REVIEW: Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears

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Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears Bag

In honor of the conclusion of Alaska’s annual Fat Bear Week, I too am preparing for hibernation—with Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears. Rather than scoop up salmon or forage for lush greenery, I ordered a 1.5-pound bag of the new dipped treats online. (So far, they’ve been spotted in this quantity only at Costco and Sam’s Club, but both stores are too far from my forest.)

I’m a huge fan of Reese’s Dipped Animal Crackers, so I was thrilled to see Reese’s add to its confectionery menagerie. Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears are a similar species, but they swap the animal cracker for a crunchy graham cookie. Like the crackers, these Bears are covered in a thick layer of peanut butter candy confection with a chocolate-dipped base.

Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears in the bag

Speaking of fat bears, Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears are not your toddler’s Teddy Grahams. These cookies vary in appearance—some are on the slim side, while others have honey jar tummies—but overall, they are comparable to the animal crackers in size. I am sure dipping a smaller cookie in peanut butter coating would have lost the distinctive bear shape, despite making it easier to toss them into one’s gaping maw.

Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears family

Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears two sides

Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears size

As the bag promises, the bears boast a strong crunch. In this respect, they are more like a crunchy cookie than a crumbly Honey Maid cracker. The cookie’s honey graham flavor is noticeable, but it doesn’t overwhelm the peanut butter flavor, which remains the star of the show. The peanut butter candy crème coating is smooth and sweet, pairing well with the hint of chocolate. The flavor is similar to enjoying a graham cracker spread thickly with sweet peanut butter and a sprinkle of chocolate chips. As a sweet snack or casual dessert, they are absolutely delicious.

Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears bite

The main differences between Reese’s Dipped Animal Crackers and Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears are that the bears are a little crunchier, and you can taste their flavor more than the animal crackers, which are pretty mild to begin with. The subtle difference detracts from the novelty of the new bears, but they are so tasty that it doesn’t matter.

Reese’s Dipped Graham Bears bag back

While I initially balked at the size of this bag, I may need to order another one before hibernation season kicks off. If you are a fan of Reese’s Dipped products, you will bear-ly be able to resist these.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 24 oz package
Purchased at: ebay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3 pieces) 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Honey Roasted Peanut M&M’s

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Choosing a favorite M&M variety is like choosing a favorite star in the night sky. Every one shines a bit differently. Some stay around for ages, while others are a fleeting gift. Sometimes they are a poor substitute for the Milky Way you were hoping for.

Bad metaphor aside, Peanut M&M’s are among the best of the brand’s stars. And yet, only two peanut varieties reside permanently on shelves: Original and Dark Chocolate. Until now.

Honey Roasted Peanut M&M’s are the latest permanent addition to the brand’s lineup. The candy is described as “a twist on the classic favorite, with the harmonious flavors bringing the perfect combination of sweet and salty.” The product embeds a roasted, honey-glazed peanut in its signature milk chocolate and brown and yellow candy shells.

This change elevates the classic Peanut M&M…or maybe it doesn’t. Yes, it does! Well, sort of. No, this one really, really does! So said my ongoing interior monologue as I popped candy after candy, watching my Share Size bag dwindle before my eyes.

This is the experience of tasting Honey Roasted Peanut M&M’s: the flavor is familiar, but the “honey roasted” taste vacillates from subtle to distinct. The roasted peanut imparts a rich nuttiness that, along with noticeable salt, gives the candy almost a savory edge.

There are hints of toasted honey similar to a caramelized flavor, but not as overly sweet. The roasted peanut flavor is more discernible than any honey element. The candy is delicious—and different from the original variety, although the exact difference is difficult to put your finger on. In my ever-growing rolodex of M&M flavors, Honey Roasted M&M’s are close to the seasonal Toasty Holiday Peanut variety (minus the spice notes), with honey flavor reminiscent of the limited edition Honey Graham Milk Chocolate variety.

Because I have trust issues, I tried to taste the peanut and chocolate separately to isolate the flavors, but doing this highlighted the inconsistency. Sometimes the peanut tasted roasted, while other times it tasted raw. At times, the chocolate itself tasted salty or honey-tinged. Returning to the night sky metaphor, the mysteries behind the operation aren’t mine to solve, but I still enjoyed the big picture.

Peanut M&M lovers may adore Honey Roasted Peanut M&M’s for their sweet and salty combination and depth of roasted nuttiness. Purists may find the change too subtle to bother with. Although it isn’t the splashiest flavor that M&M’s could have added to its lineup, the balance of flavors is unique, intentional, and interesting enough to pull focus from the usual standouts.

Purchased Price: $4.92
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 9 oz (255 g) bag
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 oz, about 12 pieces) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein

REVIEW: Reese’s Oreo Cups

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Snack food all-stars Reese’s and Oreo have collaborated to grant fans not one, but two best-of-both-worlds mash-ups: Reese’s Oreo Cups and Oreo Reese’s Cookies. A cookies and creme peanut butter cup AND a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich cookie? Whichever product speaks to your preference, we can all agree that both brands have been reading our diaries.

I tried the candy half of this collaboration. Available in Standard Size, King Size, and Mini varieties, Reese’s Oreo cups consist of a milk chocolate and white crème shell filled with peanut butter confection and Oreo cookie crumbs.

Reese’s connoisseurs may also think of this cup as a collaboration between two past varieties: Reese’s Crunchy Cookie Cups and the seasonal Werewolf Tracks Cups. Like the former product, Reese’s Oreo cups contain delightfully crunchy chocolate cookie crumbs. Like the latter, they use half milk chocolate and half white creme to achieve a unique taste and cool colorblock look. With all this mixing and matching of parts, maybe Dr. Frankenstein was in charge of engineering this collaboration.

If Frankenstein did channel his unchecked scientific ambition into candy, I would argue that he played it safe with the Reese’s Oreo cup. The white creme doesn’t taste much like an Oreo’s center, but it adds extra sweetness to the cup. The Oreo cookie crumbs add fantastic texture to the peanut butter filling, but I wish I could taste more of the wafer’s characteristic dark cocoa flavor. The crumbs are concentrated at the bottom of the cup, which creates a cool layering effect, but a whole wafer would have been a more exciting way to achieve Oreo flavor.

Despite the Oreo’s subtle flavor, the cookie crunch—in satisfying contrast to Reese’s perfect, smooth peanut butter—is the best part of the candy. I wish I had found the Mini variety at my local store rather than the King Size pack. I suspect the cookie’s texture and flavor might be more pronounced in a smaller cup. Readers, confirm my hunch?

Although the cookie flavor is generally lacking, Reese’s Oreo cups are crunchy, sweet, peanut buttery, and very easy to eat. It’s hard to achieve snack food perfection, but this flavor pays respectable homage to two brands that already have.

Purchased Price: $1.97
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 2.8 oz (79 g) King Size package
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 2 cups) 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein

REVIEW: Twix Snickerdoodle

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Soft, chewy cinnamon sugar snickerdoodle cookies are a cozy classic associated with winter holidays, but they are delicious in all seasons. Case in point: I associate them with Father’s Day, when I would often bake a large batch for my dad, a renowned cinnamon fiend. One year, I mistakenly baked enough snickerdoodles for a small army of dads. I suggested leaving a tin outside for our mail carrier, who was a family friend. Unwilling to share his treat, my dad protested that “if you leave him snickerdoodles today, he’ll get spoiled and start expecting them every time.”

The mail carrier did end up with his snickerdoodles that day, and this is all to say that the new Twix Snickerdoodle may leave me spoiled and expecting all of the brand’s subsequent novelty flavors to be successful.

The milk chocolate-coated candy is imbued with cinnamon flavor in both the caramel and the biscuit. The cinnamon cookie is subtly spiced, like a scantily coated snickerdoodle. The caramel is more forceful in its flavoring, teetering on too artificial, and generates warmth in the aftertaste that reminds me more of cinnamon hard candy than cookies. This quality of the caramel is subtle unless you strip the caramel from its cookie (which I did, for science). The milk chocolate helps to mellow the intense flavor into a more balanced bite.

Despite this, flavoring two components of the bar was the right choice because the spiced cookie alone would not have been enough flavor. I liked the candy enough to forgive Twix’s cinnamon wizard for his liberal hand.

Together, the sweet milk chocolate, buttery spiced caramel, and crispy cookie represent everything we love about original Twix, but with a warm twist perfect for the upcoming season. While I love milk chocolate and cinnamon together, I wonder if a cream cheese or yogurt-flavored candy coating would mimic the tang that cream of tartar brings to snickerdoodles. No such candy bar exists to my knowledge, but you, the cinnamon wizard, or the cream cheese chancellor may have resources that I do not.

Twix Snickerdoodle’s sugar and spice will pair nicely with your autumn chai or holiday candy dish. Are they good enough to refuse your friends, family, or mail carrier a taste? You decide.

Purchased Price: $1.69
Purchased at: Giant Eagle
Size: 1.41 oz (40 g) bar
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein

REVIEW: Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate Bar

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In the Venn diagram of candy lovers and the chronically online, those in the middle intersection are particularly enamored by viral food trends and their ability to provoke excitement and curiosity. How many kinds of Swedish candy are there? Does a bowl of tiny pancakes make cereal? Why is this chocolate bar so expensive?

I overheard a guy at Walmart ask the last question out loud as he passed the display of Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate bars. At nearly $15 for a 5.3 oz bar, Lindt’s newest product boasts costly ingredients, eye-catching green packaging, and generally stylish vibe. Invented by a Dubai chocolatier and popularized by social media, Dubai chocolate is a milk chocolate shell filled with sweet pistachio cream and kadayif, or shredded cooked phyllo pastry. Lindt’s riff on the sought-after confection consists of Swiss milk chocolate made in Germany, with the addition of almonds, hazelnuts, and sugared pistachios in the filling.

So, is the bar worth the splurge? I guess you could say I’m still dubai-ous.

Look, I like Dubai chocolate, I like Lindt chocolate, and I’ve often wondered if I’m singlehandedly putting my local candy store owner’s children through college. Despite these truths, Lindt’s Dubai Style Chocolate Bar left me unimpressed.

The milk chocolate itself is wonderful—lushly silky, sweet, and creamy, with notes of caramel and vanilla that make its flavor distinctive.

The filling felt like a letdown, especially compared to the viral photos of Dubai chocolate that depict overflowing green goo like something out of a Nickelodeon cartoon. (Did the Rugrats Reptar Bar foretell Dubai chocolate? Discuss.) Lindt’s filling is a modest layer of sweetened pistachio paste rich with texture: gritty bits of nuts and threads of phyllo that remind me of crispy shredded wheat cereal. It tastes nutty, salty, and good, but the flavor is a mixed medley of almond, hazelnut, and pistachio—the latter of which should be the star. In the context of the Dubai trend, the almonds and hazelnuts add more filler than filling.

The milk chocolate outshines the filling. Even with a better chocolate-to-filling ratio, the filling would benefit from a substantial addition of pistachio cream to boost the pistachio flavor, balance creamy and crispy textures, and stand a chance against the chocolate’s unique taste.

The Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate Bar is difficult to rate because, while a nutty bar of Swiss chocolate is always a pleasure, it does not fulfill the creamy, crispy, and pistachio-y promises of Dubai chocolate that—to some—justify the hefty price tag. If you are willing to part with the green in your wallet, look for a brand that provides more green filling in its chocolate.

Purchased Price: $14.97
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 5.3 oz (150 g) bar
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 2 pieces, or 1/5 bar) 170 calories, 11 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

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