I love it when I go shopping for one thing and end up finding something else instead. That’s what happened when I went holiday shopping the other day. I went in looking for a certain gift and ended up walking out with a box of the new Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch. Isn’t the box pretty? I love how festive it is!
Junior Mints and I have a sordid history. As a kid I’d only really have them at Halloween since they weren’t something I’d ask for. Each year when I’d give them a try, I knew why. I was never a big fan of mint and chocolate (although I’m warming up to it now) and they’d always end up in the trash.
Now that I do enjoy Junior Mints on occasion, I was eager to give these new ones a try. They smell the same as regular variety and right away you can see a difference. The usually smooth, dark chocolate coating is now bumpy with little red nonpareils that show through. It’s a little strange, but not off-putting at all.
They break easily once bitten into and you get a surge of that wonderful minty-ness. I chewed and enjoyed the flavor… and then realized, where’s the crunch? Puzzled, I reached for another. This time I purposely chewed it and still nothing. Huh. The third time, I tried to wait for the chocolate and fondant to melt in my mouth, but I grew impatient and ended up chewing it again before I could recognize the new texture.
I guess what it is with these is that they’re the same Junior Mints we all know and love (though they do seem a little smaller in size to me) but with nonpareils in them that I don’t feel in my mouth when I eat them. Instead they look festive in an odd “there’s sprinkles in my chocolate” sort of way. If the crunch only adds visual appeal, all I can ask is why? When I think of putting pretty candy in a dish for guests I don’t think Junior Mints, and these certainty don’t change my mind.
Yet another example of just sticking to the original….
Buy Junior Mints online:
- at Candy Crate
- at Candy Direct
- at Amazon.com
Junior Mints remains my favorite movie theater candy! Thanks for the review!
December 21st, 2007 at 5:11 pmWell, I AM a big fan of mint and chocolate and have always loved Junior Mints; letting them melt in my mouth is a fabulous indulgence since I rarely have any patience what-so-ever with candy. For some odd reason, I can do it with Junior Mints. I like ‘em frozen, too, especially in summer here in Arizona! Hmmm, no cruch, eh? Well, shoot, I ain’t lettin’ a little marketing miss stop me from seeking out and trying a new candy, oh no! (Maybe they’d crunch if you froze ‘em!?) :)
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:33 amI have to admit that I love the combination of chocolate and mint, now that I stumbled across this site, I am going to get some of this peppermint crunch that sounds yummy!
December 22nd, 2007 at 6:08 pmWell, I enjoy junior mints, but the way you make it sound, I don’t think I’ll be willing to try the new ones.
December 24th, 2007 at 12:02 amLike you, I stumbled across these quite by accident and fell in love. I loved Junior Mints to begin with but the added bit of crunch made for a nice change of pace…
January 8th, 2008 at 10:09 pmI loved them!! My lightly crunched, but I also ate fresh out of the fridge. The only sold them for a week at my local grocer. I wish they’d bring them back. *sigh* They tatsed great & were lowfat too!!
January 30th, 2008 at 2:52 ammmm I love junior mints, brings me back, my mom and I ate them together every weekend!
June 20th, 2008 at 11:49 amI love the new Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch! I hope they continue to make them thru out the year and not just as a seasonal item. I didn’t want an overwhelming crunch, I’m not into hard candies at all. I think I even prefer these over the regular Junior Mints and I love those as well. Maybe it’s just personal opinions and everyone should just try them for themselves.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:03 amas a vegan, i’m very excited about the Peppermint Crunch b/c they are gelatin-less and taste just like the Junior Mints i knew and loved. i’m not into crunch, so that was a plus for me as well.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:06 am