I love Christmas. I am a fool for all things holiday. I celebrate September, October, and November 25th as 3 months, 2 months, and 1 month until Christmas, respectively. The tree goes up and the carols come out as soon as the turkey is finished, and December 26th is the darkest day of my year.

To reiterate, I love Christmas. And, have no doubt, that all-encompassing amour most certainly extends to holiday candy, be it candy canes and red and green M&M’s or gourmet assortments with appropriately hued ribbons. So I was Deck-the-Halls, All-I-Want-For-Christmas-Is-You happy to get into the spirit of things a little early this year, in order to preview and review Divine Chocolate’s holiday line of treats for 2008. As I did for my review of their standard products, I again enlisted my chocolate-covered-Christmas loving pals for opinions, and here’s our take on their seasonal goods:

Read More »

Share This

(Image Courtesy of Its Candy Bouquet)
Back in June, in my Top 10 NEW Candy Holidays list, I proposed bringing some additional sweetness to National Candy Month with the introduction of Candy Ramadan – a high holy month for Candy Addicts. Little did I expect that my words would become Gospel (how’s that for further religious bastardization?) for one reader (and self-described “depraved candy slut”), who embarked on a 30-day “religious candy pilgrimage” towards her 30th birthday, making “daily candy offerings” (read: eating candy every day) and humorously detailing it in her blog.

Her amusing posts are basically mini reviews covering candies that span 5 continents (from the regional American Big Cherry to a Japanese candy lacking an English translation) and more than a handful of decades (the classic Cow Tales to the brand spankin’ new Premium M&M’s). Her just-finished month-long journey, marked with delightfully keen descriptions and patented phrases like “violent pink,” “fruit-abetically,” and “like a kid in a porn store,” is a big FU to the dental industry and food pyramid alike and a definite must-read for Candy Addicts. So go check it out, wish her a “Happy Birthday,” make a donation to the Reese’s Piece Corps’ Operation: Af-Candy-Stan (for real!), then click below to read my interview with this disciple.

• Candy Ramadan: Days 1 - 11
• Candy Ramadan: Days 12 - 30

Read More »

Share This

(Image Courtesy of Speak Up Designs)

Don’t get me wrong, I love to eat candy any ole time, but isn’t there just something more fun and exciting about holiday-centric candy? The packages. The seasonality. The memories. The novelty. (Who cares that Peeps have now become our year-round companion? It’s Easter! They’re yellow! Dive in!) And, for that matter, aren’t candy-centric holidays just way better than all others? Don’t bother to answer, you know it’s true.

Sadly, however, our calendar is wildly unbalanced when it comes to candy holidays. Sure, Halloween through Easter is an endless sugarfest, but what of March (or April) through October? Nada. Nothing. With the exception of a possible Mothers Day chocolate box, it is entirely diabetic friendly. Well no longer! Here at Candy Addict we are rewriting the calendar (or at least reassigning the cause for celebration), in order to remedy this candy holiday wasteland. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you, in chronological order… the Top 10 NEW Candy Holidays:

Read More »

Share This

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… especially if you’re a fan of candy canes!

Each passing year seems to bring more and more variety to the candy cane aisle, and 2007 is no exception. This year’s crop of canes covers every flavor from watermelon to popcorn, and with so many choices, it’s hard to pick just one box.

Fortunately, I write about candy, so this wasn’t a problem for me. I walked in to my local drugstore, picked up seven boxes, and merrily went along my way. So now, after a week of eating more candy canes than I care to admit, I’m finally ready to bring you my Candy Cane Roundup of 2007!

Read More »

Share This

I’m dreaming of a white…Tootsie Roll? Whether your head hit the pillow and filled with thoughts of albino candy or not, 14oz bags of Vanilla Flavored Midgees are here for the holidays.

I’m a huge fan of Tootsie Roll products (love the Tootsie Roll Mini Chews) and I was worried that the Vanilla Midgees would disappoint me like the Inside Out Junior Mints did. This time, a variation on the original is a good thing. The candy has a very strong vanilla scent, almost like sniffing a bottle of pure vanilla extract, and the flavor matches the strong aroma. No vanilla is listed in the ingredients, so the taste is artificial, but it’s novel artificial, like a fiberoptic Christmas tree.

The vanilla Midgees are slightly larger than original Midgees, and left a little bit of a sticky, waxy, greasy feel on my fingers. The pleasant aftertaste was welcome, but the slightly waxy feeling in my mouth was not. Complaints noted, the candy really is tasty, and the vanilla Midgees are a nice complement to any holiday candy bowl. Plus, the package is festive but not holiday specific—it’s blue and white with snowflakes, and the individual candies are wrapped in blue and white and say Limited Edition.

I didn’t find any information about the holiday vanilla Midgees on the Tootsie website, but I did learn of Tootsie Fruit Rolls, which include the vanilla candy in their mix. The Tootsie site says the Tootsie Fruit Rolls come in 5 flavors: cherry, lemon, orange, vanilla, and lime. If you decide you really like the Vanilla Tootsie Rolls, check out this Vanilla Tootsie Roll Candy Wreath. Talk about festive!

Buy Tootsie Roll Holiday Edition Vanilla Flavored Midgees online:

• at Candy Crate
• at Candy Direct

Share This

One of the few things I have a terrible time resisting is a new experience, especially when it comes to candy. I came across the Holiday Creme Savers at the grocery store this week and saw that “Pumpkin Pie” was listed as a flavor (a vice of mine)! Well before I knew it, the package found its way into my cart.

The packaging is very festive and beautiful, it caught my eye right away. A beautiful red shimmery base with green and gold accents. The three holiday flavors are clearly displayed on the front: Gingerbread, Eggnog and Pumpkin Pie. Considering I’m a huge fan of pumpkin flavors and gingerbread (I could give or take Eggnog) I knew I was in for something yummy.

Upon opening the package I immediately noticed an uneven ratio of the three flavors. The inside contained roughly 60% gingerbread, 30% eggnog and 10% pumpkin pie. I understand how distribution is never completely even, but I was hoping for more of the pumpkin pie flavor. A shame!

Here’s how the flavors rate:

Gingerbread: comes in a red wrapper with a gold gingerbread man on it. The candy itself is the standard smooth semi-circle shape, with a creamy white base with brown swirls. It really tastes of a gingerbread cookie! It’s pleasantly sweet without overdoing it. It has a nice slow melt and creamy texture just like all its relatives in the Creme Saver family. I’m now very glad that a majority of the bag is this flavor, yum!

Eggnog: Comes in a golden wrapper with red mug design on it. The appeareance is similar to the gingerbread, except the swirls are a nice golden yellow. It’s sweet with a very strong buttery rum flavor. Actually, let me rephrase that, it’s a very strong rum flavor with a sweet, sort of chemical aftertaste. There’s also a hint of nutmeg in the aftertaste as well, but it’s very subtle. You’ll really enjoy this one if you’re an eggnog lover, but I could take it or leave it.

Pumpkin Pie: The one I was looking forward to! The wrapper is green with a golden slice of pie on it. The candy has a beige base with dark orange swirls. The flavor is……strange. It didn’t taste of pumpkin pie at all when I popped it into my mouth, nor by the time I finished it. It tastes sweet, with some odd hint of a floral essence, then finally a peppery/clove/nutmeg aftertaste. I felt like I was sucking on a holiday potpourri. Most disappointing.

Overall, I think the Holiday flavors are worth buying. The Gingerbread and Eggnog flavors are pretty tasty, it’s just the pumpkin pie that really lacks. These would look beautiful in the candy bowl at work or a party. Just don’t wonder why only the green ones (yet again, right?) are leftover.

• Creme Savers Website

Buy Holiday Creme Savers Online:

• at Candy Direct
• Buy other flavors of Creme Savers at Amazon

More candy articles about: candy, sweets, holiday, festive, lifesavers, pumpkin, egg nog, gingerbread

Share This