VD2010 Recap: Chocolate Covered Honeycomb

parent co.: maud borup; route 29

pkg. size: 2.6"x2.6"x8.5"

candy size: n/a

weight: 6 oz.

quantity: 10-15

country: united states

description: rich milk chocolate over a crisp caramelized candy center

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even though i purchased this at wal-mart, and even though the Chocolate Covered Potato Chips were gross, i had high hopes for these Chocolate Covered Honeycomb pieces. i've tried the Cadbury Crunchie, which i liked (even though mine was past date and a little funny tasting), so i was expecting to enjoy these as well. and i did. even more, in fact. the nice thing about these Maud Borup confections is that they're using real milk chocolate, not mockolate (which is gross). while i prefer dark chocolate, the ratio of chocolate to honeycomb is great, so the milk chocolate doesn't offend me at all really. i can tell these are fresh (fresher than my Crunchie, at least) because they lack the strange sour taste that the old stuff had. the "honeycomb" center is crunchy, almost flaky, with an intensely sweet honey taste. i would still be interested to try real honeycomb covered in chocolate, but these are quite tasty.

rating: 6

ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk, chocolate liquor, soy lecithin - an emulsifier, vanilla, salt), sugar, corn syrup, honey, sodium bicarbonate, salt, soy lecithin

allergy information: contains milk and soy. may contain peanut, tree nuts and wheat

VD2010 Recap: Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

parent co.: maud borup; route 29

pkg. size: 2.6"x2.6"x8.5"

candy size: n/a

weight: 5 oz.

quantity: 10-15

country: united states

description: potato chips covered in premium milk chocolate

i've had chocolate covered chips on one other occasion and they were delicious. kind of like Pringles covered in chocolate. they were salty and sweet and delicious. based on that experience i was really excited for these. alas, they did not live up to my expectations. where the other chips i had reminded me of salty, delicious Pringles, these were more like greasy, non-salted Ruffles. if Ruffles were not salted they would be gross, kind of like these Chocolate Covered Potato Chips, which also happen to have a slightly dirty taste. another issue is the ratio of chocolate to chip - way too much chocolate for such a thin chip. although actually, the chips are rather thick, the chocolate is just so overloaded. all in all, not a good thing. i'll have to find those other chips i tried and see if they're as good as i remember.

rating: 3

ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk, chocolate liquor, soy lecithin, vanilla salt), potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, cottonseed, soybean), salt

allergy information: contains milk and soy. may contain peanuts, tree nuts and wheat

VD2010 Recap: Yum Dilly S'mores

parent co.: maud borup; route 29

pkg. size: 4"x4"(d.)

candy size: 1.25"x2" d.

weight: 5.5 oz.

quantity: 10-15

country: united states

description: nibble-sized grahams topped with a fluffy marshmallow and drenched in creamy milk chocolate

i love s'mores in real life. i love s'mores cupcakes (when i make them). i love the combination of chocolate and marshmallow, even without the graham cracker. and i must admit, i really like these little s'mores bites. the marshmallow and graham are wonderful, the marshmallow has a great chewy, nougat-y denseness and the graham has a nice soft crunch. not so much a crunch as a crumble. it's good, though. the only issue here is the mockolate coating. if this were covered in really good chocolate it would be phenomenal. but even with the fake chocolate i like it, and i ate the whole tub. and it was good.

rating: 7

ingredients: sugar, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, cocoa powder, nonfat dry milk solids, whole milk solids, reduced mineral whey powder, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavor, corn syrup, dextrose, modified cornstarch, water, gelatin, artificial color (includes blue #1), natural and artificial flavor, tetrasodium pyrosphosphate, enriched wheat flour, graham flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, shortening, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, sodium bicarbonate, salt, molasses, soy lecithin, malted cereal syrup, vanilla, artificial flavor

allergy information: contains milk, soy, wheat

VD2010 Recap: Palmer Double Crisp Hearts

parent co.: r.m. palmer co.

pkg. size: 7.5"x4.5"

candy size: 1.25" d.

weight: 5 oz.

quantity: 10-15

country: united states

description: crisp 'n crunchy chocolaty 'n smooth

another Palmer disaster. while these are undoubtedly better than the Cookies'n' Creme hearts, they still have the greasy texture of mockolate and the chewiness of stale crispies. i had actually expected them to be a bit worse, but compared to, say, Nestle Crunch hearts, these taste bland. i'll probably continue to try more Palmer candies, but so far i am not impressed.

rating: 3

ingredients: sugar, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel and/or palm), whey, lactose, crisp rice (rice, sugar, salt, barley malt), cocoa, skim milk, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), vanillin (an artificial flavor), and may contain peanuts/tree nuts

VD2010 Recap: Palmer Cookies'n'Creme Hearts

parent co.: r.m.palmer co.

pkg. size: 7.5"x 4.5"

candy size: 1.25" d.

weight: 5 oz.

quantity: 10-15

country: united states

description: creamy candy with cookie bits

while i am not a fan of white chocolate, i often think that cookies will save everything. unfortunately that is just not true. cookies can save many things, but Palmer white chocolate is not one of them. i don't even like Hershey's cookies n' cream, which i think this is a knock-off of, so this didn't really stand a chance. as far as i'm concerned this candy is the equivalent of candle wax with bits of burnt wick in it. shaped like a heart.

rating: 1

ingredients: sugar, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel and/or palm), cookies (made from bleached wheat flour, sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, palm oil, corn syrup, corn flour, soy lecithin, baking soda, salt and natural and artificial flavors), whole milk, skim milk, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), vanillin (an artificial flavor)

allergy information: manufactured on equipment which also processes wheat, peanut butter and tree nuts

Valentine's Day 2010 Recap: SweeTarts Hearts Gummies

parent co.: Wonka; Nestle

pkg. size: L-7.5" x H-6"

candy size: 1" diam.

weight: 11 oz.

quantity: 70-75

country: united states

description: tangy candy

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these are kind of gross. they are cloying and way too sticky in my teeth. perhaps the most disappointing thing is the fact that they have no specific flavor. just sweet and sour, which can be good in some cases, but not this one. after eating a few i felt the need to brush my teeth, and possibly get a good cleaning from the dentist. i've already made my appointment.

rating: 2

ingredients: glucose syrup, sugar, water, potato starch, gelatin, and less than 2% of tartaric acid, malic acid, sorbitol, fumaric acid, lactic acid, calcium lactate, sodium ascorbate, artificial flavors, citric acid, fruit and vegetable juice colors, color added, sulfiting agent (for color retention), wheat and corn starch

allergy information: made on equipment that also processes milk

Valentine's Day 2010: Part 1

there weren't nearly as many candies for Valentine's Day as i had anticipated. whether that's due to a rise in health consciousness, or possibly because Valentine's Day falls on a weekend this year (supposedly people rely less on candy-related gifts and focus more on going out), i do not know. either way, here is a selection of what i came across.

these Lovey Gummy Tummies from Trader Joe's are a cute take on the classic Gummy Tummies. i wasn't that excited about them, partially because i hadn't heard great things and partially because they are cherry flavored, but i was kind of hoping for them to be unexpectedly good. too bad they're not. the gummi isn't that bad, there's a distinct cherry flavor and they are the right amount of chewy. the gooey inside is where these are lacking. each piece is a pretty good size (roughly the size of a quarter), yet there's only a little dot of liquid inside. i definitely wish there was more in there, that's why i like the penguins with their super-gooey tummies. so far none of the seasonal variations have lived up to the penguins, which is so sad considering how good those are.

rating: 4

i was so happy when i saw Milk Chocolate Strawberryfrom Ferrara Chocolate. since i just reviewed the Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Orange, i thought this was a great follow up, not to mention that it's marketed for Valentine's Day with cute imprints on each wedge with little sayings and pictures. there are quite a few differences between this and the TJ's orange. first of all the flavor, obviously this tastes like strawberry as opposed to orange, but i think the chocolate is actually quite good. there is a slight dairy taste to it which i like; it doesn't have the tang that Hershey's milk chocolate has. the strawberry flavor is prevalent but it doesn't outshine the chocolate. i also think this orange broke a little easier, but there are so many factors to take into account with the smashing that it's hard to say that one orange is better than another. regardless, i definitely prefer this chocolate orange to the Trader Joe's brand.

rating: 8


the last item on today's post are these Peeps Chocolate Mousse Bears. while i've never been a huge fan of Peeps, i thought i'd give these a try. the chocolate mousse flavor sounds interesting, perhaps it will help to mute the overpoweringly sugary taste of the regular Peeps. as soon as i opened the package a strong scent of cocoa wafted out. it reminds me of Nestle Quik in a can. makes sense since the chocolate mousse flavor comes almost completely from cocoa powder (plus a few natural and artificial flavors). i really like the little tray they come in, and i also like the way they are all stuck together at the hands so they look like those little accordion-style cutouts. although they smell strongly of cocoa, they don't really taste any different than the way i remember regular Peeps tasting, with the exception of a slight chocolate milk aftertaste. i have to say that i really don't dislike these at all. they aren't quite as puffy as classic Peeps; i think i prefer the flatness of these bears. side note, as the package has informed me, these are gluten free. so that's pretty cool.

view the individual slices here

rating: 6

i'll be out of town for the week without internet access, so i'll post the remainder of my Valentine's Day haul (and maybe some others that i find on my journey!) when i return. hopefully i'll get it up in time for the actual holiday...