Brought to us by SweetWorks, Sixlets are the type of candy you loved as a kid and still get the urge to try every now and then. They were a product of Hershey’s until 2003, when the chocolate giant sold the product to SweetWorks, headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida. These tiny candy-coated chocolate balls are smaller than M&Ms with a bit less chocolate taste. The cocoa-carob recipe lends to a malted milk ball flavor. You’ll find these plastic-wrapped candy tubes in grocery store aisles, convenience stores, and dollar stores, but they are fairly difficult to find in some states. They come in autumn colors: red, yellow, green, orange, and brown. Different flavors are slightly distinguishable from the candy shells, but the orange one has the strongest flavor. The others taste mostly like sugar, with thicker candy shells than M&Ms. And though some candies claim to melt in your mouth (not in your hand), Sixlets definitely will melt in your hand.
SweetWorks produces various chocolates, hard candies, jawbreakers, and gums, including Chocolate Oranges, Niagara Chocolates, and kids’ candy like Nitwitz Banana Heads. Though the Sixlets package claims the candy is manufactured by Oak Leaf Confections (one of Sweetworks’ brands), it is not featured on Oak Leaf’s website. Perhaps the candy brand is in transition still as Sweetworks figures out which products it will market where.
Even if it is somewhat of a mystery where Sixlets come from, the package is endearing and features a friendly caterpillar with a body made of Sixlets candies and a smile that says “dig in.?? And with that kind of an invitation, how could I resist? These tiny chocolate beads do give off more of a malted taste than I prefer, but I love how tiny they are. You can really pop in several at a time and make the nearly 2-ounce package last and last. Whether you are trying Sixlets for the first time or are picking up a pack for nostalgia’s sake, these little candies are unique, offering something different from M&Ms. But one question remains: If they are “Sixlets,?? why only five colors?
Tags: candy coated, Sixlets, chocolate candy, sweets, malted candy