So Much Candy, So Little Time

Geez - Easter is here and there's so much more candy to review! (Hey, if that's the biggest problem I have, I'm pretty darn lucky, huh? It's all about perspective.) Things are still on track with the guy I like - I hate to talk too much about it - afraid I'll jinx it. Suffice it to say, if I go down in flames, I'll let you know.

We've seen in past holidays that some candy makers just throw out the same old stuff in a different package. Well, we have some of that with Easter. The Least Possible Holiday Effort award goes to Tootsie Roll:

Okay - could this packaging be any uglier? This is the most depressing Spring packaging EVER. Boo!!!

Now Tootsie did better with the Pops:

They have an egg shape! Creative! Not the world's most festive wrapper - how about a chick or a bunny? But at least not so suicidal. Look at the egg pops:



That blue thing is raspberry (NOT my fav), pink (cherry) was good. I don't know why these are colored so differently than the regular Tootsie Pops. I mean, it's not like these are some crazy spring colors. But I like the idea and it is a different candy for the season. I also think these have a better Tootsie to Pop ratio than the regular pops. But it's possible that's my imagination. I honestly don't care enough to really try and figure that out. It hurts my brain to think about actually (weights, ratios, ugh).

These are all solid entries - you already know what you're going to get. Kissables (which I like) has some great Easter colors and a rabbit. I like chicks and rabbits and think they should be on all Easter candy wrappers.

When I was a kid we used to get malted milk eggs (robin eggs) in our Easter baskets. I remember my little brother getting all pastel coloring all over his mouth. Or maybe he would just chew one up and get me to look at his as he opened his mouth. Little brothers are experts in gross. But I don't think they make these like they used to. Here's what I could find:

Okay - there's a robin CARRYING an egg! (Do you think that's an African or a European robin?)Whoppers remind me the most of the taste of the eggs I remember, but the colors are too garish:

Of course, after those Tootsie Roll wrappers, these are a Godsend.

These fancy-schmancy ones are from Williams-Sonoma. More florescent than the ones I remember and (trust me) WAY more expensive, but these are the best of the malted milk eggs. The only thing I didn't like about them is that the green ones actually have a little lime flavor to the candy coating. I wasn't too keen on that. But the chocolate layer is definitely of a high quality. And they are pretty. I like pretty.









NECCO rejoins the candy party with PAAS splashed malted milk eggs in ice cream flavors:

Okay - let's just slow down here. PAAS makes Easter egg dye, right? I mean, the name is synonymous with Easter, but.....on candy? And do we really need ice cream flavors? And when the hell did orange become an ice cream flavor? Aren't we talking sherbet here? What the hell is going on?





Look at that purple and orange monstrosity! GLAACK! YUCK! Too orange, too ugly. Strawberry tastes like the crunch berries in Captain Crunch coated with some waxy strawberry stuff. Vanilla is okay as is chocolate, but there's no malt here. All taste like some kind of bad cereal. These have the feel of a candy made in a third world country. But on a good note, they do have both a rabbit and a duck on the package.

Look at this confectionery artistry from Germany for Williams-Sonoma:




These are chocolate truffle eggs and they are gorgeous as well as delicious:

From the horrifying to the sublime, Easter candy offers something for everyone. It's all there for you to enjoy! (And on Monday it will be half price!)

And remember in the great Easter Egg hunt of life:

1.) Sometimes what you're looking for is right under your nose.

2.) The early bird gets the most eggs.

3.) The real winner is the one who had the most fun.

4.) You are grown up when you have more fun helping the other kids find the eggs.

5.) If the Easter bunny doesn't make you smile, you need to loosen up.

6.) The only things you'll find in the hunt that you can take with you are your memories. Fill your days with good ones.

So wear the biggest Easter bonnet you can find, share your candy, and stop and smell the flowers. Life is sweet and all too short - savor every second.

More on Valentine's Day

Ah - after my rant on excellence, I feel compelled to share a little Valentine's Day love. The candy is FINALLY out in full force - yahoo!! Just a quick post tonight to share a few of the love offerings from our favorite mass producers of chocolate.

As to the excellence of these products, most food critics would not say they are excellent - they do not challenge the palate, etc. etc. BUT I think we have to use a different measure for them. These are produced in mass quantities - they are inexpensive, easy for most people to get their hands on, and consistent. They are the fast food of chocolate. And, hey, I like them just fine. Let's see what they are doing for the holiday:

These are cute - Kissables in Valentine's Day colors. And they taste pretty good. I think they would be perfect for trail mix, on ice cream, in cookies - maybe even tossed in the kids' oatmeal - wheee!

I actually like Hershey's Miniatures, especially Mr. Goodbar - it really is packed with peanuts. And sometimes this is all the chocolate I want. (Now I know this can't even come close to competing with fine Swiss chocolate, remember - fast food.) What I really like about these are the VERY cute Valentine's Day wrappers - adorable!

Tootsie Pops has a Valetine's Day entry - all cherry pops...

with cute Valentine's Day wrappers - this one says "Sweetie Pie!" "Love Me!" and "You're Mine!" Exclamation points by Tootsie.

Now I haven't looked very closely at a Tootsie Pop wrapper in a VERY long time, so I don't know when they changed the artwork. It still has the Indian, the football player, and kids engaged in various other activities, but they are more stylized than they used to be. And some have giant heads, out of scale with their bodies. I don't know what it all means.

But they are good, although it seems there is less Tootsie Roll and more Pop than there used to be. But sometimes I think my childhood candy memories are distorted, so I cannot be sure.

This is a great Valetine's Day assortment - what could be better than Snickers, M & M's and Twix?

These are some pretty small Snickers, but they are good. The Twix bars have some sayings on them - pretty lame ones I might add - "It's not a mix up... You're my Valentine!" and "Let's mix it up!!" Apparently the writers felt it was important to use the word mix in all of them. I have no idea why.

Overall, I say this is a good batch of Valentine's Day candies. All that is really happening here is new packaging, but I like it! Mars, Hershey, and Cupid - what a trio!!!