A Sweet Start to Christmas

What am I thankful for this year? The abundance of new (and old) Seasonal Christmas candy! I'm thrilled to report that I have already run across several new sweets. A much needed boost after the lack of creativity and existence of new Halloween candy this year. Admittedly, I haven't tried many of these but I'm happy to share my finds and look forward to hearing your reviews should you pick up any of these new treats.

One of my favorite finds is the ginormous gift package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Weighing in at hefty half pound a piece, this novelty is almost too good to be true. I've often been irritated by companies that call their miniature candy bars 'Fun Size,' I don't think having a smaller version of a candy bar is all that fun. These crazy huge cups are much better qualified to own the name Fun Size. For a bit of comparison, the traditional Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is .75 ounces and their Big Cup is a measly 1.4 oz. The one pound gift can be found at Target for about $10 along side two additional novelty candies, chocolate Scrabble tiles and a huge Tootsie Roll (which isn't really made of chewy Tootsie Roll, it's just chocolate in the shape of a Tootsie Roll = lame).

Next up, Cinnamon M&M's. I held out on purchasing these since I haven't been a fan of the Cherry or Coconut flavored varieties. I may be alone in my distaste since they recently moved those limited editions into regular rotation. Cinnamon and chocolate is a popular combination and is often referred to as Mexican chocolate. I've only seen these M&M's at one Target (yes, I shop multiple Target locations hunting for different treats). This is a good opportunity to revisit Mint M&M's, you can catch up on my thoughts here.

A bit fancier, Toblerone has been one of my favorite special treats since a trip to Germany when I was 10. Their traditional variety is made of Swiss milk chocolate with bits of honey and almond nougat. The new limited edition Snowtop bar adds tips of white chocolate to the traditional milk chocolate bar. You can also find most of their products in special holiday packaging.

Of course, peppermint is a common flavor this time of year so it's no surprise to find Andes Peppermint Crunch. These three layer sweets are imprinted with a candy cane and contain bits of candy canes.  These are cute but I'll take their traditional Creme Menthe version (with chocolate) over this version any day. I have also seen a truffle version but missed the opportunity to take a picture and haven't been able to find them again.


In additional to Christmas sleeves of red, green and white gumballs, Rainblo has introduced Snowballs. Creative and cute these all white gumballs are even better because they are the original flavor instead of mint!

Also in the category of 'cute' are these Holiday Malts by Brach's. Perfect for a sweets table these malted milk balls are bright and cheery. Brach's recently changed the packaging of their regular lines and it is terrible, it gets lost in the sea of bright candy packaging and looks cheap. It's nice to see they didn't carry the packaging over to their holiday line.

The first new seasonal candy I ran across, the Skittles Holiday Mix is a disappointment. First off, call it what it is - a Christmas mix. Second, the flavor mix is the traditional line up replacing orange with wild cherry. Lime and grape are the same shade of green and the wild cherry and strawberry are the same shade of red. I missed the orange flavor in this otherwise traditional mix and was underwhelmed with the lack of differentiation of colors. Skittles has introduced so many varieties that this seems like a sleepy approach to what could have been a fun new mix. Even having more than three colors would be an improvement.

Hopefully there will be more seasonally inspired treats to come, in the mean time I'll be making candy and baking up a storm as I move even closer to the official launch of my confection business. You can see some of the sweet things I'm working on by liking The Sugar Kitchen on Facebook. Stay sweet!

Bye Bye Butterfly

It has been tough having pet caterpillars over the last month. I spent lots of time worrying about my friends Peanut and Butter, knowing they were late to the scene and that they needed to move quickly if they were going to survive. They were anything but quick in their entire transformation. In fact, they took so much longer than Yipes did, it was really like learning the process a new. The four pictures below are all of Butter, she packed in on 10.12 and emerged on 10.30, 8 days longer than expected. I was lucky enough to see her break out of her chrysalis and caught some video footage. 

  

Let's not forget about Peanut who amazed me when he packed in on 10.21 nine days after Butter. He emerged on 11.2 and was much more eager to leave. I spent several days trying to convince Butter to fly, she was not interested in leaving. Even after Peanut left on 11.4, Butter just stayed. I brought her in at night and began wondering if she might hibernate in my house. Finally, after sitting on the roof of her cage for several hours yesterday (11.6), she took off. I didn't get to see either of my friends on their maiden voyage but I am incredibly hopeful that they have headed South. My butterfly friends are gone for the year, time to think about planting for them to return in the Spring.

Peanut gearing up to take off

Peanut and Butter, being beautiful and reluctant to fly

Time For A Midnight Snack, If You Dare

Following the adage to accentuate the positive, I am sharing several fantastic Halloween candy items that I found at a Walgreens yesterday. A little late to be rolling out new holiday products but man, they are great! Perfectly creepy and gross, these last minute additions will make your little ghosts and goblins squeal with icky delight. They are made by 'It's Alive Diner' and are packaged as grab and go food. You know I'm a sucker for punny sweets so these really hit the seasonal candy mark.

Creepy Crawly Sandwich

Body Parts Sushi

Handburger with Finger Fries

 Eye Popping Pie

I Scream Sundae complete with partial finger

Who needs Halloween candy anyhow?

In the absence of new Halloween candy I have discovered two new candies worthy of review.

On the market since late this Summer, Mamba Gummies, available in both regular and sour varieties, are fantastic! Both the Sour and Regular boast real fruit juice flavorings represented in Banana, Orange, Raspberry, Pineapple, Watermelon and Cherry. The Raspberry is particularly delicious and the banana isn't even too objectionable although I would prefer lemon. The chew is great, on par with Haribo gummies, although the sour variety is a bit softer and more like a pectin candy. The shapes are funny if you can identify them and include sharks, birds and fruit characters. While the sour doesn't compare to a Sour Patch Kid they do deliver a pleasant tang and I wouldn't change a thing. The Sour version reminds me of one of my favorite college study snacks, Sour Gummy Bears. With so many positive attributes I wasn't surprised at all to learn that they are made in Germany. Hooray for the German Gummi makers!

Starburst has introduced a great new variety called Flavor Morph. Orange chews morph to Orange-Strawberry and Cherry morph to Cherry-Lime. Both flavors are delicious, I'd love to try a raspberry lemon or strawberry lemon version. I urge you to find and try these before you figure out how they work. In this case the less you know the better, it's way more fun to have a little sugar molecular gastronome experience. I promise this flavor changing sweet won't turn you into a giant blueberry ala Violet Beauregarde and the 3 Course Meal Gum. Spoiler alert - here's how they work. There are little flavor beads throughout each chew (they are visible). As you chew, the pockets of flavoring burst open, voila flavor morph. Although the fun factor of the flavor morph is lessened when you understand the basic magic, they are fantastic. Hooray for a creative new candy!

Skipping to my first new Christmas candy find, I'm looking forward to trying the Skittles Holiday Mix.  In shades of green and red, flavors include Cherry, Grape, Lemon, Lime and Strawberry (the traditional mix includes Orange not Strawberry). I didn't pick them up yet so stay tuned for a flavor review. Let's hope this is just the beginning of many new Christmas candies.         

Fall PB and J

A bit of news on the nature front. Much has changed since I first introduced you to Yipes the Monarch caterpillar. If you haven't met Yipes yet, get to know him here before reading the rest of this post.

And now, the continuation of Yipes' arrival...

09.14 Starting to see Yipes' wings

09.15 Yipes' colors are showing

After much anticipation, Yipes emerged from his crysalis on September 15th. He spent more time gearing up to fly than I expected he would so I spent a day worrying he wasn't going to make it. As a nervous first time butterfly Mother I used every trick I knew to help Yipes succeed. I made sugar water and put a sponge full of it in his cage, I gave him a bloom from his favorite milkweed plant, I brought his cage outside into the sun. One of the many reasons I like butterflies is that they thrive in sunshine, I can relate. The sun did the trick and in just a few hours Yipes was fluttering about in his cage and it was time to say goodbye. You can watch his maiden voyage here. Yipes is likely well into his big flight South to winter in Mexico. Since he was born in the Fall, he is tasked with a great migration of about 2,500 miles. He'll hibernate with his friends in a tree and return in the Spring to mate before his life ends. No GPS, no map, just instinct. Another way Mother Nature amazes me.

09.16 Tada! 

His home served him well

But wait, there's more!

Last week I exchanged some of my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies for two Monarch caterpillars (Peanut and Butter) that my Parents found in their prairie.

09.28 Peanut the Monarch caterpillar

09.28 Butter the Monarch caterpillar

We all agreed that it seemed quite late for these guys to be getting started in life but I enthusiastically made them welcome in their new home. Then it got cold. Peanut and Butter stopped eating. They stopped moving and I began bracing myself for a very sad goodbye. I diligently provided fresh milkweed daily and even moved their cages outside during the warmest time of day in hopes of a recovery. All the while thinking hurry up you guys - you have a lot of work to do and thousands of miles to fly ahead of you. For a week the only signs of life came when I would nudge them to see if they were still alive. No eating, no pooping, no walking. Very unusual behavior for a caterpillar. So today, when I saw Butter (who had been the least responsive of the two) speeding around the ceiling of his cage I was thrilled! I swiftly moved both cages into the sun and added some super fresh milkweed leaves. Both have been chomping away all afternoon.

As if the news about P&B wasn't exciting enough, I get to introduce you to another new caterpillar friend, Jelly. I found Jelly hanging out on the same milkweed that I found Yipes on. Truth be told, I was freaked out by him at first. He seemed slimy and creepy for some reason. Then, before I could get a good picture of him the temperatures dropped and he seemed to shrivel up, hiding under a leaf. But today, he joined P&B in their sunshine party.

10.06 Peanut and Jelly (in the background)

I haven't seen Jelly eating today but he was scooting around a bit. Not sure what kind he is yet, I'll keep you posted as I learn more. In the mean time, if you see any Monarchs make sure to tell them to head South.

So Long Summer Sugar, I Hardly Knew Ya

The shelves have been filled with Halloween candy for weeks. I consumed my annual bag of Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses over a month ago. So naturally, it’s time for my Summer Seasonal Candy Review. I’ll keep it short, which is easy considering the total desert that was this year’s Summer Candy scene.  

The folks at Tootsie continue to impress, they seem to have a new specialty version of Dots or Tootsie Pop at least each month. This summer they introduced three Sour Slices Dots varieties: Grapefruit, Peach and Watermelon.  I’m a fan of regular Sour Dots, they have a great texture, sour factor and flavors. I was surprised to see a mainstream Grapefruit candy, so they earned bonus points for trying but its flavor was pretty tame and somewhat forgettable. The Peach Dots were good, but I found myself wanting Haribo Gummy Peaches instead. I didn’t pick up the Watermelon Dots due to a flavor aversion. 

Despite the lack of competition, Tootsie won the prize for most Patriotic candy with their 4^th of July inspired Tootsie Pops. The red, white and blue assortment included standard favorite Cherry along side new comers Strawberry-Vanilla and Blue Raspberry. The Blue-Raspberry was ok and certainly stained my mouth blue. I really wanted the Strawberry-Vanilla to rock but neither flavor was potent enough, I would love to try it with a vanilla Tootsie center. With all of the flavors of Frooties and with Tootsie’s adventurous roll out of new flavors I really hope Tootsie is working on some new combinations, oh the fun we could have. Be on the look out for the new Pop flavors (Green Apple, Pomegranate and Banana) which are being introduced via an interesting rotating strategy then vote for your favorite new flavor. 

When I wasn’t earning my Clean Stick Award this Summer, I was busy eating licorice. Twizzlers were on sale everywhere I turned plus they introduced three new products. The super fun Extra Long Strawberry Twizzlers hit the novelty mark, they were twice the length of a typical Twizzler. If you’re in the market for this extra long licorice I ran across some earlier this week at a Shopko. Also introduced this summer were Super Long Cherry Nibs, these are awesome! They are basically Nibs that haven’t been cut but having the additional substance really improves the Nib experience. If you like cherry Nibs you must seek these out, Target had them earlier today and instead of being marked as a Limited Edition they were marked as a New product, hopefully they are here to stay. A limited edition Grape Pull 'n' Peel was also around this summer, it was pretty nasty and not a good companion to the Cherry Pull 'n' Peel. It smelled like Grape Hubba Bubba but only offered a mild grape flavor with an odd after taste.

I’m disappointed to share that although we are approaching the holiday when people buy candy just to give it away, the Halloween candy I’ve seen this year is lack luster at best. Very few new product offerings and most are just pretending to be seasonal by changing the color of their packaging. I did see a Russell Stover Buzzard Egg but come on where is the creativity everybody? Hopefully this is just a momentary glitch in the sugar stream.

There is a fantastic Limited Edition candy on the market right now that you’ll want to get your hands on. The folks at Tootsie have knocked it out of the park with their Caramel Tootsie Pops, seriously yummy. Get yourself a bag before they’re gone and see if you can earn your Clean Stick Award too.

Caterpillars have no shame

Oh crap. I gave myself another blog deadline and here it is smacking me in my face. Bear with me, I’m not sure where this one’s headed.

Yipes the day I found him (8/28)

Here’s something fun, I have two pet caterpillars. I must say, caterpillars are very amazing pets to enjoy. I strongly urge you to be on the lookout for your very own pet caterpillar. I found my first one while inspecting a red milkweed plant in my garden. I planted it last year in hopes of attracting monarch caterpillars so what a joy to discover my new friend – if you plant it they will come! 

It took me a couple of days to name him, I was inspired by his stripes so I named him Yipes, after the Fruit Striped Gum zebra mascot.Yipes! Stripes! Fruit Striped Gum! Yes, sugar is in my DNA.

Yipes on 8/29 just about to eat his skin

I’ve enjoyed every detail about Yipes’ life. Living to eat seems like a pretty lovely life. Except for the somewhat too ‘icky’ nature moment that I had when I realized that Yipes was eating the skin he had just shed.Yeah, that was kinda harsh. Logical, but hhharsh. I managed to capture another one of Yipes’ finer moments on video. Let’s just say that he really has no shame.

About to perform his magic trick

Go Pack Go! Yipes in his chrysalis on 9/3

Yipes will emerge in the next few days, he’s still solid green with beautiful gold accent marks – an homage to the Packers I’m sure.  By the way, tonight I learned that blogging and watching football is awesome.

Harriet on 9/4

I found my second caterpillar, Harriet, while picking raspberries on September 4th. She is a Yellow Woolybear and will become a Virginian Tiger Moth. If she doesn't make her cocoon in the next day or so I’m letting her go. Since we first met I’ve learned a lot about her and it might be best for her to be in the wild right now. Turns out many moths over winter outside, hibernating in their silk spun cocoons. How's that for impressive and crazy cool?

You’re probably thinking ‘All of this nature talk is great but what about the sugar scene?’ Well, much to the thrill of my 12 year old boy gutter brain, I have great sugar news to report. Certainly the hottest news in sugar things is that Ben & Jerry’s has confirmed they’re making “Schweddy Balls” ice cream.  So, there ya have it. Skin eating caterpillars, poop, and Schweddy Balls.

It can't all be sweet

I’ve been avoiding this blog entry for quite some time. It’s the one that actually publically acknowledges my depression. So I’m jumping in and doing my best to give this disease a voice, here goes...

Pretty Shitty

Earlier this week I saw my new head med doctor. I had put off scheduling the appointment for a variety of reasons, once I finally got myself together to schedule the appointment it required 3 months of waiting. Time is never on the side of a depressed patient and patience is hard to come by.  I’ve been on and off of anti-depressants for about 10 years. It’s not something I want to do and I often struggle with the decision to take medication. Part of the fun of this disease is that I often don’t even believe it exists. I want so badly to just wish depression away and be happy, and since it isn’t something that can be seen I can convince myself it’s truly all in my head. I certainly don’t want to have to rely on a medication to feel ‘normal.’ There are also times when I feel that taking medication is somehow weak, that I’m not strong enough to battle through and fix this on my own. Cuz you know, tons of people wish their diseases away.

It's the Pits

Further agitating my internal struggle to take meds and believe in this “depression” thing is the fact that the medical world doesn’t actually understand how anti-depressants work. And, since we’re all different, we all respond differently (if at all) to this menagerie of medication. I was reminded at my appointment that over the course of the last 10 years I have tried at least 17 medications to try to alleviate or minimize the symptoms of my depression.  For each med that means a solid month of onboarding. Waiting to see whether or not this pill helps and enjoying multiple obnoxious side effects, only to find that I don’t feel any better. Next we try the dosage boost hoping that maybe if we put more in my system I’ll get happy. When that doesn’t work we begin to craft the perfect cocktail of medication, a sleep aid is frequently included since anti-depressant side effects and the actual depression itself causes seriously agitated sleep. So, let’s pretend we’ve set a new record and we’ve found a medication match in just 6 weeks (several months is more realistic). The benefits outweigh the side effects and life begins to settle into a nice groove. Happiness isn’t an impossibility, that is, until. One day, possibly years into the medication, for no discernable reason, the med stops working.  Back to the beginning we go, and that’s where I am today. I’m trying a new med doc with the hope that this person will be able to solve my depression puzzle.

It’s important to note that medication is not the first stop for most folks with depression. In my case I have a talk therapist and I do my best to practice as many healthy habits as possible. I take vitamins, eat well, have a sleep routine, exercise, do yoga, drink water, limit alcohol, maintain social relationships, garden and have tried numerous stupid self-help books. It’s always work and seldom joyful.

Talking about depression is annoyingly depressing. Next time, more candy, less Debbie Downer.

Easter hunt preparation

You've got six days left to pick up your Easter candy and stuff it into little plastic eggs (or into your mouth). Since my last review I've picked up several additional Easter treats worthy of mention.

Similar to a favorite Valentine's candy by Brach's (Jube Jel hearts) the Brach's Jelly Chicks & Rabbits provide a serious punch of sugar. Good chew and a nice variety of flavors (grape, lemon, apple, orange, strawberry and cherry).

My all time favorite packaged jelly beans are Mike and Ike fruit flavored jelly beans. I was a bit nervous that they had been discontinued since I hadn't run across them until just last week. They also came out with a tropical version this year. The original flavors include: lemon, pineapple, cherry, grape, strawberry, lime and orange. Oh so delicious.



A surprise from Cadbury Mini Eggs arrived in the form of a Royal Dark version. The colors are punchy and fun and the dark chocolate is pretty nice. The 'chalkiness' that is the signature of Mini Eggs isn't as distinct in the Royal Dark version, strangely I miss it.

An inflated Reese's Pieces in the form of a pastel egg, really what could go wrong? The shells are a bit thicker than their ET pleasing siblings.

My continual candy hunt takes me to a variety of stores. Since I'm a huge fan of Haribo gummy candy I was quite excited to find this Haribo Easter Mix at Aldi. The assortment of bunnies, eggs, chicks and lambs are in the traditional gummy flavors. They are big pieces and they are fantastic.

Recently I noticed that Tootsie Pops have modified their typical flavor assortment and not to my liking. The original flavors (chocolate, cherry, orange, grape and raspberry) are staying but an additional rotating flavor of either green apple, banana or pomegranate has been added. Onto the Tropical Easter assortment. The pops aren't labeled with their flavors so it's a bit of a crap shoot. You'll find tangerine, lemon-lime, watermelon, pineapple and tropical punch. Other than pineapple I wouldn't say these are really tropical flavors but it is fun that they are mixing it up a bit.

Good luck on your Easter egg hunt! I hope you find some of your classic favorites and enjoy a few new treats.

Here comes Peter Cottontail

It's time for an Easter candy review and I am excited to share that this season has brought one of the best seasonal candy variations that I can recall.

No need to save the best for last, Swedish Fish Eggs steal the season with snack sized bags that include two mini Swedish Fish and about 6 little Dot like eggs. In addition to great chew and flavor these treats strike a chord with a bit of humor on each package. Little Swedish Fish with bunny ears quip one of these three saying:  Why should bunnies have all the fun! What, you've never heard of Candiar? and Fish lay eggs too, ya know!

Far less exciting but still yummy are Sour Patch Bunnies. They are predictable and are exactly what they sound like - bunnies in original Sour Patch flavors.

Sour Patch Jelly Beans don't deliver the same chew that the original Kids do and the red flavor is 'Redberry.' They are ok but not worth hunting for during your Easter candy round up.

The number one selling candy at Easter time is chocolate, here are a few favorites.

M&M Milk Chocolate Spectacular Eggs - an egg sized version of the original staple. The larger size is enjoyable and cute.

M&M Peanut Butter Spectacular Eggs - oh boy, these deliver. I'm a fan of Peanut Butter M&Ms any day, bulk them up and give them speckled egg flair and look out. I'd fight someone for the last bag of these.

A classic Easter candy that warrants a revisit, the Cadbury Mini Egg packs a chocolate punch with a bit of a chalky shell. I prefer the M&M plain over these but both earn a place in the basket.

I look forward to Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs each year. Particularly great when they are a bit warm so the chocolate becomes melty. These taste like a traditional peanut butter cup but they surpass the miniature cups by having a chocolate 'shell' that is the same thickness on all parts and their shape makes for a better fit with the roof of your mouth.

Love them or hate them, Peeps are synonymous with Easter. This year Target was identified to carry a new Peep 'delicacy' called Peepsters. Truth be told, I was reluctant to purchase these. I am not a Peep fan and previous chocolate covered Peep taste testing has not impressed me. Peepsters come in dark or milk chocolate and boast a marshmallow flavored creme center. They are great! I like them because they really don't taste like Peeps. The center is a creme not marshmallow, it's a bit thick and isn't chewy, it is vanilla marshmallow flavored. I tried the dark chocolate and was pleasantly surprised.

I couldn't get myself to buy this Peep treat but shot a picture at Walgreens, eww. That's right, Peeps marshmallow flavored freezer pops.

This year I took my first stab at making peeps. Honey vanilla marshmallow chicks and eggs.

I haven't found my favorite Mike & Ike Jelly Beans yet, if you run across them treat yourself and pick up a bag. Great flavors, great chew, great size.

May your Easter basket be full of sweet favorites!