Seasonal Christmas Candy Round Two

I was pleased to find a few non-peppermint Seasonal Christmas candies over the big shopping weekend.  A couple that did not make the purchasing cut include:  Sour Patch Kids in only green and red (very creative, they just omitted two flavors) and Swedish Fish in red and green (again, not too creative).

An exciting find came in the form of Mike and Ikes, their Holiday Medley includes two original flavors (cherry and lime) AND a new holiday punch flavor (in dark green).  The punch flavor has a bit of a raspberry thing going on, it isn't offensive but it certainly doesn't hold up in comparison to Starburst's tropical punch (against which I judge all punch flavoring, just thinking about them makes my mouth water).   Overall, I am happy with this new addition and I appreciate the introduction of the new flavor.

It's not often, if ever, that I crave a Sugar Baby but this holiday version caught my eye and I willingly made the purchase.  The colored candy coating is incredibly dull so the candy looks like it could have been sitting around in the back of a Benjamin Franklin store since 1980 something.  Considering the size of a Sugar Baby the colored coating is also fairly thick which is distracting.  It almost adds a crunch to the expected crystallized sugar chew.  Sugar Babies aren't the best candy on the market, dressing them up in different colors doesn't help their cause.

Seasonal Candy - Christmas style

If you are like most folks, when you think of Christmas candy you probably think of red and white stripped peppermint candy canes.  While you can now find candy canes in a vast array of flavors, it turns out that peppermint continues to be the go to flavoring for several variations of specialty Christmas candy.  Here are a few seasonal candy reviews, I hope to share more since it isn't even Thanksgiving yet!

I'm a fan of the 'Pop Drops' that Tootsie has created, the peppermint isn't my favorite however, it is tastier than a boring old peppermint.  It's what you would expect, a mint hard candy that tastes like a candy cane with a tiny tootsie roll inside.  They have been making candy cane tootsie pops for a while and these Pop Drops are a milder approach if you just want a bit of peppermint.

Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch are not a particularly appealing candy.  They used such a small amount of 'crunch' that it actually looks like sad misplaced sprinkles.  There is no benefit from having the 'crunchy' sprinkles, they don't really make them crunchy like a Nestle's Crunch and quite frankly, the original Junior Mints are far superior to these sad crunchlettes.

When I was younger I used to go to a near by gas station to purchase Royals, which were basically mint M&Ms in green and brown with little crowns printed on them.  Years after Royals were discontinued, I was thrilled to find mint M&Ms at Christmas, not quite the same as Royals but close enough.  For the past two years I have not been able to find these seasonal treats, so I was quite excited to see them again this year.  Unfortunately, it seems M&Ms has inflated these mint M&Ms to be the size of their limited edition 'Jumbo' M&Ms.  I am likely jaded by my desire for the original Royals, but these pumped up mint M&Ms are not as delicious as previous years.  The flavor is ok but it seems that in this case, size does matter. 

I have to give it to DOTS, they have been cranking out quite a few seasonal varieties lately including three Halloween inspired versions: blood orange, ghost (their original flavors all 'hiding' in the same greenish translucent color) and candy corn.  These Christmas DOTS are ok, I wouldn't pick them over the original version though.  The white vanilla tops take away from the cherry and lime too much and it is somewhat like eating a chewy cherry or lime flavored marshmallow.

Year two of Dove's Peppermint Bark pieces won me over.  Last year I couldn't bring myself to purchase them as they had Martha Stewart sayings in place of the traditional 'promises.'  They have one layer of dark chocolate and one layer of white chocolate with peppermint pieces.  The peppermint is not particularly strong and I think they would be far better without the white chocolate, but then again, I'm not really a fan of white 'chocolate.'

The humming bird goes shopping

Imagine Elmer Fudd has a cold and is speaking in super slow motion.  Now, make that voice come from a kid in a stoller who is in ‘name that item’ mode.  Finally, place him in the same antique store that I chose to wander on Sunday.  He and his dad were always sure to be no more than one booth away from me (this place wasn't crowded).  Young Elmer was particularly fond of fans and tractors.  Derrhhhhhhhhhhs a twaaaacktooooooorre (there’s a tractor).  Oh so entertaining, at times annoying – mostly when the dad decided he needed to push the kid in the stroller into the booth I was in that had no more than 3 feet to stand in.  But for the most part it was funny to hear him say words in his wacky gravely voice.

The best find at the antiques mall? Hands down, the glass serving plates in a category I’d never heard of, Garden Party.  Yes, that’s right, there was a time in life when there were plates specific to hosting a meal in your garden.  They were small, crystal rectangles with a partition for your food and for your coffee or tea cup.  But what really sealed this as the best find was the built in ashtray.  Yes, that’s right, this beautiful set of crystal garden party plates included a place to put your cigarette butt during a time when everyone smoked after a meal.  There is something I love about It, and something so incredibly wrong about it, that I can’t even imagine the world that these come from.

Of course my real reason for going to the antiques mall was to scout out candy dishes and cake plates.  I determined that for about $500 I could purchase a really good collection of display pieces for my store.  I also reminded myself that I have expensive and impeccable taste when I found myself drooling over an absolutely fabulous square cake stand from at least 15 feet away.  The price on this beauty? Oh you know, just $99.  I’m thinking that purchase will be made in celebration of making a profit.

It’s been two weeks since I last baked or stirred some sugar.  Thankfully, the first Barker Baking Fest is scheduled for this upcoming Saturday.  One of my two ‘new’ college friends, Amy Barker, is coming into town to bake with me.  We’re hoping to knock out some Christmas cookies that can be frozen, how’s that for planning?  The best part, I’m thinking with this kind of preparation I could actually make one or two gingerbread houses.  Ohhhhhh Snap!  I’m pretty certain that I have sugar in my veins.

Only 363 days until Halloween!

Ahhhh, Halloween.  You truly are the best.  A holiday dedicated to candy, what more can I ask for?  Yesterday I overheard several adults having conversations about candy, one talking about having spent $70 on candy and only having 10 pieces left, another talking about his love/hate relationship with Butterfingers. 

To celebrate this glorious holiday I invited several friends (and their families) over to treat themselves to a Halloween sweets bar.  Catering sweets tables is my first step toward opening a confectionery so the event was also a marketing scheme.  I made several sweets: black bottom pumpkin cupcakes with chocolate chip cheesecake filling, butter crunch toffee (plain, chocolate coated and chocolate/peanut coated), spicy oatmeal crisps, 'crack' mix (praline pecans and oat squares, dried apricots and chocolate chips), brownie bites drenched in dark chocolate ganache and of course, grey salt caramels.  Over 50 guests enjoyed selecting their favorites and filling up their treat bag over a cup of caramel apple cider.  The photos below give you a feel for the oh so sugary event.