Frantic Festivities!

Well I hope that like me by now you have Christmas pretty much wrapped up! Sorry about that pun but I have just literally finished my wrapping and quite proud of the parcels beneath the tree. I know it seems like I've left it to the last minute but have no fear I spread my workload over the last week. Meaning no rushing and panicking at the last minute, in theory.

In reality I was having to frantically finish a few of them due to running out of paper and doing a mad dash down town before they shut. Seems I wasn't the only one too as I had a hard time finding any suitable paper. Luckily I found a few Disney themed rolls that were just about gender neutral enough to do for everyone. But at least now it's done and I can relax indoors and take shelter until the boxing day sales are well underway. Much safer especially when you factor in the town shaking weather we had last night.

Festive feces... I mean faces, festive faces

Now I am safely inside I can curl up eat some treats and tell you about them. I have a fair few too. We have biscuits, chocolates, bread and pies. I know a hectic post for you today, but it is the festive season and I thought I'd make the effort. So without further ado the first item is a McVitie's festive face. The reason for this is that on returning I was in desperate need for Tea and therefore a biscuit too. I wasn't expecting much from these if I'm honest, really I only bought them because they scared/amused me. They are pretty much BN's (if you remember those!) I think but with the shape of a jammy dodger. Basically a double copycat and fiend then. They taste like the old BN biscuits too, the biscuit base and lid is a vanilla tasting rich tea type affair and the jam and cream taste sweet and chewy. They aren't bad just a bit boring, to me at least. Let's face it the only reason people liked the BN biscuits was because of the advert and the chocolate version. These have neither and their expressions are terrifying!

This will forever haunt my dreams!

Next American chocolate with a Reeces snowman and Christmas tree and a Butter fingers coin. The tree and snowman are the same as the Pumpkin version I reviewed for Halloween. Delicious Reeces milk chocolate covering a beautiful peanut butter paste. A perfect mix of sweet and salty as always. The Snowman is a beast too, I had expected him to be like a hollow Easter egg but no it is all chocolate and paste no air at all. By the time I finish this I'll be so full I won't have room for turkey. Seriously though this thing weighs 141 grams and is nice to see dedication from a company. The Butterfinger coin achieves a similar balance but the milk chocolate isn't quite so sweet. The peanut in this is also small crispy flakes of peanut paste that creates the effect similar to a chocolate bar with cereal pieces like crunch. But with a great nutty taste to it.

All looking rather... cool

Now we visit Italy in the form of a traditional festive treat called Pannetone. Which is a fruity bread similar to Brioche or a hot cross bun. As I bit into it I found it a bit hard and dry but this soon changed as I began to detect the fruit that was mixed in. The taste as I say is very similar to other fruit breads with orange seeming to be the dominant flavour. The combination of fruit peel and raisins gives it a nice texture mix. It goes really nicely with some tea and coated in butter.

Lastly as you can see this has been a long post, it has been a bit of work for me and I now need something to fortify my nerves. Which calls for alcohol and in particular a festive liquor, Brandy. Thankfully MrKipling was kind enough to oblige in these deep fill Brandy mince pies. Now as I have mentioned I'm not a fan of mince pies, especially when they arn't homemade. But these are different enough to peak my interest. They arn't too bad but still suffer from the soft waxy pastry problem that mass produced pies have. Aside from that though they taste pretty good. The Brandy isn't too sharp and the filling isn't too sweet. The flvours mix to some extent not amazingly however.

Overall it's been a hectic day and a hectic challenge. With one final post before completion I'll be glad when I ca stop eating tinsel!

Score
Festive Faces - 4 out of 11
Reeces - 9 out of 11 plus 1 for effort
Butterfingerz - 8 out of 11
Brandy Mince pie - 6 out of 11

Found 
Festive faces in Poundland
Reeces and Butterfingerz in American import stor (although the snowman was Tesco)
Brandy mince pies in Sainsburys

Final Thoughts
I'm so full of merriment it hurts, damn yuletide!

Peep's tree mallows and Cadbury Praline Fingers

I hate humanity, there I said it!  I know that sounds rather depressing but if you knew what I have just been through you would understand. For prior to writing these very words I was knee deep in Christmas carnage. Worse still I did nothing to warrant the treatment I experienced.

Picture the scene, me innocently realizing that I needed milk and deciding I'd just pop to the shops for a pint. Then at said shop I became involved in the hell and madness that is pre-Christmas food shoppers. How could I have been so foolish to not realize the world and his wife would be out today getting their trimmings before Christmas Eve. I really don't know what was worse the fight I had to reach the milk aisle or the time i took to que for the till. By the time I was ready to pay I went straight for the self service to avoid the personal touch of humanity.

As much as I love times like these when we all come together as society to celebrate, I do wish we hadn't come together in my local Sainsbury's. The holidays have a nasty habit of bringing out a nasty side to us in the last few weeks when we panic and descend upon food stores like locusts. Sadly this makes us tired and fed up with each other around an event with the purpose of doing the exact opposite. I believe they call it irony.

So these look plain but taste nice...

Anyway whilst there I took the opportunity to grab some last minute deals in the confectionery aisle and thought I may as well blog them whilst I attempt to relax. Now I know these are Christmassy themselves but the idea that you buy a box to share is, so in my eyes they count. They are Cadbury Fabulous Praline Fingers, part of their fabulous range which are meant to be up-market chocolate digits. I've had the honey comb versionand enjoyed them. They were really crunchy and had a great burnt honey taste to them. These are somewhat disappointing. The praline taste is just too subtle and barely comes through over the chocolate. They taste just like a slightly nutty plain finger and to be fair I love them so it's not really that disappointing. Except these tend to cost double the regulars so I do feel a little short changed.

Next I bring two appropriately themed and linked marshmallow items. One I picked up whilst visiting Macarons and more and another from an American import shop. I'll give you three guesses as to which one I prefer. The first one is a beautifully light and fluffy marshmallow with some mince pie filling mixed in. It tastes literally like eating a mince pie cloud. It melts practically before it enters your mouth a bit like candy floss.

and these look nice but taste plain. What is life?

The second mallow is a Christmas tree shaped Peep's marshmallow. Now I had heard of peeps before and have been eager to track down a box. So upon finding a few and some that fit my current challenge at that was a godsend. However this doesn't extent to the product itself as they are horrible. With an unpleasant chewy, cheap texture and literally no taste. I was really disappointed as you can imagine never has there been such build up for such dis bare since a tried a Twinky bar. I've had pound town mallows that are leagues ahead of these.

Overall it was a rather somber post today lets hope it gets better. For tomorrow is Christmas Eve itself, if I don't perk up I run the risk of being visited by three ghosts as is tradition.

Score
Fingers - 6 out of 11
Mince pie mallow  8 out of 11
Peep's mallow - 2 out of 11

Found
Sainsbury's
Tim's macarons and more
American import shop

Final Thoughts
How have Americans allowed Peep's and Twinkies to continue existing? 

Serge Premium Eggnog

Thinking back to this time last year I realize I was a very different person. Quite literally if you know a certain secret about this blog (which will be revealed to all on the New Year’s Eve). But yes, thinking back I remember as usual my mind was rather taken up by an obsession. One that didn't last that long mainly as it was rather seasonal. That obsession was hunting down and trying some eggnog.

This drink I had heard so much about was all I could think of. I knew that in America during this season there is an abundance of the drink, yet over here we had no such thing. Days were spent entering shops and asking rather perplexed staff if they sold the festive beverage. Often they had never even heard of it let alone stock it. The closest I ever found was Avoca which many may see as essentially the same. The difference is that Avoca is alcoholic eggnog and tastes more of liquor than anything else.

 

Weirdly I think it comes from a European company.

My obsession got to a point where I started looking into making my own. This was rather dangerous and daring considering it involves raw egg and me. The result was, ok. It tasted like crème Brule but that may have been because I had used too much sugar and nutmeg. The main thing was that it wasn't deadly and I'm still here to tell this tale. Although I didn't allow anyone else to try it for fear of killing them.

The festive season soon faded into but a memory and with it the obsession too. Then one day weirdly in the summer I found eggnog... In Tesco, in the foreign food section, where I've been able to find it ever since. Turns out too that they had it when I was searching yet no one seemed to know it existed. So I waited until now, the next festive season to finally try some.

The result of which is here, on a side note I now find an American version in Tesco that’s five pounds. That seems a bit expensive considering these cartons are less than a quid about four aisles down. Anyway I broke the straw off and plunged it into the silver hole all cartons have.

The leading American Rip off, I mean product

Taking a sip I find it to be really nice, definitely worth the wait. It is thick and creamy but in a way that's still refreshing. It's like milk rather than milkshakes. Like I said in my Frijj review if it's too thick it doesn't taste like a drink and is too thin to be yoghurt. Taste wise it's nice too being both milky, vanillary and slightly spiced all at once. It definitely tastes like the holiday season in a carton. Obviously very similar to Avoca but without the warming sensation of the alcohol.

Overall I wish these things would be more popular over here. I think in the US have it right with their tradition on this one, I definitely recommend.

Score

8 out of 11

Found

Finally found in Tesco

Final Thoughts

I may not have killed myself with my concoction but I haven't been the same since!

Reece's Peanut butter cups minis and miniatures.

               Is big really better? Surely quantity is preferable to size too? Okay before you readers get the wrong impression I should perhaps explain. After all you might get the wrong end of the stick.

           

I am of course talking about sweets as usual, what else could I possibly be talking about? Honestly get your minds out the gutter people. No, I'm talking about two miniature versions of full size favorites of mine. These items are mini Reece’s pieces cups in both milk and white chocolate varieties.

          

  I can't tell you how excited I was when I found these, other than saying I may have let out a little squeal. However it was a very manly man squeal I can assure you. This was immediately followed by me practically throwing them in the basket and skipping to the checkout. See how manly that is. Before we look at the source of most of my excitement (the white chocolate cups) I will first look at the milk chocolate. I'm attempting some kind of buildup.

            

Sometimes, for some reason when companies change the size of their products they somehow change the taste. Usually it has detrimental effect. Perhaps the use of usually is a bit of a spoiler about my feelings towards these products. Indeed these are great, perhaps better than the usual Reece’s peanut cups.

           

Maybe because it’s more compact thus making the flavor seems more intense. For they are. When I popped one into my mouth I find these to be much stronger in flavour. It still maintains the usual sweet milky and fudge-like chocolate that tastes amazing especially when combined with the peanut paste. They definitely taste better to me than the usual cups; clearly a difference in displacement makes a real difference. Perhaps because you’re taking in the full experience at once that makes it better.

           

Now on to the White chocolate caps, these have two added bonuses before we even get to the taste test. (Not that there is any competition here, they are after all brothers... or sisters, siblings basically) The first benefit is that they are slightly bigger than the others, yes I'm a hypocrite and secondly they come in friggin foil and paper cups!

            

Right at this point I'm going to draw your attention to my post where I talk about expectations. That’s what I thought when I took my first bite into these babies. It has the same almost sickly sweet white chocolate as usual cups and the regular bitty peanut paste. Yet somehow it didn't taste as good as my favorite big cup variety. Then I took a bigger bite, and boy was I wrong. The shift in size has allowed for a slightly larger block of nutty goodness and creates a more intense flavor hit.

          

  Overall bigger is definitely not better as both of these products show. So yeah, don't judge on size people. 

Score

Milk cup - 7 out of 11

white cup - 9 out of 11

Found

Milk cup found in Tesco and White cups found in ASDA.

Final Thoughts

I think I've been rather contradictory in today's post sorry, blame excitement.

Foxes Cherry Cheesecake and Honeycomb-crunch Fingers

Guess what guys! Today's review is back to biscuits, okay wait before you flip your table in uproar at least hear me out. I do have a reason for going back on my statements from yesterdays review. Basically these two items are either on sale right now or limited edition. (coincidental tumbleweed of uncaring happens)

Fine! I know it is a feeble excuse for going back on my word, but you know what? I don't care, I love biscuits. Hell, I bet you love biscuits and anyway they aren't ginger biscuits again so at least there is some variety here.

 

Vinnie looks mighty proud of his "bisquits" (Advert reference)

The two items in question are completely different in their use too. One is aimed at snacking, pretty much to be shared in a group type function like an ambassador ball (or more likely film night). The other is more along the line of my usual biscuit binge, as an accompaniment to my caffeinated beverage at lunch.

I'll start with he biscuit that was on offer, mainly because it's not new just on offer so I get a sweet treat at a discount price. Win, win in my eyes. These are a sharing bag of Cadbury's mini fingers and not just any mini fingers but HONEYCOMB CRUNCH fingers. I know your excited now right. So without further ado or cup in hand I chomp down on these bizarre biscuit. They are definitely crunchy too, a great taste too when bitten into. The milk chocolate is sweet but not too sweet that the subtle honey flavour underneath can't get through. It has a nice toffee taste to it and is similar to the chocolate coated cinder toffee I tried before.

If left to melt you can fully enjoy the great Cabury's milk chocolate but with an added biscuit tinge. It's not quite as sweet as usual but this is as I've said good as it allows the honeycomb to step in. The biscuit beneath doesn't really do much on the tongue and isn't absorbent in any useful way for it to be dunked. Still a really nice biscuit great for sharing, especially with the re-seal able bag aspect. Although I doubt you will need it!

Next up with have one of Foxes new American orientated biscuits. Four limited edition flavours that Vinnie the Panda (Don't ask) hopes will invoke a taste of the Atlantic in our mouths. This is the flavour that most appealed to me and is Cherry cheesecake Jammy Dodgers. Which is odd as Jammy Dodgers are one of my least favorite biscuit around. Too much biscuit not enough filling. However, the idea of cherry cheesecake definitely appeals to me.

 

Amazingly exercised cross section display here... perfect separation

Am I glad it did catch my eye? You be I am! These taste great and I hope that they keep the range gong for a while or even add to them. The cream filling doesn't really taste cheesy, more like a vanilla butter-cream flavour. A bit too sweet on it's own. The jam has a very powerful and nicely tart cherry taste that compliments the creams sweetness. The digestive biscuit doesn't really have flavour of it's own but that's not a bad thing considering the mix already on offer.

Overall both of these biscuits are great. I would definitely recommend the American range whilst it is available. As for the fingers if you have a party coming up then these are bound to be favorites and enough to go around too.

Score 

Finger's 5 out of 11

Cherry Pie 8 out of 11

Found

Sainsbury's

Final Thoughts

Why does a Panda have an American gangster character type? Also why is a Panda the mascot for Foxe's bisquits?

National Nut Day

Happy national nut day everyone! I bring you great and might I add nutty tidings for today. Hope your cashews remain crunchy and your hazelnuts hard. Whats that you have never heard of national nut day! Well actually neither have I, in fact I thought I had made it up as a exciting and engaging hook for todays post.

Howver as it turns out on the 22nd of October this very year (2013), the Uk celebrated not it's first but forth National Nut day. After a little research, (if I'm honest it was literally just reading the side bar on the official website.)  I found out that actually this is an American holiday brought over here recently to encourage healthy eating and environmental responsibility. Not sure how much of that actually applies to todays items, If I'm realistic the nuts here probably haven't even heard of sustainable!

Just how many m&m characters are there now?

Todays two nutty products are both m&m's and both clearly are on the nutty side of the fence. I have a bag of Almond m&m's which you don't find here in England. So when I saw a pack I knew immediately I wanted to compare them to the standard peanut m&m's. Surely I though they can't be that different to warrant two different sub products, please don't point out the fact that there are both a dark chocolate and milk chocolate m&m's. Nor the fact that there is actually a dark chocolate peanut m&m variant, can we just agree that perhaps that MARS are a bit m&m happy in their ideas department.

So bright and attractive and well nutty!

So let's look at these and make a decision, Do we need both? I'm going to throw a wild guess out there and say no. Lets not be too hasty ,however, after all perhaps they taste completely different (doubtful). Ok so firstly in mascot we have two guys here in the peanut corner we have classic Yellow guy (voiced by J.K Simmons, think we have a clear winner already!) and in the Almond alley Blue guy. Yellow wins he's one of the first thing that springs to mind when you think m&m, other than good old red. Next in size, which believe me matters people, well in candy at least it does. Yeah the Almond wins this round rather although remember no more chocolate is on offer it is just because almond is the bigger nut.

The important part now taste!the peanut has a great peanut taste that mixes with the chocolate in the best kind of way to give a nice sweet and nutty taste. Almost like nutella but much more subtly chocolatey, it's very nice and very more-ish. The shell adds slight sweetness and extra crunch. It's not quite as smooth as peanut butter but it's close and thats never a bad thing.

Remember folks size doesn't always matter!

Next the almond, as I've mentioned almonds are the bigger nut. Yet they don't usually have such a good and intense taste as peanuts do, after all who would buy almond butter over peanut butter (nutters thats who HAHAHA... sorry). I was right, barely any discernable nut taste but I was also wrong turns out there is more chocolate here. This just ends up tasting like a blander than average m&m with an odd texture inside. Not unpleasant but definately not enough of a nut hit for any fan.

Overall it's a clear winner in the Yellow corner, but than again what did I expect it's peanut after all!

Score
Peanut - 8 out of 11
Almond - 5 out of 11


Found
Peanut ones can be found pretty much anywhere, literally these are more availeable than the normal ones. The Almond ones I bought from an import store.


Final Thoughts
Hope non of you guys have a nut allergy and suffer as a result of my post

Cadbury's Dairy Milk and a Hershey's kiss: A rest is as good as a change.

I'm tired, So very tired. After yesterday's perilous adventure and travels into the crypts of Cadbury's I need a rest. Surely I deserve a moment just to experience a piece of confectionery just for the sake of it. Just to eat chocolate, I for one think I do.

To hell with it, of course I do. In fact, I challenge myself to revel in the mundane today. I'm going to grab a 'cup of Gypsy Lee'  and delight in something safe and comforting. I'm thinking something along the lines of a Milk chocolate bar, not even fruit and nut. No! this bar needs to be a plain milk chocolate example. Unfortunately with the nearest Tesco being an adventurous journey from my house, further still is Asda (there economy brand bars are still some of my favorite chocolate bars available see Here for details.). There is no telling what excitement could occur on any trip to them, for now I need to sit in my house and avoid danger.

The presentation is quite impressive!

The solution? A humble bar of Cadbury's dairy milk miniatures and a bag of Hershey's kisses I keep lying around for such an emergency of indecision. Both of these are the humble milk chocolate of choice in their home turf for many who are looking to merely just add some sweetness to their day. No frills, no innovation just simple sugary goodness. I recently bought both of these and the problem is unsurprisingly all the contents are the  same, which can get a bit dull. However they do indeed come in handy at times such as these when I crave basic comfort.

Less impressive but a bit more fun

First we have the Dairy Milk miniatures, these are ingeniously packaged I think. The outside is designed to look like one of the smaller blocks which are inside, giving it a Russian doll feel to it. The pieces are each individually wrapped in gold foil and then further in that classic purple paper jacket. They look very classical Cadbury's and invoke the feeling of ration era Britain. I pluck a piece and carefully unwrap the packaging. They smell subtly of Cadbury Milk chocolate and the wave of familiarity brings ease to my excitement weary mind. They kind of have the look of an accompaniment to a coffee an upper class Cafe would perch on your cups saucer. I take a bite and the usual taste meets my tongue. Sweet, creamy and definitely milky, with a smooth fudge like texture as it melts in the mouth. Nothing fancy just good chocolate.

Round one: appearance goes to Cadbury's

Next up is the Hershey's kiss. Call me biased but the appearance of these guys just aren't the same. The foil for instance doesn't even quite cover the entire piece. I do like the little stripe of paper used to unwrap them in one easy flick. In today's rush world it's comforting to know we can get chocolate in just one tug. I take a bite and find I great richer, much more subtly sweet tasting milk chocolate. Whilst the lack of sweetness is initially disappointing it does mean you avoid the cloying sensation you can get with Dairy Milk.

Overall both are great and much overlooked in a time of crazy candy combinations that seem to be booming at the moment.

Score
Cadbury's Dairy Milk - 7 out of 11
Hershey's Kiss - 6.5 out of 11

Found
Both have been residing in my cupboard, originally they came from the local co-op and American sweet shop respectively.

Final Thoughts
Tomorrow I fight a bear!

Problems with Pumpkins

Hey folks well as promised I'm here today to review what I consider  traditional American Autmnsweets. By this I mean stuff I've found that has a vague connection to this time of year as far as I know from over this side of the pond. In reality you guys probably won't agree but when I think of Americans pre-hibernation I think pumpkin and Turkey. I'm a sweet blog (not to mention sweet in general *wink, wink*) so this means I've gathered some products with added pumpkin.

The image of what would happen if sweets incorporated turkey flavouring. I think we can all give thanks that the candy companies haven't quite got to that stage. Although by the standards of recent Wonka bars that could well be round the corner. Today I have an example of pumpkinny goodnes (and therefore one of my five a day) in the form of poptarts Pumpkin limited edition. I also have some pumpkin m&m's which I recently received through my mailbox.

Love how they try to convince them as a healthy, a whole 6 vitamins!

Lets start, however, with something all Americans apparently consuming by the boat load this time of year Candy Corn. It seems weird to me that these are so popular because half the time I hear people complaining how dull they are. I have some of the traditional corn today but there will soon be a Candy Corn post as I have got my mits on a few specimens. I have tried candy corn m&m's and have been looking forward to seeing how authentic they are. The answer... not very, whilst the m&m's were very sickly sweet (though not in a bad way) these have very little flavour to them. With a slightly waxy texture they arn't bad, just bland. I can see why people complain these things can be dull. After all I still have a whole bag to chomp through.

After two or three, or you know ten more of these I started to get a bit of a scratchy feeling in my throat and a sugary upset in my tummy. Clearly this bag will last a while and I too felt the burden you guys must get every year. I think I definately prefer the m&m version although clearly a pittyfull representation of the genuine article.This leads me nicely onto the pumpkin spice m&m's and a reoccuring problem; lack of flavour. (It's like I plan these posts!)

Ohhhh Autumnal? Not really

Pumpkin is a troublesome flavour in general, it has a rather lack of it on its own and the spices that we put with it tend to overpower it. On the other side is the fact that the flavour it has when its going solo is rather earthy and unpleasant. Case in point with these m&m's They are pretty much all spice (literally) and no pumpkin. They just taste of all spice and chocolate really which is still really nice just not pumpkin as described.

A trait unfortunately shared withe the pop tarts, although in this case there is a sugary sweet taste initially that fades into a bare hint of sweet pumpkin. They are nice just not flavourful. The frosting too only serves really to add a nice crunchy topping. When I tried the filling alone I did detect a sweet earthy tone but very vague. Interestingly when I froze one tart to try (for I have to try one cold: pastry too doughy, one heated: the main way and one frozen. To ensure they get the proper trial they deserve.) I found the pumpkin flavour to be more apparent.

Still rather proud of this

Overall these three were ok if a bit disappointing. I find it odd that we have become so attached to such a tricky flavoured vegetable. Then I remember how awesome they look!

Score
Candy Corn- 4 out of 11
Pumpkin Pop-Tarts- 5 out of 11
Pumpkin spice m&m's- 8 out of 11

Found
Various online places.

Final Thoughts
I think I've picked up on a serious topic of debate here, Pumpkins whats your views guys?

Toffee Time Troubles

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot. If your English this phrase will be a clear sign of something for you, that Autumn is well and truly upon us. You know as if the Christmas stock banaza that begins in June hasn't already given you clues.If your American I don't know what your reminder is perhaps giant inflatables floating past your window or every product incorporating pumpkin.

Apples wrapped in anything, another tradition

Well what ever your idea of what it means to be Autumnal, I have a couple of appropriate products today ready for review. Both of these products are traditional firework night treats here in Britain, toffee. To those who don't know fireworks night is when we celebrate a man who failed to kill our king and government, I don't know why everyone views us British as a cynical bunch. I understand how we choose to celebrate with fireworks, there is a clear link there to the attempt to blow up Parliament. Not quite sure why Toffees traditional candy for the day though, surely it should be popping candy.

Anyway so today's item is a British tradition and tomorrow I'l do some American traditions for Autumn, see I'm not biased. The toffee in question is rather special too and comes from my recent trip to Cumbria, where I found a shop called 'The Toffee Shop' in Penrith (know your product well I guess). According to the tourist information this was the place to go for toffee treats. Disappointingly the shop only does two types of toffee and three types of fudge. Although by the signs of the fudge samplers I had I was in for a treat.

It's all in the name

The first type is your typical treacle toffee, handmade on the premises they proudly proclaim. I'm not a big fan of treacle but when in Penrith do as the... Penrithians do? I found the chunks to be very sweet and very hard. Exactly what you want in toffee really, it had a great bite and it didn't take too long to soften enough to be chewed. The taste was very much treacle but it managed to be the right level of sweetness throughout and I saw why these guys were experts in their craft.

They don't really look appetizing, but they are!

The next piece was some of their butter toffee and this is when their love of toffee clearly lies. Again these chunks are pretty solid and my dentist was on hand ready to fix breakages. The taste was amazing at first I got a kick of sugar. This was soon complimented by a creamy, salty butter taste that created a sublime combination. Again it's no wonder these guys have a name for themselves, even if it is rather product restricting.

Overall these were nice, although the fudges they make were to me much nicer. I did buy rather a lot of fudge to keep me stocked if I'm honest. See you tomorrow for Pumpkins galore!
Score
Treacle Toffee- 6 out of 11
Butter Toffee- 9 out of 11

Found
The Toffee Shop, Penrith

Final Thoughts
Hope everyone's celebrations went off with a bang over the weekend!

Lemon and Slime- bad pun time!

Ok, so yesterday proved two things. One that I have built up a rather impressive stash of Halloween treats for you guys. Two thankfully I can and will be reviewing several of them in one post from now on in order to catch up with myself. Today we have two items that have both been waiting for their time in the spotlight for a while and deserve to be heard.

They are both however Halloween varieties of Halloween items so sadly I’m not expecting much from either of them. Although both have some differences that may make a difference but nothing unique or new on show here. That seems to be a running theme at the moment; it’s a great opportunity for a company is Halloween. We don’t care about the holiday enough over here to justify totally new ideas, so brands can just alter their packaging to suit the season and little else.

Bit disappointing the plain outside!

Thankfully with Christmas we are a bit pickier and new products seem to arrive, or old ones reappear that get the dust brushed off them when the festivities take them. For instance Cadbury snow bites a chocolate treat I love but only get to experience once the snow starts a dropping.

The first item up today however is something I don’t actually mind they don’t change too much as I love the regular item anyway. It’s a Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin, it’s by Reese’s so I already know I’ll love it and the less they mess with their formula the happier I am. As soon as I take it out the packet I’m a happy undead bunny (if I were alive it might be too much like Easter!). I’m greeted by a lovely chocolate and peanut butter aroma and the chocolate on the outside is slightly melted and gooey, both are very good signs.

Though the sheer amount of filling makes up for looks

I snap it in half to judge the chocolate to peanut ratio is on offer here and I am surprised instantly. The peanut butter seems to make up the majority of this much thicker than their usual cups. My mouth starts a watering at this and I can’t keep myself from it for too long. I bite in and find the chocolate has great fudge like texture although a disappointing lack of flavour. This is made up immediately however by the amazing as always peanut butter. A lovely nutty sweet, yet salty taste that takes over the chocolate flavour immediately. No wonder with such a thick slab too, it’s not been blended too fine either so you get tiny little nutty bits for added texture.

It’s good but I’m not sure it’s up to their usual quality and nowhere near as amazing as my favourite white chocolate cups. I think they have definitely sacrificed some of the chocolate quality and quantity here. On the flipside the peanut butter is better and more than usual so it kind of balances out. At least they haven’t scrimped on quality too much here. One thing I am slightly disappointed about however is the lack of design on the item itself. I was expecting a jack-o’-lantern type face to be on the surface but unfortunately it’s rather plain.

Impromptu photographic skills required in the field

The next item I have is a festive edition of much loved Jaffa cakes. By the way in case you wondered these are definitely cakes and not biscuits as many believe (Biscuits go soft when stale, these like cakes go hard #science). These are quite a cool idea as these Halloween editions have a different flavoured jelly, instead of the normal orange we have lemon and lime (sorry SLIME, get it) on offer here. McVities are really impressing me with the effort they are making towards Halloween as there digestives yesterday did well too. These taste great the new flavour really compliments the basic formula well and the flavour seems to have infused with the sponge. I hope this isn’t a passing visit as I’d like this to become a regular variety. Having said that if it did it would make the product no better than the other products I chastise for not changing.

Overall I was happy with both of these products, although if we are honest the Reese’s was the same basic cup but I didn’t complain because of favouritism. Secondly my thought on the new flavour becoming available all year round would create the problem I complain about. Can we ever truly be happy?

 Score

Pumpkin- 6 out of 11

Jaffa CAKE- 8 out of 11

Found

Pumpkin is from a local sweet shop that sells American sweets, the Jaffa Cakes I got from Sainsbury's but are widely available.

Final Thoughts

Wow I am a bit of a hypocrite this week aren't I?

Not Quite Breaking and Entering, But Just As Bad

Would you go into somebody else’s house, take a look around judge their furnishings and then leave without leaving a note? Well I certainly wouldn’t!  Ok if I’m honest I would, but wouldn’t we all especially if there’s something interesting to look at. I think I’ve lost my point here. Basically I was going to say you should at least tell the person you’ve been right? So if you’ve taken the time to read my blog why not post a comment or even follow while you’re here?

Right enough blatant self-promotion on to reviewing something sweet and crunchy! Today I have a pack of Goobers I’ve been meaning to talk about. They are pretty damn good, fun to say, fun to eat and they make me think of Spongebob Squarepants. What’s not to love?

Not exactly going to win a beauty pageant 

I don’t remember what drew me to these, I’d like to say destiny but can’t help but feel that’s a tad too dramatic. Don’t think it was the packaging, poor things don’t exactly stand out if I’m honest. There is no smile enhanced mascot beaming at you, trying to hypnotize your child into pleading for them. No flashy “random” gimmicks or swanky typeface. No instead they just state plainly what they are chocolate coated nuts. After yesterday I think that comes as quite a breath of fresh air, simple honesty.

One thing that did stand out is the little boastful comment in the corner assuring that every serving contains 5 grams of protein. While this doesn’t sound as exciting as say, being able to play with them before eating. It does mean you can sit there smugly eating these knowing there could be some benefit to your gluttony. I’m not going to dwell on that idea as it either makes me sound rather petty or rather simple minded.

Pretty much how I feel when I eat them, Definitely a Goofy Goober

So moving on swiftly to the taste test, what I like to call my suck and crunch review style.  So as always, let’s start with suck. When you pop one of these into your mouth the sweet creamy chocolate immediately melts on your tongue. Its Nestle chocolate at its finest, there is something special about Nestle milk chocolate. It tastes amazing when it’s coating something like nuts or wafers, yet in slab form like a Yorkie bar it doesn’t. Perhaps it’s just me but there’s something about Yorkies that doesn’t work, too big and heavy. Bet some of you are chuckling right now about the irony that I don’t like Yorkies which are for real “men”. Well to you people I say shut up, and then I run and hide till I cry myself to sleep.

Anyway getting away from any breakdowns I may be having (I’m a manly man dammit) once the chocolate layer is gone you’re left with the roasted peanut. Now I do like to savour my sweets but even I’m not patient enough to erode a nut with my saliva. So I crunch down and yet more great flavours come out and combine perfectly with the chocolate that lingers. Wow, just wow these taste great to me.

I am not a Goofy Goomba however, sorry Goomby!

It seems a shame to have to even crunch just one of these, but crunch I must for you guys. As I thought if just chewed away you miss out on the point of these sweets. All mixed together the nut comes out strongest and you barely catch a taste of fleeting chocolate. No clearly these are meant to be savoured. Much like Flipz they work best when you melt the sweet chocolate and crunch the remaining savoury to fully appreciate the contrast in both flavour and texture. Clearly designed for me and a small bag can last quite a long time.

I don’t understand why Nestle haven’t launched this product over here in the UK. There is certainly a market for them, every supermarket stocks their own brand of chocolate or yoghurt coated nut/fruit. My only guess is that they don’t have the same health appeal that those trail mix type bags have and they don’t really appeal to kids either. There could still be a market in between however with health conscious parents getting little Timmy these to ensure he gets his protein.

Overall I’m in love with these Goobers, They are clearly meant for savourers like me, someone who is quite happy to take their time with each individual piece to fully enjoy them. Someone who may read blogs. perhaps they favourite or follow those blogs. Perhaps even tweet a link after they enjoyed a particular article. Ok I’ll stop now.

Score

9 out of 11

Found

Local Sweet shop that sells American candy

Final Thoughts 

I think I go off on some rather odd tangents sometimes.

Mending Fences

So I often will say that I love all things chocolate and to a point this is true. There is however a large portion of the chocolate industry I don’t like, a company to whose chocolate I’m rather indifferent. That is Mars products, now don’t get me wrong I love Galaxy (See I’m not a complete monster.) I’ll also often choose M&M’s over Smarties, but both are cool with me. But the rest of their products (including their namesake Mars bar) I could quite easily live without.

The problem is most of Mar’s products incorporate real turn offs for me. Firstly I don’t like chewy or sticky caramels in my chocolate. No, the caramel needs to be gooey and runny like you’ll find in Dairy Milk caramel bars. Next I don’t really like a bar that skimps on choccy for a solid block of biscuit running throughout. It’s like the product is a bit confused and shuns the sweet aisle and is eyeing up the biscuit barrel like it holds greener pastures. Both these things can hinder the chocolates ability to melt on your tongue which is what I tend to look for. I like to savour my chocolate, not bite it away at once.

Now if I were to put these two qualities into the much loved and possibly overused vend diagram, I think you’ll agree that you’d find a Twix bar. This bar to me is the worst of the worst, partly because of said fall in the diagram. Also it’s probably partly to a mistaken belief I held onto during childhood that Twix bars contained nuts. Up until very recently I have avoided nuts and nut products due to hatred towards them. This hatred however has gone replaced with much apology and regret at the missed nutty opportunities. Whilst I was wrong for both my hatred of nuts and my belief that they lurked within Twix I stayed clear in case.

See the lengths I go to for you guys!

It’s ironic the that today’s review is seeking to form a bond betwixt (HeeHee) me and Twix in the form of peanut butter Twix. Like the rest of the United Kingdom I am experiencing an obsession with all things peanut butter so saw an opportunity to indulge in the latest craving. Upon first bite I was hooked in by the taste of salty peanut butter and a flirt of chocolate. Even better was that the biscuit seemed to have

minimal impact and wasn’t very detectable. The only downside was that the peanut butter seemed a bit too sticky but I wasn’t complaining. It was pretty damn good and it looked like grovelling to the Twix gods was needed.

I think the state of the wrapper shows how eager I was to repair relations.

Then the second bite and subsequent bites occurred and I was in for disappointment. Suddenly the chocolate was undetectable the peanut butter lost its flavour and worse the biscuit was very much present. The biscuit is terrible too, despite bragging itself as chocolate cookie it has no flavour at all and is way too crunchy. I realised with horror that my initial bite at the beginning was the end of the bar where the chocolate ratio is high. Now however i was in the middle of the biscuit ocean with the chocolate shore in the far horizon. I was eating a chocolate bar devoid of a chocolate flavour. The cookie too lacked any of its own and the peanut butter sticky and had lost the partnership with the chocolate.

Twix peanut butter is definitely not high on taste instead it offers crunch and stickiness. Put simply it is a bar for those who enjoy texture over taste, I am not one of those people as you can clearly see. So I’m afraid that this purchase wasn’t the catalyst that rebuilt any burnt bridges. Instead like an unhappy marriage the only thing that grew was resentment.

Score

4 out of 11

Found

Sweet Haven store in Thurrock shopping centre

Final thoughts

I'm probably now going to be able to think of loads of Mars products I like... Malteasers

Weekend wonder time!!!

So the weekend cometh, and to celebrate it’s off to the cinema. Now class other than sticky floors what does this mean? Yep, sweets and this leads me to today’s review. Now I may seem like a sucker in all things to do with money (especially if you read yesterday’s post.) but I can make clever decisions with money sometimes. After forking out the price of a few tickets I feel reluctant to pay over the odds for the cinema sweets, which are cheaper round the corner. Added to this, the shop round said corner does American sweets as well as cheaper chocs.

No nonsense packaging?

Now my plan fails however as I step foot into the shop and immediately spend much more than I would have in in said cinema. I do get that naughty secretive sensation of bringing outside food into their establishment (fight the power). So after much searching my sweet choice for the film was a pack of milk chocolate Flipz. I've had the white fudge Flipz before and was hooked, but in the interest of a varied life I went for these.

Then the hard part began, getting all the way back to the cinema without picking at these tasty morsels. Well dear readers I did it, I stayed strong and the pack stayed fresh until the moment I met my seat. Unfortunately due to excessive adverts and previews my two serving pack was a uno serving by the time the opening credits began playing. This is a good sign in some ways that I made the right choice.

Someone needs to show me where to find these peanut butter variety like now!!!

Now to the chocolate (are they chocolate? Are they pretzels? Are they chetzels? Does it matter?), and to my usual technique of suck & crunch. So when sucking on these you get the outside milk chocolate first, a good quality creamy chocolate if a bit dull. This is until you hit the outside of the pretzel and the hint of salt gives the chocolate a kick that makes me pay attention. The combination of sweet and salt is great and one that I’m beginning to love more often, with the popularity of salted caramel at the moment.  Now a dilemma, pretzel reacts to mouth moisture as bread in that it loses its structural integrity leaving mush behind. I preserve and the mush did taste good and the savoury contrasts well with the sweetness.

When crunched these lose something, the different layers can’t be appreciated and instead the experience is a mix of fleeting chocolate. In this the pretzel flavours strongest and overpowers the rest a bit more than I’d like. Therefore the perfect technique when dealing with this tricky conundrum is to suck them till the chocolates gone then crunch away at the pretzel. Overall I preferred the white fudge variety of these and I guess I’ll have to buy more of them to review for this blog (woe is me). Never the less these are excellent, but be warned they are very moreish!

Score

9 out of 11

Found

Sweet kingdom in lakeside shopping center.

Final thoughts

Why are these called Flipz, although Chetzels would probably cause as much confusion. Why must life be so complex?