When OldTimeCandy.com kindly offers me some candy samples to review, I knew I wanted to get some things I haven’t seen in a long time. I love “old” and “nostalgic” candy. So after some pursuing their selection, I settled on these Brach’s Sundaes Neapolitan Coconut to go with the Brach’s Jelly Nougats that I reviewed earlier. I also remember seeing these all over in grocery store bins since childhood. I’m happy to know that they’re still being sold.

These candies are very pretty to look at. Like the jelly nougats, they’re slightly rectangular with three colors stripes. Brown at the top, white in the middle and pink at the bottom. It mimics the Neapolitan ice cream that is so popular!

The candy smells heavily of coconut. The candy feels dense and moist when you finally unwrap it and hold it in your fingers. The flavor is intense coconut. It’s moist, dense, chewy and so sweet. I didn’t notice any difference in the flavoring between the three colors. They all have that fantastic coconut flavor. One candy is satisfying on it’s own, so you don’t have to worry about having more than you’d like with these.

if you’re into coconut, you must give these a try. You can find coconut candies like this in many variations, these are the smallest ones I’ve seen. Regardless, I was pleased with how tasty these were, my memory of them totally held up. I highly recommend you try them.

Rating: Will Eat Again

Links Brach’s Website

There’s a lot of candies that feel “timeless” to me. A lot of Brach’s candies fall into that category for me. These Jelly Nougats are certainly one of them. It seems like I’ve always seen them around in grocery store bins. One thing I’ve noticed since moving to Los Angeles is that I don’t’ see these Brach’s bins in the stores here, which make me a little sad since I’m so accustomed to see them.

OldTimeCandy.com was kind enough to write me and offer some candy samples for me to review. I was super excited to see they carried these Jelly Nougats since it’s been so long since I’ve seen them sold anywhere. I immediately selected a few and eagerly awaited for their arrival.

Upon arriving, I immediately opened the bag as I was excited to finally try one after all these years. They are as pretty as I remember them. They’re slightly rectangular little blocks that have a creamy vanilla colored base with bright chucks of jelly in them. Often in tones of ruby, orange and yellow. I tried to squish them a little with my fingers and the nougat has no give to it. I was a little worried that they were a tad old since they felt so rock hard.

The candy smells sweet with a hint of vanilla. Taking a bite I was relieved to find that these are actually pretty soft to bite into. My teeth easily took a bite of the candy off and it softened even more as I chewed it. The flavor is creamy and has a soft, barely there vanilla flavor. It has slight fruity notes from the jellies. I get some “red” flavors, while others are more orange and even lemon. It’s a nice mix of flavors, and it’s very delicate and not overpowering at all.

I really enjoyed these, but since they’re such a “stranger” candy because of the intense chew and subtle flavors, I don’t think they’re for everyone. I really appreciate how unique these candies are, so I will always be excited to see them. Since they are on the rarer side, if you seem them, it’s not a bad idea to give them a try.

Rating: Will Eat Again

Links Brach’s Website

I really love the candies that Brach’s makes for the Easter candy season. I think they have the biggest variety of candies out of all the candy makers out there. The have fruit jelly beans, spice jelly beans, licorice jelly beans, malted milk eggs, marshmallow chicks and rabbits just to name a few. I was super excited to find these Jelly Chicks & Rabbits, since these are new for me and I thought I’ve tried (yet not blogged) most of what Brach’s has to offer.

The jellies come in one of two shapes, either a rabbit or a chick. The bag is an assorted mix of flavors and colors, so it’s a nice rainbow inside the bag. The jellies are large, a tad larger than a quarter. The chew is think and dense, but thankfully not sticky. 

Grape: Starts off very juicy flavor of grapes and “purple”. Its slightly medicinal, with a bit of thet grape cough syrup flavor. It’s not a bad grape, I actually kinda enjoyed it.

Lemon: This is bright and tart, with an excellent hint of zest to it. It’s a lovely lemon flavor that has a slight sweet side to it which balances out the zestiness to it.

Apple: Starts off very floral and perfumey. It reminds me of a scented candle. The the “apple” flavor blossoms, and you get this jolly rancher sour apple type flavor that I didn’t like. It tasted too much like a candle still to me.

Orange: Immediately tastes bright and juicy, with a great play of sweet and tart. Really nice orange flavor.

Strawberry: This tastes so “pink” and perfumey. It took me a moment to figure out if I should eat it or spit it out just because it tastes so floral. It kinda comes across as inedible at first. Disappointing, since strawberry is usually the “safe” flavor of the bunch.

Cherry: The cherry surprised me a lot. It is not overly bitter or strange tasting. It’s actually quite nice. The flavor is very fruity, jammy and “red”. It’s not bitter or too fake.

After trying all these candies, I felt a bit let down. The flavors I was expecting to love I really didn’t, and the flavors I thought I wasn’t going to like were just “meh”. Still, if you’re into this kind of candy I suggest giving them a shot. Since I am more of a chocolate and jelly bean person shouldn’t let me turn you away from something you know you enjoy. Either way, they’re pretty to look at as they’re colorful and cute!

Rating: Might Eat Again

Links Brach’s Website

There’s not too much flavor variation going on during Valentine’s Day. Usually it’s all Cherry or the occasional Strrawberry since everything candy-wise is red colored this time of year. For some variation, I am giving the Brach’s Cinnamon Jelly Hearts a try.

The bag smells intensly of cinnamon and the candies are really cute. They’re hear shaped, about the circumference of a nickel and about half an inch high. They are firm to the touch and aren’t very spongy like some gummis are. These remind me much more of gumdrops.

The flavor is sweet and has a hint of heat to it on my first bite. The two kinda play in my mouth, neither gaining dominance until the end where it gets slightly hotter, but never into the “too spicy” zone. These aren’t as powerful as Red Hots thankfully, so folks like myself who can’t take “hot” candies too terribly well. Instead these are a nice mix of the intense cinnamon flavor with some sweetness to make it more friendly. The texture is nice too, as it’s a ick heavy chew wihtout being sticky. You barely notice the granulated sugar coating.

I was prepared to really not like these, as hot cinnamon candies aren’t my thing. I was surprised that I did like them. I can easily see these as cupcake toppers, as they’re gorgeous to look at. If you like cinnamon candies, I’d seek these out. It’s a great option for Valentine Day candy if you aren’t a fan of cherry.

Rating: Will Eat Again

Links Brach’s Website

The last of my free samples from Brach’s is this bag of their new product; Peanut Butter Poppins. I have to admit, I judged a book by it’s cover here. The package is fresh looking, with bright colors and lots of white, but it doesn’t really read as “chocolatey” to me. Which, when offering a chocolate candy, it kinda important in my mind. I want something indulgent, and the packaging should make me feel like I’m making that choice. There is a beautiful illustration of the candy that makes me rethink this, as it does draw you into the treat you’re going to purchase. But, as with most thing, appearances can be deceiving, so the candy has yet to prove itself with my taste buds.

These Peanut Butter Poppins are described as “Creamy Peanut Butter Center Coated in 100% Milk Chocolate”. It sounds very promising, as skimping on the chocolate is always the first thing I am skeptical of when I see a new chocolate candy. But these are legit, which makes me smile as well as let go a sigh of relief. They do, however, skimp on the peanut butter part, as peanuts aren’t the first on the list. What comes first are “Palm Kernel Oil” and “Partially Defatted Peanut Flour”. It’s not the worst situation, but I still felt the need to point that out. 

Opening the package you get the wonderful aroma of peanut butter and chocolate. they’re a little larger than chickpeas. They smell sweet, salty and a little nutty.

These are amazing. Thy have a nice sheen to them. The flavor is a mix of the delicious peanut butter and the milk chocolate. These remind me of the flavor of Reese’s Pieces, but with more sweetness because of the addition of mill chocolate. Which makes them way more awesome in my book. The peanut butter is smooth and has a slight grain to it, but it’s wonderfully flavorful and salty.

My boyfriend and I easily polished off the bag. We need more. I can’t being to rave about how tasty and pop-able these are. If you can’t control yourself around peanut butter and chocolate, then I warn you to stay far away because once you taste these, you can’t stop. They’re that amazing.

Rating: Hoard

Links Brach’s Website