Easter Time Is Here

 

This latest Easter review is an amazing example of classic candies that have taken me way too long to review. This is particularly interesting because I've actually reviewed many other versions of this treat, but not the original. Without spoiling too much, I feel like there's a reason I haven't reviewed these and it has something to do with how I feel about bland marshmallows. I'm sure there are some people out there however who love these, so feel free to complain in the comments.

Find out why I really didn't love this classic Easter candy treat.

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Peeps 5 Ways

 I just ate Peeps prepared 5 different ways, and I'm blown away at the results. It's amazing how different the results were each and every way I prepared them. I should note that I'm not a huge fan of Peeps, but maybe if they offered them with cooking or cooling instructions I might like them a little more. Here's the results and how I felt:

Regular - You can read all my Peeps reviews, but one thing you'll notice about many of them is that I find the flavour is just way too bland. The only Peeps I regularly enjoy are the variety that are flavoured, particularly with chocolate. This was no exception.

Refrigerated - This was probably the most surprising of all the Peeps preparations. I'm finding that most candy items that I put in a refrigerator just get cold. There are a few chocolate bar exceptions, but more often than not I'm very disappointed with refrigerated candy. This was one of the few exceptions where the texture was totally changed for the better, and that's important because I'm not a huge fan of marshmallow's texture.

Frozen - This was also a surprise, but I don't think it went as well as the refrigerated. I would say that this is an improvement, but it was almost so weird that I'm not sure if I really liked it or not. The frozen centre was fun, but not enough to really make me fall in love with these.

Microwaved - The greatest part about this preparation is how the candy coating got hard. The inside of the marshmallow also got very gooey, but the powder coating turned into a hard candy coating that I really liked. I would also suggest that anyone with some Peeps and a microwave throw a few in there just for fun, as watching them expand is really cool.

Baked - This was not surprising, but it was by far my favourite. I don't really like marshmallows, unless they're roasted. This totally worked because it gave me the nice toasted marshmallow flavour and included the hard candy shell. One day I hope to have a box of Peeps on a camping trip and I may attempt to make these into s'mores.

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Candy Critic Quick List - Top 5 Best Halloween Themed Candies We've Reviewed On Candy Critic

Scream Egg

It's all the goodness of a Cadbury Creme Egg, with a scream.

Check out the review here.

Koala “Halloween”

Fun Japanese cookies with a Halloween theme.

Check out the review here.

Chocolate Caramel Pumpkins

A high class chocolate treat in the shape of a pumpkin.

Check out the review here.

Gummy Pumpkins

Sure they're not actually pumpkin flavoured (they're orange), but they still look cool.

Check out the review here.

Hershey's “Candy Corn”

This is a chocolate bar that shouldn't have worked, but it did.

Check out the review here.

Bonus, the worst Halloween candy we've ever reviewed:

Peeps “Marshmallow Tombstones”

Seriously, they're just grey blobs.

Check out the review here.

And check out all of our Halloween reviews here.

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Amazing Halloween Candy/Junk Food Costumes That You Should Buy - Peeps for Pets

I saw a photo of a small kid dressed up as a marshmallow Peep, and I thought I would feature that costume. They while digging a little deeps I came across this.

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5 Awesome Candy Themed Funko Pops - Part 5 - Marshmallow Peeps

Make sure to look back, because all this week we've been looking at awesome candy themed Funko Pops.

Of all the Funko Pops that we've looked at this week, this is probably my least favourite. First of all I'm not a big marshmallow guy, so Peeps are generally out of my wheelhouse in the first place. Secondly I find it a little strange that Funko decided to go with the Peeps bunnies instead of the classic chicks. While I don't hate this toy, I'm not really sure if it's something I'd put on my shelf.

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This Week In Candy

The shelves are filled with Easter treats. Every year it seems as though more and more Easter treats seem to be appearing.  It wasn't so long ago that the only Easter treats you could find were chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, and for a few of us Cadbury Creme Eggs. But now there's so many new treats coming out every year.  Just last weekend I happened to be going to the USA, and I stopped at a Walmart to see what I could find.  I was very lucky to come across a bag of Peeps themed Oreos.

I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting much out of these cookies.  I figured it would simply be the standard vanilla Oreos with the center being dyed pink, but I was wrong.  While the flavour is definitely vanilla, the cream has an extra bonus.  In the cream are little crystals of crunchy sugar, giving these a pretty unique texture.  I can't say that these are my favourite Oreos, but I might like these more than regular marshmallow Peeps.

What else is happening this week at candycritic.org?  Well first of all my birthday is this week, I know this has nothing to do with Candy Critic directly, but maybe a little indirectly.  This is mostly with the fact that it might be a slow week here at Candy Critic.  I'm going to be writing a few things behind the scenes, like the future Canadian candy project I'm working on, but other than that I'm going to take it easy this week. I'll be posting about some of my birthday fun times on Twitter and Facebook.

Don't worry though, we'll still be adding new posts on the Doughnut Project and Snack Facts, our Instagram feed. We're also going to be working on writing a few reviews for later in the year.  Finally, we're working with a certain candy company right now, putting together a contest where we're giving away a whole lot of tasty candy.  You'll have to check back later to find out how you can win.

This week's new review is in celebration of National Strawberry Day, which is today.  It's a review I wrote a while ago, but I think it's appropriate for today.  Click here to read the review that might make you think about berries in the summer.

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This Week In Candy

Holy cow, Halloween is coming fast. It feels like it was summer just a few days ago, and now the leaves are changing and the amount of candy for sale at my local grocery stores is insane. It's been a few years since I've lived in a country that really celebrates Halloween with such energy, and I've been caught up in the spirit of it all. This weekend Allison and I had to make a decision, do we give out candy or go out trick or treating. The reason we had to make the decision is that this weekend is really our last good opportunity to get a pumpkin to carve. Since we're still in the middle of our grand unpack, we decided that it's probably best to go out. We have a few ideas where to go, and if things work out we'll tell you all about it.

As for what's going on this week on Candycritic.org, it's going to be a busy week. We're a little behind filming the last episode of In Hindsight, but we're still hoping to post it early this week. You can keep up with all of that by subscribing to our YouTube channel. We're also continuing our Halloween themed Candy Thing and Candy In The Media. I also hope to post an article about something that's really disappointed me this Halloween later this week.

We're also continuing our epic Halloween candy review-a-thon this week with lots of reviews going up throughout the week leading up to Halloween. This morning we posted the first of two entries from the folks at Just Born, they make Peeps.  I think we'll probably post the second one this afternoon. You can read the new Peeps review here, and you can keep up with our epic Halloween review-a-thon by following us on Facebook, Twitter, or by checking regularly here.

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This Week In Candy

Over the last 6 months or so I've become very interested in ration packs. As it turns out I'm not the only person with such an interest.  In fact since writing the articles I've talked to several people about these random packages of food specially designed to keep soldiers fed.  I've also been offered more ration packs to write about.  So every day this week I'm going to review a different ration pack for lunch.  The thing to keep in mind about ration packs is that they're designed to last.  Most of them have a shelf life of 3 or 4 years, and can survive in very cold or very hot environments. Because they're designed to last, you never really know how tasty they'll turn out, it's always a surprise (good or bad). I'm having my first ration pack lunch today, and I'll have another tomorrow, all the way till Friday.

Some of you who have listened to our podcast Junk Fud, may know about our good friend Mark who has appeared on the podcast several times.  Mark has suggested that we update the podcast, and the two of us are looking to re-format the whole show.  We've been spending the last month brainstorming some ideas for the show, and we hope to have it online soon.  If you have any ideas you think might work, let me know, we're also looking for guests to interview about candy, snacks, or fast food.

This week on our Instagram feed called Snack Facts, we're looking at sugar.  We're looking at several kinds of sugar, and we're going to post a fun fact about the sweet stuff every day.  So check out our Instagram feed daily and find out something new about the sweet stuff.  If you don't use Instagram, you can also follow Snack Facts on our Twitter feed and our Facebook page as well.

Last week was my birthday, and I ate a lot of cake. In fact I went to a buffet for my birthday dinner so I could specifically sample as many cakes as possible at one time.  So I thought it would be appropriate to review a fun cake themed treat this week on Candy Critic.  Who would have thought of crossing Peeps and birthday cake?

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Candy News

Apparently Adam Rifkin is looking to make a movie about marshmallow Peeps.

Once again Doritos is asking you to name their chips.  This isn't the first time they've done this, personally I think it's a little lazy, but it appears to be a popular campaign.

The Huffington Post has a list of 50 great US tourist traps (one in each state) that include some classic candy and snacking must visit places.

I always love reading about passionate candy fans that decide to open a candy store.

Got a few Cadbury Cream Eggs left over from Easter?  Here's a few clever ways you can deal with them, other than just eating them.

If you have a few Peeps left over, as well as the ability to create the environments of space, you can always try out this experiment.

The Girl Scouts make up to 800 million a year in cookie sales, so where does that money go?

Here's a great tip to keeping those frozen crystals off your ice cream in the freezer.

Smoking pot and snacking has always gone together in popular culture, but now they've crossed right over.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Candy News

Here are some pretty fun Easter ideas that the Easter Bunny might be trying this year.

What do you do when Easter is long over, and you're still craving Peeps (apparently they might continue selling them all year but if you can't find them)?  You can make your own.

Gummy bear sex goes wrong, and it ends with hospitalization and burns all over the body.

Speaking of sex, if you're looking for a little help after your gummy bear debacle, why not have some Viagra dosed ice cream?

If you still have problems in your relationship, apparently snacks may hold the key to fixing them, provided you don't pour scalding hot melted candy on the one you love.

Sometimes the name of your product can lead to problems on the global market, and here's a few examples.

Here's the concept for this Japanese game show, there's a room, and several objects in the room are in fact made of chocolate, now you have to find out which objects are made of chocolate by biting them.  This is a great idea.

Although this article claims that it's a recipe for "sprinkles flavoured ice cream", it's really a recipe for sugary cereal flavoured ice cream, and that's even cooler.

Every year there's a photo list of film scenes that have been re-created using Peeps, and every year I love it. And if film scenes aren't enough, here's a few internet Memes done in Peeps as well.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Candy News

Here's a few secrets, from the folks that brought us Chunky Monkey.

Peeps are no longer going to be around just for Easter, a new year round version is coming.

Many things have spilled out of trucks into the highways of the world, including 40,000 lbs of ice cream and a massive load of corn dogs.

A new record for the most Girl Scout cookies sold in one year was achieved, and she didn't even visit my house.

I had always thought of hard core candy fans as being the minority in the candy eating world, apparently we make up a pretty decent percentage.

Sweet potato cookies might be the next big trend in North America, but they've been making treats with these for a long time in Asia.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Candy News

Ben and Jerry's has invented a new way to put more things into their ice cream, this is the kind of science I can get behind.

I'm glad that King Games does not own the word candy, because that might affect the way I write candy reviews.

Are those Cheesies?  Nope, they're miniature representations of popular culture and art.

What would you do with five-hundred thousand sugar cubes?  Would you build a fortress?

Here's a look at 50 years of PopTarts, from a PopTarts expert.

Here's a look at how Russel Stover turned into one of the biggest players in the chocolate scene.

Here are 10 facts about Tastykakes, and here's one bonus one:  I've never tried one in my life.

The folks at Jelly Belly are trying out some new natural colours, but we all want to know, will their candy still be pretty?

I've stopped believing when "experts" tell me that something I eat is unhealthy, it's a constantly changing science.  Moderation and portion control are always in style.

Army rations are often described as horrible but nourishing, but some of the treats you get with them are downright tasty.

Sara Lee, real.  Betty Crocker, fake.  Famous Amos, real.  A great list of who's real and who isn't, as well as an explanation.

Did you know that you can order custom made chocolate bars on the internet? You can also get custom ice cream too.

Just Born updates their factory, and now we can expect some new awesome treats.

Fannie May recalled their heart shaped box of chocolates, apparently they contain nuts where there shouldn't be.

So this guy working at a warehouse had problems with a candy machine, he then did the next logical thing, and slammed the machine using a forklift

Apparently people wan their licorice to not only be soft, but healthier.

Time Magazine listed the 13 most influential candy bars of all times, I have a few problems with this list, but many of the bars deserve high praise.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Candy News

3D printed cakes are the cakes of the future, and can only be improved if they could make a 3D printed ice cream cake.

Mental Floss posted a great list of "39 Amazing Facts for National Trivia Day", included are a few great sweet facts in there as well.

More good news about chocolate, apparently it reduces cholesterol.

Speaking of chocolate, what does the future hold for this most popular of sweet treats, unfortunately it's not perfect.

So the "Soda Ninja Swipe" is a pretty awesome party trick, the problem is it might leave your soda flat.

I love food dioramas, and I love miniature scenes, so these miniature scenes made from food are awesome.

It turns out that candy bar wrappers can help people that suffer with Dementia, it triggers a happy memory in all of us.

If I could go to one New Years eve party in the world, I think Bethlehem Pennsylvanian would be my choice.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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10 Of My Favorite Halloween Reviews From The Past

Sometimes when I'm abroad, I find myself in a country that doesn't celebrate Halloween, shocking I know.  But at these times I find it difficult to find an appropriately festive treat to review, or even just to have on this awesome holiday.  Rest assured that more and more countries are getting into the Halloween spirit, and even here (Greece) I do occasionally find fall themed treats at some of higher end candy stores.  So today I found myself looking back at some of the past Halloween treats that I've reviewed.  I found myself remembering not only the treat, but even the Halloween when I reviewed it.  Isn't nostalgia awesome.

The reason I loved the Caramel Apple Pop was because it was so creative.  It's rare that a lollipop would use another kind of candy to accent it's flavour and texture, and even rarer to have it seem so appropriate.  While this may not be a scary treat, it's fairly tasty and really creative.

Click here to read the review.

Blood Bones are tasty, but more importantly they look the part.  It's nice when a candy company is OK with making a fairly realistic blood stain on their candy.  Better yet is the fact that each bone is not equal, so a pile of them look like they came out of an episode of Dexter.

Click here to read the review.

I remember getting these in the mail and being completely blown away at how gruesome they looked.  Most of the time when you have candy teeth, they're brightly coloured without much detail.  These are fine as teeth on their own, but the fact that you can eat them makes them all the better.

Click here to read the review.

I'm one of the few people that I know who really enjoy candy corn, recently my father expanded my love for them with the suggestion of adding peanuts to them.  One of my favorite things about candy corn is seeing all of the candy companies make candy corn versions of their own treats.  These are a perfect example of making it work, the candy corn OREO's are probably a better example of it not working so well.

Click here to read the review.

I'm not sure if this was marketed for Halloween, but it works really well as a Halloween treat.  The chocolate's themselves are fairly harmless looking, but the spicy flavour gives them a little kick.  I can't think of a better thing to have in a Halloween candy than a little fear.

Click here to read the review.

This might be the only time in the history of the candy industry when a classy chocolatier got into the Halloween spirit.  I remember these being fairly expensive, so I doubt many kids would get one of these in their candy bag.  I think they were designed for the trend of more and more adults getting into the Halloween spirit.

Click here to read the review.

If I had to make a list of the worst themed candy ever, this might work, but only if you're just looking at the candy itself.  The rings from this can still be found in my front hall drawer, just in case you need a bad ass skull ring in a pinch.  I think I may have given a few of these away to friends as well.

Click here to read the review.

This is one of the forays that the folks at Just Born took when they wanted to expand their Peeps line of marshmallow chicks into other holidays.  I'm always disappointed in these because they lack the dimensionallity of Peeps chicks.  All they are is a bunch of cut out cats, and the same goes for their Christmas treats as well.  I think it would be really cool for Just Born to think of a few 3D marshmallow treats for other holidays.

Click here to read the review.

My dad describes the Mallow Pumpkins as "pumpkin candy corn".  They're fairly similar in texture, and if you hate candy corn you'll probably hate these too.

Click here to read the review.

I'm not sure if these are Halloween themed, or just autumn themed, but I think they work well enough for Halloween.  They're made by Madeline chocolate, a candy company that suffered a great deal of damage during hurricane Sandy, but they're finally getting back up and running.  They make fantastic chocolates for just about every season.

Click here to read the review.

Bonus:

I'm not sure if this is a Halloween treat exactly, but I think it would make a good costume piece in a pinch.  Best of all, when you're finished walking the streets and collecting your candy, you can always eat it.

Click here to read the review.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Bubble Gum and Lemonade Peeps  - Just Born - What's next, Peeps flavoured bubble gum? - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Giant Peeps  - Just Born - We all need to eat a giant marshmallow bunny once in out lifetime. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Candy News

So sweet companies can't afford to pay back their loans, the solution, drive up the price of sugar so they can increase their prices... An economist I am not.

Americans might finally be getting over their fear of toys inside candy.

If you've ever been to a RAMs game, did you notice that it smells like cotton candy?  Not really "manly" is it?

What do you get when you cross the most unhealthy meal in the world, with the most unhealthy baked good?

Looking to hold your popcorn, and all you've got is a hoodie?  No problem.

Twinkies are officially back, in the USA!!!  We Canadians never lost them.

The chocolate you can play with known as Magic Choc, is now available in the USA.

We've all heard the expression "beans to bar" in chocolate making, but how does it work?

According to new research the difference between chocolate addiction and addiction to opium might not be that much.

Remember how New York banned the sale of large sized soda pops?  Well a judge decided that this isn't cool.

The popularity of locally made candy is getting so big that the large corporations want to start selling it.

Is this the best candy contest of the year?  Have your entire likeness made into a giant life sized gummy.

Obesity rates are still going up, but the number of calories people are eating are going down, maybe a little exercise is in order as well.

Can you lose weight by chewing gum? I heard this before with regular chewing gum, but now a company claims to have a gum that can help you even more.

According to this article, Cadbury created a non-existent factory in India to cheat their taxes. I want to know what candy this non-existent factory was supposed to be making.

Happy birthday Peeps, you don't look a day over 59.  To help celebrate Peeps' birthday, here's a list of 18 different ways to enjoy them.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Chocolate-covered Cherry Peeps - Just Born - The fancier Peeps get, the more I think I'll like them. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Peeps, Mike and Ike Christmas candies - Just Born - Christmas is coming, and so are the holiday treats. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Thursday's Candy Links

A candy called Vagabundo Paletas has been recalled, who would have thought a candy with a picture of a hobo on it might not be perfectly safe.

I don't want to say I predicted a boom in the Israeli candy market, but it appears it's happening.

One of the most dangerous things candy companies can do is change a classic candy, however "Allen's Minties will now be chewier".

Peeps dioramas has truly blossomed as an art form, here's a great collection of Peeps dioramas based on Oscar winning films.

Check out the Zurich chocolate salon, it's pretty much any chocolate lovers dream.

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