Vosges' 'Bacon and Eggs' Chocolate Easter Egg

The Vosges website states that their new bacon-infused caramel chocolate Easter egg "redefines bacon and eggs." I'm here to spread the word to bacon junkies across the land but cannot feign excitement over this new addition to the bacon-based candy trend. Vosges has such important work to do with their incredibly creamy chocolate and rainbow of unique blends and flavors and this holiday treat just feels like an easy grab at attention. Stay with subtle chocolate creations, Vosges, you do it so well. Or even the not so subtle, like the magical Enchanted Mushroom that celebrates the Easter Holiday with a great combination of flavors along in the most whimsical thrilling shape. Who can resist?

Cake Mixx: A Photographer's Take on Cake and Relationships

photo courtesy eatmedaily/ dustin wayne harris

Photographer Dustin Wayne Harris asks each new woman he dates to bake him a cake to photograph and the colorful results are on display at Heist Gallery in New York through April 18. Check it out or scroll through a few highlights at eatmedaily.

Peeps Show: Washington Post 4th Annual Peeps Diorama Contest Winners Announced

Peeps in Wonderland. Look Further.

Wonka Sweetarts Bunnies Gummies: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

Unlike the delicious Wonka Easter Sweetarts Jelly Beans, which actually deliver that unique Sweetart tangy flavor, these Sweetarts Bunnies and Gummies taste nothing like their namesake. They resemble Sour Patch Kids more than anything else, but without the same quality of flavor. Disappointing. Ok, I ate all the orange ones. Those were delicious. Otherwise, meh. Thanks, Dan, for tracking these down! Keep your eyes peeled for Wonka's new Fruit Marvels, I've been searching everywhere!

Score: 2

Sour Patch Jelly Beans: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

These Sour Patch Jelly Beans deliver the same great taste as the original candy in a festive Easter form. Nuff said.

Score: 3

Malteser Easter Bunny: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

Wow, these Malteser MaltEasters are the surprise delight of this year's round of Easter Candy! Instead of relying on their always-delicious malt balls, they concocted a whipped light malt-flavored cream center with tiny malt balls suspended throughout. Scrumptious! One was not nearly enough and I've found myself scheming and dreaming up ways to procure more. But where? Where? Does anyone know if Maltesers ever created another candy containing this malt cream filling? Thanks for bringing me this awesome treat, Dan!

Score: 5

Tootsie Easter Dots: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

Hooray! Dots has produced another seasonal product that is both unique and tasty! Tootsie didn't get quite as imaginative for the Easter selection as with the Halloween, or even Christmas, variations. These Easter Dots are the same flavors as classic Dots but come in new vibrant opaque technicolor shades evocative of brightly dyed Easter eggs. Same uniquely delicious gummy flavors, newly brightened shades. Keep'em coming, Dots!

Score: 4

Cadbury Orange Creme Egg: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

As a huge advocate of Cadbury Creme Eggs, these Cadbury Orange Creme Eggs are a little disappointing. Citrus should be tart and carry a little zest whereas this creme filling just tastes like the traditional creme egg with a little orange extract thrown in for good measure. I'll stick with the original.

Score: 3

Milk Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Peeps: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

These special holiday edition milk chocolate covered marshmallow Peeps sport some pretty good smooth and melty chocolate over the typical dry marshmallow. I've complained about it before. This chocolate covered variety are definitely a step up in the Peeps lineup of flavors. The chocolate carries it. I enjoyed the splash of yellow throughout the marshmallow, too. It felt like a real holiday treat. Keep going with the nice seasonal editions, Peeps!

Score: 3

Wonka Sweetarts Tangy Candy Jellybeans: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

These Sweetarts Jellybeans taste uncannily like chewy Sweetarts wrapped around a gummy center. If you're fond of that tangy flavor profile, you'll like these like I do. If not, try another of the many options available for Easter jellybeans. I'm definitely planning to hoard a bunch of bags to keep on-hand year-long. Although I'd like to vote out the Green Apple and Blue Punch flavors. Maybe a Red Punch flavor would be tastier. Thanks for finding these, Dan! Sweetarts Jellybeans constitute an unexpected holiday delight!

Score: 4

m&m's Milk Chocolate Speck-tacular Easter Eggs: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

Same delicious m&m's, new pastel color scheme in a little larger size than the classic. I believe they're supposed to be shaped like eggs, but I could be projecting a little too much Easter upon them. Different look, still deliciously addictive! (Still no contest, though, between these and the Cadbury Mini Eggs!) Thanks for spotting these, Kara!

Score: 4

Cadbury Mini Eggs: Easter Holiday Candy Roundup

There's no way to be objective about Cadbury Mini Eggs. They're simply perfection. Though on paper they resemble the basic components of traditional m&m's, they're so much more tempting and addictive. The Cadbury chocolate is far milkier and less sweet than in m&m's. The crispy sugar shell is also far more pleasing, not smooth and slippery but a casing one can sink their teeth into. I actually think of the sugar shell as a pleasurable component of the Mini Egg rather than a means to an end with the m&m's, i.e. getting the chocolate from the package into my mouth with no melty chocolate mess. These are simply sublime and I wish they sold them year-round. I plan to hoard a bunch so that I am not awash in a wave of regret come the day after Easter.

Score: (a resounding) 5

Milky Way Simply Caramel

These Milky Way Simply Caramel bars are so good. The caramel is smooth, soft, and buttery, somewhere in between the hard layer of caramel in a Twix bar and the liquidy filling of a Caramello. I'd still take the messy Caramello any day, but these Milky Ways are great on the go and, unlike some other chocolate bars, the ideal serving size. They perfectly satisfy a sweets craving. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more! Thanks, Dan, purveyor of treats!

Score: 4

Nestle Munchies

These Nestle Munchies are fantastic! They're basically miniature versions of a Twix bar in tiny bonbon form, but with a lighter and more buttery caramel component. I've never loved Nestle milk chocolate, but that's the least important element of the candy and simply provides the cohesive layer for the caramel and cookie center. The caramel, on the other hand, is great, far more enticing than the dense layer encompassed in a Twix. The biscuit bite suspended in the center of each bonbon lacks much flavor but does provide a satisfying crunch to provide a little textural contrast from all the sticky melty flavors melting in one's mouth. I made short work of these and would absolutely pick them up again. Thanks, Dan!

Score: 4

Bassetts Allsorts Red Licorice

These Bassetts Allsorts Red Licorice treats are an ideal example of those rare candies that are at once repulsive and addictive. The red licorice element is lovely. However, note the many other colors of foamy substance enveloping or surrounded by the red licorice. The consistency of this super foamy matter is unnerving. Cloyingly sweet (it takes a lot to make me say that) and even crunchy with sugar granules, I find that these fruit-flavored morsels most resemble the texture of those orange Circus Peanuts of yesteryear. And then just to up the level of strange, the bag contains exactly one gummy figure depicting a smiling pink girl. (Is this the Bassetts equivalent of the prize in the Cracker Jacks box?) Though left with many questions, I'm glad to have tasted them and will most likely avoid this particular candy assemblage in the future.

Score: 3

Chinatown Cake Club

Incredible cake stylings at this month's Chinatown Cake Club!
Top: Cindy Sherman artist series cake.
Bottom: menu of delights (click on the image to enlarge to legible size).

photo credit: pam mendelsohn