Back in October I reviewed the full sized Halloween Scream Egg (review here). Now that it’s officially Spring, Easter candies are everywhere. This year I picked up a few different Cadbury Creme Eggs to review. (The mini creme and mini caramel versions.)

These mini eggs are inside a plastic shell-casing that looks like a mix between an egg carton, and a diorama. There is quite a bit of packaging to these eggs. There is a cardboard bottom, purple plastic carton bottom, clear shell top and stickers holding the whole thing together. (Not to mention the foil on each individual egg.) While the presentation is cute, it does make a lot of waste.

Once you get through the packaging, there are a dozen mini-eggs. Each one is individually foil wrapped just like their full sized counterpart. The eggs smell like milky chocolate, typical for Cadbury, and the fondant inside tastes just like a full sized egg. It’s thick and creamy with a touch of vanilla.

These smaller eggs have a better chocolate to creme ratio, which I actually like a lot more than the full sized egg. I’d definitely buy more of these before the season is out. (My friend Sean likes to eat his frozen, so I might freeze a few and give that a try.)

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Peeps are celebrating their 60th anniversary, which may be why they are releasing all sorts of new products. I’ve seen new flavors of Peeps, new chocolates called “Peepsters”, and tons of non-edible merchandise.

This package is very ritzy. It’s color scheme, silver and dark blue, reminds me of York peppermint patties. (Although these are vanilla flavored, not mint.) There are faux rhinestones with lens flare on the package to mark the occasion. The packaging is fun, but I wish it was more colorful and playful like the Peeps inside.

Once I opened the package, I noticed the marshmallows smelled a lot like vanilla sugar I bought from Ikea. (The scent is also very similar to marshmallow Fluff.)

These marshmallows look gorgeous! They are covered in edible rainbow confetti and regular (white) sugar. The initial taste is artificial and a bit off putting, but there is a sweet vanilla after taste that is quite nice. 

While I love the look of these, I did not like the taste. I think the beautiful confetti may be the culprit. (I tasted some of it that was in the packaging and it was a bit plastic-y.)

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This is a product I never knew existed! “Belly Flops” are irregularly shaped/colored/flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans that are packaged and sold.

I really like that the company had some fun with this packaging. On the front of the package there is a pool of misshapen jelly beans that the mascot is belly flopping into, and on the back there is a disclaimer about the irregular candy inside.

As expected, the jelly beans vary in size and shape/ Even though they look a bit off, a lot of my favorite flavors were in this bag. (Orange Creamsicle, Dr. Pepper, toasted marshmallow, and juicy pear.)  The only flavors that seemed a bit off were the cinnamon and red-fruit jelly beans. It tastes like a few of them were mixed up during the panning process. (Some red jelly beans tasted like cinnamon on the outside with a fruity center and vice versa.)

Overall, these beans tasted great, they just looked a little wonky. If you’re looking for a quirky candy treat this Easter, try some Belly Flops. 

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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When I finally got to the Walmart that had the carrot cake m&m’s, I figured I’d do a little shopping. I picked up these Peeps, a few Cadbury Creme Eggs, and a bag of the new chocolate covered Mallow Bites.

The packaging is brightly colored and festive. There is a party cake, streamers, confetti, and a speckled blue Peep. I like that the words “Party Cake” look like the “Happy Birthday” banners I used as a kid, that was a really nice touch and tie-in with the flavor-theme. Overall the packaging is successful, and it definitely caught my eye.

Inside, the Peeps are a bright turquoise with rainbow confetti-like sprinkles. I really like this color! These are quite different from the vanilla creme flavored Peeps, the marshmallow itself is a creamy off-white color and they smell like canned frosting.

While the outside tastes the same as any other Peep, a sweet crunchy sugar coating, the inside tastes like buttery vanilla. It didn’t really remind me of cake, but the sugary coating added a crunchy texture that did remind me of cake frosting. (More like those store-bought cakes than homemade.)

I was a bit worried that these would taste really artificial, but the flavors worked together really nicely. I actually like these Peeps a lot, and I bet these would taste great roasted.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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White Chocolate Carrot Cake m&m’s - Walmart : Somerdale, NJ 

I first heard about these on Candy Blog (One of my favorite foodie sites!)  My boyfriend and I love carrot cake, how could we pass this up? It turns out…these were hard to find. This flavor is Walmart exclusive and only one Walmart within 50 miles of my home carried them. (I called 3 different stores and drove to 2. One sold out but still listed them as in stock and the other did have them but they were hidden behind other candy boxes.)

After a decent journey, I finally found them. I hope they were worth the trouble.

The bag is a creamy peach-color with lighter, wiggly, lines in the background. I really like the color of this bag because it’s different from all the Easter pastels most candies are using right now. (Baby blues, purples and pinks.) There is a cute little slice of carrot cake on the front and the green m&m mascot is wearing some cute bunny ears. Overall I like the look of this bag, it isn’t too cluttered, or obnoxiously festive, and everything is cohesive. 

Inside, the m&ms are a bit bigger and more irregularly shaped than the usual milk chocolate variety, but that is typical for these specialty flavors. For this carrot cake flavor the candies are creamy pastel colors: orange, green, and a creamy peach. They smell like cream cheese frosting and carrot cake spices…these smell pretty accurate!

At first I can taste the white chocolate, but quickly the carrot cake spices start coming through. These taste amazing! It’s almost like a carrot cake version of Irish potatoes (because they are very sweet). The creamy white chocolate has sweet vanilla notes that remind me of cream cheese icing that usually tops a carrot cake, and Mars hit the spice levels right on the head.

These are delicious alone, but I think these would be great in oatmeal cookies. Or maybe even in a trail mix with raisins and nuts. (That sounds really good!) If you like carrot cake, try and find a bag of these at your local Walmart. (They might be a little hard to find though.)

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I tried a little something different and used a patterned background for the one photo. The packaging was so kitschy and adorable I felt it warranted a little something different. (Let me know if you like this and would like to see more!)

The packaging is as adorable as it could possibly be. The mascots alone scream cuteness, but combine that with polka dots, bows, and red scalloped trim, and it’s a recipe for heart-exploding “kawaii.” The design is cute without being overwhelming or busy and I feel like it has a touch of sophistication with the limited palette.

A silver foiled bag inside the box holds all the little strawberry chocolate shapes. This candy is similar to Meiji’s Apollo, but the shapes are all very “girly.” There are two different bows, a slipper, flowers, and a purse.

These chocolates smell just like Meiji’s Apollo, there is a sweet milk chocolate aroma mixed with a sweet artificial strawberry, but I am not a big fan of fake strawberry flavors. Maybe this will taste a little different?

As I tasted the candy, I noticed that the fake strawberry flavor is a little more subdued, but the chocolate is very waxy. The lighter, more palatable, strawberry flavor is nice, but the waxiness really takes away from the candy.

These are super adorable, and would make great cupcake toppers or cake decorations (especially for a baby shower for a little girl or a Lolita tea party), but as a candy they are waxy and artificial tasting.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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This was a gift from my mother, so I have NO CLUE where this came from. 

My mother picked these up because I like cupcakes. (I have cupcake shaped cookie jars, cupcake scented perfumes, and cupcakes on my T-shirts.) So logically, this should be right up my alley.

The packaging is mainly primary colors. Right away the combination of red and yellow makes me think of fast food establishments, while the addition of blue makes me think of preschools. These colors are mixed up with a Disney-esque font and actual photos of the bites floating in space. I think if the fonts and colors were adjusted this could be a salvageable design, but right now it looks like high school design work. My favorite things are the vectored cupcake and icing dribble.

When I got to the actual bites they looked just like their photos on the box, but they smelled like canned frosting.

I had to eat a few of these to figure out how I felt about them. They aren’t great. The outside is “frosting,” which is more like the waxy outside of those Easter egg malt balls they sell every year, while the inside is more of the same but with a crumbly texture. There are tiny rainbow nonpareils throughout that add a bit of crunchy texture, but they do not add to the flavor.

While these were something novel, and new to try… I can’t say I would -ever- buy these again.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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I don’t know what is going on over at Jet-Puffed, have their designers gone on strike? Most of their products have had really nice designs, like the ice cream shoppe marshmallows or the new mallow-bits. This bag seems really out of place and odd. Other than the picture of marshmallows and cinnamon sticks on the front, nothing makes sense to me. The color choices alone don’t seem related to the flavor or the product, a red-violet stripe and text? Against a brown striped background? How does any of this relate to cinnamon buns?

Inside, the marshmallows smell like a cinnamon candle. Which might mean they were flavored with a cinnamon essential oil. The marshmallows are also very irregularly shaped and sized. Some are little stumps, cut diagonaly, and others are normal sized.

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This was another gift so I have NO CLUE where it came from.

The packaging is as simple as simple can be. It is a clear plastic bag with a “Gourmet Popcorn” sticker on the front and a nutritional sticker on the back. Simple is not a bad thing, and I think it works nicely here because it showcases the brightly colored popcorn.

I was a bit surprised by the smell, or lack thereof. I expected to smell sweet sugary cotton candy, but this has the generic smell of kettle corn. 

This taste doesn’t remind me of cotton candy. The flavor is more little the generic lollipops that are handed out at banks. It is sweet, but there aren’t any delightful sugar or burnt sugar notes I associate with cotton candy. This doesn’t even taste like artificial cotton candy flavoring.

Although this popcorn doesn’t taste like cotton candy, it wasn’t bad. It was crunchy, sweet, and very brightly colored. If you like kettle corn you might enjoy this VERY pink treat.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Since I don’t have the main package, tonight’s post is a mini review on this novelty Nintendo product. Originally I wasn’t going to do one on this, but I was so impressed by the detail in these candies I decided to do one anyway.

These are individually portioned, Sweetart-like, candies that have been pressed into the shapes of popular Nintendo characters. (Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Toad.)

As a candy, these are very hard (which may be why they are able to retain so much detail) and they smell like artificial orange. 

• Orange - Tastes a lot like an orange baby Asprin, but it is more sweet than anything else. This one may taste mild, but it has a strong artificial orange scent.
• Red - Tastes similar to a red Pixie stick, but it is more sweet than tangy. Mostly a sweet artificial cherry flavor.
• Green - Is some sort of attempt at green apple, but it tastes really fake and chemical.
• Blue - Reminds me of blue freezer pops. There is a bit of a blue raspberry flavor, and I found that these were the strongest flavor of the four.

As a candy, these were really hard and crunchy. There wasn’t much flavor pay off, or variety. Although I am impressed by the detail that went into the molds for these… I wouldn’t want to eat them again. (Although they look so cute and photograph well!)

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Here is my last Valentine’s Day gift (again, my boyfriend warned me that this might have gotten a little melted).

The packaging is really nice, but the wrapping inside doesn’t really match the box outside. The outside is kind of broken up and blocky, which isn’t terrible, but the interior design is really ornate and delicate. I much prefer the foil wrapper design to the outside box.

Inside, there was actually a coupon! This is a first. I’ve never had a coupon in my chocolate before. (I really like the design and layout of the coupon too!) So that was kinda neat. Behind the coupon is a (slightly melted) chocolate bar. It smells like salty dark chocolate. Other than the savory, salty, smell there isn’t any hint of bacon.

As far as taste, this is a lot like the chocolate potato chip bar. There is a similar texture and salty flavor, but this time the chocolate is much darker. I love dark chocolate, so this was a plus. The chocolate has the right amount of sweet and bitter with a nice mouth-feel. You actually don’t get to taste any bacon until the very end, after the chocolate dissolves, but it adds some savory notes and texture that blend well with the chocolate.

If you are looking for a strong bacon flavor, this isn’t the bar for you. This is more about the bacon enhancing the chocolate bar than being a strong, stand alone, bacon-y flavor. I have actually had chocolate covered bacon before, and I would recommend that to any bacon addicts out there. Overall this was a nice candy bar, but it wasn’t quite bacon-y enough for me.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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