Skip's Candy Corner Fudge: Assorted Flavors

I just returned home from a couple of weeks in New York, and while I wasn't able to get out as much as I would have liked -- 'cause, y'know, lupus is the gift that keeps on giving -- I did manage to see Net, my "Sister from Another Mother" in New Jersey.  And I can't thank her enough for taking me out to Peddler's Village, just over the New Jersey border in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  We had a fantastic day overall, but certainly one of the highlights was a visit to Skip's Candy Corner.





You know that expression "kid in a candy store?"  Yup, that was me.  Actually, think "overly hyper and caffeinated-up food blogger with a debit card" -- that would be more accurate.  But good grief, Skip's (and to be honest, Peddler's Village overall) has so much stuff that I'm lucky that I didn't see it all. As it was, I was debating whether or not I really had to pay the rent...and that's not because the prices were tourist-trap outrageous (which, by the way, they were not), but because I literally could have taken 90% of the store home.

So I decided to think about the things I had to have, and then come back before we returned to New Jersey (and sadly, we dawdled so long elsewhere that they closed before I got back).  Hmmmmm, hard decisions!  Just feast your eyes on the yumminess pictured below....













Drooling yet?  If you aren't, don't complain to me -- complain to a psychiatrist!

Once again I have Net to thank: she knew she had to take some fudge home and made her purchase in advance -- and we ended up talking to the fantastic woman who was manning the store at that time (I am so sorry I didn't get her name -- honestly, I was so overwhelmed by the all the sugary goodness surrounding me that I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have).  Well, as she explained to me, all of Skip's fudge is made in house.  And to make a long story only somewhat less long, she ended up sending me home with some fudge for review!



As you can see below, she gave me five different varieties to sample.




So, without further ado, I shall start the review with...

Salted Caramel Fudge:



This is the one I thought was going to be my favorite, as you all know about my current obsession with anything salted caramel. This one has a layer of caramel sandwiched between two layers of chocolate fudge, and is topped with large flakes of salt. And yes, I was right, it is my favorite.  The fudge is rich with just a little bit of grain to it. The caramel is of the more solid varity, and while it pulls apart easily with some some stringing, there certainly no oozing -- and I think thats really the only way it could be done in this instance. I don't imagine a caramel that was fluid would work well here. The caramel has a nice buttery note to it, and I would have happily eaten it all by itself.  Probably the best fudge I will ever have!  The only thing I would have changed is salt flakes on top.  Mind you, I liked them -- but I think a sprinkling on the caramel as well would have pushed this square to the point where its goodness would be outlawed.  Hell, it's pretty close to that point now!


Amaretto:



I always think of this flavor as being one of those classic fudge flavors. I don't care how many times I have had it before; I am having it again. This one has a thin layer of chocolate fudge atop a thicker layer of the amaretto flavored fudge. The chocolate is top notch...but it's the amaretto layer that's the star for me. It has a cool, smooth melt on the tongue, and it is easy to imagine it is this close (*holds thumb and index finger a hair's breath apart*) to being poured from a liquor bottle.



The only thing I didn't love about this square was that it is dusted with cinnamon. While it makes the fudge look pretty, I just do not care for the combination of the flavors.  No problems, though -- the cinnamon is only on the very top, so it was easy to work around.


Peanut Butter:



Okay, whenever I get fudge at Disneyland it is always the Tiger Butter (which is what they call peanut butter). Not surprisingly, Skip's has outdone this flavor as well. It has equal layers of chocolate and peanut butter fudge. The chocolate is fab, but it's the peanut butter that I loooooo-o-o-oove. It tastes as if the nuts are fresh and just roasted. It's perfectly smooth with just enough salty tang.  Fantastic!


Rocky Road:



Yes. it has marshmallows...which pretty much means Enough Said!  Well, all right, I have to say more than that.  The thing about Rocky Road that I always seem to forget until it's too late is that it also has nuts. I know that sounds stupid, but I usually just eat the marshmallows and work around the nuts. In this case, I forgot to ask which kind they used -- but I am pretty sure it's walnuts.  And once again Skip's used chocolate fudge, folded into which are mini marshmallows and huge chunks of nuts.



This fudge is so fresh, and the marshmallows are still perfectly moist and gooey!  Marshmallow heaven!  And though I don't usually like them, I also tried the nuts (oh, what I will do for a review!).  They are quite crunchy and taste as fresh as the marshmallows -- if you like nuts in your fudge, you will surely love these.   So, my own personal nut caveat aside, this one is yet another winner.


Maple Nut:



Last but not least, I am once again digging into a nut fudge. I absolutely love pretty much any maple candy. Unfortunately (at least at the time of my visit) the only maple fudge they had with it was this one...and it also contains walnuts. But thats OK, because I know that a lot of people love nut candy, so here you guys go...



If you are looking for a chocolate-free fudge, look right here. The maple flavor is bright and sweet. It reminded me of the topping on maple doughnuts or those maple syrup candies you can get in New England (talk about things I love).  It was absolutely, incredibly good.  Even with the nuts, I didn't want to share this one with anybody else.  (The nuts by the way are huge and crisp. Walnuts lovers should go crazy over this.) 

All in all, there is no shortage of great things I could say about Skip's and their fudge.  But don't think I am just torturing you guys with things only locals can get hold of.  Skip's will ship their goodies to you anywhere in the U.S. -- and perhaps even outside the U.S. as well.  Check out Skip's website for more info.

I cannot wait to go back in few months!

Ben & Jerry's Rocky Road-ish (Limited Batch)

Sometimes I wonder if the Universe just likes to screw with me. Why must I be tortured with a flavor like this and have it be only a limited edition? I only have an apartment-sized freezer; there is only so much pint hoarding I can do. (Or, wait...maybe I could rent freezer space from my scary redneck neighbors. I'm sure there must be a little space in between the severed human heads or whatever it is they store in there...well, it's something to consider.) In any event, I am getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the ice cream before I run off begging. Long-time readers will know what had sent me over the edge in a moment.

Rocky Road-ish is a toasted marshmallow ice cream, with a toasted marshmallow swirl and fudge covered almonds. (Insert fan girl screaming here.) Hey, my love of marshmallow is legendary! If marshmallow is placed in a product, I will go to the ends of the earth to hunt it down. So, as you might have guessed, that combination makes this flavor like my ultimate wet dream. It's like the frozen version of Julian McMahon showing up at my door wearing only a smile. (Ben & Jerry's was the only ice cream he was ever seen eating on Nip/Tuck.) Even though the character of Dr. Troy was a Cherry Garcia man, Julian is welcome to come and partake of my...okay, enough! This review is running off track, even for me. Just give me a minute and some fresh batteries and I will be right back...

*looks around sheepishly...*

Well, I feel better, where was I? Yeah, the ice cream. In what has become the least embarrassing admission in this review--once again, because of dental work recently done, crunchy/hard foods are off the menu--I could not actually partake in the fudge-covered almonds myself. I can tell you that in classic Ben & Jerry chunk form, they were pretty sizable. (Look people, I am already taking the high road by not making any jokes using the words; hard, mouth, nuts or sizable!) They range from pea-sized to what looked like half of an almond. I outsourced the tasting and was told that the fudge is chocolaty and sweet with that slight grainy texture, and the almonds themselves were very crunchy and fresh.



As for the parts I did try: My first suggestion is to do yourself a favor and leave this pint out of the freezer for five or ten minutes (or maybe do a super fast microwave) before eating. Having eaten more pints of this than I am going to admit to, I can tell you that this flavor is 100X more awesome when slightly melty. Once the texture gets soft, the pint almost becomes like the richest, creamiest soft-serve you have ever had. The flavor of the base is indeed toasty (um, duh! the word is in the flavor description twice for a reason). It reminded me of marshmallows just browned over a fire. It's more about the burnt sugar notes, but it is not overly strong or sweet.



The marshmallow swirl: In the past, I have said I would like to die in a vat of the caramel used in Americone Dream. Well, now I would like to revise that statement and die in a vat of the marshmallow swirl instead. If the ice cream tasted like marshmallows toasted on in open fire, the swirl is all about marshmallows just out of the bag. It's sweeter, and there is a nice mellow (mallow?) vanilla note wafting through. But what just cements it for me is that it is like liquid marshmallow. (Dare I to dream?) I know, from top view, it looks as if the swirl is merely a weird darker patch of ice cream--but as you dig into the pint, everything changes. Think of rich, flowing rivers of marshmallow, instead of, say, the sticky gooeyiness of marshmallow fluff or the spongy cloud of one from a freshly opened bag.

Here's the most important thing: This flavor really MUST MUST MUST go from being a limited edition to a full-time flavor...because my life may truly be meaningless otherwise. (Well, that is just kinda sad...)



Be sure to check out what other bloggers said:
The Impulsive Buy
On Second Scoop
And a blog that is new to me that I am really enjoying:
Ben & Jerry's Fanatic

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICE:
$3.99

CALORIES:
250 Calories per 1/2 cup serving

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains nuts & tree nuts, kosher, awesome

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
benjerry.com

JELL-O S'more Pudding Snack

I may have said this a million times or two, but there will never be enough products with marshmallow in this world for me. I love everything about them. I love them "raw" (a.k.a just out of the bag), I love them roasted, and I especially love them burned to a post-eruption lava like crisp.

When the kind folks at JELL-O offered to let me try a pudding with marshmallow, I just about erupted myself. And just in case the FTC is reading this--while yes, I did get this pudding for free, I am not so shallow as to allow myself to be bribed by things with free marshmallows in them. It takes slightly more than that buy my allegiance. (Note to people who may want to bribe me: I only said SLIGHTLY more than that.) So why do I have the feeling that now the FTC is going to sic their own version of Men in Black on me? Anyway, on to the review...



The JELL-O S'more pudding cup consists of two layers. The bottom portion is a chocolate flavored with graham cracker, and the top is marshmallow flavored. The two layers are also differently textured.



The marshmallow layer: OH EM GEE! First, I love that they made this layer with the "mousse" texture, à la the Temptations line. Yes, I love that entire line...and having a marshmallow version only makes it better. The flavor is close to that of a toasted marshmallow. It seemed a little malty to me (but I liked that). Here's what's kinda odd, though: even though the graham crackers are in the chocolate layer, you can actually taste them more in the marshmallow layer. Go figure, huh? But it was still a very nice flavor, so that's not a complaint. As far as I am concerned, I could skip the chocolate and just have an entire cup (or vat) of this.



But there is still that chocolate graham layer waiting below for me, like a sea of dense, dark water--you know that sounds kind of scary--like a bad Shark Week trailer--oh, wait! Let's run with that! Maybe we can somehow work in a cross-promo with the Discovery Channel, where I talk about sharks while reviewing the pudding by eating it off of...oops, duh, I meant eating it with, yes with, Mike Rowe. Silly readers, how dare you think I had my mind in the gutter! Granted, I am mayor of the gutter, but I hardly see where that matters. We are supposed to be talking about pudding here, right? And sadly, it is Mike Rowe-free pudding. What did you say? Okay, fine, have it your way, I will get back to work on this review. Sheesh.

So, before my mind took its perv detour, we were starting to talk about the chocolate layer. And so we shall.

Unlike its best friend the marshmallow layer, which is mousse textured, the chocolate layer is the classic smooth and creamy style of pudding. On its own the chocolate seems to be not quite as infused with graham cracker flavor as the marshmallow layer, but you can tell it's there. I actually think it works better that the chocolate is the stronger flavor in this layer. It keeps things from being too sweet, and I like the contrast in textures. That said, I do think it would have been even better to have a layer of actual graham cracker crumbs in the cup. That would have been pretty tasty.

Now that I have talked about the layers separate, how are they together?

I have no idea how this is even possible, but the layers together reminded me more of a rum ball then of a S'more. I doubt kids would ever pick that up, but it may be an extra selling point for the grown ups (and right now the JELL-O people are probably wondering why the hell they ever let me near a sample). It's a delicious combo either way. And again, I would love to see the marshmallow layer get its own dedicated cup.



Also check out reviews by:
The Impulsive Buy
Foodette Reviews

PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

CALORIES:
110 Calories per cup

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
kraftbrands.com

Hammond's Vanilla Mitchell Sweets

I have been thinking long and hard here (heh, I said long and hard...yeah, I truly am the world's oldest, snickering 12-year-old boy). The immediate issue is that I am writing this on an extended trip to Georgia, far away from the fabled Gigi HQ-cum-Batcave in Southern California. (Nyuck, nyuck...I said cum! Heh, snorts 'n' giggles again!) Thus all the items that I have waiting for me at home -- items that, ideally, I should be writing about right now -- will simply have to wait a bit longer.

Aah, but don't despair! What do friends and relatives give to someone who reviews food that mostly revolves around candy? Well, DUH! The answer is, of course, more candy! (I also squeaked a Nook Color out of the deal, so there's no whining here. I may be emotionally stunted and dwarfed, but the epithet "ingrate" shall never adorn me!) Needless to say, therefore, I am in no short supply of things to write about. The question was where to start.

Well...two of my very favorite things are caramel and marshmallow. And as luck would have it, I am fortunate enough to have an individual Hammond's Candies Vanilla Sweets Marshmallow on hand. Oh, happy day!

You may have seen Hammond's Candies on Food Network programs such as Unwrapped -- and deservedly so. Hammond's, which has been around since 1920, still hand-makes their candies and their Art Candies -- and while I have never tasted them, I can tell you they are beautiful looking (again). Handmade candies require a level of skill and craftsmanship that the candy world is sadly no longer brimming over with. With all that in mind, you can probably understand why I was so excited about trying this marshmallow.



Each marshmallow is about the size of your normal Mega Mart brand -- only, imagine it more squared off than round. I love the minimalist packaging; the confection comes wrapped in a simple waxed paper wrapper with a paper label that seals it closed.

The exterior of the marshmallow is covered in a layer of caramel. Interestingly enough, it leaves both ends exposed (think of how the nori encloses a sushi roll), so that the soft airy center is visible and practically begs you to smoosh it. Yeah, I admit it...I never have to be asked twice when it comes to marshmallow.



The marshmallow has a subtle sugary scent. The caramel wrapper has a soft crackle as you break through the "crust" that is formed by the caramel being exposed to air for however long. And I kind of like that texture -- it reminds me of biting into a maple glazed doughnut. From the company's website photos, it appears that on "fresh" marshmallows, the caramel is softer, slightly more liquid -- but remember that mine was a gift, and has sat here for two weeks now. I thus am unsure which version of the texture is the "true" version.

The flavor is sweet and milky. It's not really a deep burnt sugar-type of caramel, but I think it's perfect. The proportion of caramel to marshmallow is also good. I think that had it been a thicker layer, or if the marshmallow had been completely enrobed it, it would have been overkill.

The marshmallow is the classic thick and sticky kind. The vanilla comes through, but it does so with subtlety. I like this type of marshmallow because it is a such welcome change it from the Mega Mart type. It has an actual texture to it. The sugar doesn't merely melt in your mouth on contact; it dissolves slowly, letting you savor it (should you like to). Simply delicious

And I am sorry to disappoint here, but sadly, there will not any flaming pictures. As we all know, one of the things I love to do with marshmallow anything is to apply the "flame test" to see how good it tastes toasted. Well, my mother -- probably wisely -- decided that letting me play with open flames in her house was not the greatest idea. You can send her email on this at Pret... NO! NO! I am kidding, do not send her hate mail! Then she won't buy me more candy! (Just pimping the system, y'all, candy does not always buy itself!)



PURCHASED FROM:
Whole Foods

PRICE:
$1.25

CALORIES:
No calorie info given.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain trace amounts of eggs, soy, peanuts & tree nuts. Gluten free. Kosher.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
hammondscandies.com

Marshmallow Pebbles Cereal

First, guys, I want to apologize for lack of new reviews. It's not that I don't love you anymore, or that I don't have things planned, or that I don't have have literally oodles of cool stuff waiting in my apartment. It's really this: Gigi has not been going through the greatest time with her lupus these last six months or so...and to be honest, food and I just aren't feeling the love for each other much these days, no matter how much I want to. Yeah, I could fake my way through using my visual take on it, my sense of smell, and third party opinions -- but don't I think that's fair to you, and it's a hell of a lot less fun for me. So, I continue to thank you for your patience with me.

But you know, sometimes you just have to take one for the team. And if there happen to be marshmallows involved...well, let's just say I am willing to deal a little more than I might have been otherwise. So when I saw the box of Marshmallow Pebbles on the supermarket shelf, I practically ran home, spoon in hand, spilling soy milk in my wake. If only I had done a Google search before I bought it! Both Grub Grade and Yum Yucky have reviewed it (click on their names to read their reviews), and had I seen those I would have saved myself $1.99.

The first thing that hits you when you open the box is the awful aroma; a nauseating, overpowering mix of sugar and fake vanilla. It's what I imagine weapons of mass destruction would be scented like if terrorists decided that making them smell vaguely candy-like would up their PR factor after the incident. (Cease and desist email from Post legal should be hitting my inbox right...about...now!) Seriously, it's a really vile odor. And I love the smell of marshmallow as a rule.

When I think of a Pebbles cereal, be it fruity or cocoa (both of which I like, for the record), I've come to expect the Pebbles themselves to be on the smaller, thinner side. They don't hold their crunch long, but they do have a snappy, yet airy texture that I really like when I indulge.

But these Pebbles were almost as weird as they smelled. In terms of size and appearance they reminded me of a crispy rice type of cereal -- only they're heavier and more dense than that. In terms of texture and taste, they actually reminded me of the Jumbo Rice Krispies. And if you read that review, you will see I didn't like that cereal either. Well, guess what -- I liked these Pebbles even less. Between the non-Pebbles texture and the not-oaty, not-rice, just not-good taste of the cereal...blecccch! I will be honest with you; I was just done.

You may have noticed there is no picture of the cereal in milk. And there won't be. I ate a bowl pre-review because I just couldn't wait. (I have got to learn to work on my patience.) And after that, I might as well have skipped the review entirely: Clearly I have had nothing nice to say about it!

But then it occurred to me that this box -- that otherwise had no redeeming value whatsoever -- could finally allow me to indulge one secret lifelong fantasy...

...yes...I admit it...I have long dreamed of eating a bowl of nothing but cereal marshmallows. So, yes, I indulged my lifelong fantasy! Damning and humiliating photos to follow.

As you see here, I was panning for marshmallows:



And this is my haul:



One box produces one decent sized bowl of marshmallows.

So was my effort worth it? Hell yeah! The actual cereal might have been beyond vile, but that bowl of just marshmallows was great! Would I do it on a regular basis? Well no, but it was a fun experiment. (OK, I totally lied. I would soooooooo buy these marshmallows in bulk if I thought I could justify it!)



So in the end, while this may possibly have been the single worst thing I have eaten in the name of a review, I absolutely loved the marshmallows!

As for the cereal itself? I think Stewie Griffin says it perfectly...



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICE:
$1.99

CALORIES:
110 calories per 3/4 cup.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
postcereals.com

Kraft Jet-Puffed SwirlMallows: Caramel & Vanilla Marshmallows

I think we all know by now that if there is a marshmallow type product out there, I will try it. I like them plain, I like them flavored. I liked them chocolate covered. Heck, in a move that surprises everyone, including me, I even like them coconut covered.

So when I saw the new Jet-Puffed SwirlMallows, I had to try them. I picked up a bag of Caramel & Vanilla flavor. (Research showed me that there is also a Chocolate & Vanilla option out there -- and I would have gotten those as well, had I seen them.)

I warn you up front: you will smell the fake caramel aroma right through the plastic bag. In fact, the aroma is so strong that if you are within about three feet of them you will smell them. It's that too-sweet smell that caramel flavored items tend to have, rather than the nice burnt sugar smell of real caramel. Naturally, this was kind of off-putting. I am not exactly expecting hand made artisan caramel here, but the smell is just cloying. It reminded me of cheap air freshener.



They are cute enough, however, with the light brown striping on the outside and tan splotches on the inside.



So, how does it taste? As always with marshmallow products, I tried them both "raw" and "toasted."

RAW: It tastes remarkably like a regular old marshmallow -- except that it does have that "caramel flavor" added to it. It's sort of as if the marshmallows had been lightly soaked in the type of commercial syrup used to flavor coffee. It's not a bad taste, but it's a little stronger than I would like. Kinda forgettable, really.

TOASTED: OK, let me be honest here -- I do not merely "toast" my marshmallows. I incinerate them! I do this to all marshmallows that I eat cooked. I happen to like the crunch and the charred taste that setting them afire and letting them burn beyond recognition brings. And of course that also makes for a really cool flaming marshmallow photo. (Do not try this at home, kids -- I am a somewhat skilled professional.)

(In retrospect, using a real flame on them may have been overkill. The temperature here in my cheerful Southern California town reached 113 degrees F yesterday -- which is 45 degrees Celsius, for my overseas readers -- so I probably could have just left them on the balcony and waited for them to spontaneously combust in the sunlight. Or at least melt into a puddle of disgusting goo. Or both. But let's be honest...playing with fire is just more fun, isn't it?)

Anyway, the flavor rounds out much better when they're toasted. The caramel taste is still present, but it seems more toned down and more like "real" caramel...which it might indeed be, given the carbonized sugar that results. In either case, toasted is definitely the better way to eat them.



I'd be lying to you if I didn't admit that the bag has been snacked out of on a pretty steady clip since I got them. Are they my favorite marshmallows ever? No -- that honor still goes to Vosges for their Caramel Marshmallows -- but I certainly would not complain if a bag "magically" made its way into my shopping basket again.

Be sure to check out Jess's review of the Chocolate & Vanilla variety here.



PURCHASED FROM:
WalMart

PRICE:
$1.00

CALORIES:
100 Calories per 4 pieces

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
kraftfoods.com

Chocomize Custom Chocolate Bar: Sugar High

Once again, my thanks to the good folks at Chocomize for letting me run wild through their vast candy forest and create a bar that I am fairly certain could make even the most diehard four-year-old jealous.



One of the highlights of my young life was when I was deemed old enough by my parents to start spending the night at my friends' houses. One such friend was a girl named Jennifer. Jennifer was the only child of fun yuppie parents. (Seriously, there were very few 80's stereotypes they did not live up to.) And her mom would take us to the mall where we would spend a few hours pooling together our money and making joint purchases of such need-to-own items as Madonna cassettes (yes, I said cassettes...gawd, I am old) and earrings. (Back in the day, Claire's had some insane deal where you could get something like 15 pairs of earrings for $5.00.) Sometimes we went on sugar sprees, often at the mall candy store --- you know, the kind that has giant bulk bins, which as a kid I thought was the greatest thing ever, and as an adult think of as Petri dishes of kid germs. Or we would go to the FroYo joint and toss in as much candy as we were allowed to. Good times...good times...

Anyway, it was that larval version of Gigi that I allowed to pick out the ingredients for this bar. If my actual 12-year-old self had been given the option, I think she would have gotten pretty much the same results.



The "Sugar High" bar is a milk chocolate bar that is studded with Oreo pieces, Pop Rocks, mini marshmallows, and caramel pieces.

As with any custom bar I review, I am rating the bar only on its individual ingredients and not the bar as a whole. I chose ingredients myself, and it's always possible that they could be great on their own but not in combination. Conversely,they could be great together, but because it's a custom-made bar, we are just rating by ingredients.

Why? Because I said so. So there.



Anyway...

The milk chocolate base: Very milky and creamy with a smooth melt. It also is a very sweet, sugary milk chocolate -- in fact, it almost reminded me of Cadbury milk chocolate. I am not going to lie; there is throat burn -- and while I know that this doesn't bother some people, it does bother me. It's not bad enough to keep me from eating the bars with all their custom additions, but I would never eat just the plain chocolate all by itself.

The Pop Rocks: I feel the need to apologize for the fact that the Pop Rocks look all melty (although it does look kind of cool in and of itself). They did arrive looking perfect, as the shiny little shreds you expect Pop Rocks to be, but thanks to my AC going out, along with some humidity, they became more goopy and opaque. Regardless, they still fizzed and had the cherry taste I expected. The fizzing was a lot of fun with the smoothness of the chocolate and the soft marshmallows. And the red added some nice color.

The marshmallows: perfectly soft and smooshy! A hint of vanilla flavor. Yeah, marshmallows are just plain good.

The caramel drops: The little pea-sized drops are chewy and...well, they are chewy. There's a tiny hint of buttery flavor, but mostly it's about the texture. And they look kinda like chick peas or hazelnuts. Which is cool, I guess.

The Oreo pieces: chocolaty, crunchy, exactly what you expect Oreo Pieces to be. No surprises here.



As a whole, I liked the ingredients enough to use them in other bars -- with the exception of the caramel drops. And even then it's not that it was all that bad...it just wasn't all that good. But marshmallows and Pop Rocks should definitely be used together more often.

If you want to find out how good Pop Rocks and marshmallows can be together for yourself -- or make your own dream bar -- the people at Chocomize have put together a coupon for you! If you use the coupon code "Gigi" at checkout, it will save you 10% off of your order



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

CALORIES:
130 calories per 1/5 of bar.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain traces of milk, nuts, and gluten.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
chocomize.com

Peeps: Chocolate Covered

In my continuing quest to conquer the world of Peep flavors this year, while I was looking for something new for Easter, I found these Chocolate Covered Peeps! It's not like there was any question of I was going to buy them or not -- my only real question was: could I still attempt to set something chocolate covered on fire?



Yeah guys, I think I have taken to pyromania just a little too much. But don't worry about me. I still have eyebrows, and most of my furniture is intact. It's just that something about burning Peeps brings out my inner Beavis, giggling "FIRE!"

Pyromania aside, the chocolate covered Peeps come in either dark or milk chocolate. And of course, being the thoughtful person that I am, I picked up both. Rather than being sold in a bulk package, they are sold individually. For sake of the review, we are going to talk about the chocolates separately. And since I didn't notice any differences with the marshmallow center, we'll discuss that on its own.

Let's start with the milk chocolate version:



It's a light brown shell that has sort of a matte satin sheen, and the chocolate coating is thicker than I was expecting. The chocolate also breaks off into pieces a little easier then one would expect. It's almost like it was made with Magic Shell. The chocolate is -- to be diplomatic -- not the best milk chocolate ever. It's overly sweet and reeks of fake vanilla. This one I would skip in the future. As much as I might have liked the marshmallow, I thoroughly disliked the chocolate.



The Dark Chocolate:



I had higher hopes for this one, mostly because at the very least I thought it would be less sweet. And it is -- but that didn't make it much better. The chocolate itself has a vaguely coconut taste and seems oily. There is also kind of cocoa powder taste, and that's OK. But it's not really a dark chocolate (there's milk solids in it), and it's not really good. It's better than the milk chocolate version -- but only in the sorry sense that Showgirls is a slightly better movie than Freddie Got Fingered. How big of a compliment is that, really?




The marshmallow center: The marshmallow is incredibly soft; almost to the point of being spreadable. I have long stated my love of stale Peeps -- but I have learned to appreciate them when they are this smooshy as well (even if it is mostly because I get to use the word "smooshy"). If you are a fan of the crusty, sugared top layer that all of the traditional Peeps products had, this may be a sad day for you. That crust is nowhere to be found.

Another difference between these Peeps and the classic line is that the marshmallow is colored all the way though. The innards are sort of a hard-boiled egg yolk yellow. The taste is like every other marshmallow you've ever had. Which is to say, sort of a mellow vanilla and a little sweet.

All right. I know what you are all really waiting for is the fire! And, so as not to disappoint, here were go...

First, the milk chocolate:



Interestingly enough, the milk chocolate itself resisted burning and simply got very melty. The marshmallow bubbled and caramelized nicely. But there was nothing spectacular to see.

Next, the dark chocolate:



This version went almost immediately into flame -- chocolate and all. OK, not as awesomely as the Strawberry Creme Hearts Peeps did, but it wasn't a complete disappointment either.

In either case (as you might expect), the addition of toasting did nothing for the flavor of the chocolate. But the marshmallow center did taste extra good toasted (actually, "toasted" is not strong enough -- it was burnt -- but I happen to like burnt marshmallows).

Be sure to check out Cybele's reviews here. She liked these Peeps more than I did.

Ratings time! (I will rate each separately.)

Milk Chocolate Peep:




Dark Chocolate Peep:



PURCHASED FROM:
Walgreen's

PRICE:
$0.79 each, two for $1.

CALORIES:
Milk chocolate: 110 calories per 1 chick.
Dark chocolate: 120 calories per 1 chick.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain: peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, eggs. Gluten free. Contains gelatin, so not kosher or vegan/vegetarian friendly.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
marshmallowpeeps.com