Girl Scout Cookies + Nestle Crunch

Remember the good old days when limited edition candy bars seemed to come out one after the other? That's certainly slowed down lately, so when Nestle announced it would be releasing candy bars with a Girl Scout cookie theme, people went crazy. I admit, I was one of them. I love Thin Mints. I love them so much that I don't buy them, because I can eat a whole sleeve in one sitting. I couldn't wait to try the Nestle candy bar version.

When I opened the package, the aroma was definitely similar to a box of Thin Mints. The bar is made up of wafers and chocolate and the top is sprinkled with crushed cookies. So how did it taste? It was good, but ... I found myself wishing that I just had the cookies, not the candy bar. The second one I tried is modeled after the Samoa, with coconut and caramel. This is my second favorite Girl Scout cookie. Again, I thought it was good but not great. The last one I tried was Peanut Butter Creme, an homage to the Tagalong. Strangely enough, I never really liked Tagalongs, but I liked this bar the best.
The bars are exciting in that they're something different for the summer, but overall, I'd rather have a plain Nestle Crunch and a box of cookies.

Holiday Gifts #2 & 3: Stocking Stuffers

I love the new Wonka Exceptionals products. It's like they take a typical candy and tweak it just a bit to make it different. Such is the case with their Peppermint Shortbread Chocolate Pieces. Each little piece is wrapped in foil like a present and the candy is milk chocolate with shortbread cookie and peppermint candy pieces. A new twist on peppermint bark.
I was very excited to see these limited edition Paul Frank Nestle Crunch bars. Who doesn't love a monkey with their chocolate? The package is actually a cardboard box/card. The only disappointing thing is that I expected the actual chocolate to have a monkey on it, but it was just a regular King Size Crunch. Still fun though. Love the packaging. The Paul Frank bars are only available at Target, by the way.

Chocolate for Kids! (If Your Kid is Suri or Maddox)

I was in the grocery store for the stars Whole Foods the other day because I had a few minutes to kill. While I was waiting for a cup of coffee (which, although organic and Free Trade, it tasted suspiciously like diner coffee), I noticed a list of activities the store was offering. The kids' sushi class sounded kind of fun, but what I really loved was the weekly "Value Tour" ("Free!") where a guide will take you through the store and show you the single apple value items the average Joe can afford. I mean, seriously, if you've got to take a tour of store to find out where the great bargains are, there's something a little wrong there.
I poked around the candy aisle to see what I could find, and I couldn't resist this bar of Organic Moo "Kids Chocolate" in the Milk Chocolate with Corn Flakes variety. Now you know how I feel about the Ritter Sport Cornflake bar; it is on my list of top three candy bars, so I was curious to see how this measured up.
First of all, let's address this "kids chocolate" thing. According to the package, the company's mission is to make quality organic chocolate with grains that kids will love. Fine. I can stand behind that. The bar is 2.7 ounces, which is bigger than your average candy bar (a Nestle Crunch weighing in at 1.55 ounces), but smaller than most higher-tier candy bars (the Ritter Sport is 3.5 ounces). The package says a serving is half a bar. So here's the deal: the bar cost $3.29. Yes, my friends. A "kids" candy bar for over $3. Who buys this stuff besides me? I'm all for organic and great quality, but Big Rock Candy Mountain will sink into the sea before I go paying that kind of money for a candy bar for the Sugar Baby.
The thing of it is, it wasn't really a great candy bar. It was okay chocolate with crispy corn flakes, but it couldn't hold a candle to the Ritter version. Next time I'll save my $3 (plus the $2 for crappy coffee) and wait for the Ritters to go on sale at Target for $2.50.

Nestle Crunch: Cause for Play! (A Contest and A Giveaway!)

Check out this bucket o' fun, Yumsters! Nestle Crunches, a ball, a frisbee ... there's a whole summer of good times right there for you. And guess what? The good folks at Nestle have offered to give three Yumsters a bucket of their own! It's all part of their "Cause for Play" campaign, in which they'll be giving away a playground and a grant to a well-deserving community. Here's the deets:

From March 7, 2009 through Oct. 29, 2009, parents, teachers, community organizers and anyone who believes in the power of play can enter to win a residential ready-to-assemble playground, $3,500 cash and the opportunity to help designate a $30,000 KaBOOM! playground grant to a deserving community. Entry to win can be found on NESTLE and WONKA fun-size bags via a unique online entry code to use on www.NestleCrunch.com/CauseforPlay. For every entry, NESTLE CRUNCH will also donate up to $30,000 to KaBOOM! - a national non-profit organization dedicated to bringing play back into children's lives. Additionally, NESTLE CRUNCH is donating $70,000 to KaBOOM! to further their national mission.

But for you, my friends, if you'd like a chance to win your very own bucket of "Cause for Play" fun, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me about a favorite summer memory. It can be anything; I'll choose three lucky Yumsters on August 1, noon (EST). PLEASE don't sign in as anonymous, because then I'll have no way of contacting you. Leave me some way to get in touch with you. And please be a resident of the continental U.S. Good luck!