HERSHEY'S GOLD

So, it has come to this.  Hershey's, a company synonymous with chocolate, has released its first non-chocolate Hershey-namesake candy bar...and it is fabulous!

In a time when it seems that Oreo releases a special edition every third Tuesday, Hershey's has only released three bars with the Hershey name in the title over the past 117 years.  After the original milk chocolate bar debuted in 1900, consumers had to wait until 1939 for the "Special Dark" variety.  They waited even longer--until 1995--before the third bar, Cookies & Creme, came around.  As it no longer contains cocoa butter, the company no longer claims that the Cookies & Creme bar is made of white chocolate.  With the new Gold bar, however, there is no chocolate to be found at all.

So, then, what the heck is this bar made of?  The wrapper says "caramelized creme," which is just a fancy way of saying that they've browned the non-dairy ("creme" not "cream") sugar concoction.  To that, they've added bits of pretzels and peanuts to give it crunch and saltiness.  And, by goodness, it works!  The bar tastes every bit as creamy as a white chocolate bar does, and there is a perfect mixture of peanuts and pretzels that don't overwhelm the caramelized creme.  I'm a fan of the salty Pay Day nut and caramel bar, but it can be a mess with large peanuts falling out...not to mention difficult to chew due to the thick caramel.  Mr. Goodbar is fine, but you often end up going through a lot of chocolate before coming across a lone peanut.  And while I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, every now and then I would like something creamier to balance out the peanut butter or something crunchy that isn't more peanut pieces.  Hershey's Gold fits the bill on every level.  It's the candy bar I never knew I needed!

The last time I enjoyed a non-standard, big-name, gold-colored product was in 1988, when 7-Up released "7-Up Gold"--a caramel-colored caffeinated cinnamon-spice soda.  It was nothing like the regular clear, lemon-lime, non-caffeinated 7-Up drink, and I loved it.  I must have been the only one, as it vanished from store shelves shortly after introduction.  I wish I had stocked up before it went away, so this time I've learned my lesson and will be stockpiling Hershey's Gold until I am certain that the company plans to keep it on the market.

The only complaint I have is that Hershey's has tweaked the design of the bar so that the rectangles are not all the same size and not all facing the same direction (there are two slightly smaller, vertical pieces above or below each slightly larger horizontal piece).  I guess they were trying to be "edgy" or something, but they've only succeeded in making it harder for people to break off a uniform piece.  This is a minor quibble, however, and one that can be easily fixed...provided that the bar stays on the market long enough.  So what are you waiting for?  Go buy one!

RATING:  5 / 5 

PEPPERMINT TWINKIES

It's that time of year...when the world falls in love...and when the confectioners take the green food coloring (benched since St. Patrick's Day) and red food coloring (boxed up after the 4th of July) off the shelves and swap out their pumpkin spice flavoring for peppermint and egg nog.

So, here we are, with Hostess' most recent attempt at a peppermint Twinkie.  Last year, they released White Peppermint Twinkies (which I gave a mediocre 3/5 review score).  I'd like to think that my scathing review led to disappointing sales, causing Hostess to rethink the treat for this year...but it was more likely due to the recall over salmonella concerns.

You'll notice that Hostess has dropped the white chocolate coating (where they feared the salmonella last year) in favor of simply dyeing the Twinkie cake a bright red.  This isn't the rich deep red of a red velvet cake, by the way.  No, it is more of a bright crimson red not to be found in nature.  Unless you consider Play-doh, Hawaiian Punch and Crayola crayons to be natural.  In any event, it won't color your mouth red...a strike against it, in my book...but you might notice the color somewhere else later on.  I'd rather talk about that.  Too bad that's not a selling point...

Without the coating containing flakes of peppermint candy, this Twinkie has no candy bits at all--not even in the creme.  According to the box, the peppermint flavor comes from the cake itself, but it was difficult for me to determine if that was true.  Both the creme filling and the cake had just a slight taste of peppermint, but it was just as underwhelming as last year.  I've always said in these reviews that companies need to go big or go home, but most of them seem to hold back and downplay the special flavor.  Which is sort of the entire point of these special edition concoctions.  Why buy a peppermint Twinkie from Hostess if you can get a better combination of the two flavors by simply jamming a candy cane in a regular Twinkie?  Or by crushing up some peppermint candies and sprinkling them over a Twinkie?

The good news, I suppose, is that the flavor is not so overwhelming that it makes these dessert cakes inedible...but, once again, apart from the red coloring, there is nothing about it that stands out either.  If they continue down this road, I predict that next year Hostess will find a way to swirl red and white cake together...but it still won't taste peppermint enough!

RATING:  3/5