Canadian Candy List - Part 3 - Best Local Treats

Over the last few years I've been living away from my home country, Canada.  I've been traveling the world exploring all kinds of snack foods, junk foods, and sweets, but my heart is still in Canada.  I'm going to be back home for an extended period, and I've decided to compile various lists on the theme of Canadian candy and snacks.  Each week, for the next several weeks, I'll be posting a different list of Canadian candies I've reviewed in various categories.  Some of these treats may be available in other parts of the world, some are exclusive to the Great White North, but in my mind all of them are Canadian.

Above I've mentioned that I wasn't really sure if all of the treats on these lists are in fact exclusively Canadian.  Today is the exception, today all of these treats are Canadian, and I know it.  I know this because I bought almost all of them directly from the people who made them, and I bought these all in Canada.

 Nothing is more Canadian than the idea of eating a bear.  For some reason Canada has this reputation with wild animals, and many of our candies are themed with nature.  Lanark Village treats is a fun little candy store in Ontario that capitalizes on this trend with a really tasty, chewy treat.

Click here to read the Bear Paw review.

Cocoa West, a candy store recommended to me by some friends from British Columbia, makes an egg that has the most peculiar name.  It's called the "Unbelievably Good Egg" and it lives up to its name.

Click here to read the Unbelievably Good Egg review.

My friend Carrie is a proud Canadian, one of the things that proves her Canadianess is her love of cranberries.  While she has a normal day job, annually she heads out to the cranberry marsh to work the fields.  She also always has some cranberry treats for me to try.

Click here to read the Dark Chocolate Cranberries review.

The last two entries in today's list are all about potatoes.  Prince Edward Island is famous for some of the best potatoes in the world.  They're also not shy about promoting their amazing products, and this bag of chips is a great example of that.

Click here to read the Prince Edward Island Potato Bag Chips review.

This treat on the other hand, is a great example of how the people of Prince Edward Island like to innovate with their potatoes.  Not only does this ball of fudge look like a baked potato, but the fudge itself is made of potato.

Click here to read the Spudge review.



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It Was a Cranberry Review, The Kind You'd Find at a Second Hand Store...

While admittedly this review is not the best example of a great cranberry treat, I feel that cranberry as a flavour is lacking in the candy industry.  It's a great juice to use for sweet treats because the tartness of the cranberry can work so well with sweet things.  I think brands like Jolly Rancher and Lifesaver could really expand on the cranberry flavour and make it work really well.  I also think that cranberry juice would work very well with chocolate, maybe in some kind of cranberry cream in the middle of a chocolate.  This is really a unique flavour that needs more attention.

Click here to read today's cranberry review.

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Crescent Roll Challenge Part 1 - Cream Cheese and Dried Cranberries

 

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved Pillsbury crescent rolls.  They hold so many memories for me, in particular during holiday meals.  With my new found interest in baking, my love of candy, and my fondness for Pillsbury crescent rolls, I've decided to do a little experiment.  Each day this week I'm going to bake a Pillsbury crescent roll filled with a different sweet filling.  Some are very conventional, others... well not so much.

My first crescent roll filling experiment comes from my friend Carrie.  She's a cranberry fanatic, in fact she's such a cranberry fanatic that she felt it important that I don't go without while I'm in Greece.  She sent me a huge bag with more than enough dried cranberries to keep me going for a few years.  She also suggested, when I asked around, that I try filling one of these Pillsbury crescent rolls with goat cheese and cranberries.  Well truth be told, I don't really like goat cheese, I do however love cream cheese, so I figured it would be a fine substitute.

While this really doesn't qualify as a candy filling, it certainly doesn't qualify as a savory filling either.  It's a pretty good filling idea if you don't want to go super sweet, but also want a bit of a treat.  It's also a great way to use up dried cranberries when you happen to have a giant bag of them.  I will be making these again, particularly if we have guests over.

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Review - The Holiday's Begin

Today's review is very special.  First of all it's a gift from my friend Carrie who got them from her friends at Jonhston's Cranberries, so it's like a got a gift from two people.  Secondly it's the first, festive treat I've had all year, which is good, because I love festive treats.  Finally it's national cookie day, and I know it has nothing to do with chocolate covered cranberries, but it still makes me warm inside.  So thanks for the cranberries guys, have a happy pre-holiday fun month, and eat a cookie.

Click here to read about these chocolate covered cranberries.

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Putting Things On Sticks Is Popular

I'm not sure why putting things on a stick changes the dynamic of a candy so much, but it does.  It could be the fact that when you put it on a stick your hands stay a lot less sticky.  Or the fact that you're not forced to eat your treat on stick in one bite.  It could also be the challenge one gets when you get down to the last bites of anything on a stick.  You have to strategically manage your treat on a stick so none of it falls to the ground.

Click here to read about one company and their chocolate covered cranberries on a stick.

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Turkey TV Dinner

The only TV dinner I really ever enjoy (from the classic TV dinner lineup) are the Turkey TV dinners. Sadly the Turkey TV dinner is also the most disappointing when it comes to desserts. One day I dream that I may have a Turkey TV dinner, and get to enjoy an apple crumble for dessert.

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Turkey Dinner Rip Off

I love turkey TV dinners. I don’t mean that nice expensive ones either, I’m talking about a dinner that cost less than two bucks but tastes out of this world. This to me would be the perfect holiday meal. I have two comments to make about them however.
First of all thank you TV dinner people for taking the onions out of the peas. It was gross and I don’t know a single person that would eat them.
Secondly what’s the deal the cranberry desert? It’s not really a desert as much as it’s sauce for your turkey. I believe I’m owed a slice of pie or something.


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