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Thursday, March 30, 2006
Chocolate Covered Sugar BabiesA long time ago, when I was a little kid, my sister and I would be given two dimes each and were allowed to walk down to the corner store with other children in the neighborhood. (This was back when candy bars were only I was especially fond of a candy called Sugar Mama. It was part of the Sugar family which was headed by the excellent Sugar Daddy and included the wee Sugar Babies. The Sugar Mama was a chocolate covered Sugar Daddy. I often got Sugar Mamas because they were the best of both worlds - the intense caramel flavor plus the chocolatey coating that made it feel more like a candy bar. Sugar Mamas, like Sugar Daddys, were pretty big and because they were softer than a regular hard candy lollipop, they were more interactive. This starts with an impression of the roof of my mouth, then slowly shaving off the chocolate with my teeth and then twirling and pulling the naked, softened caramel into shapes. It was a pretty good way to spend a nickel.
Of course they don’t make Sugar Mamas anymore and Nabisco sold the Sugar family to Tootsie back in the mid-nineties. Sugar Babies, though, continue to be produced and are actually easier to find than Sugar Daddies (there were also Sugar Daddy Nuggets at one time which were divine in their own right). They’re fine little caramel bits unlike anything else on the market because they’re panned - I’m guessing with a layer of sugar or caramel or something to make a smooth shell that turns grainy when you chew it. I haven’t had a Sugar Daddy in years, and I guess part of it is a fear of losing dental work. I’ve never actually hurt my teeth that way (though I once lost a filling eating scrambled eggs), but it’s a huge fear and I figure better safe than sorry. My favorite way to eat regular Sugar Babies is to soften them up by putting the package into my pocket or just holding a few of them in the palm of my hand for a while. This is especially important when I get the really stale ones. Now, on to the product at hand ... it seems that Tootsie is getting into the limited edition racket and has introduced Chocolate Covered Sugar Babies. Now some of you might think that this is the same thing as Milk Duds. First, chocolate coating aside, a Milk Dud doesn’t quite have that caramelized sugar taste to them (they’re more milky) and they don’t quite have the same graininess towards the end of the chew. The thing that surprised me most about these was that they’re actually fully formed Sugar Babies under the chocolate ... I thought maybe the Sugar Baby wouldn’t have the candy shell on it on the inside. This makes the little candy a bit hard and the option of warming them first is kind of gone because of the mess that ensues by holding a piece of chocolate in the palm of your hand for a few minutes. The chocolate coating is pretty good, much better, in my opinion than a Milk Dud and they’re certainly pretty looking when I dumped them out of the box. There’s a slight cinnamon hint to the whole candy and they combine well once it all warms up. However, I still prefer the plain old Sugar Babies. It was a good effort and I’m glad they tried it, but I don’t need them to add this to the line permanently but if I were going to the movies, this would be a good option (I bet they taste great with popcorn). Thanks to Joanna at SugarSavvy for pointing out their existence!
POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:58 am 
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2008 by Cybele MayPlease do not use my photos on your own site without permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop StudiosPowered by ExpressionEngine
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VOTE IN THE POLLWere your favorite candies better when you were a kid?
Total Votes: 121
Yes - but only because I had lower standards then 
26% (32)Yes - they've ruined everything good
23% (28)Maybe - I can't be sure
13% (16)Maybe - I've found new & better things since then
26% (32)No - everything is better now
7% (9)They don't actually make my favorite any longer
3% (4)
 
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SUPERB 
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
SUPERB
YUMMY 
TASTY 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
Ooh, these sound interesting. I used to love Sugar Babies and Daddies (I remember getting my mouth locked shut with a Sugar Daddy or Now and Laters many a time...) but haven’t had them in years.
cool find, cybele. have you heard anything about choc-covered tootsie rolls? i thought i read somewhere that they were putting those out… but maybe i’m confoosed
Grace - yeah, that’s the scariest part of candy is getting it so stuck that you can’t open your mouth. As a kid it’s funny ... as a woman who worries that someday she’ll get osteoporosis and her teeth will fall out, it’s not so much anymore.
tg - I did buy the chocolate covered Tootsie Rolls at the same time! I was so underwhelmed by them I can’t decide if I should even write about them. The good thing was that they were softer than any other Tootsie Roll I’ve had in my life. But the chocolate coating (which was good) just made the “less than chocolate” Tootsie Roll center seem lackluster. (Joanna mentioned them in her SugarSavvy post ... that’s where I read about them.)
hmmm, never was a fan of these.
Aww this was such a sweet and nostalgic review.
I LOVE GRAINY CARAMEL, TOO!!! =P
<3333333
I tried them in february and wrote a qucik review. I agree - stick to the original
Brian
Thanks for the overview of the “Sugar” line - I remembered that all 3 products existed, but couldn’t remember what a Sugar Mama had been. I think I saw this product recently, but can’t remember where.
And similar to your scrambled egg story, I once lost a temporary crown to a bite of tofu and rice! (This was not long after I’d lost the predecessor temporary crown to a gummi bear. I told my neighbor “the dentist told me not to chew gum, but he didn’t say anything about gummi bears.” “Umm, Tricia, it’s got ‘gum’ right there in the name.” “You’re right! Duh...” Needless to say, the dentist got a big kick out of that!)
How could covering something in chocolate possibly not make it better? Cannot...comprehend…
Tricia - I also lost a filling on a cracked tooth once on some raviolis ... seems I have problems with soft foods! Most of this was dental work I had done when I was a pre-teen, so I guess it wasn’t expected to survive that long.
Samantha - interesting question! Maybe if they were covered in really good chocolate and I enjoyed just shaving the chocolate off with my teeth or letting it melt in my mouth.
wow now that thats somthing!
Thanks for reviewing these. I was falsely assuming that they were just chocolate-covered Milk Duds. Which, you confirmed, they are not. Sounds like they’re worth a try.
Why do we always want want we cannot have? Now I’m really craving the Sugar Mama. The man is always trying to keep his woman out of the spotlight - ain’t it the truth. What gives with those misogynists over at Tootsie?
Cybele, you’ll never believe it. I was at The Dollar Tree last night and saw SUGAR MAMAS. I’m not kidding. Except… they’re not really Sugar Mamas. I mean, they’re made by Tootsie and say Sugar Mama, but here’s what they are: Individually wrapped caramels about the size of a Mary Jane - much softer than Sugar Daddies. More like the consistency of a Kraft caramel, but even a little softer. And NOT covered in chocolate. Curious! Have you seen these? I bought a bag. Not bad, but not our long-lost beloved Mama. And full of hydrogenated oils - bummer.
Sugar Mamas that aren’t chocolate covered Sugar Daddies? That’s crazy talk!
They used to have Sugar Daddy Nuggets - which sounds kinda like what you’re describing, but I haven’t seen those in years. (You can see them in this old ad.)
I checked out the Sugar Daddy Nuggets in the old ads - yeah, they look similar. Except it’s definitely NOT Sugar Daddy consistency. Much softer and easier on the ol’ chicklets (teeth). I can send you a picture if you’re really interested… Love the Valomilk saga, by the by.
Sugar Babies are pretty tough to beat, as long as they aren’t stale. I don’t see them as much anymore, but I remember they would sell them in boxes at the movie theater when I was really young.
I adore Sugar Daddy pops. I cannot eat them too often, as I have lost dental work. . . I remember the nugget size from childhood. I think I prefer that size to the large Sugar Daddy pop these days. However, Dollar Tree sometimes carries the smaller version of the Sugar Daddy pop. On a recent foray to Dollar Tree, I noticed a Sugar Mama caramel. It is the size of a nugget, but it is a soft, chewy caramel (without a chocolate coating) as opposed to the harder caramel of the Sugar Daddy pop. The Sugar Mama is not bad, but the Sugar Daddy is better. Tootsie’s website does not have any information about the Sugar Mama. . .
Zelda, thanks for the heads up on finding Sugar Mamas (whatever they may be) at the Dollar Tree, I’ll check into it next time I’m there. I noticed the lack of Sugar Mama info on the Tootsie site ... they also didn’t mention these limited editions.
John - stale Sugar Babies are pretty easy to resurrect, it just means warming them up in your hand or keeping the package in a pocket. I guess you could microwave them for a few seconds, but that could go horribly awry if not timed properly. I’d suggest trying it in a microwave that’s not yours. (hee!)
I wish I could find some sugar mamas I really like them because it was on a stick and it wouldn’t melt in the hand, but choc covered suger babies sound good
I found Sugar Mamas at my local Dollar Tree today. They are ‘okay’. Out of the family, I prefer Sugar Daddies (they are my all time favorite candy on a stick) but I can’t find the big ones here! Sometimes I can get the little ones in a fun size bag. I don’t like sugar babies.
i like the sugar mamas but i love the sugar daddys and sugar babies!!!
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