Clearance Cookie Candy - Sugar Cookie m&m's

I pride myself on pretty good foodie-judgement, and I hate wasting money. If I think something sounds gross, or hyped, or scammy, I'll just skip it.

Like Swedish Fish Oreos. 

I like Swedish Fish, I like Oreos, I even like chocolate covered Swedish Fish, but when Oreo released a Swedish Fish flavor I skipped it. Knowing how they executed fruity flavors in the past...I just didn't think it would be a good time. Meanwhile other people bought them and tore them to shreds. Which is fun, because making jokes gets views, but sometimes I just rather not feed into the gross food-waste machine. Unless they go on sale. 

If these were full price, I never would have bothered with them, but post-holiday clearance? I'll allow myself a dud or two. So, sugar cookie m&m's: actually worth snacking on? Or just hyped up crispy-m&m gimmick? 

Blurred Limes - A Trio of Lime Themed Reviews

3 Lime Reviews 

I freaking love lime, and I also love putting a dent in my foodie backlog, so today we have a triple dose of citrus. (No need to worry about scurvy!) Three lime products, one a returning classic, compared to two limited edition releases. Which is best and how do they rate on a scale of 1-10 in terms of lime-y-ness? We shall see!

Sugar Cookie Shakedown - Hershey Sugar Cookie Kisses

Hershey's Sugar Cookie Kisses - CVS

I don't get the appeal of all this "Sugar cookie" flavored stuff. With a few exceptions, like Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch or Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts, I think most sugar cookie products are a sham. Especially when it comes to chocolates and candy bars. Brands just make a vanilla version of their product, throw some colorful sprinkles on it, and call it a day. 

Will these Kisses be the exception to the rule? 

#TBT White Pumpkin Pie m&m's, from 2019 (Because I'm a hoarder)

White Pumpkin Pie m&m's  - Target (I think)

In 2019, a simpler time, I went Halloween clearance crazy. While I totally don't regret it, a bunch of stuff ended up slipping through the cracks...like these m&m's. 

The bag says these are best before April of 2020, but do m&m's ever really go bad? They get chalky, sure, but rancid? Not really, unless they get wet.  So let's open up this (dry) bag of Halloween m&m's from 2019 and see how they've held up! 

Hot Takes on White Confectionery Candy

Apple Pie Kit-Kat - Wawa

Not only is this item made with white crème, but it's also apple-flavored, but there is no mention of apple anywhere in the ingredients. (Other than a vague, "Natural and Artificial Flavors.") Maybe I should have saved this for October, because this is the stuff of my foodie nightmares. 

I blame those novelty white-"chocolate" lollipops from the 90's for my hatred of white candy confections, that and you know..., the fact that most of them taste terrible. I have vivid memories of them being everywhere as a kid. They came in every color and shape imaginable: ballet slippers, turkeys, Easter bunnies, etc. They Pavlov'd me into an irrational reaction of disgust whenever I see white chocolate confections to this day.

Then there's apple. I like real apples, and sour apple flavoring, but there's something about fake-apple, especially when it's emulating baked goods, that makes me feel like I'm eating a scented candle or air freshener.  

So, why did I buy this? Well, I've been hunting down the new Voo-Dew at Wawa and other convenience stores, with no luck, but every shop had a display for the Birthday Cake flavored Kit-Kats...that was filled with these instead. After a few failed stops, and no Voo-Dew, I got annoyed with being empty-handed, so I finally caved and picked one of these up (and a jalapeno-cheese stuffed pretzel), hoping it might be so bad that I would write a funny, and slightly mean, review...

Flavor of California Strawberry Kit-Kat Bars - CVS

Flavor of California Strawberry Kit-Kat Bars - CVS

She want to move to California
That's how they get you every time

I'm a hypocrite. I called these boring, and reminded the general foodie-public that this flavor has been available in Japan for years, but I bought them anyway. In my defense, it's been a tough week.

Remember how I managed to kneel in poison ivy last week while cleaning up my yard? Well hold on to your hats, because this week I discovered poison sumac with (nearly) my entire body. I look like I have greyscale! I had never seen poison sumac before this week and even though I was wearing thick gloves while working in the yard, I still managed to get it...pretty much everywhere. Including the right side of my face. (Call me Princess Shireen.) It's been an itchy, miserable week, and while buying every variation of calamine lotion CVS had to offer, I noticed that their "Flavor of" candies were on sale. It was a buy one get one 50% off deal, so decided to treat myself to some sweets thinking they might take my mind off the itch. (Spoiler alert. It isn't working.)

Coconut Almond Flavor of Hawaii Kisses - CVS

Coconut Almond Flavor of Hawaii Kisses - CVS 

I know that a decent chunk of the foodie community was hype about these "Flavor of..." items, but I'm not entirely sure why.

This new location-based series includes: California Strawberry Kit-Kats, Honey Roasted Reeses Cups, Texas BBQ PayDay bars, New York Cherry Cheesecake Cookies & Creme bars, and last, but not least, these Hawaiian themed Coconut Almond Kisses.

With the exception of the BBQ PayDay Bar (which I sadly couldn't find), this new series feels unimaginative. After all, Japan has had strawberry flavored Kit-Kats for years and honey roasted Reeses were out in 2003. Hershey Kisses previously released a coconut creme filled Kiss in 2007, and again in 2014, but those were milk chocolate based with a coconut center, so admittedly this is a new product, but it's not a new flavor for the brand,  and so far I've never had a cheese cake flavored candy that I could stand...so I'm left with maybe 3/5 that are truly new, and only 2/5 that I find worth checking out.

In spite of my Scrooge-like views on this line, my love of coconut flavored sweets won out and I decided to try these Kisses anyway. Just because I think they're unimaginative, doesn't mean they won't taste good!

Red Velvet Kit-Kats -Target

Red Velvet Kit-Kats -Target $3.24

We already know my stance on cake-flavored candy (spoiler alert: I think it's a scam), but when it comes to red velvet cake, things get a bit complicated.

Garish red-food-coloring aside, Red velvet cake is known for it's fine, velvety, texture and usual pairing with cream cheese frosting. (Food Snob Fact: It used to be served with ermine frosting, but most Americans use cream cheese these days.) Now, can you really cram chocolate cake, with a velvety texture, and cream cheese icing into a crispy, crunchy white chocolate confection like Kit-Kat? Sounds like a stretch, but we shall see...

White Cheesecake m&m's - Walmart Exclusive

White Cheesecake m&m's - Walmart Exclusive $2.88

Ah, Green overly-sexualized m&m, we meet again. It feels like only yesterday I was staring at your blinged-out Christmas packaging (reviewed here), but it was actually a week ago. I think we need to have a talk about "boundaries."

Confession time: I knew these were going to suck before I even bought them, but I got them anyway. Why? Well, two reasons: 1- My b/f's sister wanted these, and I just so happened to be at Walmart so I grabbed them for her, and 2- it's trending food-blog-fodder.

I've been trying random new food stuffs for a few years now, and even though I'm not as seasoned as my more knowledgeable foodie friends, like CandyBlog, JunkFoodGuy or ImpulsiveBuy, I still know a dud when I see one. Usually when anything shelf stable tries to taste like cheesecake, you know you're in for a bad time. But, who knows, maybe I am being cynical and I'll be proven wrong. There's only one way to find out...

White Cookie Cupcake Kisses & Anti-Cake flavored Candy Rant

White Cookie Cupcake Kisses - Target Exclusive

Cupcake Kisses. Sounds adorable, but what are we really getting here? White chocolate kisses with crunchy vanilla cookie bits inside. How is that at all like a cupcake?

I'm calling Hershey's out on this hyped up nonsense.

Shimmery White Chocolate m&m's - Target

Shimmery White Chocolate m&m's - Target

I was originally going to skip these, because they're just white chocolate m&m's with a shimmer coating, but they were on sale, and I thought they be fun for photos...so here we are!

Choceur Peppermint Meltaways - Aldi

Choceur Peppermint Meltaways - Aldi

Bah, Humbug. I may be a Scrooge-y old Grinch when it comes to the winter holidays, but even I can't resist the allure of yummy chocolate mints.

I picked these up on a recent trip to Aldi and thought it'd be a good idea to hurry up and review them while they're relevant, plus once photographed, I can share them at my annual cookie swap. This is my 6th year hosting a swap, and each time I model the party's theme after a movie franchise with that year's number of sequels. This year?

I went with the cinematic classic, Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood. I'm a big fan of bad horror franchises like Leprechaun, Puppet Master and Demonic Toys, so it's my way of working a little Halloween into the Holiday spirit.

Honestly, I'm starting to run out of ideas, so if any of you have some fun bad movie theme suggestions for next year, be sure to leave them down below. If I can't think of something I might just have to "reboot" next year's theme.

Okay, enough about future party planning, time to stuff my face with some chocolate!

Hello My Name is Coconut Love - Target ($1.92)

Lindt Hello My Name is Coconut Love - Target ($1.92)

Another product I picked up at Target ages ago and never got around to reviewing, but hey, better late than never and at least this was on clearance. (Although it really wasn't that much cheaper.) 

It's a tropical flavor, perfect for summer, and despite what all the grocery stores say it's STILL summer, so there's no better time to review it. (Well maybe when I first bought it, but that's just insanity.) Join me in me summer-ding-denial as I binge on tropical white chocolate. 

Limited Edition (Ghostbusters) White Fudge Marshmallow Twinkies - Walmart

Limited Edition (Ghostbusters) White Fudge Marshmallow Twinkies - Walmart

Get ready for a nostalgic, fan-girl-ish, ranting-style review with tons of nostalgia! I know this meme has been done to death but...

Robin Williams ;_;

Having all this novelty Ghostbsuters stuff on the grocery shelves has made me so irrationally happy. I was just a kid in the late 80's, so the adult humor in the live action films was lost on me (although I still enjoyed them). It was The Real Ghostbusters animated series with silly side-kick Slimer, bizarre blonde-pompadour Egon, and Garfield-the-cat sounding Peter Venkman that sucked me into the fandom. I still have some of my action figures and ghastly plastic ghoulies in a storage bin in my attic.

I love this franchise and I happily purchased all the novelty Ghostbusters snacks I could find. I bought a 10-pack of the Ecto-Cooler juice boxes, some Key Lime Slime Twinkies, some Slimer and Marshmallow-man-shaped 'mallows and these Stay Puft-themed Twinkies. That's right, Twinkies released 2 novelty limited edition flavors! Why? Well...

Crunchkins - Walmart

Crunchkins - Walmart 

 Okay, this is a (relatively) new candy product a lot of people were excited about, but I (sadly) was not one of them. 

From the second I saw the promo image for this product I felt like it was going to be a disappointment. Why? Look at those flavors! It seems like this is going to be another case of fancy flavor names that the product can't deliver. I mean, Birthday Cake and Fudge Brownie? Aren't those just fancy ways of saying "Chocolate" and "Vanilla?" But Glazed Donut? That one I wasn't sure about. My curiosity won out over my gut instinct. Lets see who was right, my gut, or my brain

Lindt Strawberries & Cream White Chocolate Truffles - Target

Lindt Strawberries & Cream White Chocolate Truffles - Target 

Yet another strawberry themed item for Valentine's Day? Yup! I told you guys, candy companies went strawberry-crazy this season. When it comes to strawberry flavored chocolate sweets I still think a white chocolate base is best, since a milk chocolate one can overpower everything else, and thankfully, Lindt felt that way too, because these truffles are white chocolate based! Sure, there are some exceptions to the white chocolate rule. I mean, I absolutely love Ghirardelli's Dark Chocolate Strawberry Squares, but so far all of the other strawberry and chocolate variations have been pretty lackluster.

Lets see if a white chocolate base can really make a difference!

La Pasticceria Italian Soft Nougat (Mascarpone) - Marshall's - Marlton, NJ

La Pasticceria Italian Soft Nougat (Mascarpone) - Marshall's - Marlton, NJ

Another weekend has come and gone, and another season of Game of Thrones has ended. I won't spoil anything for anyone, but the finale almost made me throw up. I've never had that kind of reaction to a television show, it's like every episode this season was a sucker-punch to the gut. I like dark and depressing story-lines, but this season? It was just too much for me.

To make a long story short, after that season finale, I deserved a treat.

Carrot Cake Egg - Gift (Quickie Review)

Carrot Cake Egg - Gift

Easter is literally tomorrow, so I am going to try and get through the last of my Easter related food items tonight. To kick things off, a super short review of this Russel Stover Carrot Cake Egg.

Random Stuff I Never Wrote Full Reviews For - Part 2

Stuff that never got to be reviewed - Part 2

I tend to photograph a lot of the foods I eat, but not all of them make it onto the blog. I have quite a pile of photos built up, so I thought I'd do a post giving really quick reviews for them. (Since I already took the photos.) I already posted three items here, and today I have three more!

First up, S'more flavored Cotton Candy!

Trader Joe-Joe's (Ginger) - Trader Joe's: Marlton, NJ

Trader Joe-Joe's (Ginger) - Trader Joe's: Marlton, NJ

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I'll be posting a few things later tonight when I get home from work, including this year's foodie collage, so I hope you all have a fun night and stay safe! (Those of you who are shut-ins antisocial homebody's like me, can look forward to some fun foodie posts to ring in the new year.)

I mentioned buying these Joe-Joe's during our last Candyology101 podcast, and Cybele from Candyblog warned me that they were going to be VERY decadent and coated in chocolate, and boy, was she right.