REVIEW: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Pretzel Bites, Cookies ‘N’ Crème Cookie Bites, and Milk Chocolate Cookie Bites

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Hershey s Bites 1

What are Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Pretzel Bites, Cookies’ N’ Crème Cookie Bites, and Milk Chocolate Cookie Bites?

Hershey’s latest innovations are a group of familiar flavors in tiny ball format. Why? Because you just vacuumed up the last batch of small, round snacks that rolled into the deep recesses of your home in 2019.

There are two varieties of cookie bites – one vanilla cookie with milk chocolate coating, one chocolate cookie with white crème coating – and pretzel bites with a milk chocolate coating.

How are they?

I really wanted to try these because I am both a choco-pretzel fiend and a cookies & cream fanatic of the highest order. I was less interested in the vanilla cookie/chocolate combo.

Hershey s Bites 2

First thing, I was surprised at the size of them. I saw that the main photo on the package was enlarged, but I figured they’d be Whoppers-sized, like the rest of the images on the bag. Nope – teensy. The cookie bites were 1/2″ wide and the pretzel bites slightly larger. The bag was only half-full. Disappointing, but not a deal-breaker.

Hershey s Bites 3

The chocolate and white crème coatings were exactly what I’d expect from Hershey’s – delicious, but in this case, not ground-breaking. The texture was good – crunchy, but not too hard. I wished the pretzel balls were a tad saltier, though (if I’m doing sweet/salty, I’m going hard). I prefer Pretzel M&M’s to these.

Funny enough, the Milk Chocolate Cookie Bites – that I didn’t care much about at first – were the standouts here. Maybe because the vanilla cookie/chocolate coating combo isn’t as popular right now, so it’s not a well-worn flavor. When I bit into them, they tasted exactly like those not-Oreo vanilla cookies that I ate in my youth. It felt surprisingly nostalgic.

Hershey s Bites 4

I think there’s something of interest in the Milk Chocolate Cookie Bites because of the generally neglected vanilla cookie flavor profile, and would buy them again. The other two, however, seem like duplicates of existing products, just in a smaller, slightly different shape that I don’t think anyone was clamoring for. Maybe they should’ve marketed them as a mix of all three bites in one bag – like a flavor roulette – which one will you get?

Hershey s Bites 5

Is there anything else you need to know?

These things are HIGHLY mobile and slippery. I dropped at least five that I had to hunt for after they promptly rolled away.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for something new, try the Milk Chocolate Cookies Bites. If you’re looking for solid, good old-fashioned Hershey flavor, try any of them. I’m not completely sure why they exist, but here they are!

Purchased Price: 3 for $12 (on sale)
Size: 7.5 oz. bags
Purchased at: Hershey’s Chocolate World
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Pretzel Bites), 7 out of 10 (Cookies ‘N’ Creme Bites), 8 out of 10 (Chocolate Cookie Bites)
Nutrition Facts: – Milk Chocolate Pretzel Bites: (30g – 17 pieces) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of total sugars, 12 grams of added sugar and 2 grams of protein. Cookies ‘N’ Crème Cookie Bites: (30g – 21 pieces) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 13 grams of total sugars, 11 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Milk Chocolate Cookie Bites: (30g – 26 pieces) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: White Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces

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Reese s White Creme Peanut Butter Cups Stuffed with Reese s Pieces

What is the White Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces?

Exclusive to Dollar General stores, Reese’s newest product is a white crème cup filled with Reese’s Pieces bits and the brand’s signature peanut butter filling.

How is it?

With each new addition to its line of products, Reese’s takes more of a “choose your own adventure” approach to offering the perfect peanut butter cup to meet individual tastes. Navigating among coating types, sizes and shapes, and filling add-ins, Reese’s fans get to try out new combinations more often than new flavors, and as a result, strong personal preferences form and comparisons are inevitable.

Reese s White Creme Peanut Butter Cups Stuffed with Reese s Pieces Outside

Personally, I swear that Reese’s Trees and Eggs are superior to your average cup. Milk chocolate ranks first, followed by white crème and dark chocolate, respectively. In 2016, when Reese’s introduced Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces in the milk chocolate variety, the addition of crunchy candy shells didn’t wow me enough to make my list of favorites.

Setting aside my biases, I was drawn to White Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces for its novelty, exclusive status, and charming polka dot wrapper. The white crème delivers in both flavor and texture, as the sturdy shell easily melts into a creamy bite with a subtle white chocolate taste. The crème’s flavor allows the peanut butter filling to shine.

Reese s White Creme Peanut Butter Cups Stuffed with Reese s Pieces Inside

The Reese’s Pieces bits add an enjoyable element of texture, but still feel scarce in number. In my pack of two, each cup contained at least one whole candy piece, which doesn’t quite meet the expectation that the word “stuffed” implies, but was still an improvement over my experience with the barely-there candy shells in the milk chocolate variety.

When I encountered a whole candy, I could taste its peanut butter flavor even against the powerful peanut butter filling. While Reese’s Pieces are not enough to make the milk chocolate variety special for me, they are enough to make the white crème variety more interesting.

Is there anything else you need to know?

The product wrapper specifies white crème because it contains no cocoa butter and so technically cannot be classified as chocolate.

Conclusion:

Having already dabbled in both white crème and Reese’s Pieces, Reese’s is not exploring uncharted territory with White Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces, but all of the elements work together well in this peanut butter-and-texture-forward candy. If you are a Reese’s aficionado who likes having options, try out this variety and share where it falls in your peanut butter power ranking.

Purchased Price: 95 cents
Size: 1.4 oz. (2 cups)
Purchased at: Dollar General
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein

REVIEW: Limited Edition Galactic Fruit Gushers with a Mystery Flavor

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Limited Edition Galactic Fruit Gushers Mystery Flavor

What are Limited Edition Galactic Fruit Gushers with a Mystery Flavor?

General Mills is re-releasing a limited edition lunchbox favorite: Galactic Gushers, featuring Asteroid Apple, Berry Star Clusters, and a Mystery Flavor (“Unidentified Flavored Object”). The product is available exclusively at Walmart.

How are they?

First, if you have never eaten a Gusher, a) do you eat vicariously through junk food bloggers? and b) they are kind of their own species. Not quite gummy candy, not quite fruit leather, Gushers are dense and chewy with a burst of fruit-flavored liquid in the center.

Galactic Gushers, to reinforce the outer space theme, are the Jupiter of Gushers in that they are large in mass and volume. This box – well-decorated with glittery letters and a rich purple celestial background – contains 20 pouches, each of which holds about 8-10 Gushers.

Limited Edition Galactic Fruit Gushers Mystery Flavor Colors

The flavors are distinguished by color: bright green (Asteroid Apple), sapphire blue (Berry Star Cluster), and dark purple (Mystery Flavor), a color combination that could be recycled if Jewel Tone Gushers or Cool Side of the Color Wheel Gushers ever hit shelves. Details like a swirl motif and edible glitter to resemble planets and stars would have been a fun addition to boost the galaxy imagery.

The Asteroid Apple’s hint of tartness tastes like a typical artificial green apple flavor, and the Berry Star Cluster mimics the concentrated sweetness and flavor of blueberry jam.

Limited Edition Galactic Fruit Gushers Mystery Flavor Innards

The Mystery Flavor was harder to pinpoint, because the taste of each purple Gusher seemed to vary slightly. Perhaps primed by its purple shade, I first guessed grape, then recognized a sweet note that reminded me of boysenberry.

For help, I turned to the Galactic Gushers promotional site, which lists the following as potential flavors:

  • Big-Bang Blue Raspberry
  • Meteorite Mandarin-Melon
  • Satellite Strawberry-Kiwi
  • Light-Year Lemon-Lime

One more taste detected acidity in the Gusher goo that seemed to point to Big-Bang Blue Raspberry as the Mystery Flavor.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Limited Edition Galactic Fruit Gushers Mystery Flavor Back

You can guess the mystery flavor at GalacticGushers.com daily through April 30th for a chance to win prizes like gift cards and Gushers swag.

As of this writing, “Big-Bang Blue Raspberry” is in the lead with only 48% of the vote. I wonder if Gushers purposefully designed the Mystery Flavor pieces to taste inconsistent, or if the minor flavor differences I detected among them were just my imagination.

*X-Files theme plays*

Conclusion:

After the novelty of the Mystery Flavor wears off, you are left with three perfectly acceptable Gushers flavors and perhaps a reinvigorated urge to storm Area 51.

Purchased Price: $5.88
Size: 16 oz. box (20 – 0.5 oz. pouches)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 pouch) 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kit Kat Lemon Crisp

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Kit Kat Lemon Crisp

I have been searching for the new Kit Kat Lemon Crisp for a couple of weeks now. I adore Kit Kats, and my curiosity about this new springtime edition quickly became an obsession for me. I scoured every single candy aisle, seasonal display, and end cap in each store near my house. Anytime I saw a yellow bag of candy, I would get excited, only to be immediately disappointed. I began to lose hope.

Then, the other day, I was in Fry’s, shopping for random items and not even actively searching for the candy. I turned the corner of an aisle, looked down, and voila: there they were, in a nondescript, out of place Easter candy display. I immediately forgot everything else that I had come shopping for and rushed home.

I tore into the bag and unwrapped one of the small bars. The smell of soft, fragrant lemon hit my nostrils. The candy was a pale yet welcoming yellow.

Kit Kat Lemon Crisp Coating

The coating on the outside of the Kit Kats is sweet, slightly tart, and distinctly lemony, without being overwhelming. It doesn’t taste excessively artificial either, which is a major plus. The flavor reminds me of the cream in the lemon sandwich cookies that I used to eat when I was a child. It is undeniably delightful and oddly refreshing.

Texturally, it’s very similar to the chocolate coating on traditional Kit Kats that we’re all familiar with. It’s not necessarily chocolate, though. The packaging states that the candy is “crisp wafers in lemon flavored white crème.” As far as my mouth is concerned, it’s basically lemon-flavored white chocolate.

Kit Kat Lemon Crisp Give Me a Break

The wafers on the inside provide the same reliable crunch that they always have. I delicately ate the coating off one of them, leaving only the wafer layers. I wanted to see if they were lemon-flavored, and as far as I can tell, they’re not. They taste the same as a standard Kit Kat when you remove the chocolate. But that’s all right because the citrusy coating brings enough flavor for the whole bar.

Simply put, Kit Kat Lemon Crisp bars are heavenly and embody everything I want in a lemon-flavored sweet. Supposedly, they’re only a seasonal offering, but if they sell well, maybe Hershey will keep them around. I hope that’s the case because I’m not prepared to lose them.

Purchased Price: $3.50
Size: 9 oz. bag
Purchased at: Fry’s
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (4 pieces) 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 30 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Hershey’s White with Whole Almonds

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Hershey s White with Whole Almonds

What is Hershey’s White with Whole Almonds?

Let’s start with what it’s not -— white chocolate.

That caught me off guard a little, especially with this being from Hershey’s, but this candy bar contains no chocolate at all and instead is white creme with whole almonds.

How is it?

Hershey s White with Whole Almonds Front

It’s just OK. Maybe my expectations were too high because this product kind of gives off the aura of being a high-end candy bar, but I wasn’t impressed. The white creme reminded me of hardened cupcake frosting, and I’m not talking the decadent type like you get at those fancy $5-a-cupcake places. I’m talking overly sweet frosting on a cupcake you get a superstore that rhymes with Malwart. As for the almonds, they were fine and whole, as promised. They were also lined up nicely down the center of the bar.

Hershey s White with Whole Almonds Back

Is there anything else you need to know?

No, you don’t need to know the following information, but I’m going to give it to you anyway. I spent nearly two minutes researching what creme was, and I learned it could be a sweet liqueur or a type of cream.

But, of course, I got distracted during my extensive inquisition and focused on the accent in crème, and more specifically, why the Hershey’s wrapper didn’t have said accent. I found no answer to that question, and I didn’t really care that much to begin with, so I gave up.

But I learned that the particular accent mark in crème is called a grave accent. That sent me down a rabbit hole of punctuation names that are just fun to say and even sound a little dirty, like rough breathing (look it up, I’m not lying), retroflex hook, inverted breve, and perispomene. So have fun with those.

Conclusion:

Hershey s White with Whole Almonds Side

This is certainly worth a try if you like almonds; it is a candy bar after all, and it will definitely hit the spot if you have a hankering for something sweet. But if you are looking for an indulgent treat that will give you the weird, pleasure-filled expression you see on commercials when people are trying some fancy candy, then this one misses the mark.

Purchased Price: 99 cents
Size: 1.45 oz. bar
Purchased at: H-E-B
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 220 calories, 14 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

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