Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Tuesday Taste Test - Disney Deliciously Wicked Candy

I admit,to being completely disappointed with these candies. Though I've tried many a Halloween specialty and found them to be awful, I really thought that candy carrying the Disney name would be taste worthy. I was wrong.

The boxes that these candies come in are awesome. Actually, I'd get them just for the packaging alone. There are different Disney characters for each of the different Halloween flavored goodies....Candy corn comes in Ursula’s Blackberry Magic (from The Little Mermaid), Evil Witch’s Pumpkin Spice (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), and Queen of Heart’s Candy Apple (from Alice In Wonderland) at 9 oz. of gourmet candy corn per box. Saltwater taffy comes in Evil Witch’s Sour Green Apple (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Cruella de Vil’s Red Velvet Cake (from One Hundred and One Dalmatians), and Maleficent’s Fiery Cinnamon (from Sleeping Beauty) at 6oz. of gourmet saltwater taffy per box.

And again, I really wanted to like the candy inside, but alas, neither I nor anyone I gave a taste cared for it. I got comments of "waxy", "no taste at all", "kinda off" etc. We did only try one of each...the Pumpkin Spice Candy Corn didn't really have a candy corn taste nor was it very pumpkin tasting. The Red Velvet Cake Salt Water Taffy had no red velvet taste, no chocolate taste...nothing that set it apart from some very generic taffy. You know candy is bad when we give it away and no one wants to eat it.

These Deliciously Wicked Candy Corns and Saltwater Taffy were licensed from Disney by Flix Candy. Though very cool to have sitting around because of the packaging (and if you are a Disney person, cool to have in your collection) if you are looking for some yummy gourmet candy, this isn't it!

I found these at Walgreens back in August. They ran about $5 a package.

 

Tuesday Taste Test - Halloween Cadbury Eggs

There are those that wait all year for Easter to come around, so they can get their fill of Cadbury Eggs. I am not one of them. So I have no idea if Cadbury has had Halloween eggs out for years. All I know is that there was a box of them sitting at the check out register of my local grocery store. So I had to try one. Because it was there.

These Halloween Screme Eggs have the usual milk chocolate shell and a "white and caramel" cream center. These Screme Eggs pretty much taste the same as the ones you get at Easter. Except the inside has green "slime". But it tastes good. Hopefully the Easter Bunny won't get mad at you for stepping out on him with these Halloween Eggs. Cuz you know you're gonna try one.

These were 99 cents each at my local store but I do see that you can buy whole boxes of this stuff online. Just in case you need your fix before Easter.

Tuesday Taste Test - Halloween White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M's

I admit, the one item I have looked for and been unable to find, have been the Candy Corn Oreo's sold exclusively at Target. I've been obsessed with trying to find them. I've even tried out of area Targets and had no success. So when I found these Candy Corn M&M's I thought "wahooo" score! Cuz they're M&M's and pretty much any M&M is awesome right? A perfect substitute for my unobtainable Candy Corn Oreos.

Well...these were not great. Not completely horrible, just not good. It was pretty funny when I brought these out and had folks try them. When I showed them the package their eyes lit up, I had exclamations of "oh wow, can't wait to try these". And then when they popped a few in their mouths, that smiled faded. The face that remained wasn't a "these are so horrible I'm going to spit it out" kinda face, but a surprised and disappointed kinda face. Which is exactly how I felt about these. I expected to have to use tons of willpower to not eat the whole bag (I bought an individual bag and then several full size bags to share with friends).But after just a few tastes, the bags went uneaten.

Friends and co-workers complained about the M&M's being too sweet or too rich. I don't think anyone that I gave these out to ate more than three or four. Nobody came back for seconds. I had comments that these didn't taste like Candy Corn at all. While some said that they tasted like wax, that isn't an issue with me since lots of Candy Corn has a waxy feel to them. I liked the crunch of the outside shell but the candy corn inside just didn't really taste like candy corn to me. I found it interesting, that while no one said they actually hated them, no one really seemed to like them.

I found small bags at my local grocery and large bags of these at Target. You can also find them on Amazon. Prices for the big bags ranged from $3.99 to $10.51 (Amazon being the most expensive). While these Candy Corn M&M's may look good sitting out in a bowl in a Halloween decorated house, don't be surprised if that bowl is still full by Thanksgiving.

Yorkie Chocolate Bar

It's fun trying all these foods without really paying attention to the wrappers and what we are about to eat. So when I first bit into this Yorkie chocolate bar, I expected there to be some sort of filling or addition to the chocolate. But there wasn't. It turned out to just be a nice chunk of milk chocolate.

Originally the Yorkie Candy Bar was geared towards men and even had the slogan of "It's not for girls" which I guess caused some controversy. Luckily they've changed the tag line because I would have eaten it even if it wasn't for girls. At 302 calories, it pretty much uses up an entire meals worth of calories but since Mr. L and I split the bar, we didn't feel so guilty.

It seems to come in different flavors (dark chocolate, raisin and biscuit) but we liked the milk chocolate version just fine. In fact, there was just something so comforting about biting into that chunk of milk chocolate that days later, it's the one candy that we've tried that I keep thinking about (yes, even more so than the caramel Kit Kat...who knew!).

 

 

Kit Kat Chunky Caramel Bar

Kit Kat Caramel Bars? OH. EM. GEE....candy bar heaven. Now admittedly I already like regular Kit Kat bars so this was a real no-brainer. But I prefer Twix bars over Kit Kats. Why? The addition of caramel to the milk chocolate cookie like candy bar that is a Twix.

And these? Kit Kats with caramel. Perfection. Just adding a bit of caramel to the standard Kit Kat bar elevates it to another level. Instead of the rectangle "fingers" of Kit Kats you normally get, this is one solid bar divided into squares (that's why they call it "chunky"). And from Mr. L, these were not dry! A bonus in our book. They were "lighter" than a the Twix bar in comparison by the way. More of a wafer type cookie.

Can't tell you how many calories or how much they cost...I think we were so enamored of the Kit Kat bar that we threw the wrapper out without paying attention!

I read that you can get Chunky Caramel Kit Kats in the United States but because I don't eat candy bars much, I've never hunted them down. The recipe and texture of the Caramel Kit Kats are supposed to vary between the countries so until I have one from the US and one from the UK I have no idea of the similarities or differences.

Would we buy these again? In a heartbeat. I'm just bummed that I didn't know about these when I was younger and could eat candy bars without it showing on my hips.

 

Taxi Bars

I thought these candy bars (and don't let anyone tell you they aren't candy bars, I've seen some refer to these as cookies) were a fairly new product, but a bit of research makes me think they were popular back in the late 60's. Maybe they were out of circulation for a bit and have recently returned? They are advertised as "milk chocolate caramel wafers". Yep, exactly as advertised.

Mr. L found them, again, a bit dry for his taste. I'm beginning to think that all these UK items we are trying, aren't dry because they came from overseas or were past their expiration date (none of them were) but because that's just the way the British seem to like them. They were soft with just a bit of crunch. Not bad.

The package had 9 Taxi bars, each individually wrapped so it made it easy to throw into a lunch bag to have a treat. $4.99 for the nine bars, coming in at 130 calories each. I liked that they were small candy bars so that you kept the calories down with each bar (and only 16 carbs).

I have absolutely no idea why they are called Taxi bars. They do have a saying on their website "Taxi bars are as good as ever so jump in and enjoy the ride all over again". I assume that maybe they actually do have something to do with Taxi's but the packaging doesn't really convey that.

After having one of these, I wanted to go get a Kit Kat bar if that tells you anything.

Liquorice Allsorts

There are those that swear by red licorice. There are those that swear by black licorice. I happen to be one of those that likes either one, though I suppose I prefer the black. These days tubs of red liqorice sticks bought at Costco seem to be everywhere. You can find red vines at pretty much any movie theater. Black licorice? Not so much.

These Liquorice Allsorts from Taveners Proper Sweets (and yes, they spell it differnent than us, spell check keeps informing me) remind me of the little multi-colored licorice bites I used to see all the time as a kid. Can't remember the name (maybe from Brach's??) but they have a bit of a coconut taste to them and they are not overpoweringly black licorice tasting. Not very sweet at all either. Didn't even bother asking how Mr. L liked them as he's not a fan of coconut candy. The Assistant seemed to like them fine. Did bring back a bit of my childhood.

A 5.8 ounce bag of these cost $2.99 at World Market. Probably the best value so far as there were quite a few of the little licorice nuggets in the bag. I keep picturing these tucked into a little glass candy dish my Grandma used to have sitting in the living room.

You might guess that British candy is the most popular import, as that's mostly what I was able to find at World Market. Curse the British Food Store for closing as I was hoping to have more savory items on the menu during the London Olympics. I actually have made several British dishes from my cookbooks but am not finding time this week to post them. Be prepared to be inundated with recipe posts next week!

Union Jack Rock

You know you're in trouble when the first ingredient on a package is "sugar".

Yep, these are pretty much pure sugar candies. Ever had one of those white with red stripe around the edge peppermint candies at a restaurant after a meal? Exactly what these taste like. Except these have cool little Union Jack symbols in the center. Well, kinda, as you can see by the photo the center symbol is dinky compared to what is shown on the package.

3 pieces have 140 calories. The pack of 21 pieces were $3.99. You can get them through Amazon UK.

Not being a fan of peppermint candies I can't tell you much, though anyone I gave one liked them fine. The box is pretty cool looking and they do look nice in a candy bowl.

Red, White and Blue Cookie Bark

Continuing my 4th of July goodies, this cookie bark is a wonderful blend of salty and sweet. And a great way to use up leftover Oreo's, should there ever be such a thing. I went out and bought a new bag of Oreo's...and this recipe didn't use the whole bag, so now maybe I need to make another batch. It didn't help that the day I made these I finally got around to watching the last episodes of House (which the connection won't mean a thing unless you saw said episodes). So yeah, I looked at my bag of Oreo's and got all weepy. Sigh.

Anyway, another quick 4th treat that is super simple to make and can be coordinated for any holiday. You could even use holiday Oreo's if you can find them (I'm thinking the Halloween Oreos with the Halloween or Fall M&M's will go great!). The best photo of the Oreo Cookie Bark with a recipe I found on Pinterest is here. The recipe for Halloween bark which is the recipe I'll use for pretty much any holiday bark is on the Kraft site here.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE COOKIE BARK

16 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups miniature pretzel twists, coarsely broken
1 12-oz package White Chocolate Chips
Enough white chocolate melts to make a pound of white chocolate
3/4 a bag of Patriotic M&M's
Red, White and Blue Sprinkles, Jimmies or sugar

Line a rectangle baking sheet pan with a silpat liner, parchment paper, or lightly grease with cooking spray.

Mix the chopped Oreo's with the broken pretzels and spread in an even layer over baking sheet.

Gently heat the white chocolate chips and white melts in the microwave (do not overheat!)

Spread the warm chocolate mixture over the oreo/pretzel mixture using a spatula to evenly coat all ingredients. Top with M&M's and sprinkles; lightly press into chocolate mixture to secure.

Cool until firm, then break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

NOTE: Don't pulverize the Oreo's. You want some small chunks to give the bark texture and a nice look.

NOTE: Though lots of recipes say to use all white melts for better consistency (you know the packages you can get at Michaels that come in quarter size discs) using good quality white chocolate chips makes for better flavor. I've started mixing the two (more chips than melts though) to get a nice dipping or pouring consistency. How much you use of each is a personal preference. I just made sure I ended up with a pound of chocolate.

NOTE: You could use a whole bag of M&M's, I wanted room for the sprinkles.

NOTE: Though most of the photos of this type of bark used the red, white and blue sprinkles that include stars, I couldn't find any...or any that I'd buy. I found one ridiculously exspensive bottle of the stuff at Michaels. I ended up just using blue and red sugar to blend in between the M&M's.

NOTE: I just used some parchment paper without any cooking spray and the bark came up fine.

NOTE: I'd say use a 13x9 or 10x15 inch cooking sheet. I was worried that I had too much "stuffing" and that the chocolate would spread enough or hold the mixture together. You can see by the photo below that my mixture didn't cover the entire sheet pan so don't spread it out to thin.

NOTE: When microwaving white chocolate chips, I read that it should be done in a bowl that doesn't collect heat, otherwise the chips might overheat. So I melted mine in a heavy tupperware type plastic  bowl. It still got hot so I'm not sure it helped at all. Microwave at 50% power in 30 second increments. Even though it looks like the chips haven't melted, take them out at each interval and stir. Better to stir a bit to melt the entire batch than have the mixture seize up from overheating.

NOTE: Definitely smush the M&M's and any sprinkles into the chocolate coating to make them adhere. Even though I did this, once the mixture set, there were plenty of M&M's and bits of this and that in the pan after breaking into pieces. Take all that goodness and use it to top some ice cream.

Again, couldn't be simpler or quicker to get a treat on the table after dinner. Or to nibble on before dinner. Or during the day. Or while your at work. Or waiting in line at the store...

 

Red, White & Blue M&M Topped Brownies

Sometimes it's the simplest recipes that make an impression. This brownie treat is basically a brownie mix and some M&M's. Originally found on Pinterest, the recipe comes from a Betty Crocker boxed brownie mix here.

Now, there is no reason you couldn't just do this to your favorite 'from scratch' brownie recipe. But if you're like me, there are times when you just might not be Betty Baker, and using a mix is the only thing that's going to get that batch of brownies on the table for the pot luck that you completely forgot about until two in the morning the day of said pot luck. Or you forgot that the husband had invited neighbors over after dinner and they expectantly look at you with those "aren't you Betty Baker?" eyes thinking some treat will be coming out of the oven any minute to tickle their tummies. All I know is that I usually have a bag of M&M's for whatever current holiday is upcoming  (I think I even have a "fall" bag still in my stash) and with a premade brownie mix I will always have a holiday dessert I can put on the table. Besides, when I served this to someone at work, they made a comment that they could tell I'd made this from scratch since brownie mixes have an off taste. Score one for the lazy bakers.

RED, WHITE & BLUE M&M TOPPED BROWNIES
(Betty Crocker)

Boxed Brownie Mix (or your favorite brownie mix recipe).
1 Bag of appropriately colored M&M's

Follow the brownie mix recipe. During the last 10-15 minutes of baking, sprinkle the M&M's over the brownie batter.

NOTE: I used the Patriotic Red, White, and Blue M&M's. I only found them at one store in my area (CVS) and they sold out pretty quickly. I'll remember if I want to make this next year, to pick up a couple of bags earlier in the season.

NOTE: I used my favorite boxed brownie mix which is Ghirardelli. They have many different flavors and I like the fact that little Ghirardelli chips are included in the mix.

NOTE: I waited until the last ten minutes of cooking time to put the M&M's on top of the mix and it was almost too late as a crust had already started to form on the top of the brownies. The M&M's don't tend to melt into the brownie mix and when you picked up a cooled piece of brownie, a couple of the candies would fall off. I think if you lightly pressed the M&M's into the top when you put them on the brownie mix it would help them "adhere" better.

NOTE: The Ghirardelli mix I used made an 8x8 pan of brownies. I used about 1/2 to 3/4 of a bag of M&M's to get the look on the top of the finished brownies in the photo. I just kind of dumped the candies on top of the mixture. I've seen where others have arranged the M&M's into a much nicer formation (where the colors are more evenly distributed), where they have placed the M&M's upside down so the logo doesn't show or where every single candie is flat and not on it's side...but I am not Betty Baker and I just didn't want to spend the time.

NOTE: The M&M's crack so don't worry about that.

I now have an excuse to buy bags of holiday M&M's. Now I can tell Mr. L "It's for the brownies Dear. Of course I won't eat them right out of the bag."