Kit Kat Cake!

The very fabulous June pulled me aside at my birthday party and said, "You might want to open your gift now." She presented me with a perfect box tied with a ribbon. It was kind of freakishly perfect, like it was part of Let's Make a Deal or like I was on a soap opera. I untied the ribbon and she helped me carefully lift the top to reveal:
A candy cake! Look at this beautiful thing. It's surrounded by Kit Kats and topped with Reese's Pieces. I mean, really, does it get any better than this? think she does this for a living or something, but no, it was just a little project she took up. Personally, I think she needs to hang out a shingle that says, "Junie's Kandy Kakes."

Sweet, sweet Friday

I had a banner day on Friday. 1) I was writing a nostalgia piece about a bakery from my youth-- a bakery that made the best doughnuts and giant chocolate chip cookies ever. They closed four years ago. By some sprinkling of magic fairy dust, I discovered that the bakery had re-opened just two months ago. I am pleased to report that the cinnamon doughnuts and the cookies are even better than I remembered and I'm now able to pass this tradition on to the Sugar Baby who ate such a huge cookie that he had a stomach ache. And 2) I came home to find a giant box of all sorts of candy on my doorstep. The National Confectioners Association will be hosting their Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago next week, but unfortunately, I won't be able to attend due to No-Nuts' college graduation. But the good news is, I now have 25 pounds of all sorts of new and exciting candy to share with you all thanks to the kind folks at the NCA. So between the new/old bakery and the candy extravaganza, my diet is pretty much shot. Luckily the Reese's Kid and the Carry On Candy Girl will be here for a week to help me taste test.
In the meantime, I couldn't wait to try the Reese's Minis. I suppose I should've saved them for the Reese's Kid, but I only have so much willpower. The package says, "Conveniently Unwrapped Mini Cups." These are ideal for the Sugar Baby, who often forgets that Reese's have a cup wrapper and doesn't remember until he realizes he's chewing paper.
For contrast, I decided to compare them to Palmer Peanut Butter Cups. Now, in the past I've been known to comment on the fact that Palmer "chocolates" don't really contain any chocolate. This, again, is the case. The ingredients are: sugar, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, peanut butter, whey, lactose, cocoa, peanut flour, skim milk, salt emulsifiers and vanillin. Compare that with the Reese's which contain: milk chocolate, peanuts, sugar, dextrose, cocoa butter, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt, PGPR (an emulsifier) and TBHQ (a preservative).
Hmmm. It's safe to say that neither is a health food. Both contain partially hydrogenated oil, or as I like to call it, the devil's fat. Just because Reese's contains milk chocolate doesn't mean I should go getting all snotty about the Palmer peanut butter cups.
So here's the breakdown: the little Reese's Minis were cute and would be great for cookies. As for just plain eating, though, I prefer the larger cups. It's strictly a textural thing. I like the thick rim of chocolate on the normal sized cups.
The Palmer cups were actually not bad, especially considering the fact that I expected them to be gritty and nasty. Would I take them over the Reese's? No. But it would be interesting to a more in-depth blind taste test at some point. I'll put that on my list of things to do. In the meantime, here's a little teaser of just some of the candies I'll be talking about this week:

• Mike and Ike Bubblegum
• Wonka Whipped Wingers Gummies
• Necco Wafers Chocolate
• Starburst Summer Fun Fruits
• Ferrara Chocolate Milk Chocolate Strawberry
• Goetze's Double Chocolate Bullseyes ...
• and much, much more!

The Perfect Gift for the Reese's Kid

I went onto the Hershey's website in early December and tried ordering the World's Largest Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for the Reese's kid. Suffice it to say that it was a nightmare process (all sorts of pain in the neck issues) and I had all but given up on the idea. But then I gave it one more try and successfully sent two 1-pound packages to the Reese's kid and his big brother. As you can see, he is visibly excited by the thought of 16 ounces of pure chocolatey peanut buttery goodness.
In other peanut butter and chocolate news, a friend sent me a big bag of homemade peanut butter cups for Christmas. They lasted all of about five minutes on Christmas Eve.
What kind of candy did you have at Christmas?

Candy Jewelry and Ornaments

Please stand by while we here at Candy Yum Yum suffer through a bout of pink eye. In the meantime, check out these goodies I found on Etsy. I just love that website; do you think I can do all my Christmas shopping there?


Tootsie Roll Pop broach from Candy Calamity
Starburst bracelet from Butterfly Gem
Reese's Cup Ball Gown ornament from Toomuch

And The Dark Chocolate Reese's Go To...

I know I was supposed to pick the winners yesterday, but I somehow lost track of time while painting mushrooms and the food pyramid for the Sugar Baby. (Latest obsession: produce. If only he'd eat more veggies.) Anyhoo, the winners of the boxes of Reese's Dark are:

Tim!
Carol!
Angela!

Okay folks, you've got 48 hours to send me your mailing address or else the Reese's turn into pumpkins.

Reese's Dark Giveaway! Free Candy! Free Candy!

Hey all you Reese's lovers out there! Get a load of this: Reese's Dark! Guess what? I'm giving away three sets of these (four two-packs and two bags of Miniatures) to some lucky Yumsters! All you have to do is leave me a comment about your favorite type of Reese's and I'll pick three winners at random on August 2oth at high noon (or some time thereabouts).

Small type:

Continental U.S. addresses only and please make sure that you are 18 years or older.

And Now, a Word from The Ice Cube Queen

The Ice Cube Queen is in town. She was barely on New England soil when she handed me two hand-written pages. This is what they said:

Dear Candy Yum Yum,
Just wait until the Sugar Baby is a teenager and you go flying around the world with him (or at least down to Florida to visit Mickey)! I'm sitting on a plane with the "no-name" niece and nephew. Actually, this is our second plane today.
Our day started early this morning when Jenny exclaimed, "I didn't realize that candy weighs so much!" Her carry-on bag was filled with candy!
As soon as we boarded the first plane, I said, "Bring on the candy-- what do you have?"
Yes, I've been brain-washed into thinking that you have to have candy at take-off and landing.
First, we opened the Good 'n Plenty box. Next ... don't cringe ... the Circus Peanuts! In the meantime, Tim opened his stash of candy. He had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I shudder to think how many packages he bought!) and a huge Hershey's Cookies & Cream bar.
Now we're on our second plane. Out came the Circus Peanuts and then the gummy worms!
What's left you say? Let me ask my sugared-up teens:

-Twizzlers
-Nerds
-Gobstoppers
-Oreo cookie bar
-Wintergreen mints

So if we get stuck circling the airport for hours like the last time we flew to Yum Yum state, at least we'll have candy.

P.S. Jenny informed me that she was going to buy the caramels with the white centers or cowtails, but she couldn't find them.

Well, Ice Cube Queen, it would seem that we're all cut of the same cloth! (I'll overlook the Circus Peanuts.) Perhaps they've earned their own titles. I shall call them: Carry-on Candy Girl (CCG) and The Reese's Kid. And by the way, of course you have to have candy at take-off and landing. It's a Candy Yum Yum rule!

How Do You Like Your Reese's?

Here's a great video from the "Real Life With Married People" series. If you're a Reese's lover, you'll totally get it! I love the wife's expressions.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Cat from Make. Bake. Create.

I've got a yummy Sweet Treat for you this week! Introducing Cat, whose blog Make. Bake. Create. is full of delicious recipes and cute little felt cookies. Cat is a high school senior who's just itching to go off to culinary school.

What's your favorite candy?

My favorite candy would have to be Reese's White Cups. I love that salty combo!

Share with us a favorite candy memory.

Probably making Scotcheroos with my Mom in the kitchen, either that or placing Peep's in the microwave on Easter morning and watching them explode.

What's your favorite fruit flavor in candy?

Blueberry. Although that artifical taste is nothing compared to a real thing. Artifical blueberry is like a new flavor all together!

Gummies or hard candies?

Tough choice, but hard candy is best for me. They tend to last longer.

Milk, white or dark?

WHITE CHOCOLATE! It's a long back story to my love of white chocolate, but we are now star-crossed lovers.

Circus Peanuts: Yay or Nay?

Nay. I can't stand the things...sorry.

Thanks Cat! Enjoy your senior year, and we'll look forward to hearing about your bakery in four years or so!

So what about you? Yeah, you! What's your excuse? Why haven't you been featured as a Sweet Treat of the Week yet? I want to hear from you! E-mail me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

The Results Are In: Let's Go Back in Time!

Official results from the Candy Yum Yum! 6-year-anniversary question: "What would you like to read more about?"

No-Nuts has been busy earning her keep doing the official audit of the answers to our question: "What would you like to see more of on Candy Yum Yum!?"

I have to say Yumsters, you did surprise me a little. The number one thing you'd like to read about is old-fashioned/retro candy, followed in a tie between candy recipes and foreign candy.
I like these ideas a lot. When I originally began Candy Yum Yum!, I intended to delve into retro candy, but lately I've been star-struck by all the new Limited Editions that have been coming out. I promise, I'll be getting back to the good ol' fashioned penny candy very soon, and will be coming at you with some candy recipes, too.
As for foreign candy, I'm thinking that maybe some of you international Yumsters could help out. Do you live somewhere other than the U.S.? Write to me and tell me about some of your local candies! Perhaps we could even do a candy swap.

Other items of note: Reese's was the only brand that specifically was mentioned. Let's give it up for peanut butter and chocolate! Woo hoo!

You're definitely interested in things like organic, Fair Trade, vegan and sugar-free candy, so more on that too!

Lastly, check out No-Nuts' artistic skills. I had no idea she was both a math whiz AND an artiste!

Reese's: Cup or Bar? You decide

For some reason, I was excited to hear about the new Reese's bar. Strange, because the Reese's cup is such an icon. I mean, really, when you think of a candy cup, you automatically assume Reese's. But there was just something Willy Wonka-ish about the idea of a peanut butter bar. Maybe it just seemed indulgent to have all that peanut buttery goodness in one big bar instead of two small cups. Anyhow, I finally laid my hands on one and, well, it's good but not great. It has that same crumbly salty peanut butter of a regular Reese's. (Thank goodness because that's what makes a Reese's stand out from other peanut butter candies.) But the chocolate was a bit too soft, too melty. I wanted it to have more snap, like the sides of the cups. Instead it kind of just all fused together. Oh well. I tried it. I wouldn't turn it down, but I wouldn't seek it out either.

Reese's Whoppers

Every trip to evil Wal Mart deserves a special treat at the end. In this case, it was a tiny box of Reese's Whoppers. I love traditional chocolate Whoppers. It must be a genetic thing, because my Dad loves them, too. These, though, eh, not so much. They'd be good if they had a layer of chocolate over the peanut butter, but as they are, there's just not enough contrast in flavors.

My Two Cents

I finally got around to trying the Reese's Whipps and the Junior Mint Peppermint Crunch. I fully expected to hate the Whipps, since most of the other candy bloggers weren't jazzed by it. It's a peanut butter nougat with a thin layer of peanut butter around it coated in chocolate. Here's what I thought: if you compare it to a Reese's, you're going to be disappointed. But if you accept it as its own candy bar, it's actually kind of good.
I had similar expectations for the mints, and they were fine, but really, they weren't that much different than a plain old normal Junior Mint.

Who has the best friends? Me!

The aforementioned June came over last week and not only did she bring lunch, but dessert as well. She reached into her bag and produced a Mr. Goodbar, 3 Musketeers Mint, Limited Edition Tootsie Roll Midgees in vanilla, and white chocolate Reese's. Yum! She e-mailed me after the fact saying that she had made a faux pas; she hadn't read enough of my blog to know that I generally don't like white chocolate. But you know what? Those Reese's were damn good. I mean, really good. It makes me want to give white chocolate another chance.

The Tootsie Rolls tasted like chewy vanilla icing. I've talked about the 3 Musketeers before. Oh well, it can't all be good. And then of course, the Mr. Goodbar. How can you go wrong with peanuts and chocolate?

What's new

It sounds like everyone is having a grand ol' time at the Candy Expo. Good for them! You can read about Cybele's and Sera's coverage on their websites. I'm particularly interested in the Reese's Whipps (doesn't that just sound good?!) and the gigantic Junior Mints. Mmm, giant mints!
In the meantime, I just sampled the Nestle Crunch Stixx for the first time and wowee, those things are good. They're almost like chocolate-covered Pirouettes (or Yohays, depending on what you call them); crispy, crunchy, chocolatey and addicting. I can't have these in the house.

Guest review: Mark's take on the sweet stuff (or, Today's Fresh Hell)

Lord help me. I knew I never should've told my brother-in-law Mark about this blog. Most people just politely smile and say, "Oh, a candy blog. How nice for you," and then go on their merry way. Perhaps they'll gossip about me to their friends. "Can you believe that wacko? A candy blog? How old is she, twelve?" But rarely do they come back for a second look. (This is, of course, their loss.)

Yes, some friends are regular readers, and for them, I'm truly thankful. Their interest fuels my passion for all things chocolate and candy. And then there's Mark (pictured at right; note the dribble stains on his shirt).

I was sitting around this morning, relishing the quiet while H took his morning nap when the phone rang.

"Hey," said Mark. "Have you ever tried dark chocolate peanut M&Ms?" From the background noise I could only assume that he was standing in line at the convenience store. The answer is no, because I haven't seen them in these parts yet. And I so desperately want them.

He rattled off a few more candy bars, some which I've tried, some I haven't, so he said he'd try them and get back to me with his two cents. Apparently the fact that he and his family are leaving tomorrow for a two-week trip to Europe hasn't sent him into a packing flurry. I wonder why.

I returned home this afternoon to a very sweet e-mail from my niece Kaileigh:

Aunt Patti,
Daddy had me try a candy bar that I really really loved. They were both chocolate so of course I loved them. One was a Reses crispy crunch bar. It tasted like a resse penut butter cup with a great crunch.

Now that's a review, huh?! A girl after my own heart. Brava, Kaileigh! And then there was this: an e-mail from Mark saying that he decided to leave the review of the dark chocolate M&Ms to me, since he hates dark chocolate (such blasphemy!) but his notes on the others he did try:

1) Nestle Butterfinger Crisp
- 3 out of 3 family members loved it.
- Everyone liked how the wafer softened the hard Butterfinger crunch and taste. We are not much of a Butterfinger enthusiast.
- Almost tasted like a peanut butter wafer candy than a butter finger. Sort of had a Kit Kat crunch.
- If you don't like Butterfingers, this might be the candy for you.

2) Reese's Crispy Crunchy
- 3 out of 4 family members hated it.
- Our chocolate lover would eat it just because.
- The other 3 more sophisticated taste buds determined that this chocolate bar was nothing but a terrible marketing scam. If you advertise it as a "Crispy" and "Crunchy" then the consumer would expect a crunch. Very Very disappointing!! It was like a Peanut Butter cup with a few crushed peanuts on top. Almost spit it out, but I pushed through it.

Well, I must admit, I'm impressed with his research, especially since he doesn't have a particularly discerning palate. He actually made me want to scarf down a Butterfinger Crisp. But then, at the bottom of the e-mail, was this postscript:

PS - Michelle was wondering if we do these family taste tests and can email you the results why would we bring any candy back from Europe??

Well that's a fine how-do-you-do! Why would you bring back candy? Um, how about these reasons to start:

1) I'm your favorite sister-in-law

2) I love chocolate

3) You're going to Germany and Belgium, two of the world's best chocolate countries

4) If you don't bring me back chocolate, I won't join you for Thanksgiving thereby leaving you to fend for yourself while your wife and mother-in-law join forces and cause you to curl in the fetal position and watch endless episodes of Hannah Montana.

But it's your choice, Mark.

Hold your horses!

Wow. One mention of brownies and everyone goes nuts wanting to know how they came out. Well, here you go. I used a box mix, I think it was Duncan Hines and used an 8x8 dish so they'd be nice and thick. I put them in the oven and then, ten minutes before they were done, I chopped up some of the Elvis Reese's and tucked them into the top of the brownies. I wasn't sure if they'd melt, but they held their shape. I think, for some reason, the banana taste was more pronounced after the baking. Yes, they were tasty. I think these would be really good if you chopped up some peanuts and sprinkled them on top, too. Yum!

Local Elvis Sighting (Reese's, that is!)

Just got an e-mail from Alexandra. She found an Elvis Reese's at her local Walgreen's. Here's her take on the peanut butter and banana concoction:
So, last night I was shopping at my neighborhood Walgreens and saw that the new Reese's PB & Banana cup was there. Hmm.... okay, so I picked it up and added it to my purchases (of course, I forgot the things I truly went for but that's another story) Did you know they put Elvis trivia on the wrappers? Hmm! The top of the cup was, for lack of a better word, wet/moist???? Perhaps it melted against something else? Anyway, on with the "dissection"....I cut the cup into pieces.... tried my first bite....it reminded me of a chocolate covered banana with peanut butter. The banana reminded me of an actual slice of really ripe banana. Your brother is right though - Wow! is that sweet. I ate half the cup and then said there's no good way to save a half of PB cup so I ate the rest! I have one more cup to have later tonight. These would be a good addition to ice cream - another way to have a banana split if bananas aren't available! Yum-O!

Thanks Alex! Just this morning I baked a batch of brownies and threw some cut-up Elvis Reese's into the mix. We'll see how they turn out.

I'm all shook up!

When I first heard about the Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana Reese's about six months (maybe a year?) ago, I immediately spazzed out without doing my homework first. I looked everywhere for one, not realizing that they hadn't been released yet. When my search proved unfruitful, I called my mother-in-law, who lives in Memphis, and sent her off on a wild goose chase. She looked all over the place: the gift shop at Graceland, the airport, everywhere. Then I realized the error of my ways. Oops.

So when I got an email on Friday saying that a sneak preview of the Elvis Big Cup was coming my way, I just about jumped up and swiveled my hips. Sure enough, a package arrived at my door and let me tell you, I didn't waste a second. I muttered a quiet, "Please keep sleeping! Please keep sleeping!" up towards Henri's room and ripped into the box.

The wrapper says "Peanut Butter & Banana Creme," so I instantly got nervous. First of all, banana is a tricky flavor. It can be too banana-ey, too artificial. The word "creme" brought to mind an ooey-gooey concoction that I wasn't sure would be successful. But as it turned out, the "creme" was more of a ... what? Not chewy like a nougat. Not as solid as a white chocolate. Almost kind of like the texture of a York Peppermint Pattie, but not as sticky. I guess that's why they called it a creme, because there doesn't seem to be another suitable word.

The banana flavor wasn't overwhelming, and in fact, was very subtle. It almost disappears into the peanut butter flavor, but then you get a hit of it.

This isn't candy for the wimpy: it's definitely a big ol' hunk o' sweet -n- sugary. I gave one to my brother to try. (Admittedly, he doesn't have the most discerning palate.) He shoved a whole cup into his gaping maw and proclaimed, "Don't give this to a diabetic!" Words to the wise.

I really dig the Elvis cups, but I have to admit that I feel like there's something missing. Maybe it's because I have the idea of a pb & banana sandwich in my head. I almost feel like the cups should be grilled between two slices of bread. YUMMY! And I can definitely see the miniatures being baked into brownies. I may have to try that today.

So get ready. The Reese's Elvis Cups will be coming to a store near you on July 6. Whoa Mama!

Differences in Reese's: A Scientific Review

Welcome to the Candy Yum Yum! sensory lab where today we'll be comparing "Fresh From the Factory" Reese's to fresh from the vending machine Reese's.

As I noted in a previous post, Hershey's is offering some of their products fresh from the factory to your door in less than 96 hours. Yesterday I got a tub of Reese's. My first inclination was to just dive into it and have a PB & chocolate love fest. But I gathered my wits and set up this highly scientific test. Check it out:

Purpose: To determine if there is a difference between "Factory Fresh" Reese's (FFR) and a Reese's candy bar of unknown shelf-life that was procured from a vending machine (R).

Methods: Brian cut up three sets of Reese's. Each set had one piece of FFR and one piece of R. Using traditional sensory methods (appearance, smell, taste), the tester tried to determine which piece was which.

Results: 1oo percent accuracy. The tester was able to discern the FFR from the R.

Conclusions: We heartily recommend the Factory Fresh Reese's for candy lovers.

So how was I able to tell the difference? The peanut butter in the FFR was softer, not as crumbly and had a fresher peanut taste (although the aroma was more earthy than the R, which had a definite peanut aroma.) The chocolate had a nice snap to it, especially around the edges. This is not to say that I wouldn't eat a non-FFR, because frankly, almost any Reese's is a good thing. But, the FFR is just a little tastier, a little more special. A little more YUM.

Can I just say, I love sensory evaluation? In my next life, I want to be a food scientist. Fun stuff. You should try a test for yourself. Invite some friends over. Pop open the wine. Eat some candy!

As a sidenote, I really like this as a gift for candy lovers. The jar sells for $20-- great price!-- and it's just a fun thing to give.