Now that the holidays (and all associated sweet eating) are over, I’m looking once again at the 100 Calorie Bars from The Hershey Company. If you missed the first two installments in this four-part series, you can still check out my reviews of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Wafer Bar and the Hershey’s Crisp Wafer Bar.
For those who are dieting (or pretending to diet), Hershey’s has a line of at least six different bars to satisfy the sweet craving without ruining the waistline. Five of the varieties are listed on the Hershey website – the four I’m reviewing here along with a small-sized 100 calorie version of Hershey Special Dark. I saw an advertisement recently for the newest member of the line – a small, 100 calorie Snickers. It just keeps getting better!
Hershey’s 100 Calorie Pretzel Bar
When I first saw this particular variety of 100 Calorie Bar, I asked myself, “Is that really candy? Or is it a snack?” A pretzel, after all, is undeniably a snack. Does the addition of chocolate automatically render it a candy instead of a snack? Or does it remain a snack at its core? Obviously, the pretzel remains the core with the chocolate being the outer shell… so pretzel at core = snack at core?
It’s like the age old question, “Why are there ten hot dogs in a package but only eight hot dog buns?” Like the transcendentalist, my questions had no answers. So I slipped away into the woods and ate my candy… I mean, my snack… oh, I don’t know!
The package contains two rectangular pretzels about 2″ x 1″ in size. Each is coated heavily in chocolate. I could barely see the “dimples” that showed the spaces of the pretzel’s “waffles.” The bottom side is basically flat with its own funny diamond design – like it was set on a tiny wire grate to dry.
Enough of how it looks! How does it taste?
I hate to say it, but I really didn’t like the first one that I ate. The chocolate is a bit too heavy, in my opinion, for a chocolate-covered pretzel. The pretzel itself had basically no flavor. Just a dry, tasteless crunch inside a thick piece of chocolate.
Let me ask you a question: how do you eat a Hershey’s Kiss? Do you pop it in your mouth and chew it up? I suck mine until the chocolate melts completely. Not only does this make it last longer, it prevents what I consider the yuckified sensation of chewing a hunk of chocolate. Well, the 100 Calorie Pretzel Bar reminded me of chewing up a completely nonmelty Hershey’s Kiss.
To give them a fair chance, I’ve eaten a few more since that first unpleasant experience. I still can’t say that I actually like these Pretzel Bars, but some bites are okay. When I come across the rare bit of salt on one of the pretzels, the sweet and salty combo is quite tasty. If the entire bar could taste like that, I would be happy with them.
The most salt I have found on any single Pretzel Bar is two little pieces. I’m no salt fiend, but to maximize the sweet/salty appeal and redeem these little guys, Hershey needs to triple the salt on the pretzels. Otherwise, I’m just eating a hunk of chocolate with hard, tasteless bread inside… and that doesn’t appeal to me.
Up Next:
Buy Hershey’s 100 Calorie Pretzel Bar Online:
- at Amazon.com
Good to know to avoid this one… I think I’ll just stick with Pocky when I want that chocolate pretzel snack.
January 16th, 2009 at 5:45 pmWell phooey! I would have hoped for a better review and an option for lower calorie snacking.
January 17th, 2009 at 4:54 pm