I’m just a HUGE chocolate and mint addict. I’m always on the lookout for something new that deals with chocolate mint and I will always try any candy that has that yummy combination no matter what. This time I found these Dark Chocolate (63% cocoa) Thin Mints from Haviland which is a sub-brand of Necco I found at my local CVS.
When you think about it, the malted milk ball is an unlikely candy. There are so many flavors in the world which simply cry out to be made into chews or suckers, or to be dipped in chocolate for the happiness of sweet-tooths everywhere. Fruit, vanilla, coffee, caramel… even unmalted, sweetened milk and its richer cousin, cream are obvious contenders. The powdered mixture of milk, wheat and malted barley, originally marketed as late-nineteenth-century baby food, would seem less so.
Yet when I first tried malted milk balls so many years ago at a nearby bulk candy shop, I didn’t find anything strange about them, or think too much about what “malted milk” actually was. I just knew they were darned tasty. That’s probably why the chocolate-coated nuggets have remained popular, despite their unusual basis, for the better part of century.
The most popular name brands of malt balls are Hershey’s Whoppers in the U.S., and Mars, Inc.’s Maltesers in the U.K. I’d always assumed these to be the only brand name representatives of Maltball-kind. On a recent expedition which took me deep into the heart of the CVS candy aisle, though, I discovered a third competitor. An extra-large milk carton of a container bearing the name “Mighty Malts” stared me down from the very top shelf, where – as we know – all the best candies still waiting for their moments in the spotlight are kept.
To me, jelly beans are fun. There’s just something about them that speaks to the kid in me and makes me want to hop and play. I don’t know if it’s the bright colors, the fun shape, or the fact that I can peg my siblings in the head with them. Or all of the above. I just know I want to share the fun. Thus begins my spring hunt for jelly bean goodness.
Valentine’s Day is still a good month away, but that does not mean Valentine’s Day candy is in any short supply. You’ve probably noticed that your local supermarkets and drugstores redesign their candy aisles the day after Christmas (seriously, it was snowmen and Santas one day and hearts the next).
A staple of the holiday is the famous (infamous to some) conversation heart created by Necco. These are those tiny Necco wafers shaped into hearts with small phrases written on each piece.
As they do every year, Necco has changed up the phrases. This year’s collection is culinary-themed. They include: “Recipe 4 Love, Table 4 Two, Stir My Heart, Top Chef, Sugar Pie, My Treat, Yum Yum, Honey Bun and Spice It Up.†My personal favorite of the bunch is Top Chef, but I suppose classics like “I luv U†never die out.
Buy Necco Conversation Hearts Online:
- at Candy Crate
- at Candy Direct
- at Amazon.com
Mary Janes are one of those candies I heard about growing up, but never ate. They were, like most Necco products, something that I saw in stores, but never gave much thought to when it came to buying. I never watched any of my friends eat Mary Janes, and reasoned it was probably a candy better left to my imagination.
But after so many years of having Twix, KitKats, and other candy items I routinely buy at the store, I find myself bored. I still love me some Twix, but a guy needs to mix things up every now and then!
Whenever this feeling overtakes me, I head on over to the part of the candy aisle I usually neglect. Often, it’s full of candy from another generation, including Circus Peanuts, Wax Bottles, and Candy Buttons. On this trip, I snatched up a bag of Mary Janes.
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