There is a special place in my heart (and digestive system) for marshmallows. I have always loved marshmallows and was the one kid out of 100 who actually liked Marshmallow Peeps. I even like to make my own marshmallows on occasion. So, I was thrilled to receive some gourmet, handmade marshmallows from Plush Puffs to review. Even better, Plush Puffs was kind enough to send me their newest flavor: Simply S’mores.
Plush Puffs come beautifully packaged, as you can see, and the individual marshmallows are in perfect bite-sized cubes. The Simply S’mores marshmallows start with Plush Puffs’ basic vanilla bean marshmallow, then are coated in cocoa powder and topped with some little chocolate nibs. Oh, and there are little bits of graham cracker inside the marshmallows! I have to say that while these don’t really taste like actual s’mores, they are a delicious standalone puff.
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I thought I’d try something different with this review… consider it a kind of “stream of consciousness” review. I’m going to write what comes to mind as I try the Snickers Rockin’ Nut Road.
The new Rockin’ Nut Road Snickers wrapper promises “almonds, caramel and marshmallow-flavored nougat wrapped in dark chocolate” – sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Opening it, there really is no real aroma at all. Biting into it, I see that the nougat is snow white so not only does it taste like marshmallow, it looks like marshmallow too. The one thing that hits me, besides the marshmallow taste, is that it’s not overly sweet like a regular Snickers can be.
The Rockin’ Nut Road Snickers is very s’mores-ish tasting and the almond gives it a similar consistency that graham crackers would. The almond flavor isn’t very strong though – the most prevalent flavor is the marshmallow nougat. I don’t really taste the caramel at all, which is a shame because I really love caramel. The choice to go with dark chocolate was a wise move – Snickers milk chocolate would have made it too sweet.
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Generation Max is a new line of products by Mars just released this year to provide a healthier candy alternative to kids. “How healthy can candy be?” you wonder. It all comes down to portion control, fat/sugar percentages and added vitamins/minerals. For example, each Generation Max item has less than 150 calories and no trans fat. They also sport less than 35% of total calories from fat, 10% from saturated fat and 35% from sugar. These treats, which feature Mars candy names and items like M&Ms, Snickers and 3 Musketeers, are meant to be sold in vending machines in schools.
I’ve seen many candy bars in my day and the Generation Max 3 Musketeers S’mores Brownie Bar (try saying that three times fast) has the busiest packaging design I’ve seen yet. It’s a bright healthy yellow color with colored silhouettes of people running, jumping… being active and having fun. The 3 Musketeers logo takes second billing to the new “Generation MAX” logo that is the largest image on the whole bar. The catchphrase “Keeps you going!” is clearly written underneath, giving us the impression that this isn’t just good tasting candy, but fuel for our body and fun activities.
I’m first interested by the image of the bar on the front, showing a cross section of the bar, which looks like a 3 Musketeers in the top part, but with a layer of brownie and marshmallow underneath. Or perhaps they replaced the fluffy nougat with marshmallow? The illustration isn’t clear on which it is, but that’s what tasting is for, isn’t it?
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One of the many new products that were being displayed at the All Candy Expo was this new addition to the MARS family: Skittles Chocolate Mix. They were kind enough to give me a few samples and as I walked away from the booth I looked at the package with a strange sense of curiosity and confusion. I’m wondering how this all fits into “Tasting the Rainbow.” Is the new rainbow shades of brown?
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So nice they named it twice. That’s not the official word from Sweet Sweet Confections, but it should be! I was really eager to see what this company had to offer because they’re located in San Jose, California, just a stone’s throw (well, maybe a stone’s throw plus another stone’s trebuchet pull) from my home. It’s great to see a local company featured on Candy Addict, so I was hoping that Sweet Sweet Confections wouldn’t disappoint.
The Smores Bars are billed on the website as “Our signature graham crackers topped with a delicious marshmallow and hand dipped in luscious milk chocolate.” They don’t spare any expense in creating this treat. All the components are handmade, and it definitely tastes that way.
The graham cracker had this great, fresh-baked quality that I found wonderfully surprising. It’s not crisp like the store-bought ones; it’s fairly chewy, almost cookie-like in consistency. I found this strange at first, but then I realized how well this chewiness melded with the marshmallow. The milk chocolate coating had a nice snap when I bit into it which really complemented the softness of the cracker and the marshmallow.
What really impressed me, however, was the ingredients list on the back of the package. For example, here’s what their marshmallows are made of:
Sugar, water, gelatin, vanilla extract, salt.
That’s it. How can something so simple turn out so wonderful? I guess it goes back to the simple pleasure of a S’more itself: chocolate, graham cracker, marshmallow. Easy to pack, easy to make, extremely easy to eat. Maybe the simple things are the best after all. And I didn’t even miss the melted gooeyness that’s usually one of the highlights of eating S’mores fresh from an open fire.
Smores Bars are a neat gourmet take on a campfire classic, and if you’re a fan of the real thing, you really should give these offerings a try. My only qualm with these is the packaging. Alas, they only come three to a bag, and those three left me wanting so much s’more.
Editor’s note: I received some of these too and they are indeed delicious. My favorite part is that they aren’t too sweet. The chocolate doesn’t overpower the marshmallow or graham cracker and the resulting combination is close to perfect.
chocolate, gourmet, marshmallow, smores
