If you’ve ever shopped for a new car or had to hang around a dealership while your mom or dad or granny or Uncle Ned argued with a car salesman with hair as slick as motor oil about the supposed need for rust proofing, then you’ve probably thumbed through a glossy automobile brochure or two. Maybe you wanted to check on your model’s options, or just pass the time. But I don’t care if it’s a Bentley or a Yugo, the brochure’s text and pictures always make it sound like this car will revolutionize the way you slice through the wind! Yeah, sure.

Recently I received a well-insulated box of 10 gourmet “Garden Ganache” chocolates from Kohler Original Recipe Chocolates for review. Aside from the bubble wrap, a press release about a nice mention in Oprah’s magazine, a CD ROM full of photos and a flavor guide, Kohler included a twenty-two page, 8 x 11 ultra-glossy candy brochure that made me think I was back in a new car showroom. I mean, the blurbs and full page photos had me wondering which delectable-looking candies came with leather upholstery. And of course, these treats were “acknowledged unparalleled” by early tasters, while Kohler “seeks to explore the limitless opportunity in taste and texture with natural raw materials.” Do they mean they try different ingredients… ?

So, yeah, these things look good in the brochure. But are they Bentleys, Yugos, or something in between?

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Back-to-school season is here once more. Yes, it’s the season for pencils, books, teachers’ dirty looks… and school lunches. Whether homemade or bought, lunch is the highlight of every student’s (and working adult’s) day, and keeping those lunches fresh, interesting and tasty can be a real challenge.

Fortunately, there’s an easy shortcut that many parents (and Candy Addicts) are already aware of: even the most boring of bologna sandwiches and pallid of PBJs can be made more exciting by adding a side of candy.

Not just any candy though, but a special lunchbox-sanctioned candy, packed into tiny single-serving pouches and transformed with a token amount of fruit juice into something viewed as a nutritionally acceptable complement to your carrot sticks and ham-and-cheese-on-white. A small source of candy joy in an otherwise boring day, for kids and adults alike. I’m talking, of course, about the fruit snack.

But not all fruit snacks are created equal, and that’s where we come in. Aided by my Assistant Taster (otherwise known as my sister Angela), I taste-tested four popular options to determine which brand will give you the most bang for your buck, considering such factors as nutrition, taste and fun. Will a store-brand snack stand up to pricier treats licensed with cartoon characters or jazzed up with gimmicks like liquid centers? And just how much fruit is actually in these things, anyway? Read on to find out.

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I tried out Sanders Milk Chocolate Caramels and loved them, so I had really high hopes for their dessert toppings. Sanders sent over two jars for sampling: Cinnamon Pear Caramel and Milk Chocolate Hot Fudge. I finally picked up some vanilla ice cream, and to keep the tasting simple, I didn’t add any other toppings. No nuts, no cherries, no sprinkles.

I tried out the Cinnamon Pear Caramel first, dipping a small spoon into the jar and drizzling the topping over my ice cream. Not being a professional, my attempt at drizzling wasn’t very neat, but it did show off how pourable the topping is. I was expecting a harder battle to get the stuff out of the jar. My first spoonful of ice cream and caramel tasted almost like pumpkin pie. I could definitely make out the cinnamon, but the pear flavor isn’t strong at all, just something subtly fruity and sweet underlying everything else. I really loved this on ice cream, and I’m glad I tried it out “plain” first.

Then I sampled the Milk Chocolate Hot Fudge topping on ice cream for dessert the next night. This time I made a hot fudge sundae, with crushed mixed nuts and cherries. Wow! I thought the Cinnamon Pear Caramel was good, but the hot fudge was fantastic. It’s easily the best hot fudge I’ve ever tasted, very chocolatey and smooth. Plus, the hot fudge is very versatile. I drizzled it over my blueberry muffin one morning for a new kind of treat. Sanders is apparently really famous in Michigan for their sundaes (as well as their candies), and now I know why. These dessert toppings are amazing, and at $3.59 per jar, they’re affordable too.

It might be a bit too cold for ice cream now, but spring is just around the corner, and if you’re looking for the perfect topping for your sundae, look no further than Sanders.

Editor’s note: I just tried the Sander’s Milk Chocolate Hot Fudge and it truly is delicious. It tastes like a melted candy bar – so rich and smooth. Highly recommended!

• Sanders website

Buy Sanders Dessert Toppings online:

• at Amazon.com

candy, sweets, chocolate, sanders, hot fudge, fudge, caramel, sundaes, ice cream, sundae

(click for more pics)

I used to live in Arizona, about 4 hours from Phoenix, when I was a kid. The only Arizona-specific food memory I have is drinking Sarsaparilla when visiting Tombstone (yeah, I know Sarsparilla isn’t a food, but that’s all I’ve got). I do remember the cacti though, and I don’t ever remember thinking I wanted to eat them. This all leads up to today’s review: Cactus Candy – made in Phoenix, Arizona.

Cactus Candy comes in four flavors: Prickly Pear, Pomegranate, Lemon, and Orange. Only The Prickly Pear flavor actually contains prickly pear cactus juice though.

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