Candy Review: Terri Lynn Chocolate Praline Pecans

Friday, July 17, 2009 - by Laurie

Unlike a few members of the Candy Addict staff, the area where I live is pretty much a pecan-free zone. Of all the mainstream candies in my area, only Turtles (and their knockoffs) make use of my second-favorite nut, which is a crying shame, since I do live in the heart of maple syrup country – and what’s the point of maple syrup if you can’t match it with it’s natural partner, pecan? (My favorite nut, if you were wondering, is the cashew – and don’t even get me STARTED on the lack of cashew candies on the market.)

So I take my pralines where I can get them. In this case, that meant picking up a free sample bag of Terri Lynn Chocolate Praline Pecans at the All Candy Expo.

Pictured on the package, they don’t look very pretty – odd bumpy objects with inconsistent-looking chocolate coverage. Inside, though, the actual pecans are, minus a few inconsistent spots, as smooth as a baby’s behind. (Hey, don’t most companies do that the other way around?) These things are also HUGE – I was expecting something resembling a chocolate almond, but these look more like largish pebbles.

I’m not sure if this is a retail-sized bag or a sample size made specially for the Expo, but my bag had only four pieces, making the bag less than half full. (That’s the entire contents of the bag in the photo, plus a quarter for scale. And yes, Canadian quarters are the same size as American ones.)

The bag says “jumbo halves,” and definitely delivers – under the chocolate layer, those are entire pecan halves in there. Because they’re so big, you really have to eat them in a few bites. Due to the amount of pecan in these, they have a great crunch, with just a slight sugary crispness from the toffee layer.

The layer of chocolate doesn’t seem overwhelmingly thick compared to the amount of pecan, but on the more thickly-coated ones, its sweetness really muffles the delicate flavors of the pecans and toffee, making them practically indiscernible. These could really do with a thicker layer of toffee – right now, it’s contributing only texture, and not even very much of that. I think I’m getting a bit of artificial butter flavor, which a lot of people dislike, but I don’t mind.

The pecans in this candy definitely deliver. But the chocolate and praline elements, not so much. Since I’m not a milk chocolate person, I could have done with a little less of that almost cloyingly sweet milk chocolate and a little more toffee. I guess if I want to enjoy the flavor of praline pecans, I’m going to have to make ‘em myself.

• Terri Lynn Website