Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby Chocolates

Since I very seldom get to a Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop, I am a little slow to get around to reviewing any of the candy items that Ben & Jerry are now making and selling in said shops (and in the Waterbury, Vermont factory where I first saw them). I kicked myself after leaving Vermont for not having made room in my suitcase to take some chocolate home. But I was able to pick up this box of Chubby Hubby chocolates at my local Scoop Shop.

The Chubby Hubby box contains a huge chunk of milk chocolate matrix that binds together a generous mix of malted milk balls, pretzels, peanut butter, and dark chocolate chunks -- just like the classic ice cream flavor.



Breaking off a piece is its own challenge. I have to admit we just broke down and used a knife. I liked the malt balls. They are huge and airy, yet crispy -- and there is a ton of them. The pretzels are indeed salty and crunchy. As for the peanut butter...well, you can certainly taste it, but it's rarer to find. I liked the bits of dark chocolate mixed in, as they helped to balance the way, way too sweet milk chocolate.

And again, it's enormous. It's roughly the diameter (and the height) of a Big Mac. In the picture below is a U.S. quarter coin placed alongside for size comparison.



I often bag on Ben & Jerry for using fudge instead of real chocolate in the ice cream, but they do in fact use real chocolate here. It's intensely sweet -- as I said, a tad too sweet for my taste -- but it is milky and it melts very smoothly.



I'm not going to lie: I vastly prefer the Chubby Hubby chunks in the Chubby Hubby ice cream to this candy. Not really sure why,as all the same elements are there. Maybe it's just that I like the actual ice cream that encompasses the chunks so much that it's hard for me to fully enjoy the chunks alone.



All told, it's not bad. Would I buy it again? Truthfully, probably not. But it's hardly something I'd toss in the trash either -- it's just that it didn't wow me. However, if you're one of those people who pull the chunks out of Chubby Hubby ice cream to eat first and then finish the ice cream itself almost as an afterthought (yes, there are such people, I know you're out there!), then you'd probably love this.



PURCHASED FROM:
Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop

PRICE:
$5.50

CALORIES:
250 Calories per 1/4 piece of hunk (or 46g).

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Produced in a facility that uses milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and eggs.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
benjerry.com

Pretzel M&M's

We all know I tend to suffer from Blogger Envy...and Cybele is almost always the one to give it to me (Jim being the other). Waaaayyyy back last year, she mentioned that there would be a new pretzel M&M coming out this year. And last week she posted her review (read it here). Finally, the new M&M's are out in the wild!

These M&M's have the classic candy shell, followed by a layer of milk chocolate that surrounds a pretzel center. These M&M's also mark the return of the orange M&M as the "Spokescandy." The orange color had been pretty much unemployed since the best flavor of M&M's ever -- the Crispy flavor -- was discontinued back in 2005 for reasons that I don't know. (It surely escapes any possible logic as, once again, they were the best M&M ever.)



Crispy M&M's aside, I love the idea of this flavor. I have a highly documented love of chocolate and pretzels together. In fact, I have only forgiven Trader Joe's for discontinuing the Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bites because they at least replaced it with the somehow even more amazing Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark.

So, how do these M&M's stack up?

Each M&M is roughly the size of a Peanut M&M...or maybe a little bigger, about the size of a classic gumball.

Biting into the M&M, I was expecting a really crispy, hard pretzel type of crunch. Instead, the texture was sort of like the bizarre love child of a malted milk ball and a stale pretzel. The bite is weirdly airy, and yet they have that almost too-hard texture of thick pretzels that have gone stale.

The flavor of the pretzel is OK. It's not as assertive as I would have liked it to be. It's lightly salty and kind of yeasty. But it also has sort of a generic cracker flavor.

The chocolate is classic M&M's milk chocolate. A little sweet, but otherwise smooth and unremarkable. The candy shell added some welcome crunch.



Overall, while these aren't bad, they are nowhere near as fantastic as the Trader Joe's Pretzel Bites had been. Actually, the only thing that these M&M's really brought to the table that TJ's didn't is that the candy coating really did add a nice bit of extra zip.

Are these the worst M&M's ever? No. They are just disappointing. There was so much potential here, yet they manage to rise only to "meh." Oh well -- at least in the case of the orange M&M, one job was created.



PURCHASED FROM:
WalMart

PRICE:
$0.68

CALORIES:
150 calories per bag.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain peanuts.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
mms.com

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark

On my last Trader Joe's trip, I was looking for new goodies. One of the things I was actually looking for were the chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels that reader Jacob and had I talked about a few months ago. Sadly, I did not find them -- but I did come across this rather large, flat bar of dark chocolate pretzel bark. Now really, could anyone imagine that I was going to let this pass without a review? Don't be silly!



The bar is well packaged in a sunny yellow box with cellophane windows. According to the text on back of the box, the bar was handcrafted by "true candy artisans." Well, I don't know who these true candy artisans are...but in my mind they wear silly hats and brightly colored clothes and make the chocolate while singing along to Michael Buble. Of course, my imagination is sort of like Tim Burton meets Crazy Cat Lady.

When you remove the bar from the package, you notice it's not quite as thick as the box may have led you to expect. But I don't think a good bark should be overly thick. And the slab is jam packed with pieces of broken up pretzel sticks.



The chocolate looks very dark (though the box merely says that it's a minimum of 49% cocoa solids). The smell of the bar is sweet for something that looks so dark, but there is a yeasty smell to it as well.

So how does it taste?

If a Michael Buble song were somehow magically edible, it's as smooth as that. The chocolate is on the milky side (and does in fact contain milk fat). It's more sweet than bitter, but that actually works to the bark's advantage. I think if it had been a stronger, darker chocolate, it wouldn't work with the salt as well.



The pretzels....oh my gawd! The pretzels! They are so crunchy it's as if they came straight out of a fresh bag. They are lightly salted. It appears that they may actually be baked a little more then your average pretzel stick -- but I think that may be to keep the flavor assertive.



What more can I say? Everything about this bar rocks. A long time ago I reviewed Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bites and loved them. Well, I love this even more. It's so good that even if you don't live near a Trader Joe's, you should find one and do a road trip. (And you could use the drive time to crank the Buble. See, it all works out.)

Just get some, and then write me love letters thanking me.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

PRICE:
$3.99

CALORIES:
200 calories per 1.5 oz (or each 2 x 4.5 inch piece).

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Kosher. Contains dairy. Made on equipment shared with eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and fish.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
traderjoes.com

Archer Farms Chocolate Drizzle Snack Mix

Something about cereal snack mixes make me think about parties my parents may (or may not) have thrown back in the 70's, where the adults stayed upstairs, and the kids were banished to the basement, where all they had to entertain themselves with was a TV that only got four (yes, four!) channels, some old toys, games missing pieces, and snacks consisting of bad frozen pizza and a big bowl of stale cereal with whatever Mom felt like tossing into it...

It's OK, we worked through most of the bad memories in therapy. Really, we did. Anyway...



The Chocolate Drizzle mix features roasted peanuts, pretzels, and Chex-like cereal covered in a chocolate drizzle with sprinkles of cayenne pepper.

I think for me it's the mix of cereal and spice that is what I really don't like about snack mixes. Archer Farms was pretty easy-handed when it came to the pepper. You can definitely tell that it's there, but it doesn't overwhelm. There are other spices including garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and lots of salt. But yeyond the salt and the cayenne, I couldn't pick any particular flavor out--it's just sort of a generic spice.



The chocolate drizzle was very liberal mix of white and milk chocolate. It was heavier on the white. Not the greatest chocolate ever, but surprisingly good for a non-candy product.



All of the individual components were fresh and crisp. If you are a fan of snack mixes, I can see where you would really love this one. I, however, am still not a fan. I guess it's just one of those things that no matter how good the product, is I am still not going to like it. With that in mind, I am going to rate it based on the quality of the ingredients and how I think someone who likes snack mix would feel, rather than based on the ingredients and my thoughts on the taste.



PURCHASED FROM:
Target

Meiji Caramel Pucca

When I saw these on the shelf at Kam Man in New York City, the first thing I thought of was classic Pepperidge Farm Goldfish snacks.

Since the entire box written in Japanese, the best I could tell is that it was a pretzel type cracker filled with caramel.



Seeing my little school of Pucca fish, that was a pretty good guess on my part (yes, yes, I AM a genius, thank you). Each fish is like a giant puffy Goldfish. The baked surface is studded with large grains of salt. The cracker itself is not exactly a pretzel--although it sure looks like it--but it's not exactly like a Pocky biscuit either. It's kinda like what would pop out of the oven nine months after a Goldfish cracker had a drunken three-way with a Pocky Biscuit and a Rold Gold Pretzel. (Is it inappropriate to speculate on the DNA possibilities of snack foods?) Anyway, no one's really sure which the baby daddy is because it could easily be either, and the appearance on Morrie isn't scheduled for another month...



Tastewise, the first thing you notice is the salt, then the cracker. The cracker is kindasorta of like a Pocky biscuit that was cooked extra long. It's a little saltier, a little yeastier.

The caramel filling is in the form of a creme rather then a hard or fluid caramel. It's cool on the tongue and smooth-- sort of like the filling in a sandwich cookie. It's on the sweet side, which the salt cuts perfectly. There's a very milky taste to the caramel.

I had only tried the Pucca because it looked interesting but didn't think I would end up caring for them one way or the other. But let me tell you, this snack was insanely addictive. Meiji makes several flavors, so you know I will have to go fishing for some!




PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market, New York City

I purchased these at Kam Man, but my friends at J-List carry this flavor along with others, so be sure to check them out!

Trader Joe's Pumpernickel Pretzel Sticks

I haven't seen pumpernickel sticks in years. I swear, they have everything at Trader Joe's!



My Dad used to like them. I remember he had what I still regard as a gross habit of "dipping" them in liverwurst or braunschweiger (another type of liverwurst). Actually, until I saw these rods at Trader Joe's, I had managed to suppress that memory fairly successfully for about 15 years... hmmmm,thanks, Trader Joe's!



Anyway... The TJ's Versions are roughly 4 inches long and half an inch thick. The slightly glossy outer shells are studded with rock salt. The rods are very crunchy and have a coarse texture.



In case you didn't know, Pumpernickel is a type of very dark rye bread. These pretzels, while seed free, do have a very strong rye flavor. They pretzels also have a really noticeable onion flavor (although since onion is listed on the ingredient list, it's not like we need Scooby Doo to solve the mystery). Looking at the rods you may worry they would be too salty because there are A LOT of salt crystals--but it balances out really well.

These would also be great dipped in onion dip or used as croutons. My Dad can keep the liver.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Twisted Grandma Buttery Garlic Goodness Pretzels

I kinda like the idea of the image of a twisted Grandma...
Like the one on the package with funky glasses and spiky hair. My own Grandmother who I love more then anything in the universe was not what one would have defined as twisted or funky... well she did have a thing for Hawaiian print mumus does that count?

Beyond Gramma's questionable fashion taste my Grandmother was quite fond of salty snacks and pretzels were one of her favorites. When the good folks over at http://twistedgrandma.com/ asked me if I wanted to try some of their pretzels I said 'send em' over!'


Each of the mini pretzels are coated with seasoning you can see.
The first flavor on your tongue is a hit of lemon juice. Then that melds into a very mild garlic that's vaguey Herby- but I couldn't tell you what herbs for sure. Then the whole thing finishes with a salty, buttery punch.
The pretzel it's self is crisp, there's just a little yeasty, buttermilky quality. The whole thing wrapped up is just plain addicting.

In fact I can tell you EXACTLY what the pretzels taste like- you know those wonderful little cheddar bay biscuits from Red Lobster? these snacks are like a pretzel version of that! Best Pretzels EVER!


PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

Visit Twisted Grandma and buy your own before I get them all!!

Archer Farms Sea Salt Pretzel Caramel Ice Cream

I absolutely LOVE Haagen-Dazs Fleur De Sel so when I saw the Archer Farms take on the flavor at Target I scooped (haha) it up
The major difference in the two on the surface is that the Archer Farms version has fudge covered pretzel pieces in it. Of course the major difference is that one is super premium and the other isn't.

The base flavor of the ice cream is supposed to be caramel. I say supposed to be because while the ice cream certainly doesn't taste bad, it just doesn't taste at all. It's cold and there is a carryover of sweetness that I think comes from the caramel and fudge swirls. There is just no discernable base flavor.

The caramel swirl is the best part of this ice cream. It's buttery and soft and when it comes into contact with the sea salt it is the perfect sweet/savory combo.
The biggest let down in the ice cream is the chocolate covered pretzel pieces. These could have been outstanding but they instead are a sad reminder of what could have been. With maybe two exceptions all of the pieces were soggy and stale. There was no crunch. It just mushed- or at best crumbled in my mouth. Just sad.

As for mouth feel. If I had been hoping for that wonderful fat filled, creamy mouth feel... well I am going to be waiting along time. Instead, it has the overly airrated, thin and slightly oily texture of budget or low end ice creams.

This was so dissapointing. It's like the ice cream version of George Clooney; looks great on the outside but you open it up (or in the case of George he speaks) and what's inside? bland, vapid, mushy, flavorless nothingness.

PURCHASED FROM:
Target

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bites

I should probably just say now that in the course of writing this review I ate almost the entire container...
Which should tell you I either really loved this snack or really hated it. I LOVED it. The candy is made up of little spheres of pretzel covered in dark chocolate and sprinkles. I just love chocolate and salt together. If you let the chocolate melt on your tongue as you get to the thinnest part of the chocolate it mixes with the salt from the pretzel/

The pretzels are crunchy and counter balance the smooth, cool chocolate perfectly. It was WAAAY to easy to plow through an embarrassingly large portion in a short period of time. The sprinkles are just sort of there. While they looked pretty they didn't really bring much to the table.
Again I have to praise Trader Joe's for they're commitment to high quality for low prices. The chocolate alone is good enough that I would enjoy it all by it's self.

One of the best TJ's offerings- and that says a lot because I am a pretty big fan.

PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's



And here is the rest of it.

Klondike Caramel Pretzel

Oh Klondike... you fuzzy little waist killer. Taunting me with caramel and pretzels- sugar and salt in one package? Sign me up!


In the interest of full disclosure I feel the need to state that I DO NOT like Klondike bars. The mocklate is just oily and gritty. The ice cream is, well it's cheap. And they always end up melting in your hand because there's no really good way to eat one.

That being said I was really in the mood for something cold yet salty and when I saw these in the freezer case I decided why not.

The bar is your standard issue size and shape . The ice cream in this bar is caramel and at the top of the bar hiding under the mocklate are pieces of crunchy pretzel embedded in a gooey caramel layer.

I am not going to beat around the bush I am just going to come right out and say it:
If I still had PMS this would the best thing since the Hershey Take 5.
Yeah, the mocklate still sucks. The ice cream is still mediocre. But the combo of cold, salt and caramel is just unbelievable. Eat them, eat many of them- get them off the shelf because I don't need to buy any more of them.