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

I first saw these on the shelf at Di Bruno Bros. in Philadelphia. After perusing the flavors for a good few minutes, as the prince warranted only one purchase, I decided to picky up the Chai Latte flavor. I love caramels and I haven’t had that flavor in this medium before. My other options included a classic caramel, a variation with honey, a variation with chocolate, etc. so the spicy chai just called to me. I’m all for trying new things!

I’ve been aware of the DAS Caramelini for some time now, as they appeared on the candy blogosphere scene a few months ago. Cybele over at CandyBlog and Rosa at ZOMG Candy! both gave them good reviews. I made a mental note to myself to get some if I ever saw them.

I was immediately pleased with these once I opened them as they smell warm and sweet of cinnamon and cloves. It does impart a chai essence. I was worried that the spice in these wouldn’t be strong enough, and I was glad to smell I was wrong.

The flavor is very well rounded, and I’m actually reminded more of gingerbread than chai. It has a wonderful hit of cinnamon, a subtle bite of cloves and a warmth of ginger. Add all that to the creamy sweetness of the caramel base. So to be frank, it’s really rich and complex. The chew is nice as the edges are soft and it’s more firm toward the center. It gave a good chew, but it wasn’t as chewy as I’d like, since I found it dissolved too quickly in my mouth. Still, extremely tasty. I like eating candy that tastes of gingerbread!

I was able to sample the other flavors of the DAS Caramelini line at the Fancy Food Show this past June. They were all impressive like the chai variety I try here, and I was just floored by the Candied Ginger & Pistachio flavor. I can’t wait to get my hands on some more of those.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links:
DAS Foods Website

There’s a really nice gourmet store in my area called Bon Appetit Fine Foods that I like to stop in and look around every so often. They carry all sorts of edible delights, but I’m obviously interested in the chocolate and candy that they carry. It seems that their stock changes slightly every time I go. On one of my more recent trips I discovered these bags of panned chocolate candies from France. I picked up two different kinds, and this is one of them.

“Pomme d’ Amor” or “Apple of Love” is what these are called. How lovely! They’re pieces of apple, from the looks of the package it’s either dried or a jelly of some kind. It’s then covered in milk chocolate and then again in a colored white chocolate or confectioner’s glaze. I don’t read French so I couldn’t really tell you. I’m guessing that each color is a different flavor or variety of apple. Or perhaps not. Only one way to find out!

Yellow Brown Speckled: Hard for me to place, but it has a big fruity flavor with a bright sour note and something very cinnamon about it. The interior jelly’s texture is nice, a little softer than I expected.

Green: The jelly in this is much softer and darker in color. This is very pear tasting. The fruity flavor is strong and combined with the chocolate here it has a cheesy essence to it. Strange to read I know, but trust me, it’s an odd thing to taste! This also has an odd spiciness to it.

Red: This one just tastes sweet and I finally taste a little of the chocolate. No extreme fruity or spicy notes here.

Orange/Yellow Speckled: The most chocolatey out of the bunch. It still has a big sweetness to it; you get some of the chocolate and the rest just burns away with the sugar. The jelly is a light “golden” flavor, but other then delivering a slight tartness toward the finish of the piece, there’s not much to mention

I really needed a glass of water after these.

These were fun to try, but not something I was impressed with. It’s also nothing I’d particularly crave either. I could see these working as a nice accompaniment to a cheese dessert platter maybe. But alone as a treat, I don’t like it much.

Rating:Might Eat Again

Every Halloween season ever confectioner has a field day with appropriate candies and chocolates. There’s no limit to the number of pumpkin, ghost, bat, witch, etc. shaped sweets lining the shelves at our favorite store. How’s a girl to choose? Among other things, this year I decided to give Godiva’s seasonal Pumpkin Truffles (since I’m a sucker for all things pumpkin)a try. I’ve eyed these for a few years and figured it was time to cave in.

They’re gorgeous to look at since the packaging job on these is top notch. Beautiful orange foil wrappers with a tiny coil and leaf on top. Almost too cute to eat!

The milk chocolate is unremarkable: sweet with a dairy taste. The truffles have a cinnamon dusting on the which adds a nice spiciness to the whole thing.

Now, as Mom always said “it’s what’s inside that counts” and that’s really what this truffle is all about. The inside is just heavenly. It really tastes of pumpkin pie which is a major plus since most pumpkin confections I taste don’t taste of anything…or if they do, it’s of cinnamon. The texture of the ganache is lovely; nice and rich without feeling greasy on the tongue.

Beautiful and delicious, these are a great fall treat or a nice gift to a friend.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links:
Godiva’s Website

I’m not a fan of “hot” candies, nor am I a fan of Twizzlers. So by all logic, I should have avoided this new variety of Twizzlers at all costs. Yet, I found myself intrigued by them. No, I can’t explain it, but something about them called to me like the sirens from the shelf. I was helpless and could only comply to their evil candy wishes.

You can smell their spiciness right away which is a very sweet, warm, cinnamon aroma. I’m reminded of red hots or atomic fireballs. The Twizzlers are the pull ‘n peel variety, meaning they’re not the standard ribbed licorice tube, but instead a rope of twisted laces of licorice. The color is very dark, a deep crimson. It’s also extremely soft and pliable, I was expecting them to have a more plastic like consistency.

Peeling off the first strand was quite fun as these beauties really prefer to remain stuck together. I popped a piece in my mouth and to my surprise, I liked it.  And this comes from a gal who hates “hot” candies, so please understand the magic that is happening here. The cinnamon flavor is vivid and strong, but it’s just enough to register as “hot” but decides to play nice and instead of burning your mouth out, it levels off with a subtle sweetness. The texture is the best part, it’s wonderfully soft and chewy, but not sticky. I found myself pulling and peeling another lace off the rope before I realized what I was doing.

The bag of these won’t last long, I assure you. The biggest surprise of all, I found a Twizzler product I actually like. Hershey’s finally found a way to take my main complaint of Twizzler’s typical “lack of intense” flavor to work in it’s favor. And that’s what Twizzler’s Fire does. Yum!

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links:
Twizzler’s Webpage