Halloween Dots

Guess what kids, summer is over which means it's time to start planning trips to the cider mill and stocking up on Halloween candy! Let me introduce you to Halloween-themed Dots, who could pass up such a thing? I found these Candy Corn and Bat (blood orange) flavored Dots at Kroger. There is also a Ghost version available that are a neon green translucent color and fruit flavored, but I did not buy them. The candy corn flavor initially PIQUED my interest because they looked really cute and I have to admit, sometimes I do crave me some candy corn. It's not a candy I can eat in large batches or very often, but about once a year I find a nice fresh bag thoroughly enjoyable. A couple years ago around this time I found candy corn flavored salt water taffy that was quite awesome. Which reminds me, I should look for that again, but I digress...on to the Dots!


The Candy Corn Dots are pleasant. They sport the traditional dome shape and size of a Dot. Each piece has a yellow and orange layer mimicking real candy corn minus the white tip. The candy corn flavor is not very strong, nor are they overly sweet. In fact, I couldn't even taste much until a few seconds into the chew. They have a caramel flavor, whereas traditional candy corn has more of a honey flavor.

The Bat Dots were quite a surprise. First of all, I almost passed them up because I assumed they were black licorice. When I read they were blood orange flavor, I was intrigued, so I grabbed a box. I have to give the Tootsie Roll people credit for the clever tie between blood orange - "blood" - and Halloween. I can't say I've ever had a real blood orange, but I love the way these Bat Dots taste. I couldn't stop eating them. They remind me of a cross between grape and orange soda. They also have something in common with an orange slushie in that there is a nice tangy sparkle to them.

Both the Candy Corn and Bat Dots are nice additions to this year's Halloween candy offerings. Out of the two, I have to say I prefer the flavor of the Bat Dots. My only complaint is that they seem to make their way into ever crevice of my teeth. Very sticky, but delicious.

Chocolate Flavored Smarties

Non-chocolate "chocolate flavored" candies are quite a conundrum. Sometimes they work out great, like Tootsie Rolls, chocolate-flavored Tootsie Pops, or even chocolate Necco Wafers; but quite often the result is pretty grody. If you've ever tasted chocolate licorice or chocolate bubble gum, you know what I'm talking about. Nevertheless, when I heard about Chocolate Flavored Smarties, I was curious and a little bit hopeful.

I found this roll of Chocolate Flavored Smarties in the well-stocked candy section of a Party City store. If you can't tell from the photo, or just think I have really tiny hands, this happens to be a Smarties "mega" roll where each piece is about the size of a quarter. I'm not sure if this flavor is available in the traditional Smarties size.

As I untwisted the wrapper, the first thing I noticed about the Smarties were the smell. They definitely have a "chocolate" smell, but not real chocolate. It reminded me of a cross between the chocolate-scented pencil erasers that I would get as a kid and the scent of a Cabbage Patch Kid. More recently, I experienced the same smell from the Chocolator, the chocolate bar shaped chocolate-scented calculator that my sister bought me for my birthday. I took the Smarties smelling like plasticy rubber as a bad sign, and my gut was right. Sadly, the Chocolate Smarties not only smell like plastic, they taste very artificial. I couldn't eat more than one and half without getting grossed out.

Tropical Chewy Lemonheads

So I was on the elevator at work headed up to my office when I spotted a woman holding a small light blue box and all I could make out was the smiling face of Mr. Lemonhead. Hmmm...light blue? I didn't know of any Lemonhead product that came in a light blue box. I knew this had to be something new, so I had no other choice but to head back down to the first floor and survey the gift shop where I found displayed at the register Tropical Chewy Lemonheads. Last July I wrote about Chewy Lemonheads & Friends, the first incarnation of these candies. Tropical Chewy Lemonheads put a spin on the original product by putting two flavors in every piece, kind of like Crazy Core Skittles, and giving Mr. Lemonhead a hawaiian shirt. The flavors break down like this:

Peach Mango (orange w/green center): Generally the first flavor listed is the one that makes up the outer shell. I'm not a big fan of peach flavored candy, and here it kind of tastes like cat pee, luckily once the peach flavor dissolves the mango is pretty good.

Berry Banana (blue w/yellow center): I'm a fan of artificial banana flavor, but still I was skeptical of this one. It turned out to be my favorite of the box. The berry flavor has a nice tanginess and the banana is flavorful yet mild.

Pink Lemonade & Lemonade (pink w/yellow center): Two types of lemonade may seem redundant but this flavor works. It tastes like very much like a regular Chewy Lemonhead only a not as sour.

Cherry Watermelon (red w/pink center): Tastes like a Cherry Head. I can't really tell there is watermelon inside, but I still like it.

Kiwi Strawberry (green w/red center): Does anyone really know what kiwi strawberry tastes like? I usually only get strawberry flavor with a tiny kick of sourness. Nevertheless, I like this flavor. It reminds me of Kiwi Strawberry Snapple.

More Twilight Candy

As the release of the movie New Moon draws near, the Twilight candy prophecy is complete. I've finally laid my hands on, I don't even know what to call it, the package says "Heart's Desire" so let's call it Heart's Desire, a creme filled milk chocolate heart from the makers of the Sky Bar. I found them at Blockbuster for $0.79 a piece. The Heart's Desire is available in three different wrappers featuring the Twilight characters Edward, Bella, or Jacob. As you can see from the photo, I choose the Edward package.

The candy piece itself is about 2 inches long and pretty thick. If you can't tell from the photo of my half-melted piece (my apartment was 90 degrees yesterday), it features two conjoined hearts one saying "Bella", the other "Cullen" atop a pedestal that says "Sky Bar". Sky Bar...how romantic. The candy itself tastes similar to a Cadbury Creme Egg, only not as sweet and less salty. It's obviously the vanilla portion of the traditionally four flavored Sky Bar.


I may have stated in a previous post that the original Sky Bar tastes like feet. I happily admit that this candy did not taste like feet and I ate the whole piece...and not just because Edward was on the package. Overall, the Heart's Desire is a fun novelty candy for fans of the Twilight series, but it's not a candy I can imagine craving two years from now.

A la Mere de Famille

I recently had the great opportunity to visit a few excellent places in Europe including Germany, Amsterdam, and Paris. To my delight, Europe did not disappoint in the candy department. One of the most charming and lovely places I visited was a candy store in Paris called A La Mere De Famille. It was founded in 1761 and is known as the oldest confectioner in Paris. Stepping through the doors of this shop was like going back in time to a magical place. The walls are lined with wood and glass cabinets and various colorful treats are housed in glass jars. Normally, I'm not a big fan of wood decor, but in this store it's just perfect and contributed to the whole old-world comfort feel. I was a little timid about taking photos inside the store, mostly because I do not speak or understand a word of French in order to ask permission, but Julia at Sweet Travel Blog has some beautiful photos and a nice description of her visit to the shop.

The chocolates looked tempting, but because it was so warm outside I was reluctant to spend 4 euro 50 on what could be a chocolate puddle in half an hour. Instead, I choose to sample a few less meltable candies. I bought a nougat bar, a marzipan bunny (for a souvenir), the cutest marzipan cherries I have every seen, and a mixed bag of hard candies that included bergamot and creme brulee flavors. I have not had time to sample everything yet, the cherries are too cute to eat right now, but I can tell you that the nougat bar is delicious. It's full of crunchy almonds and pistachios and the nougat just melts in your mouth.












A La Mere De Famille has a really cute website. It's all in French, but worth looking at even if like me, you can't read it.
http://www.lameredefamille.com

The Cadbury Crunchie

Despite being a Cadbury classic in the UK since 1929, I had never heard of the Crunchie until a few weeks ago when I spotted it during a recent candy store visit. The Crunchie is a chocolate-covered sponge toffee bar. The center is a buttery and well, crunchy golden sponge candy that slowly melts away in your mouth. The texture of sponge candy is similar to that of a Whopper malted milk ball in that it kind of disintegrates from the saliva of your tongue. However, this sponge candy has a delicious toffee flavor that is rich, but by being a "sponge" is also airy. To top it off, the bar is covered by creamy Cadbury chocolate. And not the mockolate that is making its way into some stateside candy bars, this is the good stuff.

I recommend enjoying the Crunchie in small bites. This bar is thick! And with the solid center it's easy to bite off more than you can chew.

P-NOT Butter Flavored Sixlets

I am actually angry at this candy, if it is possible to harbor such feelings toward a candy. Why am I angry? I am angry because I put this candy in my mouth and it tastes like vomit. And I'm not using the word "vomit" in a figurative sense, quite literally it tastes like vomit. You know the sour, burn taste that puke leaves in your mouth and throat? Well, in case you forgot, it is captured here in deceptively cute, colorful shiny balls of candy. I would compare their flavor to the Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans...the vomit ones, of course.

These Sixlets are supposed to be peanut butter flavored, while containing no peanuts or tree nut products so people with peanut allergies can eat them. It's a nice idea, but too bad they are just so awful. I guess I was expecting them to taste comparable to Reese's Pieces, but they don't. Luckily I do not have a peanut allergy, but if I did, I think I would rather go without then eat these. I hate to come down hard on Sixlets because I do love the chocolate flavored ones, even though I know they are not "real" chocolate. The P-NOT Butter flavored Sixlets are just P-NOT good. Eat at your own risk!

The Idaho Spud

Ahh, where to begin with the Idaho Spud? The first time I had an Idaho Spud a few years ago, I totally loved it. I remember it tasting like semi-melted chocolate ice cream. Flash forward to June 2009, I have my second Idaho Spud and...it's kind of grody. Is my mind playing tricks on me? Have my taste buds changed? I know its not the recipe that has changed. The Spud has been produced by the Idaho Candy Company under the Owyhee brand name since 1918.

Surprisingly, the Idaho Spud does not contain potato. Its name is an homage to the potato producing state where the candy is produced and the lumpy, bumpy shape it shares with the vegetable. The Idaho Spud is a lump of marshmallow covered in chocolate and coated with coconut. I have no issues with the chocolate coating or the coconut. Both of those variables are pleasant and quite tasty. In fact, I ended up peeling off the chocolate coating which has a great cocoa flavor, and just eating that. The Spud gets weird at its core. The marshmallow is strange. It is stoney gray in color and smells like maple even though "maple" is not a listed ingredient. The texture is not like any marshmallow I have experienced before. It's very dense, wet, and sticky. The closet thing I can compare it to is the inside of a Nerf football, or one of those squishy stress balls. I was afraid to swallow it.

In his book, Candyfreak, Steve Almond recounts his visit to the Idaho Candy Company, which includes a firsthand look at the creation of the Idaho Spud. He learns that where most marshmallows are made with gelatin, the Spud marshmallow is made with a seaweed derivative called agar agar. This gives it "resilience" according to company president Dave Wagers. I'm not sure resilience is what I'm looking for in my candy, but hey it's been around since 1918, who am I to argue with that?

The Idaho Spud gets props for its cute, retro wrapper. I have a soft spot in my heart for independent candy companies, especially the ones with a history. I love seeing black and white photos of ladies in hair nets wrapping candy bars. Therefore, I am determined to find an Idaho Candy Company product that I love. Unfortunately, the Spud wasn't it, but I'll write about it when I do!

Idaho Candy Company

Great article on the continuing popularity of the Idaho Spud from the Deseret News, 2006

Make Yourself a "Sweet" Belt

Check out these super cute candy wrapper belts made by Megan at Plum Pudding. I think I need to start saving up my wrappers. And the best part - no sewing required!

Candy Giveaway at the Candy Dish Blog

This is the time of year I lament not being able to attend the All Candy Expo. The Expo, sponsored by the National Confectioner's Association, starts tomorrow and is a three day affair of candy, sweets, and all things awesome. However, it's only open to vendors and industry professionals, which I can't fault them for. Could you imagine if nuts like me had an unlimited world of new candy within their grasp? The place would be cleaned out. For now, I am visiting vicariously by following the Candy Dish Blog . The Candy Dish Blog is the official candy blog of the National Confectioners Association. I recommend checking it out. Do it soon because they are running a candy giveaway contest full of treats from the Expo. Good luck!

Mike & Ike Cotton Candy

Cotton candy is one of the sweets that I have a hard time resisting.  I am delighted that it is now readily available in nonperishable packaging.  All the fun without the carnies - a win/win situation.  I bought this Mike & Ike flavored cotton candy at Dylan's Candy Bar a couple weeks ago and I have to say that it is absolutely delicious!  There are three flavored balls in the bag - cherry, lemon, and lime.  Each flavor is well executed.  The cherry tastes like just like a maraschino cherry.  I could have eaten three bags, but sadly I've finished my one bag and I don't know where to buy more.  


Just one word of caution, when I bought the Mike & Ike cotton candy I also picked up a bag of Hot Tamales flavored cotton candy for my sister, a Hot Tamales fan. While I didn't taste the Hot Tamales version, my sister told me it was inedible. Apparently it smelled like the interior of an abandoned car (her words, not mine) and left a weird aftertaste in her mouth. Perhaps cinnamon doesn't translate well into cotton candy.

UPDATE: I was able to find this at World Market. The new bag had one ball of lemon and two cherry. Lime was missing. Where's the quality control?

Smarties Bubble Gum Balls

I found these Smarties Bubble Gum Balls at Kroger (on sale for 65 cents with a Kroger Plus card). Being a fan of both Smarties and gum balls, I thought these were going to be something special, however I was a little disappointed. The package contains 10 pastel gum balls mimicking the delicate colors of Smarties roll candy in pink, yellow, green, orange, and lavender. They are pretty to look at, but lack the tartness I enjoy in Smarties.  Overall, Smarties Gum Balls are good gumballs, but they have little in common with Smarties. 

Candy Excursions in the Big Apple: Part I

Yikes! April is nearly over and I realize that I have not posted this month! Even though I haven't written much about candy, it has been a candy-filled month. First Easter, my favorite holiday, and I went on a short vaca to New York City last week. I made it a point to visit some of the major NYC candy haunts that I have read about over the years. I think I did a pretty good job. I visited Dylan's Candy Bar, Economy Candy, and Papabubble. Trust me, by the time we flew home I had to have my boyfriend carry a bag on the plane just filled with candy.

The first place I visited was Dylan's Candy Bar located at 1011 Third Ave. Dylan's looks like a candy paradise. It really is a beautiful store. From the lollipop sculpture (pictured) in the center of the first floor showroom, to the candy-embedded staircase, it looks awesome. The first floor housed bins of all kinds of bulk candy. Lots of gummies and licorice - for $10.99 a pound. Yeah, $10.99 a pound! I know it's NYC, but that still seems like a lot for a pound of gummi bears.

Down the candy-embedded staircase into the basement level, there was more candy, a chocolate boutique, and some really expensive candy-inspired clothing. I looked at a t-shirt with a bedazzled cupcake on it and was nearly floored by the $300 price tag. Maybe it was from some designer I'm not cool enough to know about. I did like the retro candy display (pictured above) that comprised an entire wall. Behold the mountain of candy bars! However, once again I was floored by the prices. I bought a strawberry banana Laffy Taffy and didn't realize until looked at my receipt later that night that I laid down 2 bones...for a Laffy Taffy! I could have bought three for that price at home.

Dylan's also had a special line of Barbie 50th anniversary candy that I loved.


If you can't make it to Dylan's Candy Bar in person, visit them online at http://www.dylanscandybar.com.

My First Candy Podcast! SweeTarts Jelly Beans

Look out honey cause I'm using technology! I recently learned how to create a podcast and thought it would be fun to occasionally incorporate a candy review podcast into the mix here at Sugar Hi. For the first installment I reviewed SweeTarts Jelly Beans. Hopefully I don't sound too much like the "Delicious Dish" ladies from that Saturday Night Live skit. Good times...

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I Just Can't Go There

A friend gave me this garlic candy as a Christmas gift. I'm sure it's intentionally a gag gift (gag, haha...no pun intended) but I just can't bring myself to try it. I like the sleazy looking dude on the package though.

New Whoppers Flavors

I tried two of the Whoppers malted milk ball Easter flavors - vanilla milkshake and blueberry. I hear there is an orange milkshake version out too, but the thought doesn't even entice me so I didn't seek them out. A year ago, I reviewed the awesome Reese's Whoppers. Like the Reese's, these feature a flavored coating in place of the original chocolate.

The vanilla milkshake flavor is okay. It really doesn't taste very vanilla. The flavor is buttery and salty, and has more in common with white chocolate than vanilla. The blueberry flavor makes me happy. When I opened the tiny milk carton and smelled inside I was reminded of Smurf Berry Crunch cereal. Children of the 80s may remember this wonderful cereal inspired by the fictitious Smurf berry. The flavor of Smurf Berry Crunch cereal was not comparable to any natural substance. It was sweet and berry-inspired and when I was 8 years old, it was awesome. It still holds a soft spot in my heart, therefore the blueberry Whoppers are a winner in my book. As an added bonus, they are Smurf colored. Coincidence?

Wonka Tinglerz

Wonka Tinglerz are a fun candy. I've had this bag in my candy stash for a while and finally decided to give them a try. Basically, Tinglerz are tiny nuggets of chocolate popping candy. Think chocolate-covered Pop Rocks. They crackle and pop in your mouth just like Pop Rocks but look like plain old chocolate-covered Rice Krispies, at least that was what I thought until on closer inspection I discovered tiny bits of popping candy mixed in with the rice cereal. While their small size probably won't satisfy a major chocolate craving, they do have a nice caramelly flavor. The shiny purple package is pretty cool too.

Sweethearts Forbidden Fruits - aka the Twilight Candies

I mentioned these candies a few weeks ago, Necco Sweethearts inspired by the movie Twilight. I found them at a FYE store in the mall. The display housing the candy was huge, at least 5 feet tall, making it nearly impossible to miss. The boxes are comparable to the large, movie theater size candies and come in three different designs. Box 1 features the Twilight cast, Box 2 features Edward (as shown above), and Box 3 features Bella. The candies are officially called Sweethearts Forbidden Fruit, playing off of the verboten love between Edward the vampire, and Bella, a human chick.

You would have to live under a rock not to be familiar with Necco Sweethearts, the tiny candy hearts with clever little messages such as "Be Mine" stamped on them in red ink. The Twilight hearts differ from the original in three ways. First, there are four "exotic" flavors - Orange Obsession, Tempting Apple, Secret Strawberry, and Passion Fruit. I'm really digging the strawberry and apple flavors. The strawberry reminds me Strawberry Bubbilicious. I'm not the biggest orange fan, but Orange Obsession is okay. I've had some pieces that taste like a Creamsicle and others that have a nice tang like orange Tic-Tacs. The purple Passion Fruit flavor is just plain awful, almost to the point of being inedible. Seriously, it tastes like bubble bath or a stinky candle that would be sold at the dollar store. The tagline on the box reads, "The Forbidden Fruit Tastes the Sweetest", but in the case of the Passion Fruit, I can't help but think that some things are forbidden for a reason.

The messages imprinted on the Twilight hearts also reflect themes from the story. A few examples are "Bite Me" (vampire...get it?), "I [heart] EC", "Lamb", and "Dazzle." In the story, Edward's skin sparkles like diamonds when he's exposed to the sun. The "dazzle" theme is also played upon by the candies' having a shimmering glitter dusted on the tops of them. The effect is very slight and hardly noticeable on most of the pieces. You may be able to make it out on the purple and orange hearts pictured in my photo above.

I imagine fans of the Twilight books and movie will collect these boxes for their novelty. From a candy standpoint, the strawberry and apple heart flavors are winners; orange and passion fruit need some more work in the test lab.

Good & Fiery

Imagine my surprise when I happened upon this box of Good & Fiery while candy shopping this afternoon. "Good & Fiery", I thought to myself, "I didn't even know these were coming out!" Naturally I laid down my $1.65 and bought a box. It's obvious from the name, font, and box design that the Fierys' are a member of the Hershey Company's "Good & Plenty" family. This same company caused quite a stir in the candy world about a year ago when they reintroduced Good & Fruity as a thick-shelled jelly bean, instead of the awesome candy coated red licorce bits they used to be in the 1980s. While I personally don't despise the new Good & Fruity, I don't think they are comparable to version I remember from my youth. I was curious where in the jelly bean/licorce world the Good & Fiery would fall.

The box describes this candy as "sweet & spicy chewy candy." There are four flavors in the box - lemon, orange, apple, and cinnamon. The inclusion of fruit flavors is a little strange. I would have been satisfied if the entire box was just plain ol' cinnamon bits. The cinnamon pieces have a deep red shell that cracks easily to reveal a clear jelly bean-like center. Just like the box promises, it is both sweet and spicy. It packs more heat than a Hot Tamale and I enjoy the size of the pieces. They're small enough that I can eat a bunch without getting a stomachache. I was not as keen on the other flavors. The lemon tastes like lemon and cinnamon. It reminds me of tea that I would drink when I have a cold. The orange tastes like orange and cinnamon, see a pattern here? Orange is always my least favorite candy flavor. This one does nothing for me, I even find it kind of bitter. The apple bits remind me of a crisp autumn day, because they taste like spiced apple cider...or a bowl of potpourri, take your pick.

I do like this mix and will probably continue to pick from the box. The cinnamon pieces are quite tasty. Really, the only one I will avoid is the unfortunate orange.

Skittles Crazy Cores

Around the same time last year, I wrote about Chocolate Mix Skittles. This year, Skittles adds the new Crazy Cores to their collection. Crazy Cores Skittles boast two flavors in each piece. There are five different colors in the bag for a total of 10 flavors. From what I can tell, the chewy center and the candy shell are two independent flavors that blend together when chewed up. Here's how they pan out:

Blue Raspberry & Lemon: This one has a blue raspberry shell and lemon yellow core. I'm usually stay away from blue raspberry stuff, if only to avoid the blue mouth of death look, but this flavor turned out to be one of my favorites. I think the raspberry and the lemon work well together. Off to a good start.

Melon Berry: With a purplish shell and light green center, its obvious that the berry provides the outer layer of flavor, but melon (probably honeydew) pretty much overpowers this one.

Mango Peach: The mango center is quite tasty. It's fruity and a little creamy. Artificial peach flavor usually reminds me of Glade air freshener, but here with the mango it's not unbearable.

Strawberry Watermelon: I had the least amount of this flavor in my bag which was a shame because it's pretty good. The watermelon candy shell is reminiscent of watermelon Bubblicious, while the strawberry core is nice and tangy without being too sweet.

Cherry Lemonade: I think this flavor is my favorite in the bag. It's not overly cherry and the lemonade center tastes like Country Time lemonade drink mix powder.

I found Skittles Crazy Cores near the register at Walgreen's for $0.89.