Showing posts with label see's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label see's. Show all posts

Saturday, June 08, 2013

The aptly-named See's Awesome Walnut Square Bar

This is how I originally started this post:

"It's not often you see candy bars with walnuts in them. In fact, I can only think of two. The British Walnut Whip and ..." (insert long pause here).

I was about to write 5th Avenue. But then I second-guessed myself and looked up 5th Avenue which I haven't had in probably decades. This was a candy bar that regularly appeared in our house, even though it was a dud of a treat. For some reason though, my mother liked these and bought them. I distinctly remember, though, that they were topped with a chocolate-coated walnut half. Yet, when you look at the picture and ingredients of them now, there are no walnuts. Am I imagining this? Am I thinking of another candy bar? It's a mystery! Please chime in if you know what I'm talking about.


In any case, walnuts are rare in the candy world, so I've been intrigued by See's Awesome Walnut Square Bar. When I was offered the opportunity for a sample, I jumped at the chance. The bars come 8 to a box and are individually-wrapped squares. The description on the wrapper says, "Chewy caramel and crunchy walnuts coated in dark chocolate." The chocolate is thick and smooth and the filling is dense and chewy. It's definitely a unique bar. The closest thing I can liken it to is a Goldenberg's Peanut Chew, except that there's more chocolate and the walnuts give it a bitter contrast unlike the peanuts in the Goldenberg's. I loved these little bars. They're a step up from your everyday drug store candy bar, but still down-to-earth and satisfying. In fact, that's what I love about See's candy in general. It's not foofy candy laden with exotic spices. It's good, old-fashioned candy that tastes great and is special. Check them out at www.sees.com.

Friday, June 04, 2010

Candy Art from the Sugar Baby: Provocative, Yet Sentimental


"See's Catalog, Number 4"
Paper, glue and magazine clippings
The Sugar Baby, 2010

Monday, April 05, 2010

Easter Sugar Crash 2010

Well my goodness gracious, I'm wiped out. These candy holidays can really take a toll on a person. So much build-up to the big day and then CRASH! Too. Much. Candy. Must. Have. Salad.
In any case, let's tie up a few loose Easter ends.When life (or the mailman) gives you a See's Easter candy catalog, you make puppets. That's what we've been doing for weeks. Cutting and taping pictures of chocolates onto popsicle sticks. The Sugar Baby asked me to draw sad faces on them. (I'll be accepting donations for his future therapy via PayPal.) He currently has them all nestled inside his lunchbox and he sleeps with them. Trader Joe's offered milk chocolate peanut butter eggs this year. What can I say? They were good, but nothing can ever compare to a Reese's egg with its perfect balance of sweet and salty. Really, there's no reason for any company to ever make a chocolate peanut butter candy because Reese's will always win out.
The Sugar Baby got these adorable bottles of bubbles in his Easter basket. They look like Peeps and the bubbles smell like them, too. Fun!

So Yumsters, what was in your Easter baskets? Do tell!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

See's Easter Candies: Go for the Truffles!


The See's Easter catalog arrived just in time the other day. I took a nap while the Sugar Baby sat in bed next to me and "read" it. Here's what I love about the See's catalog: it's very comforting as opposed to, say, the Vosges Haut Chocolat catalog which makes me feel like I'm standing in some funky New York bar all by myself wearing sweat pants. Does that make sense? I'm just not hip enough for bacon-flavored chocolate Easter eggs. I'm more of a purist. Anyhow.
I was offered some samples of their Easter offerings and here's what I have to report.

Assorted Decorated Eggs: these come in a package of six small eggs, two each of Vanilla Chip, Bordeaux (Brown Sugar buttercream) and Chocolate Butter. Each egg is about three decent bites big. I know this because Mr. Goodbar and I tried to evenly divide the eggs after the recent chocolate debacles in the House of Yum. These are the perfect size because they are most certainly rich. In fact, it was impossible to hold them for longer than a minute because they melted so quickly. My favorite was the Bordeaux. It reminded me of penuche fudge. I'm not sure which Mr. Goodbar preferred, but he obviously liked them all. At $5.40 for a box of six, these are a fun, affordable hostess gift (or perhaps a gift from the Easter Bunny).

The second thing I tried were Jelly Bird Eggs. These really intrigued me because they're unique: little jelly eggs coated in white nonpareils. The flavors (according to the catalog) are lime with orange peel, lemon with orange peel and raspberry preserves. Unfortunately, I'd never guess that by taste alone. I was expecting a big burst of citrus flavor, but instead it was more of a super sugary bland gumdrop. It's too bad, because they're so pretty.

The last thing I tried were their Springtime Truffles, little white chocolate squares with raspberry and lemon centers. I pulled these out from hiding when No-Nuts arrived back for spring break. That's when all hell broke loose. These truffles are big time yummy. The lemon is deliciously tart with flecks of real lemon zest and the raspberry ones are like biting into a chocolate-covered berry. There were five in the box, leaving the three of us to fight over the remaining two. They're still talking about the truffles even though they're long gone. I might have to order a few more boxes.

Check 'em out at www.sees.com.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

See's Butterscotch Cookies

If you're a fan of See's Butterscotch Squares, head on over to CelticMommy for her See's Candy in a Cookie recipe. They look yummy!