Candy Clothing: The Ultimate Footwear for a Candy Addict

Xhilaration Candy Shoes

One of the first things I do upon meeting someone new is to check out their shoes. Although this probably makes me shallow and superficial, you really can learn a lot of helpful shallow and superficial information about someone by glancing at their footwear. Obviously, I go through life assuming that people will likewise judge me by my shoes. And knowing this, you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this pair of adorable, candy-themed canvas flats.

Were I to meet someone while strolling about in these shoes, I’d hope that they’d deduce the following facts about me. First, they would see that I am the type of person who chooses footwear based on its ability to allow me to run from predators. They may then note the playful color scheme or the adorable Mary Jane styling of the shoe and then decide that I’m a girl who appreciates a cute, versatile pair of shoes. But most importantly, they would see the playful lollipops and wrapped candy and be certain to realize that I love the sweet stuff. This may cause them to produce from purse, pocket or fanny pack the appropriate sweets that would therefore buy my love or friendship. Genius plan, no?

You can find the Xhilaration® Suzi Mary Jane Skimmers online at Amazon.com and as of now, they’re already being offered at a discount. No excuses, candy-loving ladies (and gentlemen with dainty feet)!

Retro Candy Flashback: Bit-O-Honey

Bit-O-Honey Bag

In my day, I was an avid trick-or-treater. Straight through high school, pillowcases served as bags; loot was measured in pounds; and Snickers, Milky Ways, and Starbursts were blissfully consumed for months. Until that inevitable dark day, that is, when I would go to my closet after school, reach deep into my dwindling stash, and come up with a handful of Tootsie Rolls, Dum-Dums, and that curse of a confection, the bane of my Halloween-loving existence, Bit-O-Honeys. Bit-O-Honeys were the one candy that I disliked so much I would not eat them even in these desperate times and they were utterly un-tradeable. Who, my young mind wondered, likes these things? And what on earth are they?

Well Jerry Seinfeld, it turns out, is a big fan. They’re his fave. And if that’s not reason for further investigation now that I’m older and wiser and further removed from the anger, then I certainly don’t know what is. And so, finally, I sought some answers.

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Candy Review: Sour Patch Kids

Sour Patch Kids Bag

I am a creature of habit. There are certain things I have to have when I go certain places. At baseball games, I have to get a giant pretzel. At family parties, I have to have my sister’s chocolate chip cookies. At the shore, I have to grab a box of salt water taffy. And at the movies, it is absolutely imperative that I get my hands on a bag of Sour Patch Kids.

As weird as this sounds, I am not a gummy person. I hate gummi bears. Gummy worms give me the creeps. Gumdrops are on my (very short) DO. NOT. WANT. candy list. Yet despite all this, I love Sour Patch Kids with the fire of a thousand Atomic Fireballs.

Sour Patch Kids are small gummy treats that come in various fruit flavors, including cherry, orange, lemon, and lime. Each Sour Patch Kid is about the size of a regular gummy bear. Tiny granules of sour sugar coat each gummy Kid, giving them a grainy texture and a knockout sour punch.

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Candy Review: Annabelle’s Rocky Road Double Dipped Bits

Annabelle’s Rocky Road Double Dipped Bits Package

Like a true Candy Addict, when I hear the word “Rocky Road” my mind doesn’t jump to ice cream, but instead lands on the candy bar of the same name. Rocky Road is a classic candy made by Annabelle Candy Company, who are the same makers of my beloved Big Hunk and also Abba Zaba. Rocky Road was Annabelle Candy’s first original candy bar, which debuted around 1950. It’s a big seller in its home state of California, where it remains one of the top 40 best selling candy bars.

What makes the Rocky Road so special? Well, it’s a unique combination of flavors to start. Take fresh marshmallow, then layer on some bits of roasted cashews before covering the whole thing in milk chocolate. A classic no matter how you look at it: original, simple and tasty. Over the years Rocky Road has tried on new flavors. Today you can find a Dark Chocolate and Mint variety. This newest version is called “Double Dipped Bits” and they are basically smaller sized Rocky Road bars in movie theater sized boxes.

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Candy Recipe: Chocolate Covered Caramelized Matza Crunch

Chocolate Covered Carmelized Matzah Crunch

(photo from davidlebovitz.com)

Even if you are not Jewish, you must RUN to your nearest place-where-there-are-Jews and buy a box of matzah. You must then RUN home and make a giant batch of this stuff. Seriously. Trust me – it’s THAT good.

When pastry chef David Lebovitz posted this recipe several months ago, I bookmarked it out of loyalty to a fellow Jew-slash-chef. Anyone brave enough to claim that this was the stuff of legend, AND be baking it a full four months early, had to be on to something, right? The recipe then got lost in a sea of bookmarks, until such time as another food blogger posted her version of this and reminded me of its existence. I will freely admit that I cut and pasted the recipe that very second and abandoned my computer to go and make some.

By the end of the day, I had endured several burnt fingertips and was surrounded by a sea of chocolate-smeared napkins. Not because I am a particularly messy pastry chef, but because I am an impatient so-and-so whose nose and eyes could no longer handle the absolutely heavenly caramel smell and the shiny molten chocolate layer on top. I ate rather more of it than I originally intended, AND I ate it before it was technically ready to eat, hence the scorched skin. Luckily for me and my Seder guests, the recipe yields enough that I had some to serve on both nights and even a few scraps to give the kids in the days after.

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