Candy Blog

Hershey’s has answered the call for a holiday candy bar. The bar is actually a candy they’ve been selling for quite a few years, just a new format. It’s a white confection flavored with peppermint and studded with crunchy nonpareils formed into the standard Hershey bar mold. It’s pretty simple and named that way, too, Hershey’s Candy Cane Bar.

The bar is available in two formats, the large 3.5 ounce king sized bar I picked up or a regular 1.5 ounce single serving bar. Both feature the simple packaging design of the white background with little striped fringes at the ends and the bold Hershey’s logo across the front.

Hershey’s is also offering their regular bars in this same 3.5 ounce size in Holiday packaging, so you can get the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with a snowman on the front and Cookies n Creme bar with a nutcracker on it. I’ve seen these on sale quite widely in both versions at Target, KMart and other drug store chains, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Hershey’s did a Mint Miniatures mix years back that included a version of this. (I always though it would be good as a Nugget.) It’s also available as the Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss (with less food coloring) as well.

The bar is 4 sections by 4 sections, and the package suggests that 6 pieces is a portion. The white confection is a creamy color, a little on the yellow side with lots of red nonpareil crunchies evident. The ingredients show that this is a hybrid confection, not quite true white chocolate, though it does have some cocoa butter in it, it also has some other tropical oil. However, there are no other fillers like whey.

The snap shows the crunchies and the texture of the bar. It’s a little soft, no hard snap of a high-cacao chocolate bar here. There’s lots of sugar and that’s fine with me.

The flavor is like a Smooth n Melty mint. It’s peppermint with a clean dairy flavor to it, it’s rather like eating a room temperature ice cream. It’s quite sweet, but not quite as cloying as I’ve experienced with the Cookies n Creme bar or the lesser quality RM Palmer white confections. I don’t care for the flavoring the red food coloring of the nonpareils imparts, but it’s far less than I notice on the holiday Smooth n Melty Mints which are also out on store shelves right now. (A white confection drop with red and green nonpariels on the bottom.)

I like it. I had no trouble eating the whole bar. It’s different from the slick smoothness of the real white chocolate Dove Peppermint Bark. It’s more candy than chocolate.

Related Candies

1. R.M. Palmer Candy Cane Cups
2. Hershey’s Peppermint Bark Bells
3. Peeps Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookie & Candy Cane
4. M&Ms White Chocolate Peppermint
5. Dove Peppermint Bark
6. Christmas Mint Round Up
7. Andes Mints & Dessert Indulgence
8. Short & Sweet: Butterfinger Jingles and Mint Miniatures

It’s not a particularly new development to see giant versions of classic candies on shelves, but I have seen more than usual lately. Here’s a rundown of what’s available these days:

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (review)
Details: 1 pound total weight - each cup is one half pound, kind of like a peanut butter pot pie made of chocolate.
Price: $12.99 regularly
Where to Find: These are sold widely on the web and in stores. Check mass market retailers like Target, KMart and drug store chains.

Giant York Peppermint Patties (review)
Details: 1 pound total weight - like the Reese’s, each pattie is one half pound.
Price: $12.99 regularly
Where to Find: These are sold widely on the web and in stores. Check mass market retailers like Target, KMart and drug store chains.

Hershey’s 1 Pound Bar
Details: 1 pound total weight
Price: $12.99 regularly
Where to Find: These are sold widely on the web and in stores. Check mass market retailers like Target, KMart and drug store chains.

World’s Largest Hershey Bar
Details: 5 pounds total weight
Price: $34.99 regularly
Where to Find: These are sold on the web and some specialty stores, I also saw them at KMart.

Snickers Slice n Share (review)
Details: 1 pound total weight, all one bar.
Price: $12.99 regularly
Where to Find: These are sold widely on the web and in stores. Check mass market retailers like Target, KMart and drug store chains.

Toblerone 14 ounces
Details: 14 ounces (just shy of a full pound) in a long, triangular box. Some boxes are the standard creamy yellow, but there are other light blue winter-themed boxes available as well.
Price: $8.99
Where to Find: I spotted these both at Target and Cost Plus World Market. They’re a good value, compared to the other giant bars. 

Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales Giant Box
Details: 1.5 pounds in a large box containing 48 snack sized packets.
Price: $19.99 (spotted at KMart)
Where to Find: I’ve only seen them in stores at KMart, but the JustBorn.com webstore also sells them.

A better value when it comes to these is really the vending packages, which are 5 pounds, about the size of an airplane pillow and cost less, they’re usually available at places like Smart & Final or on the web. (Amazon link.)

Nestle Crunch 1 Pound Bar
Details: 1 pound total weight
Price: $12.99
Where to Find: I’ve spotted these at KMart and Target

Russell Stover 2 Giant Bars S’Mores (review of regular size)
Details: 1 pound total weight - two bars.
Price: $9.99
Where to Find: I’ve spotted these at KMart and Walgreen’s so far, but you can also get them directly from RussellStover.com

Russell Stover 2 Giant Bars Pecan Delight (review of regular size)
Details: 1 pound total weight - two bars.
Price: $9.99
Where to Find: I’ve spotted these at KMart and Walgreen’s so far, but you can also get them directly from RussellStover.com

RM Palmer Giant 1/4 Peanut Butter Cup (review)
Details: 4 ounce peanut butter cup
Price: $1.00
Where to Find: RiteAid and other drug stores

Giant Tootsie Pop
Details: 8 Tootsie Pops in a giant Tootsie Pop shaped dome on a stick
Price: $8.99
Where to Find: I’ve spotted these at Cost Plus World Market

Giant versions of standard candies are rarely better than the originals. They’re a novelty and play off the notion that more is better. But mostly more is fun, more is sharing and more is delightful. If someone doesn’t like the standard version, they’re unlikely to enjoy the giant, so choose carefully. But the good news is that these are rather inexpensive and make a fun item for a child to give to an adult in their life.

Have you seen any other giant versions of candies for the holidays?

Related Candies

1. Trader Joe’s Holiday Roundup 2012
2. Christmas Candy Spotting 2010
3. Jumbo Gum Ball Eggs
4. Big Tex Giant Jelly Beans
5. Giant Pixy Stix

The hot flavor trend this season is gingerbread. Well, not as hot as pumpkin spice, which spans Halloween and Christmas holidays. There’s little difference between the spices in pumpkin pie and gingerbread, though the proportions of the actual spices are often different and gingerbread has a background of molasses or brown sugar.

The M&Ms Milk Chocolate Gingerbread are sold only at Walmart this season, though their companion Twix Gingerbread are sold at most stores stocking seasonal bagged candy.

The design on the front of the package looks like most of the other holiday M&Ms. In this instance the Red M&M is just holding a plate with a gingerbread cookie and pointing at it. Kind of lazy.

The Gingerbread M&Ms are a milk chocolate base with some spices added in. They come in three colors, red, green and brown. Not terribly exciting. The milk chocolate is the normal sweet stuff, creamy but on the fudgy and sugary side. The added spices give it a warm flavor but nothing distinct. Maybe there’s ginger, maybe some cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. They add a light chalky note to the texture but I didn’t specifically get any ginger or black pepper in there.

What would have been extraordinary would have been a real piece of gingerbread, in the format of the Pretzel M&Ms. Or Sugar Cookie, or Snickerdoodle. There are so many exciting seasonal variations on the cookie center that could be accomplished. Even just the Pretzel M&M with this flavored chocolate on the outside would have propelled this to another level of specialness.

Intellectually, I know they’re not the same as the Pumpkin Spice M&Ms from earlier this year, but they don’t feel that different - just swap out the orange ones for red and tone down the cinnamon. No, Mars still hasn’t come out with the Egg Nog White Chocolate M&Ms I’ve been longing for. I guess they’re just not into nutmeg.

Today is the day many blogs decided to review the new M&Ms Milk Chocolate Gingerbread. The Impulsive Buy and ZOMG, Candy! would be the two that I’ve seen so far and previously Junk Food Guy and Serious Sweets. I think most of us are agreed, it’s a nice idea but not really a great M&M.

Related Candies

1. Twix Gingerbread
2. M&Ms Pumpkin Spice
3. Peeps Gingerbread Men
4. Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows + Vanilla, Cinnamon Bun, Strawberry, Chocolate Royale, Gingerbread
5. Limited Edition M&Ms Cinnamon Milk Chocolate
6. Crispy M&Ms
7. Pretzel M&Ms

Kraft is always keeping up with special versions of marshmallows during different seasons. This year I spotted the Jet-Puffed Peppermint Mini Mallows at Target in the baking section. (I’m sure these have been around before.)

It seems like a pretty simple confection, which is largely the selling point. They’re pink swirled mini marshmallows, small enough for snacking or including in recipes

They vary a little in size, but most are half inch cylinders.

They’re quite fresh, bouncy and light. There’s a dusting of corn starch on them, so they’re not sweet immediately, but a little chalky. The mint is mild, but fresh. There’s a light hint of the red food coloring aftertaste, if you’re one of those folks who can detect it. But for the most part, I liked them very much. I threw a handful in some hot chocolate and liked how creamy they melted and added that little minty touch without too much sweetness.

They’re an exceptionally good value. It was $1.00 for a large 10 ounce bag. That’s less than $2 a pound. They’re pretty spare on calories, 2/3 of a cup is only 100 calories and seems like a lot of candy. It’s a nice ingredient, something to use on cupcakes or in hot chocolate or just throw in a small bowl to keep around for kids to snack on without filling up. (Please watch small children with marshmallows and any small candies, as they are a choking hazard.)

Related Candies

1. Peeps Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookie & Candy Cane
2. Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows + Vanilla, Cinnamon Bun, Strawberry, Chocolate Royale, Gingerbread
3. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Minty Mallows
4. Peeps Dark Chocolate Covered Mint Marshmallow
5. Campfire Mini Marshmallows
6. Trader Joe’s Peppermint Marshmallows
7. Artisan Marshmallows: Plush Puffs

Ritter Sport has been creating limited edition seasonal bars for a few years. More recently these are available in the United States at specialty retailers. I found my Winter Edition bars at Cost Plus World Market as imported bars (the packages are in multiple languages, but not English).

The Ritter Sport Winter Edition Caramelised Almonds is a returning flavor, I reviewed it as part of set of minis back in 2011 (as Ritter Sport Gebrannte Mandel). Toasted, sugar coated almonds are a common treat at the Christmas Fairs in Europe, kind of like Kettle Corn is here. It plays on may of the strengths of Ritter Sport’s product line, such as the solid milk chocolate and nut inclusions.

The chocolate is smooth and creamy, but exceptionally sweet. The almonds are also sweet and crunchy with a hint of a cereal taste to it. The bits are quite small, not full almonds, so it’s hard to really discern the almonds from the crunchy coating on them.

I love the idea of this bar but found it achingly sweet, perhaps even more sweet than the first time around. The textures are exemplary, the ratios are perfect, the chocolate is wonderfully smooth, the nuts are fresh and crunchy. But it’s all overpowered by the sheer amount of sugar covering up the cocoa flavors and nuances of caramelized sugar. Now ... do this in the dark chocolate or a dark milk, and I think I’d be howling about the unfairness of the limited edition.

Ritter Sport has published quite a bit about their cacao sourcing and plans for sustainability. Though I found it sweet, this bar is a far better value and much better quality than a Toblerone.

Related Candies

1. Eclat Chocolate Caramelized Hazelnuts 65%
2. Limited Edition Ritter Sport Amarena Cherry
3. Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond
4. Ritter Sport 100th Anniversary Edel-Nuss Mix + Bonus Previews
5. Limited Edition Ritter Sport Winter Kreation + Factory Store
6. Ritter Sport Fruhlingsspezialitaten 2010