Strawberried Peanut Butter m&m's

They're back! After the popularity of Stawberried Peanut Butter m&m's produced in honor of Transformer's II last year, m&m's has reissued the variety as a Special Edition flavor (click here to read the original review). I'm still in favor of the concept but feel that the flavor is just a little too artificial. If they could just produce a more jammy, realistic strawberry rather than that sterile artificial strawberry, I'd turn into a true believer!

Score: 4

Stop the Madness: Going to the Root of the Problem

photo courtesy of simonandschuster.com

Recently I've been advocating an end to this over-saturated cupcake market throughout New York. Listen, I love a good cupcake, but this is getting ridiculous- especially the cheap marketing ploys. Way back when, Magnolia Bakery was the epicenter of cupcake activity and visiting this tiny bakeshop to sample their nostalgic treats was a reason to trek to the West Village in and of itself. Then along came Sex and the City and that sweet bakery was ruined as a destination, replaced instead by long lines of women hoping to experience a little Carrie Bradshaw fabulosity through frosting. Now Magnolia is cashing in on its source of fame by creating the "Carrie" cupcake. Oops, they didn't even create a new cupcake. Instead they just renamed their vanilla cupcake with pink frosting after the character in hopes of pulling ahead of the rest of the local cupcake competition. Yuck. There is a call to arms against the Carrie Cupcake in today's GrubStreet blog and I could not agree more with their proposed methods of protest.

Lost- Themed Cakes

photo courtesy of cakewrecks

I appreciate any impassioned act of teevee fandom, and although I stopped following Lost a few seasons back due to its frustrating narrative obtuseness, I like the style of these fans who got all crafty with cake for the Lost series finale. Straight from the brilliant blog, Cake Wrecks, check out the whole gallery!

Choward's Guava Candy

photo courtesy Choward's (i devoured my pack too fast to document!)

A new product from the classic candy maker, Choward's (since 1930!), is a surprise favorite! I mean, really, how much can one expect from a Life Saver's size pack of powdered tablets? But damn, these pellets dissolve into a powerful and fresh tasting puddle of guava juice in one's mouth and really packs a tasty punch! How to find more of these?? I stumbled on this pack at Economy Candy (since 1937!), purveyors of old-fashioned and hard-to-find candy treats, but I urge any and all stores that sell candy to place these at the front counter. There are sure to be hoards of rabid fans lined up for these bursts of guava deliciousness. Yum! Why isn't there more guava flavored candy out there--a trend waiting to unfold! Forget chocolate covered bacon and cupcakes--so overdone--let's support the production of Guava flavored everything!

Score: 5

Hershey's Kisses Orange Creme

Hmm, I'm all for Hershey's branching out with new flavors in their ongoing quest to sell Kisses, but was pretty disappointed by the newest round. I'm biased, though, and don't tend to enjoy the white chocolate-based flavors so take my distaste with a grain of salt. If you're into white chocolate, these are probably sublime. Basically they taste like a creamsicle, which is a pretty tasty flavor. However, the white chocolate tastes waxy and doesn't melt very easily so you end up chewing and chewing and it never really reaches that chocolate meltation point that is really the point underlying all chocolate consumption. Meh. Thanks for finding these, Kara, in my constant quest to taste the full line of Kiss-based treats!

Score: 3

Hershey's Raspberry Hugs

Oh, these Raspberry Hershey's Hugs could have tasted so much better. I had high hopes. Raspberry and chocolate are ideally suited to be mixed together, but unfortunately the raspberry flavor permeating the milk chocolate center is alarmingly artificial and cloyingly sweet without that necessary underlying berry tartness. Add that in to my aversion to Hershey's non-melty white chocolate and you have a disappointingly unappealing little bonbon. Try again, Hershey's! I know you can create more inspiring flavor combinations!

Score: 2

Mysterious Tree Stump Cookies

These whimsical tree stump cookies surpass even the good burger cookies of the previous entry. Instead of coconut, the cookie element carries a strong malt flavor. And although the chocolate doesn't look particularly melty, it liquifies the moment it hits your tongue. They're delightful, well paired with a cup of tea or cocoa. I'd love to know the translation of the packaging and learn the proper name of these tiny homages to deforestation. Anyone out there who speaks Japanese, please let me know!


Update: helpful reader, xyuemoto, wrote in to let us know that the name of these sweets translates to Woodcutter's Stump Chocolate Candy. Thanks!


Score: 5

Every Burger Cookies

Ok, they're not technically candy, but I couldn't resist these charming burger cookies. Plus I've been doing far too much eating and not nearly enough reviewing of late and there's a terrible backlog. Each hamburger roll cookie is laced with a wonderful coconut flavor and the chocolate frosting filling balances that strong coconut perfectly. I loved these and only wish I could remember where I found them.

Score: 4