re unwrapped and so “poppable,” or if they eat less overall because they’re small and theoretically better for portion control?
My favorite part of this review was the delicious sarcasm. People abuse the acronym “LOL” these days, but I can assure you. I laughed.
did you happen to notice if these were just a smidge waxier then the originals, or was I over thinking it? overall I still really like them (so easy to overeat them when you don’t have to unwrap them)
The Junior Mint chocolate shell is not thicker than the York Mini. I am a frequent eater of both. Trust me; I know.
Have you ever tried the Pep chocolate covered mint.. I used to see them in the stores here in Canada and preferred them to the York patties - of course it could just be habit since i ate Pep patties for years.
Thanks. I like your blog a lot. I just discovered it.
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