Monthly Archives: June 2007

Fudge Brownie Cookie Dough Bites

It’s long been in my mind that eating raw cookie dough is bad for you. Whether or not that is merely an old wives’ tale, I can’t say. But when I saw cookie dough in a candy box for sale in the movie theater, I knew I wanted to try it. Because I’m a budget shopper, I waited until I could find the movie theater boxes on sale at my local dollar store. I stocked up on Fudge Brownie Cookie Dough Bites, and bought extras for stocking stuffers. I later found out that these cookie dough candies come in three other varieties: peanut butter cookie dough, chocolate chip cookie dough, and a dark-chocolate-covered version of the chocolate chip cookie dough. Tongue twister or not, I was ready to start eating.

I opened up the box to find tiny bites of chocolicious dough, raw as can be, covered in an outer layer of milk chocolate. The outside was shiny and polished, like chocolate covered raisins or peanuts. But I much preferred what was inside this candy shell. Delicious cookie dough, just like mom always made. I bit into another, and another. These movie-theater boxes give you plenty of candy to share with friends, or you may want to save some for later. I nursed that box for as long as I could, stashed it in my sock drawer for those chocolate cravings, and brought it out again and again. The best part: you don’t have to sneak some from the bowl when nobody is looking. Fudge Brownie Cookie Dough Bites are perfectly safe to eat. How so? There are no eggs in the secret recipe, which is mainly flour, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Now that’s a brilliant idea.

I’ve tried a few other candies that are made to taste like cookies, and I haven’t always been pleased with the result. But if you buy Cookie Dough Bites, a product of the Taste of Nature candy company, you’ll be satisfied with any flavor. Just don’t try to bake them, or you’ll have a melted pile of cookie dough candy.

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Pez Candy

What candy is more fun to eat than Pez? These little candy tablets come in assorted fruit flavors, the most popular of which are strawberry, orange, lemon and grape. But their true appeal is in the fun containers featuring cartoon characters, celebrities, holiday icons, animals, and even video game characters. Pez dispensers are collectable toys available in convenience stores, grocery stores, toy stores and elsewhere for around a dollar. You can buy refills packs of the candy or, since they are so affordable, purchase another container which comes with two or three new packs. The dispenser opens to hold an entire pack of Pez, so you can toss it on your desk or in your car and enjoy the candies one at a time—straight from Santa Claus’s mouth (or Mickey’s… or Spiderman’s… or a random clown’s…).

Pez originated in Vienna, Austria as a peppermint meant to cure smoker’s breath. In German, the word Pferrerminz (which means peppermint) was shortened to create the name Pez. (If you need some useless trivia at a social gathering, pull that one out—you’ll be the only one who knows.) But since adopting the popular fruit flavors, sours, and more, Pez has permeated candy culture worldwide. In the United States, nearly 3 million of these candies are sold every year. That’s a huge number, but believable since these are so affordable and because they make great gifts.

From stocking stuffers to Easter basket contents, I’ve owned many Pez dispensers over the years. They are equally fun for kids and adults, which is why they’ve retained their popularity for so many years. There’s something great about a candy that you can interact with, share with friends, and always count on to brighten your day. My favorite Pez flavor is a tie between strawberry and orange, but I’m a big fan of the assorted flavor packs. My favorite dispenser ever? That’s a tough one. But I must confess that I did break down and purchase the turtle from Over the Hedge because he was just that adorable.

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Wild Berry Skittles

In 1990, the traditional five flavors found in every Skittles pack met their match. It was in that year that possibly the best ever flavor combination entered the scene. Its members included: raspberry (blue), wild cherry (red), strawberry (magenta), berry punch (purple), and melon berry (green). The posse decided they would go by the group name Wild Berry Skittles. The rest is history.

If given the choice between a traditional pack of Skittles and a Wild Berry pack, I bet you can guess which one I would go for. It’s due to the fact that I just almost always prefer the berry flavors of any candy—putting them all together and losing the lemon-lime category almost feels like cheating. But Wild Berry beats Tropical Skittles, the Smoothie Mix, and Sour Skittles if you ask me. Those other new-fangled flavor combos all leave berry-lovers out in the cold. Not that there was anything wrong with the original flavor pack, introduced to the U.S. from England in 1974. There’s always a place for those colors, all found on the color wheel, and what their traditional flavor counterparts bring to the table. Skittles are owned today by Mars, Inc., granddaddy of the Mars Bar, Snickers, M&Ms, Milky Way, and more. With that kind of solid reputation, I don’t think we’ll see Skittles drop off the market, um, ever.

Each bite-sized candy with a hard-coated shell is the size and shape of an M&M with a white letter “S?? stamped on the side. I prefer to eat Wild Berry Skittles all together, because their flavors mesh perfectly. Strawberry and berry punch are delicious, and their fruity flavors really pop out of each piece. My sole complaint about Skittles is that they really leave your teeth feeling unclean after you chew through the sugary goodness. But if that’s the price you pay for good candy, you can sign me up every time.

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