Fall is a time of wonders: the leaves change color, the pumpkins arrive at the patch, and the whirlwind of cheap food and sketchy-rides-with-80′s-metal-soundtracks known as the County Fair rolls into town.
As Templeton once sang in Charlotte’s Web, “A fair is a veritable smorgasboard-orgasboard-orgasboard,” filled with snacks and sweets that people wait all year for.
One of my favorite fair treats is the caramel apple, the gooey snack on a stick that is delicious and, well, somewhat nutritious. I mean, it is an apple, after all. Right?
Caramel apples are delicious, but they’re a lot of work. The caramel is sticky and tough, and there’s always a 50% shot that the apple, once half-eaten, will topple onto the ground, its lovely caramel skin suddenly coated with nasty fairground hay.
Keeping this in mind, I was really excited when I saw Dip Pops, the new lollipop treat that comes with its own jar of dipping sauce.
There are currently two flavors of Dip Pops; Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Strawberry. The lollipop itself is fruit-flavored and shaped accordingly. The apple-flavored pop is green and apple shaped, and the strawberry pop is red and shaped like a strawberry.
The strawberry/chocolate Dip Pop combo was the weaker of the two: the chocolate dip is pretty much a jar of chocolate frosting, similar to the frosting that lines the insides of E.L. Fudge cookies.
The dipping experience is extremely reminiscent of eating Dunkaroos, which is fine if you enjoy eating gobs of frosting, but it doesn’t replicate the true chocolate experience of chocolate-covered strawberries.
The lollipop becomes so overwhelmed with frosting that you lose the strawberry taste, which is a shame, because the combination of flavors has the potential to be a good one.
The Caramel Apple Dip Pop was slightly better: the caramel was thick and creamy and coated the lollipop well. However, the flavor combination of an artificial green apple lollipop (think: Sour Apple Blow Pop) and gooey caramel topping wasn’t as tasty as the real thing.
The caramel was extremely sticky, which made it hard to keep dipping, as strings of caramel kept sticking to the dipping jar (and everything else in my kitchen).
As I was wiping the sticky mess from my counter, I couldn’t help but think that Dip Pops will be quite popular with kids (and frosting lovers) but not as popular with their parents, as the dipping sauce ranks pretty high on the messy scale.
Overall, Dip Pops weren’t a favorite of mine, but it’s a fun concept that I predict will have several fans. As for me, I’ll just have to wait until next September, when the Ferris Wheel appears in the skyline, the sounds of Mötley Crüe begin to waft through the air, and the sign goes up that reads: Caramel Apples, Get ‘Em While You Can.
Wow…I don’t know why, but these look really good to me. I love frosting, E.L. Fudge Cookies, and Dunkaroos so the strawberry and chocolate ones seem right up my alley. The caramel apple ones look pretty good too. They remind me of the caramel apple lolli-pops that come out in the fall every year. I’ll have to try those if I can find them somewhere.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:36 amWhere can you buy these at? I like fundip type of candy, so it would be interesting to try these, too.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:59 pmI think I might pick those up. They look to be what you would expect off the shelf. Now if I went to Godiva I would expect a richer chocolate and maybe a better consistency. I can’t wait to try these!
Thanks for a great and informative review.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:58 amThese were launched at the most recent All Candy Expo, but I’m not sure if they are in stores yet. I will keep an eye out for you guys and let you know if I spot them anywhere. :)
February 28th, 2008 at 9:23 amwait a minute, I object. Did he really sing that? Because in the book, that’s just how he talked. Are you referring to the HORRIBLE EVIL ANIMATED VERSION of charlotte’s web?
To be fair, I’ve only seen the sequel. But the fact that there was a sequel with three of charlotte’s “daughters” – one a redhead, one a blonde, and one a brunette, even though they were spiders, apparently wearing wigs for our viewing pleasure – does not recommend any of the movies to me. :)
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:34 amThis, for me, would be a fun thing to eat. I love to play with my food and candy, frequently eating both in what some others might consider childlike ways for a 50-year old. I don’t care, I have fun and I’m always about the Fun Factor in life!
I readily admit, also, to eating frosting straight outta the can (c’mon, y’all, you know you do it, too!), so this doesn’t appear to be a problem aspect of the Strawberry Chocolate Dip Pop to me. Not being a fan of sour apple candy anyway, I might pass on the lollipop part of the Caramel Apple Dip Pop, but definitely would pull my strawberry pop through the caramel dip since I do love to experiment with food/flavor/texture combinations!
I’m goin’ for these when I find ‘em and may just have to write the company to offer up some other suggestions, like: Peach Melba, a peach lolly dipped into raspberry sauce; Dulce de Leche, a caramel lolly dipped into caramel (there’s no such thing as too much caramel for me); and the Deluxe Chocolate Fondue: four distinctly-shaped lollipops in marshmallow, banana, pound cake and REAL apple (not the sour green deal). That last one would cost more, of course, and be marketed to be shared at the lunch table, whether you’re 10, 50 or whatever age!
March 5th, 2008 at 12:33 am