In the spirit of Easter, let’s talk more about Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Most people either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I happen to be a former hater turned lover. Whether or not you enjoy eating them, here are some fun facts for you:

• Over 300 million Cadbury Creme Eggs are made each year, with a third being exported.
• The eggs are for sale from January 1 through Easter Day each year…unless of course you count the smashed and white-speckled ones you may purchase off clearance racks every so often beyond hatching season.
• At some point during the 1980s, the eggs were sold year round, but sales proved this wasn’t eggxactly a great idea.
• At some other point through the years, eggs decreased in size. This became a big topic of discussion in 2007.
• Eggs are sold in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
• There’s a special Facebook page for the egg.
• Some folks actually use chocolate eggs in baking.
• Other folks make their own creme eggs!
• And there are also the folks who make deviled creme eggs…
• Scientists sometimes blow them up.
• They can be purchased individually or in different-sized boxes.

There’s something so nostalgic about Cadbury Creme Eggs. Because of their seasonal availability and affiliation with Easter, we all seem to have special memories.

As someone always turned off by real eggs, the idea of eating a chocolate one resembling a real one turned my stomach as a child. But my younger brother loved them. And I always remember how excited he would get to bite into his first one each Easter. One day, as a candy-loving adult (with a more mature, less-discriminatory, borderline-gluttonous palate), I gave the chocolate eggs a chance and enjoyed what I ended up indulging in. You love that story.

What’s your favorite memory with a Cadbury Creme Egg?

• Cadbury Creme Egg Home Page

Do you have a little “Candy Addict” of your own at home? Would you like them to start learning their numbers in a way they’ll love? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then I’ve found the perfect book for you. Check out this new board book from Laurie Wolf called “Candy 1 to 20″. Every page contains the numbers from 1 to 20 but they numbers are laid out using various candies to make the shapes. For example, there’s a candy stick for number 1 and candy corn for number 20. Each number is made up of different candies, so your little “Candy Addict” will be so crazy to learn how to count. It’s a very cute board book that seems to be great for any pre-schooler. As a grown up “Candy Addict”, I just wish every page had real candy made into numbers so I could eat them as I counted to twenty! Retail price: $8.99.

• Buy the book “Counting With Candy” at Amazon
• Buy actual candy numbers

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

One pilot began to send his candy rations down to the children of Berlin, tied in tiny parachutes made of handkerchiefs. Gail Halvorsen, the pilot who dropped candy from his plane, would wiggle the wings of his plane as he flew over Berlin so the children would know there would be a candy drop. The German children began to call him “Uncle Wiggly Wings.” He would drop chocolate bars, gum, and raisins.

Halvorsen’s superior officers didn’t know what he was up to, but when they found out, they called him into the office. He was afraid he’d be court-martialed, but instead, his Lieutenant told him to keep doing his project, which became known as “Operation Little Vittles.” Eventually, the American public heard about Halvorsen and began to donate candy and handkerchiefs to the cause. The Confectioners’ Association of America donated large amounts of candy, and American school children tied candy to handkerchief parachutes.

Halvorsen has been credited with making a huge impact on German-American relations with his act of delivering candy to children, and for creating a positive perception of Americans to Germans, who had been at war with Americans during the years of World War II. Even recently, Halvorsen’s example has been emulated by the U.S. military, and they have dropped toys, teddy bears, and soccer balls to children in Iraq.

• The Candy Bombers – Video
• Gail Halvorsen – The Candy Bomber

Image: Public Domain and made available via Wikimedia Commons

It’s almost time for Halloween again and that means yummy treats for everyone.

The folks at the National Confectioners’ Association were kind enough to send me some treats to try, so I’m sharing them with you. I figured we’d start with the healthier treats, in case any of you want to add something healthy to your Halloween splurge.

First up,the bag of Florida Natural Au’Some Fruit Healthy Treats, which contain a mix of sour strings, nuggets, and stiks. I actually enjoy them all. All three styles come in orange, strawberry, and grape flavors and I like the strawberry the best. Since I love sour stuff, I particularly enjoy the sour strings, although I should warn you that they aren’t terribly sour. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the stiks – they are really tangy and nicely chewy without sticking to your teeth. The nuggets are fun, too, but I thought the orange flavor, in particular, could have a wee bit of vitamin taste to it.

Given that the nuggets and strings are only 50 calories a pack, and the sticks are only 35, these are a guilt-free treat, surprisingly tasty and satisfying. As a bonus, each candy has vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals, so these actually have a health benefit! Since these come in nifty little packets, you can hand them out to your Trick-or-Treaters, or take ‘em to work yourself.

While I was delving into the fruity, chewy goodness, I decided to try Welch’s Island Flavor Fruit Snacks. One serving boasts 100% of your vitamin C DV, and 25% of your A and E. And, at 130 calories per serving, this definitely qualifies for my “healthier Halloween” motif. I’m sorry to say I didn’t enjoy these nearly as much as the Au’some Fruit treats. The flavors were much more bland and had a weird, waxy taste to them. And the texture was odd: not very chewy and kind of powdery. Plus, my sample came in a bag that was too big to share with Trick-or-Treaters, although you could just eat ‘em yourself. If you’re into tropical punch flavors, maybe you’ll dig this, but it wasn’t really my thing.

Last on the list, Candy Coated Sunny Seed Drops by the Sunflower Food & Spice Co, Ltd. Back in June, Nico reviewed the regular Sunny Seed Drops Chocolate Sunflower Seeds, but mine came in Halloween colors with a Halloween-themed tube. Same flavor, but seasonal packaging. How do these stand up to other Halloween treats? Well, I love chocolate and I love sunflower seeds so these made me do the happy dance. The only bad thing I can say about these is that I had a hard time not eating the entire tube. The brightly colored candy shells are incredibly inviting, just begging you to have another handful. These are a little like sunflower M&Ms. I will say the chocolate is quite sweet, but somehow it works with the sunflower seeds. Oh yum! How did I go my whole life so far without having these?

According to the package, sunflower seeds are an excellent source of a number of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber – healthy! There are 130 calories per serving – if you can manage to stop at the serving size, which is 2 tablespoons. Since this came in a good-sized tube, I’m not sure if you’d want to get enough tubes to share with Trick-or-Treaters or not. But I sure do recommend treating yourself because these rocked.

Overall, if you’re looking for a healthier Halloween but don’t want to make your Trick-or-Treaters or yourself feel deprived, I recommend you try either the Au’some Fruits or the Sunny Seed Drops. Yum!

• Au’some Treats Website
• Welch’s Website
• Sunflower Food & Spice Company’s Website

Tung Toos – an interesting concept in the candy world. I remember how popular the temporary tattoos were when I was in junior high. A tattoo for your tongue – a candy tattoo for your tongue? Okay, sounds good! Or so I thought when the makers of Tung Toos offered to send me a sample for review. Unfortunately, I’ve gone down a series of disappointing steps since receiving the package.

First let me point out the positives of Tung Toos. They are visually appealing with bright colors and fun pictures that will draw any kid’s attention. I received three packages – one decidedly meant for girls and two that would be preferred by the boys. The girls’ pack has castles, crowns, magic wands, and the word Princess. The boys’ packs have sports balls – soccer, basketball, baseball, and football – and military vehicles – helicopters, jeeps, tanks, and ships. Since I have three boys and no girls, this was a good mix of Tung Toos for my family.

The idea of having a picture on your tongue – to stick out at all your friends – is, presumably, attractive to the younger set. Personally, I don’t feel the need to stick my tongue out at anyone and don’t want to see other people with their tongues wagging around either. Call me a dud, if you wish….

Now on to my actual experience with Tung Toos. I found the packages themselves extremely hard to get open. Each sheet of Tung Toos is sealed within a plastic envelope – an envelope that has not a single ‘tab’ to facilitate opening. After jerking and pulling at every potential spot, I finally had to cut the pack open. The first set we tried (the sports balls) was actually adhered to the bottom of the envelope. I had to literally rip them free, but this seems to have been a unique mistake in the packaging. The other sheets slid out easily once I cut the envelopes open.

The battle to try the Tung Toos didn’t stop once I freed the sheet of ‘ttoos. The sheet is perforated with two Tung Toos squares per section – each section is sealed in yet another plastic envelope. Oh, the agony! Fortunately, these small envelopes do have a tab that you can rather simply pull to tear open. For some reason, though, the backside of the Tung Toos (where the directions are printed) is actually attached via a light adhesive to the plastic envelope. After more tearing and dropping a very large amount of plastic waste paper onto my carpet, we could at last try the Tung Toos.

Using them isn’t hard at all. You simply lay the ‘ttoo face down on your tongue for a couple seconds and then lift off. The picture left behind is decent and looks reasonably like the picture that was on the paper. If you apply a second Tung Too, however, (and who wouldn’t?) the image is distorted and you end up with a bluish-black blob that looks exactly like you just ate a Charms Blow Pop or a handful of SweeTarts.

Okay, taste. Isn’t that the most important part of candy? Isn’t taste the entire reason we eat candy?

When I laid a Tung Too on my tongue, there was a mild tangy flavor. After I lifted the tattoo paper off and kinda licked around in my mouth, I detected a slightly sweet flavor. Within ten seconds, any hint of flavor was completely gone. Flavor is obviously not the intended drawing point of Tung Toos.

I offered Tung Toos to a 22-year-old friend of mine, who is much more hip & happ’nin’ and up-to-date with fads and being popular than I am. I figured if Tung Toos was appealing in a “youth culture” sort of way (boy, do I feel old talking like this!), he would find the appeal in it. After using one, he said (of the flavor), “That’s just a tease.”

My eight- and five-year-old sons did keep using them (would it make sense to say “eating them”?) for a couple days, but I can’t say they were ever thoroughly enamored. If you were throwing a kid’s birthday party, these would probably make good party favors. But I can’t personally imagine any kid wanting to request them on a regular basis. I figure they’d rather have Fun Dip or Smarties.

• Tung Toos Website

Let’s give a big Candy Addict welcome to Gigi, our first Europe-based writer!

As a Candy Addict, when vying for a sugar fix, gummi bears are fairly low on my list of “candy craving” sweets. On the other hand, if I was asked to buy candy for a large group of people, gummi bears are perfect and probably the safest option, catering to all sugar palates. Gummi bears are tasty, chewy, and a widely popular gummi treat. You know what you’re going to get before you pop one in your mouth.

Recently, while shopping at a market in Munich, Germany, I noticed an interesting spin on the forever palatable gummi bear” Haribo’s Saft Goldbaeren. Naturally, I gave them a whirl. Translated in English, Juice Goldbears are a unique, surprisingly tasty twist on the traditional gummi bear. Claiming 22% fruit juice, Haribo has not only mastered the gummi texture – these bears are soft! – they have made this treat potentially healthy… Seriously?

Haribo, a German candy company founded in 1920 by Hans Riegel Sr., is the largest manufacturer of gummi candy in the world, with its products largely consisting of gummi candies and licorice. 

The bears are larger than traditional gummi bears, making the overall mouth-to-bear ratio enjoyable. Not too small, not too big – just the right size to eat one at a time. (If you’re like me, this is important. If the candy is on the small side, I’ll pop several in my mouth at once creating candy flavor suicide. Not the case here, the bears can be eaten one savory flavor at a time.)

The flavors are refreshing, Himbeer (Raspberry), Apfel (Apple), Limette (Lime), Schwarze Johannisbeere (Blackberry), Birne (Pear), and Pfirsich (Peach). My personal favorite is Blackberry; it has an interesting berry flavor quality – a bit of a kick compared to standard berry flavoring. All Saft Goldbaeren flavors are tasty – uniquely sweet, a little bit tart and overall refreshing; leaving you reaching for more. (I’ve eaten an entire bag while writing this review!)

Compared to the traditional gummi bear, Haribo’s Saft Goldbaeren stand out in a candy crowd. The texture, the flavors, the size, etc. all contribute to making this sweet treat a definite candy “must have.” And, as mentioned before, these candies provide a bit of nourishment: 22% fruit juice in every bag – you can’t go wrong. An unusually nice benefit for us sugar fiends. Thumbs up.

Also of note: Except for the word ‘SAFT’ at the bottom of the bag, the packaging for Saft Goldbaeren and Haribo’s traditional Goldbaeren is the same. Be discerning, or you might miss out on these tasty treats!

• Haribo Website
• Haribo Saft Goldbaeren Promo Site (in German)

While frolicking away inside the candy store, I came across these little boxes of candy. Of course I was drawn in by the pictures of board games on the outside, as Monopoly was and is my favorite board game of all time.

I also noticed there were others as well as Monopoly: Clue, Sorry and Life. So I grabbed these off the shelf and decided to take them home. Doing a little research online about them, I found out they are licensed by Hasbro and are generally sold in a four-pack called Game Night Candy.

Each box of candy shows a picture of the board game it represents and each box is about two inches long, containing a bag of candy inside.

Inside each bag are candy game pieces, specific to each board game. For Clue, there were blue candy wrenches and green candlesticks. Monopoly had pink dogs and green race cars. Life had blue spinners and pink cars, while Sorry had blue and yellow pawns. While some of the pieces looked like obscene adult candies, they could all probably be collectibles someday.

There were about 10-20 pieces of candy in each bag. More than enough to give a proper review, right?

The first thing I noticed was that it was hard candy and it tasted like U.S. Smarties. They had a tart taste to them and the same consistency as Smarties, too. My mom seemed to think they tasted like Pez candy. She didn’t buy me much Pez as a kid, so I can’t say whether I agree or disagree.

Overall, since I love Smarties, I really liked these little candies. Although, I’d probably much rather buy a pack of Smarties instead of searching around for these. Cute idea, though.

Has anyone ever seen or tried this candy? Have you ever used them in place of game pieces you may have lost? How did that work out for you?

Buy Game Night Candy Online:

• at Candy Warehouse

I don’t know what it is with me this spring – first I reviewed Barbie chocolates, and now I’m chowing down with Disney. Courtesy of the All Candy Expo stash, I got to try these whimsical little chocolates before they hit the market.

As it turns out, you get a three-tiered Disney bonanza with these babies.

Flavor: These are surprisingly good milk chocolates. They reminded me of Hershey’s Kisses. The chocolates are a little bit on the sweet side but follow through with a nice solid chocolate flavor with no weird coconut flavor or odd aftertaste. The texture isn’t as creamy as a Kiss; it’s a little more chewy. I was surprised at how satisfying these were – one package was plenty.

Packaging: Leave it to Disney to have decent marketing! These cute babies come in Disney-themed wrappers, with images to appeal to both girls and boys. My wrappers had Disney Princesses on one and a car from Pixar’s Cars on the other. But wait! There’s more! The chocolates themselves were shaped like Disney Princesses and, you guessed it, Cars. I’m so sorry to tell you that I totally fell for it – eating the really cute chocolates somehow makes them more fun.

Calorie Control: For those parents monitoring their kids’ sugar intake, or for those of us monitoring our own sugar intake, these little packs are very convenient.

Overall, I think these will be a hit with big kids and little kids alike. You get plenty of flavor, plenty of whimsy, and a limit on your sugar guilt, all wrapped up with a nice Disney bow.

• Disney Website
• Hershey’s Website

I’m back for Part V of my jelly bean adventure. For some reason Brach’s calls their jelly beans “Classic Jelly Bird Eggs,” but to me they are jelly beans!

When I think of the jelly beans I ate as a kid, the Brach’s jelly beans are what I remember. In terms of flavor, these jelly beans are similar to the Necco jelly beans I reviewed a while back. If you’re looking for super sweet, chewy jelly beans, look no further. Don’t expect any tartness or realistic flavors – these jelly beans are all about the sugar. They’re artificially flavored, sugary goodness in all its glory.

Color: Black, Flavor: Black Licorice – I’ve noticed that they’ve taken the black licorice flavor out of a lot of the modern bags of jelly beans. In fact, of the six bags I’ve reviewed so far for this series, this is the first time I’ve found the flavor. As a kid, the black licorice jelly beans would tend to be ignored by everyone – except me. So I’m delighted to report that black licorice jelly beans still exist and you can find them here in the Brach’s mix. Actually, I found out that Brach’s makes whole bags of just the black licorice flavor – great news for those of us who are black licorice addicts. Expect a really strong black licorice flavor from these jelly beans – yum!

Color: Red, Flavor: Cherry – Did you ever have to take liquid cherry penicillin as a kid? I’m so sorry to tell you that’s what this cherry jelly bean flavor reminded me of. It’s not bitter like the penicillin, but something about the artificial cherry taste sent me right to icky medicine flashbacks. But if you never endured childhood cherry penicillin, the artificial cherry taste should be trauma-free for you.

Color: Yellow, Flavor: Lemon – There’s something a bit wonky with the lemon flavor in this jelly bean. Even with all the sugar, there seemed to be a hint of bitterness to it. Still, if super sugary lemon brightens you day, this is the jelly bean for you.

Color: Pink, Flavor: Strawberry? – Ok, I think the pink jelly beans are supposed to be strawberry but then again maybe they’re cotton candy. The flavor I got was sweet with some kind of faint fruit flavor, so I’m leaning toward strawberry as the flavor. But basically, the sweetness overwhelmed the flavor in the pinks.

Color: Purple, Flavor: Grape – The grape flavor reminded me of grape Kool Aid! Eating the grape jelly beans actually made me smile – it had me harkening back to being a kid in the summer, drinking grape Kool Aid, and eating those sugary grape Popsicles. Needless to say, I really enjoyed these!

Color: Green, Flavor: Lime – Like the lemon, the lime jelly beans have a wee hint of bitterness to them. However, I liked the lime a lot more than the lemon. The flavor had a better balance with the sweetness.

Color: White, Flavor: Pineapple? Coconut? – I’m guessing again, but I think the white flavor is supposed to be pineapple. I remember debating this with my siblings when we were kids and we never really reached a consensus. The white color made me think that maybe it was coconut but there’s a weird tang that makes me think this is supposed to be pineapple. In any event, this is the most unusual flavor in the bag.

Color: Orange, Flavor: Orange – As super sugary orange flavors go, this is pretty good. It didn’t taste as artificial as some of the other flavors and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

So, basically if you want to feed your sugar jones, you might want to check out these jelly beans, er, “jelly bird eggs.” As a bonus, the classic flavors might take you on a nice, nostalgic trip down memory lane.

• Brach’s Website

Buy Brach’s Jelly Bird Eggs Online:

• Amazon.com
• Candy Crate

I come to you today with a Barbie bonanza.

You may notice that our first Barbie is of the non-edible variety. I have a sneaking suspicion that there are some Candy Addicts lurking over at Mattel because why else would they come up with a Hershey’s-chocolate-inspired Barbie? The official explanation on Barbie’s box says: “For well over a century, Hershey’s has been the chocolate of choice! Now Barbie doll celebrates the sweet story of Hershey’s excellence.” But I’m sticking to my theory that there are a bunch of chocoholics hanging about at Mattel. Which, by the way, just makes me think that must be a cool place to work even more than I already did.

The Hershey’s Barbie Doll is part of the American Favorites collection. I can see the Hershey’s inspiration in the color and shape of the dress as well as the cute Hershey’s sash – they remind me of a Hershey’s Kiss. For a Barbie collector or a candy memorabilia collector, this doll is a treat!

Now, over in the edible section, we have Dylan’s Candy Bar’s Then & Now Chocolate Square Pack of Barbie milk chocolate squares. The squares feature pictures of different Barbies throughout the years and I gotta tell you some of these Barbies are a hoot. The 1986 Barbie picture had me howling and wincing at the same time. Not that I’m admitting to wearing eye shadow like that – ahem.

Besides being fun to look at, the Dylan’s Barbie chocolates are quite tasty. They’ve got a good chocolate flavor in the same quality ballpark as Cadbury or Dove. However, I found the texture a bit perplexing. It wasn’t bad, it was just a bit weird. The chocolates are kind of chewy and, instead of dissolving quickly in my mouth, they kind of took their time. Since they taste good, it wasn’t a problem for me but I found the slight chewiness a bit disconcerting.

If you like Barbie-themed candies, Dylan’s has an array to choose from – the website gave me the giggles and some great ideas for presents for my niece.

Overall, it’s a good month for Candy Addicts with a Barbie fetish!

• Hershey’s Barbie Website

• Dylan’s Candy Bar Website