Here comes Necco Sweetheart’s newest member of the family: Dazzled Tarts. These Sweethearts are trying, they’re are trying so, so hard to be cool. The original Sweethearts come across as a more “classic” candy to me, like their sister candy Necco Wafers. It feels like an older candy, so I can see how Necco wanted to make a version of their classic Valentine’s Day candy for the younger crowd.

Now, I’m not saying that you have to make everything pink and glitzy to make them more popular. But, apparently that’s what Necco seems to think. These are more glitzy looking and portrayed on the box as sparkling and shiny. It really makes me wonder what the actual candy looks like.

Terrible, that’s what they look like. The quality control on these must have been non existent. Most were broken, others the words were not printed correctly so they were either cut off or illegible on the candy. They didn’t sparkly or shine at all, but looks mottles and blotchy.

The candies have sayings on them like “Drama Queen”, “Just Dance”, “Hehe”, “Holla”, “Rock out”. I can’t help but look at these and have a Valley/Jersey girl voice run through my head. The colors are red, purple, orange, green and blue. Let’s see how they taste…

Red is watermelon with with that fake Jolly Rancher flavor. It had an extremely bitter end to it, gross.

Green is a fruity, bright apple flavor.

Blue was this funny perfumy color that I couldn’t identify

Grape tastes like this strange cotton candy flavor.

Blech. Really, what were they thinking? The original Sweethearts look and taste better than these, and that’s saying something. If you’re going to try and make an improvement, please make it more than just the design on the box. Do yourself a favor and go for the originals.

Rating: Not Worth It

Links Necco Website

Sweethearts are the Valentine’s Day candy that everyone seems to know, but not many actually care to eat it. They’re a candy that’s strikes me as having more of a decorative purpose, which I know sounds silly cause part of candy’s job is to look pretty and enticing. But, candy should also be delicious, and for me personally, these Sweetheats never fell into that category.

I remember Sweethearts from my earliest years back in preschool. Back then, they were called “Conversation Hearts” and they were a popular candy to be passed around by my classmates, along with an array of paper valentines that we’d make for everyone in the class. Back then I couldn’t really tell you why I didn’t like them. I just…didn’t. I think it was mainly because it wasn’t chocolate as that was my favorite childhood sweet (it still is).

Swetthearts are little chalky heart shaped candy tablets.They’re about the size of a penny and have a matte color to them. The come in rainbow of colors which are purple, green, pink, yellow, orange and blue. These used to also have a white color but it seems like they were omitted this year.

On each candy tablet, there’s sweet and flirty messages printed on them. I only took a sampling of some of the messages, but I recorded were things like “Kiss Me”, “Shake It”, Tweet Me”, “For Ever:, “Race Me”, “Sweet Love” and “Soul Mate”. You get the idea.

The candy itself is extremely hard so it’s difficult to chew. Yes, they’re chalky like I always remembered them, but they’re also extremely hard. It takes a few moments of working in your mouth to even break the thing. 

So how do they taste? Purple is a very medicinal grape. Green is a very standard sour apple. Blue is this non descript flavor, kinda like cotton candy. Pink also starts like cotton candy or strawberry. Yellow is lemon, but very perfumey and fake tasting like floor cleaner. Orange is a mild citrus orange flavor. The ones ones I liked were orange and pink.

These flavors surprised me since I recall them being spice flavored as a kid. Turns out they were recently changed. I recommend checking out Cybele of Candyblog.net’s original review of the Sweethearts and the new updated version I’m reviewing here.

So in conclusion, these were never a favorite of mine, but I’m sure they must have a fan base out there. They’re a great candy to have on hand for Valentines’s Day, even if you don’t plan on eating them. They’re still festive and fun to have around.

Rating: Might Eat Again

Links Necco Website

Clark bar is a classic candy bar that hasn’t been as popular as say, Snickers. It’s been around for years, but hasn’t acquired the star status. Currently Clark bar is made by New England Candy Company (NECCO) and comes in milk and dark chocolate varieties. Since Clark bar is kinda hard to find, I felt extremely lucky to find this Clark Dark in a Rite Aid in the Philadelphia area. 

So what is a Clark bar? I admit the first time I came across one I didn’t know what it was. Clark bar is similar to a Butterfinger bar: a peanut butter crisp surrounded by chocolate. Yet in my mind, Clark bar is more “natural”. The peanut butter insides of a Clark bar aren’t neon yellow/orange like Butterfinger’s, plus the chocolate is real, unlike the Butterfinger’s mockolate coating. So Clark bar appeals more to me because of this.

Now I know what you’re wondering, how does it taste?

The Clark bar’s bite has a wonderful crispiness to it that’s very pleasing to chew. The chocolate is nice and rich with a sweetness that’s hard for me to declare it as milk to dark chocolate because the peanut butter crisp interior is just so powerful of a flavor. The color of the chocolate is darker, so it fits the description. The peanut butter crisp interior has the really strong flavor of a creamy, salty peanut butter and it matches beautifully with the chocolate. The chocolate, according to the ingredients list, it also the real thing, so all I can say is, as far as I’m concerned, I’d much rather eat a Clark bar than Butterfinger.

Overall, I’m impressed. This was really tasty. If you haven’t ever tried a Clark bar, I’d pick one up if you ever come across one.

Rating: Will Eat Again

Links Clark Bar Webpage

I’ve never noticed these bright pink candies on shelves in many of my grocery stores until recently. I think part of the reason I’ve never given them a second look is the very antique packaging (which, oddly, usually catches my eye right away) and the other is the fact that I saw Necco’s name on them. I just assumed they were a big bag of plain Sweethearts. It wasn’t until I read on Candybog.net that these sugar lozenge candies were in fact wintergreen flavored and were pretty tasty. I immediately turned my thinking around and secured myself a bag the next chance I got. Isn’t it great how we candy bloggers can learn from one another?

I’m not quite sure how Canada fits into the concept of bright green candy tablets, but I suspect it has something to do with the “coolness” of the wintergreen flavor. There’s another variety I’ve seen around, it’s peppermint and the package has a nice blue color scheme to it. I won’t try that though, at least not right away, as peppermint and I have some issues that we need to work out first.

The candy pieces are bright pepto-bismal pink and are about the circumference a nickel and 1/4 inch thick. “Canada” is pressed into once side of them. They smell intensely of sweet wintergreen.

In my mouth they feel quite hard. I couldn’t chomp down on them right away. Reminds me of the texture of Sweetheart conversation hearts: dry, and slightly chalky. I found I could break them a little with my molars, but the best way to eat them is just to suck on them. The flavor is fresh wintergreen with nice minty and herbal flavors that are reminiscent of sassafras and root beer. The flavor is mild, not too minty and not too bland. A perfect in between. Once the tablet is soft enough to break, it gives a nice brief chew as the pieces dissolve and the wintergreen flavor intensifies a little. Tasty.  I found I kept reaching for more of these, they’re very addictive.

I can’t help but smile to myself whenever I see these in the stores now. I like knowing that I gave them a try and found them enjoyable. I bet I’ll be reaching for a bag next time my wintergreen craving hits.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Necco Website

One of the many candies unique to Easter are the malted eggs. Many companies make them, each putting their own twist on the candy. I found these in the store and having never seen a variety made by Necco before, I was eager to try them. I wanted to mentally compare them with Robin’s Eggs, Brach’s Malted Eggs, and Jelly Belly’s Malted Eggs, just to name a few.

The Necco eggs come in different festive colors that are a little flat and matte looking. They come in white, pink, blue, purple and some are a mix of any two. They’re speckled with green, purple, and hot pink. Depending on the egg you find, it can either be really attractive or horrifying to look like. Good thing they all taste the same.

The eggs smell sweet and milky with a tang to them. The shell is smooth and cool to the touch, and feels a little greasy. Unlike the Jelly Belly Malted Eggs, the shell on these isn’t hard, instead a white mockolate. Under the mockolate coating there’s a thin layer of milk chocolate, then the very fresh, crispy malt center.

These taste…pretty darned good actually. The flavor is very similar to yogurt raisins; sweet and milky with a tang. The malt has a wonderful full, rich flavor that blends so nicely with the mockolate coating. I don’t taste the chocolate at all. The texture is a delight too, the malt is so crispy and crunchy and the outside contrasts it nicely with a smooth creamy feeling on the tongue.

I was surprised how much I liked these. I think I prefer them over the Jelly Belly ones, especially considering how much cheaper they are.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Necco Website