Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Hammond's Seasonal Caramel Trio (Pumpkin Spice Caramel Marshmallow) - Target

Hammond's Seasonal Caramel Trio - Target
There's not much of a backstory for these seasonal sweets. I was walking around Target, saw the display, and into my cart they went.

Each one is wrapped in a sheet of wax paper and sealed with a sticker, so there's not much for me to critique as far as packaging, and since these are so small, I figured I might as well mash all three up into one review!

First up, the pumpkin spice caramel marshmallow! Unwrapped, this smells like vanilla and the pumpkin pie spices. It's really well balanced, and it smells like a real baked good and not a seasonal candle, which is amazing! So many of these seasonal products over do it, but this? This is very nicely done. (As far as it's smell anyway.)
I took a bite, and the marshmallow was stiffer than I was expecting, almost nougat-like, but the flavoring was absolutely great! The marshmallow is flavored with cinnamon, ginger, all spice, and maybe even a hint of cloves, which gives it fall flair, and it's not overly sweet, while the caramel coating is a bit salty and buttery. The combination was really delicious, and after I finished this one, I found myself wanting more! I'll definitely buy a few more of these before the season ends!
Another caramel apple flavored candy? I can't say I'm looking forward to this one, but at least it's actual caramel this time around.
The caramel apple flavored square is soft and pliable with a matte finish, and it smells like buttery caramel with a very mild hint of green apple. You have to get in super close to smell the apple, but it's there. I took a bite, and it's not bad! It tastes more apple-y than it smells, but the flavoring is no where near as floral and artificial as the caramel apple candy corn. This is actually enjoyable, and it's got a great texture. I liked this more than I thought I would, but I'm still not a huge fan of this flavor combination. (Even though I do love real apples with caramel.) I won't repurchase this one, but I was able to eat the whole thing, so it's already way better than the candy corn. (Thank goodness!)
Lastly, we have candy corn flavored caramel! Okay, I'm really skeptical of this one. Candy corn is sweet and generic, like vanilla fondant, how are you going to make this blob of caramel taste like candy corn? Isn't it just going to be vanilla flavored?
Again, we have a large matte caramel square, but this time it smells like vanilla and burnt sugar. It's appealing, but not very candy-corn-y. I took a bite, and the caramel still has that wonderfully soft and sticky texture, but the flavoring is overly sweet, but bland. It's a little vanilla-heavy and marshmallow-like, but with burnt sugar notes. It kind of tastes like those caramel coated marshmallows you can buy at local candy shops and specialty stores, but once and a while I get this weird artificial aftertaste on the sides of my tongue that I find really off putting. I really wanted to like this one, but of the three, this was my least favorite. I don't think it tastes very candy-corn-y at all, and this aftertaste is slowly overwhelming my mouth. Definitely won't be getting this one again.

On a Pumpkin Scale of 1-5
 
(5 being the most pumpkin-y) I’d give this marshmallow a 5! It's not overly sweet, the spiced are really well balanced, it has a nice chew, and the caramel add a hint of salt and butter. This marshmallow was the best of the three products, and it's pretty cheap to boot! I highly recommend it to all you pumpkin lovers out there.
© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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1 comment:

  1. The caramel, marshmallow and pumpkin spice treat sounds and looks amazing. I mean... caramel and marshmallow? What can go wrong? Ok the pumpkin spice could kill everything (we have enough negative examples for that right?) ^^

    How much does one of those little caramels cost?

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