It’s sad in a way that I’m writing about these now, since they’re not due in stores until December, but I really couldn’t wait. (I know Candy Addict was also too excited for them to hit store shelves.)

The new line of Pieces is the expansion of the Reese’s Pieces line after a mere thirty one years since their introduction. (More here)

The choice of Almond Joy as one of the first lentilized Hershey’s bars in this line is kind of odd, but a welcome one as far as I’m concerned - coconut candies are few and far between.

The samples I got were directly from Hershey’s and came in little “for sales samples only” packets of only .7 ounces each. I’m not certain what the final packaging sizes will be.

The nutrition information is missing but the ingredients are here:

Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, milk, corn syrup solids, milk fat, nonfat milk, soy lecithin, PGPR), sugar, coconut, almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and.or sunflower oil) contains 2% or less of artificial color (blue 1, red 40, yellow 5, blue 2, yellow 6), resinous glaze, gum acacia, modified cornstarch & carnauba wax.

The pieces are similar in size & proportion to M&Ms, perhaps a little thicker. The sizes and manufacturing are quite consistent. The colors are blue, dark brown and tan.

The candy shells are rather thick & crunchy, the candy center is a milk chocolate base studded with coconut bits and crushed almonds.

They’re quite sweet and taste mostly of coconut, but the texture combinations are fantastic - the light crunch of the candy shell combined with the chew of the coconut bits and the occasional appearance by an almond bit. The flavors are a bit mild but I enjoyed these quite a bit and if I had an opportunity to chose them for a snack at a movie or while at my desk, I certainly would, mostly because they are unique, there are no other candies like this.

There’s no Kosher status listed on the package (though that may be because this is not final packaging), and it also says that it’s not nut, peanut, wheat, egg or soy free. Further, the use of resinous glaze means that this is not a vegetarian product.

Related Candies

1. Limited Edition M&Ms Coconut
2. Sunspire Coconut Bars
3. Atkinson’s Coconut Long Boys
4. Reese’s Pieces
5. Almond Joy Cookies
6. Reese’s Pieces with Peanuts

A couple of years ago Nestle finally expanded the Rasinets line by creating “dark chocolate” covered Raisinets.

Now they’ve delved into mucking with the inside of the Raisinet ... the raisin.

In the new Cranberry Raisinets they’ve swapped out the dried grape for dried cranberries.

While the classic Raisinet is pretty simple & pure (just raisins in the center covered with some mediocre milk chocolate then coated with a sealing confectioners glaze), the new Cranberry version is a bit more complicated with a complicated package to match.

First, they’ve gone to a 100 calorie package which is priced the same as a standard serving package. Regular Raisinets currently come in a package with 1.58 ounces in there. The new 100 Calorie Cranberry Raisinets are .81 ounces. (If a package is 75 cents, that’s over $14 per pound.)

The front of the package says: 100% chocolate covered cranberries. I don’t know if that means that each cranberry is completely covered (which isn’t quite true, since some of mine had little bald spots) or that there are no raisins hiding in there ... but what’s really certain here is that there’s more than cranberries in the center.

The centers are “sweetened cranberries” with their ingredients listed as cranberries, sugar and sunflower oil. The little factoid box on the back of the package says: Good to Know: Dried cranberries are one of nature’s best sources of fruit ANTIOXIDANTS. Yes, that’s a nice thought, but there’s less than a half an ounce of cranberries here (I’m being generous with that estimate based on how much of the product is chocolate), so little that there’s no measurable amount of Vitamin C listed in the dietary specs.

All that prefacing aside, I love dried cranberries. I buy them often and eat them quite a bit (I love them mixed in with raw almonds). I’ve only been able to find the sweetened cranberries, no unsweetened ones seem readily available.

The Cranberry Raisinets are big and plump, usually flat and some of them were conjoined.

The chocolate is sweet, milky and flaky. The flavor is bland with a slight musty & cocoa note to it. The cranberry centers are chewy and tangy but also sweet. The overall effect is, well, sweetness without enough texture variation.

I’ve had quite a few different brands of chocolate covered dried & sweetened cranberries and think they’re just too sweet for the flavor profiles of the chocolate & cranberries to come through strongly.

I don’t see any reason to pay the same amount of money for basically half as much candy, even if it is some sort of portion control. 100 calories of something really tasty might be worth it, but this is simply not worthy of my limited calorie allotments for confections.

Related Candies

1. Candy Tease: April 2009
2. Nestle Milk Chocolate
3. Nestle Crunch (Now Even Richer Milk Chocolate)
4. Trader Joe’s Figments
5. Figamajigs

I’d like to say that I’m reviewing Mike and Ike Berry Blast because they’ve changed their flavors. Honestly, I’m reviewing them because I’ve never actually had them before.

Well, let me make a correction: yes, I’ve had packages before ... but I’ve never actually opened them up and eaten them.

The previous flavors were Blueberry (blue), Strawberry (red), Mixed Berry (purple), Raspberry (pink), Wild Berry (green) while the new flavors are Blueberry, Strawberry, Blue Raspberry, Peach Berry and Wild Berry. So besides a color shift for some of the returning flavors, the new flavor here is Peach Berry.

Strawberry (pink) - a mild strawberry flavor. Sweet for the most part with a little tangy layer around the sugary shell.

Blue Raspberry (light blue) - again, mild. I really couldn’t tell it was raspberry specifically, but at least there was no red food coloring aftertaste. The tart bite was completely missing.

Blueberry (blue) - I’m rarely fond of blueberry flavored candies, as blueberries aren’t that intense to begin with and are best fresh or in pancakes. It’s sweet and has a bit of an iced tea vibe to it ... nice, but rather bland.

Peach Berry (peach)  - I’m not sure who thought peaches & berries go together, but it doesn’t make much of a difference on this one since the flavor is boldly peach and only vaguely raspberry. Well, the bold part is an overstatement, the peach isn’t in my face like Jolly Ranchers, just a sedate sort of background note.

Wild Berry (dark purple) - I got only one of these, so it’s hard to make much of an assessment based on that. It tasted a lot like the raspberry, perhaps a little more intense.

Overall, I think it’s just my personal preference for more intensely flavored candies that are assertive in their flavors. But as far as flavor mixes go, I like that these are all in the same flavor family and if I mixed the colors in the same mouthful, there isn’t a bad combination to be had. Add to that, the jelly bean quality here is very smooth and I enjoyed the color variations. The bag is a decent value since it holds 2.12 ounces, I’ve found that the bags are fresher than the theater boxes.

Related Candies

1. Mike and Ike Italian Ice
2. Mike and Ike Alex’s Lemonade Stand
3. Jelly Belly - All Natural
4. Hot Tamales Ice
5. Mike and Ike Jolly Joes
6. Mike and Ike Tangy Twister
7. Hot Tamales and Hotter Tamales

Ghirardelli Chocolate introduced their new Luxe Milk line of premium milk chocolate late last year. I started seeing it on store shelves in last fall, especially at Cost Plus World Market, which usually has a great selection of both their bars and the bags of the squares.

I already tried the Luxe Milk Crisp late last year while on my search for the ideal crisped rice bar (it’s pretty good!).

Now I have a full bag of the Premium Assortment which includes Milk Chocolate, Milk chocolate with Almonds, Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts and the Crisp.

The package explains how Ghirardelli is different, because they control all steps of production, from bean selection, roasting, refining and conching. I’m pretty sure even subpar chocolate goes through controlled steps ... just that the raw materials and standards are a little different.

The all natural formula for Ghirardelli’s Luxe Milk does sound promising: sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin and vanilla.

The color is creamy and light, much lighter than I usually take my coffee with cream.

The scent is less like chocolate and more like caramelized sugar and meringue (a kind of toasted protein smell).

The bite is rather soft, but not as fudgy as lesser chocolate such as Hershey’s.

The flavor is, well, quite milky. The texture is very smooth and silky and the melt is creamy. However, the flavor has a distinct dried milk taste to it. There’s also a little sour tang to it, not as pronounced as Hershey’s but certainly it leans towards that end instead of the hot chocolate flavors of Dove or Nestle’s Milk Chocolate. The saving grace is that they’re not overly sweet or cloying.

I’ve had quite a few of these squares over the past few months, starting with some sample squares at the Fancy Food Show and I have to say that I don’t care for it much. It worked very well with the malty notes of the Crisp and the texture is certainly great.

Rating: 6 out of 10

While I might not have enjoyed the plain milk chocolate, I know that nuts can often completely change the flavor profile of a chocolate bar.

The Luxe Milk Almond has crushed almond bits in it. The square is a bit thicker and it’s actually bigger than the plain square (.528 ounces versus .375).

The almonds are pretty big and do go well with the milk flavors of the chocolate. The smooth texture is highlighted well by comparison. The nuts have a dark roast to them so the toasted almond flavors come out well and stand up to the strong dairy component.

Rating: 8 out of 10

American made chocolate bars with hazelnuts in them aren’t easy to find. The Luxe Milk Hazelnut comes with a green band on the wrapper to set it apart from the others.

This piece is also .528 ounces. The hazelnuts are wonderfully toasted and have that grassy and buttery crunch to them that goes so well with milk chocolate. No hint of stickiness.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Overall, I like the fact that someone is paying attention to milk chocolate, which has a rather bad rap as being some sort of starter chocolate instead of valid gourmet confection. The plain isn’t my style, but certainly not bad quality ... but it’s also possible that I’m just not a plain chocolate persons ... most times I feel like a nut.

Related Candies

1. Ghirardelli Holiday Squares
2. 3400 Phinney: Fig, Fennel & Almond and Hazelnut Crunch
3. Ritter Sport White Chocolate with Hazelnuts
4. Lake Champlain Hazelnut Eggs
5. Dagoba Hazelnut
6. Ghirardelli Squares

For the past few years M&Ms has linked up with blockbuster movies to make Limited Edition M&Ms. Shrek (Mega M&Ms), Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (Mint Crisp M&Ms), Pirates of the Caribbean (White Chocolate M&Ms) and Star Wars (Dark Chocolate M&Ms). This summer is no different with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

To tie into the movie about aliens that are two kinds of robots in one (more than meets the eye) Mars is introducing Limited Edition Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms.

Not only are the candies inside of the “you’ve never tasted this before” variety, they’ve also made seven different versions of the wrapper. Pictured above is The Twins - Pack 7 of 7.

What is a strawberried peanut butter M&M?

They’re pretty much the same as the regular Peanut Butter M&Ms: a peanut butter center covered in milk chocolate and a hard candy shell ... except here the milk chocolate is strawberry flavored.

I admit at first I squintched up my nose at the idea. Then I thought about PB&J (which is ideal with concord grape and white bread on one side, but also fabulous with sunflower wheat bread and raspberry jam) and it kind of made sense.

The colors are red, brown and yellow.

There were no clever motifs on the printing, just the regular M imprint. Except the yellow ones had some red splatter on them (I’m guessing that’s red transformer motor oil).

The strawberry flavor is just that, a flavoring applied on top of the inherent flavors in the peanut butter and the chocolate. The chocolate flavor is pretty much overwhelmed by the floral and sweet berry essences. The peanut butter grounds it pretty well, it’s mostly smooth, rather soft and has a good salty pop towards the end.

They’re not my favorite M&Ms ever, but I had no problem eating the whole bag. They feel about as relevant to the movie as last year’s mint crisp was to Indiana Jones.

I’ll leave you with a photo of the Bumblebee Transformer. Because I had it (hey, I work in Hollywood, I see a lotta stuff):

Related Candies

1. Mint Chocolate M&Ms
2. M&Ms Razzberry - Limited Edition
3. Head to Head: M&Ms vs Koppers Milkies
4. 3 Musketeers Mini Mix
5. M&M and Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Eggs
6. Sandy Candy

One of the new products I was keen on trying that appeared at ExpoWest was Gimme Calcium.

It’s marketed as candy with benefits in this case a bit of fortification with 500 mg of calcium. The candy balls are also made with all natural ingredients, so no artificial colors or flavors.

The package is rather large considering the amount inside. The wrapper is over 6.5” long, that’s an inch longer than an M&M package (so think of this like a King Sized pouch) but only holds one ounce. (However, when I talked to the folks who are just starting up the company, they designed the bag before knowing exactly how big & heavy the portions would be and will probably alter this during their next production run of wrappers.)

That said, I think the package design is nice - it’s bold & seems friendly and appealing.

The candies are the size of a small malted milk ball. The shells are a muted beige, a little on the grey side (again, all natural colorings).

The candy is made of a crisped rice center surrounded by milk chocolate and then a hard candy shell. There are 10-12 per bag.

The most noticeable flavor at first is the cereal notes of the rice then there’s a bit of milky flavor from the chocolate. The chocolate flavors come across as a kind of cocoa breakfast cereal. The calcium part is completely undetectable. Not a hint of unusual graininess, no weird mineral aftertaste. I find it hard to believe that I’m getting half my daily RDA of calcium ... but that’s what it says. They’re sweet and definitely crunchy ...

My only hesitation with them is availability and price. Right now they’re for sale on place online (healthysnackstore.com) and are about $1.70 a package when sold by the dozen. It’s far cheaper to just down Tums for the calcium. However, if you have a kid that you need to get that extra calcium into or are an adult who just needs a little help with boosting your mineral intake the caloric hit isn’t even that bad because of the scant portion size - only 130 calories a bag. I felt pretty satisfied ... and strong.

Related Candies

1. Goldie’s Premium Carob Bar
2. CocoaVia Bars
3. Choco-Omeg
4. Figamajigs
5. Adora Calcium Tabs

At the same time I bought the Sunspire Peppermint Pattie, I also picked up both of their Coconut Bars.

Sunspire makes premium candy with all natural ingredients, nothing artificial. In my experience with their products they tend to use evaporated cane juice instead of refined sugar and often use unsulfured molasses as a sweetener. They also eschew genetically modified sources so most of the products I’ve seen use a rice syrup when needed instead of corn syrup. Besides the malty, earthy flavor that molasses usually adds, I have no problem with sweet & satisfying candy being made from these elements.

Add to that Hershey’s decision to move manufacturing of Mounds, Almond Joy and York Peppermint Patties to Mexico, I thought it’d be cool to find an excellent American-made substitute for folks who want to buy more local. (Though in my case Monterrey, Mexico is a bit closer than Hershey, PA.)

The Coconut Almond with Premium Milk Chocolate bar looked fabulous. It’s pretty beefy, a wide slab clocking in at 1.75 ounces.

Instead of the two piece style of Almond Joy or Bounty this is a long, one-piece bar, a bit thinner. The rippled milk chocolate enrobing is glossy and appealing.

The almonds in this bar are not whole ones popped on top like Almond Joy, they’re crushed & mixed in with the moist coconut flakes.

I didn’t really see the almond bits in there, but the color was a bit more on the cream-colored side than the dark chocolate & no almond version (see below.)

The bar smells pleasantly like coconut and unpleasantly like Hershey’s Milk Chocolate often does - a bit gamey & sour ... rather like baby vomit.

But I pushed on, because I actually like the taste of Hershey’s milk chocolate, even though I can’t take the smell of it for very long.

The flavor of the milk chocolate is tangy, it’s like acid reflux but in the convenience of a pre-packaged bar. It’s terrible. I can’t eat it. I tried several times, it’s just too awful for me to stomach. (I even waited a couple of days, just in case I was the one who wasn’t feeling well.)

Then, as some sort of deja vu, I lured Amy into my office to try it. (Remember, not only does Amy have no problem spitting things out, she also has a hate-hate relationship with Sunspire’s Sundrops.)

I understand personal preferences for certain flavors, it’s rare for any candy product to induce a verified gag reflex.

Rating: 1 out of 10

But to get back to the happy hiatus of Sunspire mistrust that was the Peppermint Pattie ... an unrelated bad night’s sleep and I tried the Coconut Premium Dark Chocolate.

It’s a simpler bar, just a firm coconut center, lightly sweetened and some dark chocolate enrobing.

The enrobing on this one looked similar, though there were a few bloomed spots. As the expiration date was March 2010, I felt pretty safe eating it.

The chocolate is slightly bitter, not extremely creamy but has its own decent flavor. The center is firm and chewy, more like an uncoated coconut bar than something soft & moist like a Mounds.

This tastes like no compromise candy. All natural ingredients, not organic but at least not genetically modified or overprocessed. The ingredients are vegan however they were made in a plant that processes wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs and soy. Kosher.

The price is a bit steep and to be honest, if I’m going for a candy bar when at Whole Foods or similar stores, there’s very little that could pry me away from the Q.Bel wafer bars. But if I was in the mood for coconut, the dark bar is notable.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Related Candies

1. Atkinson’s Coconut Long Boys
2. Regional Flavors: Key Lime, Pina Colada & Huckleberries
3. Kisses Coconut Creme
4. 100 Grand Coconut
5. Mounds Island Orange
6. Cup-O-Gold

For something as simple as a candy coated chocolate lentil, there sure is a wide variety of M&Ms products.

(IT’S SUGAR M&M wall at Universal City Walk)

This isn’t so much a review as a rundown of the products.

For the most part we buy M&Ms in single serve packages that hold an ounce or two of five different colors. Currently they come in Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Peanut, Dark Chocolate with Peanuts, Peanut Butter and Almond. (Then there are various limited editions like the upcoming Transformers: Strawberried Peanut Butter, last year’s Crispy Mint for Indiana Jones, Wild Cherry or Razzberry and the seasonal varieties like Milk Chocolate Mint and holiday color versions.)

Then M&Ms introduced Colorworks: the ability to buy individually colored or themed color mixes (circa 1996). Later they added in customized printing (2004). After that they allowed customers to not only add logos but now you can get your own picture on M&Ms.

Most recently M&Ms introduced their themed MyMMs.com tie-ins with Disney. These are called M&Ms Memorable Moments. (I got this bag as a sample from Mars’ PR folks.)

The theme on this assortment is Fairies. There are four colors & five imprints: Tinkerbell, Jasmine, Belle, “Believe in Magic!” and the M.

The candy itself isn’t very different (except for those of us who can taste artificial colors). I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t more images ... and the choice of the gals.

The colors are dark pink, green, yellow and teal. The printing was a little sloppy. The photo is of the best in the package, some were mottled with little splotches, that are all too familiar to me as a lefty. (The classic M&Ms are all imprinted in a creamy grey, not black.)

The other Disney assortments are:

The Disney themed are $12.99 for a 7 ounce bag and you have to buy at least 3. That’s over $29 per pound ... before you add the shipping. That’s some seriously pricey stuff - maybe dilute them with the plain colored ones ($6.99 for 7 ounces) to make the themed ones a little more precious.

Over the past few years I’ve been to a few parties & celebrations and have picked up some other customized M&Ms. Some were just text and some had logos on them.

Ordering from M&Ms there are a few options for pre-packaged favors. They can put them in little tins, clear boxes or tiny bags or you can just buy in large bags and put them in a buffet or bundle them up yourself.

Beyond the color mixes & pre-made icons, customized M&Ms are big. They’re a popular wedding and celebration item and of course the crazy internet kids like to go to mymms.com to probe the content filter of what they can put on their candies that won’t be censored.

Personally, I prefer a personalized container over the actual edible. After all, you want me to eat it.

On the whole, the Memorable Moments are passably unique and cute, but I think they’re really only for diehard fans of those characters. They’re extremely expensive for the actual product ... somehow I think just a properly themed box or other container would be a better deal.

If you have money to freely convert into perishable candy coated chocolate, well, this is pretty inventive.

Related Candies

1. Mint Chocolate M&Ms
2. M&Ms Premiums
3. Head to Head: M&Ms vs Koppers Milkies
4. Disney Branded Chocolate Candies
5. Disneyland Candy Novelties
6. Disneyland Candy Palace - Candy Case Chocolates
7. M&Ms Line