Boyer Butterscotch Smoothie Peanut Butter Cups

As a peanut butter lover, I'm always on the lookout for different types of peanut butter cups. Although the Boyer brand is new to me, the wrapper had the look of an old-timey candy, right down to the play money "rebate" offer. I'm not it's worth it to buy 50 packs of cups just for a $1 rebate, not to mention the postage to mail 50 cardboard pieces of play money is probably close to $1 itself, but I got a chuckle from it.

I said the Boyer brand was new to me, but that's just because I had no idea Boyer made the more famous Mallo Cup until going to their website for this review. Boyer has been around since the Great Depression. Though the brand has been sold a few times since then, the nostalgic look of the packaging hasn't changed much.

The cups had a lumpy look to them, offering a preview of the small nut pieces I would find inside. The coating was sweet and creamy, the nutty center was dense, and I liked the slight crunch from the small peanut chunks.

I didn't notice that these were butterscotch peanut butter cups until I tasted them. The butterscotch was a bit too sweet, but the warm, buttery flavor went well with the peanut butter. The cups were salty on the finish, and while they were different from the usual peanut butter cup, I found them too sweet to want to eat often.

B

Boyer Candies Website

Justin's Peanut Butter Cups

This pack of Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups was an impulse buy at my local fancy grocer. It wasn't the fact that these are organic that won me over - it was the fact that they are dairy free! I'm willing to put up with the side effects of lactose intolerance for chocolate, but it's nice when I don't have to!

The wrapper isn't too exciting, but it gets the job done. I'll admit to succumbing to the charms of a flashy wrapper, but this is one of those times when the product just speaks for itself.

Even though I had a great experience with these, I must mention that a fellow blogger and Flickr contact had a pack of these that was extremely dry and crumbly.

There are two pictures of the cups because I thought they were just beautiful. The dark chocolate was glossy and I loved the unevenness of the cross-section. The cups smelled dark and distinctly nutty. The dark chocolate had a good snap and a smooth, even melt.

The peanut butter filling was subtly-flavored and soft. It had the right amount of saltiness, and just a hint of sweetness. The balance was great overall, and the texture was smooth, without that oiliness that other peanut butter cups can have. Very good, and did I mention they're dairy free?

A

Justin's Nut Butter Website

Too Haute Cowgirls Gourmet Popcorn

Press Sample
Recently, I had a blogging milestone - my first company samples. Up to this point, everything I've reviewed was either purchased by me or received as gift from a friend or family member. To be clear, these samples were sent from Too Haute Cowgirls (which was very exciting for me), but no one's paying me to review these, or any snack on this blog.

On to the popcorn! Too Haute Cowgirls is a Colorado-based gourmet popcorn company, started by a wedding cake designer and a pastry school graduate. Currently, they offer seven flavors, and all of them were included in the package. Rather than simple coated popcorn, however, each kind has some sort of chocolate coating, nuts, or other special touches. Here is my take on each of the flavors.


Among the small bags, there was one larger bag of Fistful of Fleur de Sel, so it was first. This flavor was caramel corn coated with dark chocolate, toffee bits, and French salt. The toffee bits were delicious and went very well with the chocolate and popcorn, and though it was almost too sweet for me, the salt provided an interesting balance. It was great for a quick indulgence, but I couldn't eat a lot at once. B+


At first, Blisters on my Buttercrunch had a salty smell and tasted like buttery caramel. The flavors blended together very smoothly, with the saltiness keeping the sweetness at a perfect level. The coated nuts (almonds, cashews, and peanuts) were delicious and matched the popcorn texture very well. It was an addictive combination and a very strong original flavor for Too Haute Cowgirls! A+


The Good the Bad and the Peanut Butter had a cool, savory, and sweet feel on the tongue. The sweetness of the peanut butter was very good with the salty, crunchy nuts. It was one of the saltier mixes of the bunch, probably because of the pretzels. It made me thirsty! The white chocolate was almost too sweet, and again, the salt provided a good balance. A-


Spicier is always better for me, so I was looking forward to Chili Con Chocolate. It smelled delicious, and reminded my husband of beef jerky. The spice mixture was peppery and had a mesquite, woodsy feel. The smoky flavor went well with the sweet dark chocolate, and there was a great spicy kick on the finish. It was hot, but painfully so, and I think it would appeal to a wide audience. The pecans added a good, tender texture. A


Mutton Bustin Milk Chocolate was similar to the Buttercrunch, with the addition of milk chocolate. It was very pleasant, subtly sweet, and addictive. The large assortment of nuts and peanut brittle made for a very special mix, and I enjoyed this almost as much as the Buttercrunch. A


End of the Trail Mix smelled sweet and yogurty, with a hint of cinnamon. The granola was chewy and carried orange and cinnamon flavors. The banana chips weren't really my thing, but my husband enjjoyed them a lot. I liked the subtle white chocolate on the popcorn, and the orange and ginger notes were stronger in some bites than others. Each bite was a little different, actually, and I do like the company's suggestion to have it for breakfast. B


I didn't love the smell of Cowgirl Coffee, as it smelled a little like Maxwell House coffee. The chocolate was good, but I wasn't sure about the coffee flavor or the white chocolate flakes. There was only one chocolate covered coffee bean in my bag, but that was good. The mix was decent, but it was my least favorite of the bunch, and the only flavor I couldn't see myself eating again. It might just be because I've never been keen on coffee flavored items, despite my love of actual coffee. B-

Overall, Too Haute Cowgirls offers a great variety of truly unique popcorn products. I'm not a popcorn connoisseur, but I had never tried anything like this before. Blisters on my Buttercrunch was my favorite; I finished my samples a week ago and I'm still thinking about it. The other stand out flavors were Mutton Bustin Milk Chocolate and the Chili Con Chocolate. Normally I don't go for cutesy names, but they definitely goes with the image, and don't detract from the delicious products.

Too Haute Cowgirls website

Reese's Dark Peanut Butter Cups

From time to time, Reese's Dark pops up in stores. I'm thankful for that, because I had already reviewed them and misplaced my tasting notes. I have small notebooks for candy tasting on the go, but I think I wrote this one on the back of a (solved) sudoku puzzle.

It says something right away that I was willing to buy Reese's Dark again. As a lover of dark chocolate and peanut butter, it's hard for me to dislike them. These have been reviewed at Gigi-Reviews, Candy Blog, and Chocablog, just to hit a few highlights.


The dark chocolate completely changes the Reese's cup. The coating is harder (as expected with dark chocolate), less sweet, and has an actual snap. It makes for a very different, more indulgent treat. The chocolate melted smooth and cool on the tongue, but the harder chocolate wasn't great with the grainy, sugary Reese's peanut butter.

In fact, the dark chocolate made the peanut butter harder to taste, especially on bites including the thick rim of the cup. I liked these, but didn't love them. In the end, the texture marriage of milk chocolate and peanut butter of the original Reese's cups is just better. Still, these were a fun distraction.

B

Reese's website

Nestle Peanut Butter KitKat Chunky

Just under a year ago, I reviewed a Canadian peanut butter KitKat bar, and it may have been a bit stale. In the interest of fairness, I jumped at the chance to review this fresh peanut butter KitKat (from the UK).

When I first saw this bar at an import food store, I thought it was a peanut KitKat bar, as the word peanut is so much bigger than the word butter on the package. For this reason, it sat in storage for a few weeks until I pulled it out again and noticed the true flavor. I am a big fan of peanut butter chocolate.


This bar smelled really good, like sweet chocolate and roasted nuts. The peanut butter layer was very thick (about half of the height), and when I bit into it, the peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth. Despite the nostalgia brought on by this situation, it's not something I'm used to with peanut butter candy. The peanut butter in this bar was thick, gooey, and sticky.

One difference I did like about the peanut butter was that it was less sweet than a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (for example), but this may go hand-in-hand with the texture. It was much more like peanut butter from a jar than from a candy bar, but I could have done with a bit more creaminess.

The wafers seemed especially crispy, but that could just be the bigger size. The chocolate was mild and the whole bar was a very good combination of textures and flavors. It was quite filling! The only thing that I didn't love was the peanut butter consistency, but the flavors were great, so I think I can let it go.

B+

Nestle website

Mars Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms

While grocery shopping, I was on the lookout for these M&Ms. The Mint Crispy M&Ms that came out with the most recent Indiana Jones movie were quite tasty, and I looked forward to trying another limited edition movie tie-in (the new Transformers movie) M&M.

I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, despite having them every day at school pretty much until college. I wanted to get a small bag, but the only size my grocery store had was the medium bag. Thanks to a review from Candy Blog, I knew that M&Ms were similar to regular peanut butter M&Ms, only with strawberry flavored chocolate.


The little speckles on the pieces were really cute, and the pieces smelled like berries. The fruity chocolate was a much better match for the peanut butter than I thought it would be, and with the peanut butter, it reminded me of strawberry cake or cookies. The saltiness goes well with the berry taste.

I can't say I liked them better than regular peanut butter M&Ms, but Mars has made a combination that I never would have imagined working here into a pretty good candy. The novelty factor is high, but the taste isn't so bad, either.

B+

Mars Website

Nestle Peanut Butter KitKat

This is actually something I had months ago, when I was in Toronto, but I remembered that I hadn't reviewed it yet. I found my tasting notes (recorded on my cell phone, of all places), so I thought I'd post it!

I love peanut butter. It's definitely one of my favorite foods, so I was really excited to see this KitKat in Toronto, even though it wasn't the freshest. We found it at a gas station, and they only had the one left because it was limited edition (I think). Therefore, it was a little stale.


The chocolate coating still tasted good, and was the standard milk chocolate. The wafers were okay as well. The peanut butter seemed to have suffered from sitting on a shelf, though, and was drier than I had hoped. At least, I'm assuming that was why.

Still, despite being past its prime, the peanut butter KitKat was pretty tasty! I hope Nestle makes these again, even though I'll probably never see them in the US. I don't know if it's fair to rate this bar, but I'll revise if I ever get my hands on a fresh one.

B

Nestle Website

Reese's S'mores

So this isn't really a real review, but I just wanted to share some classic summer eating. Before last weekend, I couldn't remember the last time I had s'mores, but it's been a while. I don't like marshmallows much, so I tend to avoid them. But every once in a while during the summer, I get the urge.

It had never occurred to me to put things other than chocolate bars into s'mores, but whoever thought of putting Reese's cups in them is my hero. The pictured s'more was delicious. My craving has been satisfied for this year.