Candy Blog

Name: Choxie Chocolates
Brand: Choxie (Target)
Place Purchased: Target
Price: $1.80-5.00
Size: varies
Calories per ounce: 126-148
Type: Chocolate/Caramels

I was planning on making jokes about what Choxie meant, but then I saw a commercial for it and they said it was “Chocolate with Moxie.” Not to be confused with Mockolate. And it’s not Chalk that’s Toxic or as my neighbor pronounces it ... Choke-see. The other weird thing besides the name is that it’s not on the Target website. You search for Choxie and you get some CDs.

At the urging of several readers I went there this past weekend and bought a variety of the new chocolates. A little tub of Warm Spiced Caramels (9.45 oz for $5), a Hot Chocolate Bar (2.5 oz for $1.80) and a small box of the Artisan Truffle Tiles (3.5 oz for $5). There’s lots more variety there with round truffles and other chocolate covered goodies

Warm Spiced Caramels: I’m in love with these little buggers. They’re smooth caramel with a little spicy flavor. No heat to them, just a little bit like a spiced rum or mulled cider. Very fall-like. The chocolate is smooth and not the slightest bit waxy and not to sticky sweet or milky. I think I’d like them with semi-sweet as well.

Artisan Truffle Tiles: The tiles are all the rage, as far as I can tell. They have that retro styling to them, with the painted tops. The flavors in the 3.5 ounce box are: chili limon, jasmine tea, orange mango, key lime, lemon rose, apple pie, cafe latte and cinnamon praline.

I didn't try the truffles, but I can see the truffles having the advantage of a better ratio of chocolate to filling. Here the filling is about 1/4 of the total of the candy. The chocolate is smooth, but because all the flavors are in the same box, there's a weird sort of jumbled infusion in the chocolate shell ... chocolate is an excellent flavor absorber, and in this case it's absorbed all of them. Perhaps the wrapped truffles don't have this issue. The centers are pretty divine though. The flavors aren't quite as robust as I think I've had at some places like Boule, but for a pre-packaged candy it’s rather nice to have the option of something like Lemon Rose or Chili Limon. Some of the other flavors like apple pie and latte were a little ordinary, but the creaminess of the centers is really the star.

If I were decorating a cake or something, these could be a great, edible addition.

Hot Chocolate Bar: The last, and probably most cost effective pure chocolate candy I found were the bars (the caramels are cheaper by the ounce but not all chocolate). At 2.5 ounces, it’s not a bad deal as candy bars go. If you’ve ever had a Frango, the “truffle” center of this is very similar. Rather firm, but a good instant melt. The flavor is rich with a lot of cinnamon with a little heat from both ginger and chipotle. I wish there were more fire to it and less spice graininess.

Overall, as a hostess gift the packaging is super cute and the quality is good. As fine candy goes, I think I’d still stick with See’s Candies, as they’re quite a bit cheaper though lack those trendy flavors (but their key lime truffle is pretty awesome).

Rating: 7 out of 10

Note: I have a sneaking suspicion that Trader Joe’s ‘Slate of Bliss’ is made by the same people who make Choxie, so I’m digging for more info on that ... maybe I’ll have something later this week.

Name: Overload Peanut Butter Cups
Brand: Nestle
Place Purchased: Target
Price: $.79
Size: 2.55 ounces
Calories per ounce: 152
Type: Chocolate/Peanut Butter

In my mind, there is no more perfect melding of chocolate and peanut butter than the Reese’s Miniature (yes, the minis are better than the full-sized cups). I do not pursue anything above that, but in the interest of fairness, I’m giving these Overload thingies a chance to prove themselves.

Overload is three peanut butter cups, each a slight variation on the tried and true original. One with balls of Butterfinger crisps tossed on top, another with some sort of fake m&ms (called ‘candies’) and the last with Buncha Crunch, which are just chocolate covered crisped rice like a Nestle Crunch bar.

First, when I pulled the tray out of the package, I could see that there was some sort of industrial accident. There were little ‘candies’ in ALL of the peanut butter cups and the ‘candies’ one had some buncha crunches in it. So much for segregation.

The chocolate is smooth and sweet, if perhaps a little more of it than a standard Reese’s cup. The peanut butter center is a little smoother than a Reese’s which is neither a good or bad thing, it just is. I kind of like a little grain to my nut butters, but that’s me. It was salty and very roasty tasting. The Butterfinger mixed in with that is a really good combo, a nice variation of smoothness, sweet, a bit chewy later with the Butterfinger and a lingering salty tone. The Buncha Crunch also has a nice texture to it, but in my mind it’s not quite enough crisp to make it through the cup. The ‘candies’ one is just kinda silly - is it the color that’s suppose to impress me or the texture of the candy shells? It’s by far the most chocolately, but the peanut butter part gets kind of lost without a texture to set it off.

These don’t even come close to most other peanut butter and chocolate products for me. The variety was, however, a welcome change when you’re buying a King Size item.

Rating: 5 out of 10 for ‘candies’ and Buncha Crunch and 6 out of 10 for the Butterfinger

Name: Abba Zaba
Brand: Anabelle
Place Purchased: gift (but I’ve seen them at 7-11)
Price: $.85
Size: 2.0 ounces
Calories per ounce:
Type: Chew/Peanut Butter

Again, I grew up on the eastern seaboard, so some of the candies I see on the west coast are unfamiliar to me. Abba Zabas are one of them. I think we had something similar, but I can’t recall what it was. The website for Annabelle’s is quaint, circa 1996, and entirely sincere like the candy. It’s a little disturbing that the ingredients label on the candy spells it Palm Kernal instead of kernel, but I have to admit that many spelling mistakes have made to the screen in this site.

Abba Zabas are a white taffy with a stripe of peanut butter in the center. If you open the package and take it out, it looks like a white subway tile and kind of sounds like one if you whack it on the side of the table. They’re dangerous things, really, the taffy is firm and sticky, so if you have any sort of dental work (fillings, crowns, bridges, dentures) you’re liable to lose it or loosen it. If you have firmly planted teeth, you’re probably their target consumer.

I found the taste to be very nice, the sweet taffy is a really good backdrop to the peanut butter, but I have to admit that I prefer either a hard candy shell on my peanut butter or a molasses chew like Mary Janes or Peanut Butter Kisses. The dental destroying qualities are just too overwhelming for me, so I’ll leave this one to the kids.

Rating - 4 out of 10.

Since I’ve gotten so many emails and comments about the new Target line of candy called Choxie, I thought I’d let everyone know that I went and purchased some today.

I’ll take some photos and have some reviews next week (or maybe the week after).

Also in the queue for review right now (in no particular order):

Choxie Hot Chocolate Bar
Choxie Chocolate Tiles
Choxie Spiced Caramels
Cadbury Dairy Milk Bubbly
Nestle Overload Peanut Butter Cups (Butterfinger, Crunch & Candies)
Trader Joe’s Slate of Bliss (Espresso & Cocoa Nibs)
Reese’s Candy Bars - NutRageous, SnackBarz, FastBreak & ReeseSticks
Haribo Mega-Roulette
Chupa-Chups Whistle Pops
Ritter Sport - Cappuccino & Rum, Raisin & Nuts
Karuna Manija XL
Vilniaus Pergale Dubingiai
Danutes Vaflinis pyragas
Sostines Kartusis sokoladas
Karuna Pieninis Sokoladas
Princas Pieninis Sokoladas
Veliuona Saldainis
Hershey’s Mocha Almond (Limited Edition)
Divine Fair Trade Chocolate
Equal Exchange Fair Trade Chocolate
Harry London Mint Cookie Bar
Abba Zabba
Toothache Candy
Craniyums

Okay, maybe that’s more than a week’s worth of candy ... and who’s to say that I won’t get something else and want to shoehorn it in there sooner.

Name: York Peppermint Pattie (Special Edition - Miniatures)
Brand: York (Hershey’s)
Place Purchased: freebie!
Price: usually about $2.89 a bag
Size: 12 oz
Calories per ounce: 113
Type: Mint/Chocolate

York Peppermint Patties hardly need a review from me. They’re a dense/fluffy minted center with a thin dark chocolate coat.

The reason I bring these up is that instead of the regular market-testing Limited Edition, these pink-centered patties are to raise awareness and money for the Young Survival Coalition.

“YORK is donating $125,000 to support the Young Survival Coalition. You can show your support for the cause with YORK’s special Pink Patties. Our donation will help provide programs and services to help young women affected by breast cancer.”

While I don’t find $125K to be an extraordinary amount in the fight against cancer, the Young Survival Coalition isn’t that big of an organization, and it’s a good sum to them. I also like the tagline for the patties for this occasion ... Be Sensational.

(Here’s the press release from YSC.)

They’ve been out since this summer, but I’ve yet to see them in any store on the West Coast (okay, I’ve only looked on the coast of California from San Francisco to Los Angeles), these were sent to me by a friend of my sister-in-law in NY. If you find them, grab them. They’re no different than a regular YORK, except for the color. Eat them in the dark if the pink squicks you.

Rating - 10 out of 10 (cancer is bad, breasts are good ... actually I love Peppermint Patties, the miniatures especially)