Kandy Kritique -- Toffifay

Ah, here's a confection I remember from childhood. The Broadway-esque advertising jingle had a line that went, "It's too good for kids." Not only did I find that blatant bit of ageism an insult, I thought it was bulltoot as well. The tweenage girl I used to be tried one of these sweet miniature delights -- can we say, a party for the taste buds?
Sadly, these scrumptious little gems had disappeared -- or so I thought. All these years later I was in Walgreens and there they were, a box of Toffifay candies. I picked it up, purchased it, and tasted a piece, thinking maybe the yumminess I remember was just a figment of an immature palate.
Nope. If anything, Toffifay candies are yummier than EVER BEFORE. A dainty cup of soft caramel that lacks that annoying dental adherence factor (it doesn't stick to your teeth), filled with a crunchy yet tender and buttery roasted hazelnut surrounded by a soft, rich frostinglike chocolate-hazelnut paste, like the filling in a Ferrero Rocher but smoother, and then, topped by a drop of chocolate rather like a flat Kiss. The whole thing melts in the mouth in a burst of nutty, caramelized sweet richness that lingers on the tastebuds and left me with a craving for more.
This is a craveable confection that, despite the slogan, will put a smile on the faces of young and old and everyone in between. My mother liked them too and, fortunately for my willpower, finished off most of the box. Truly an underrated candy classic.

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

Kandy Kritique -- Russell Stover Fine Assorted Chocolates

Here's FOUR pieces for me to review. Gotta love boxed/baggged assortments

CARAMEL
A milk chocolate patty filled with firm, stretchy caramel of almost a gummi or jelly-candy consistency. The chocolate is delicate without being weak, with a maple note to it, and the caramel has almost molasses notes to it. Smooth and decadently satisfying.
THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

COCONUT
Dark chocolate with coffee-like overtones is the perfect partner for a moist, fine-textured coconut paste that has almost the consistency of frosting and (no almost about it) the taste of the islands. Like a higher-end Mounds. Melts in the mouth (perhaps the perfect confection to savor while watching your favorite episode of "Gilligan's Island?")
THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

PECAN DELIGHT
A milk chocolate cluster with a softer caramel than in the plain caramel piece and pecan bits. Very tasty and satisfying, but the chocolate and the caramel kind of dominate the taste of the nuts, and I do like pecans. For that reason, I had to deduct a point from the rating, but still a good, solid, enjoyable confection.
THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED IST (INSANELY TASTY)

MINT PATTY
A glossy, button-like piece. The dark chocolate has almost a fruitiness to it, and the filling, zingy with fresh mint flavor, is almost liquid, unlike the solid "icing" inside a York Peppermint Patty. Think donut glaze sparked with the flavor of mint. Delectable! (I'm a madwoman for mint!) Thing is, there's not enough of it. The ratio of chocolate shell to filling is higher. More filling in the piece would have garnered it a D rating, but even though I shaved a point off for there being more chocolate than mint, it was still a delicious, refreshing piece of confectionery, so ....
THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED IST (INSANELY TASTY)

TRIPLE TREAT KANDY KRITIQUE

Today, I have not one, but THREE candies to review

LITTLE DEBBIE NUTTY BARS
Okay, maybe these aren't technically a candy, more like a cookie or a snack, but for the purposes of this review, I will treat them as a wafer-based candy a la KitKat or Twix.

This confection consisted of two wafer sticks sandwiched with peanut butter filling and enrobed in "chocolatey coating."

The wafer is mild-tasting. The peanut-butter is rich and crumbly and nutty, a la the pb filling in a Reese's cup. The coating is a bit weak in chocolate flavor but with a smooth melt and pleasing mouthfeel. Enjoyable and satisfying, but had to take a point off the rating for the chocolate being a little weak.

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED IST (INSANELY TASTY)


Q-BEL PEANUT-BUTTER WAFER BARS
One thinks of all-natural candies and imagines something that looks like a clod of earth and tastes like something you'd sweep off your floor. Well, this little delicacy (and I do mean delicacy!) blows that stereotype out of the universe! This is the Little Debbie Nutty Bar's classier cousin.

Two slim wafer sticks, with a delicate crunch. The chocolate (real milk chocolate! Not "chocolatey coating" or some such) is rich and bold-tasting, with an almost frostinglike consistency, and the peanut-butter filling is a bit creamier than the filling in the LD Nutty Bar. The flavors really sparkle, and this is a very craveable confection.

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)



Q-BEL WAFER ROLLS
More yummy proof that "natural-foods" candy brands don't have to taste like dirt, these are crisp, cylindrical wafers, (a la Pirouline cookies), a bit sweeter than the wafer bars, filled with a satiny chocolate "frosting," sort of like the ganache filling in a truffle, dunked in a rich real-chocolate coating. What's not to love?
Again, the delicate crunch, the creamy chocolate richness. These are also very crave-worthy. Good thing I only bought one or it would be Pig-Out City, USA!

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

Kandy Kritique -- Whoppers Malted Milk Balls

A classic and one I remember enjoying when I was teensy. And these bite-sized delights hadn't changed since then.
They may use "compound" chocolate these days instead of the pure stuff, but it sure tasted like the real deal to me, and the malted-milk crisp in the center delivered a delicate crunch and that rich, rather mocha-like taste that is hard to describe but oh-so-easy to savor. These sweet spheres melt to a sweet, decadent mush in your mouth and disappear leaving you with a craving for more. In a world where new candy innovations are constantly being churned out, it's great to know that there's always a place for the classics.

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

Kandy Kritique -- Pretzel M&Ms

These addictive little tidbits -- the newest addition to the M&Ms line -- have something for every craving -- salty, sweet, creamy, crunchy, all in little bite size spheres of yumminess. Bought them to review and was a major test of willpower for me to not polish off the whole bag in one go because . . .

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

Kandy Kritique -- Manischewitz Milk Chocolate Swiss Mints

Another Passover candy that passes the yumminess test with flying colors. These are thick chocolate drops consisting of a velvety, creamy chocolate-and-mint flavored "icing" mixture (heaven for this candy reviewer, who, like she said, loves her some "hardened-cake-frosting" type candies) encased in a smooth, rich chocolate shell also infused with mint flavoring. Truly a confectionary delicacy, this is a candy that can be enjoyed year-round, (regardless of which religious franchise you subscribe to) and MY favorite way to enjoy them was to cleave off the chocolate coating with my teeth and savor that first, and then let the sweet, smooth spark of mint and chocolate caress my tastebuds as I slowly sucked on the "icing" center and let it melt on my tongue.

I recommend them highly, and had to really restrain myself from polishing off the entire box in one go. My tastebuds are still glowing.

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)