A Russell Stover Christmas

We’ve already had a Russell Stover Halloween; now it’s time for a Russell Stover Christmas. The products that I reviewed for Halloween are available in Santa forms, but I chose a few new products this time. There are still a few varieties that I passed on though. I guess we’ll get to those for Easter!

Coconut Wreath: I wouldn’t call this a wreath. I would call it an unattractive (but tasty) dollop of milk chocolate and toasted coconut. I usually don’t care for coconut. I like the flavor but find the stringy texture unappealing. However, the coconut here is toasted and crispy, which lends a great crunchy texture. This is a simple, sweet mix of chocolate and coconut, and I really liked it! (140 calories, 9g of fat, 11g of sugar, 2g of protein.)

Rating: 8/10


Chocolate Marshmallow Snowman: This petite snowman is chocolate marshmallow covered in milk chocolate. The chocolate marshmallow has a mild cocoa flavor and is super soft, smooth, and springy. It’s less sweet than a typical marshmallow, but the bar’s sweetness is kicked up by the milk chocolate coating.

Unfortunately, this contains sorbitol, an artificial sweetener, which really irks me. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t think that artificial sweeteners belong in candy. Of course, neither do partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. But I’m sensitive to artificial sweeteners, so the inclusion is a little more bothersome -- I didn’t bother to read the ingredients until after I ate this. Still, it’s Christmas, so I’ll give it the rating I would have given it sans sorbitol. I’m sure some of you don’t care about it! (100 calories, 3g of fat, 13g of sugar, 1g of protein.)

Rating: 7/10


Marshmallow Santa in Dark Chocolate: When I reviewed Halloween’s Buzzard Egg, I mentioned that I would like to see a dark chocolate covered marshmallow. Well, here it is! I think that Santa shape here is actually pretty well done. I can definitely make out his outline.

Again we’ve got soft, springy marshmallow. One thing I like about Russell Stover’s holidays products is that they are fresh. This really shows in their marshmallow products. (I also like the line because it’s very cheap -- 39 cents a piece!)

The marshmallow is sweet, but the semi-sweet chocolate tones it down. It’s not nearly as sweet as the milk chocolate covered marshmallow is. The chocolate comes though more, lending a better balance.

However, again with the sorbitol. Again I’ll let it slide for the rating. I should know the read the ingredients before I eat something. This is something I do with everything I consume except for candy. I say I’ll try any candy once, but artificial sweeteners are a no go for me. (So much for the Peppermint Peeps!) (110 calories, 3g of fat, 14g of sugar, 1g of protein.)

Rating: 8/10

Brand: Russell Stover
Store: Walgreens
Price: $0.39 each

Hershey's Mint Miniatures

The Mint Miniatures are milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and white confection infused with peppermint flavor. They smelled strongly of mint, even when they were still sealed inside the bag. I stored them separate from my other candy because I was afraid the mint would infect the other goods.

Mint Milk Chocolate: These are very strongly minted. Seriously. The blast of cool peppermint is really too much for me. I didn’t enjoy the intense mint mixed with so much sweet chocolate. Rating: 4/10

Mint Sweet Chocolate: The mint flavor is more subtle here. Mint seems to compliment darker chocolate better, and this is much more pleasant that the milk variety. Rating: 5/10

Mint White Crème with Candy Bits: These are basically flat Candy Cane Kisses studded with red and green nonpareils, so I’ll just refer you back to that review. I know I gave those a better rating, but I'm sick of white confection.. I want some white chocolate! Rating: 6/10

Overall, I wasn’t too crazy about these, which I think is reflected in the quick review. The best tasting were the white, but I only had a couple because, like the Candy Cane Kisses, they are made with inferior ingredients.

Nutrition Breakdown: Servings size is 4 pieces. Each serving contains 170 calories, 10g of fat, 20g of sugar, and 3g of protein.

Name: Hershey’s Miniature Mint Collection
Brand: Hershey’s
Store: Walgreens
Price: $1.00 (8.5oz)

KitKat Holiday Assorment

I’ve always underappreciated the KitKat. It’s never been a go-to candy for me, but every time I have one I remember how good they are. After eating my way through this assortment I’m a bit more interested in the KitKat and the wacky flavors you can find across the world. This assortment is pretty classic though: milk, dark, and white KitKats.


Milk Chocolate (red): This is your classic KitKat, but the smaller size throws off the proportions a little. There is more chocolate to wafer here, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. It’s sweet and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. Scrumptious! Rating: 9/10

Mildly Sweet Dark Chocolate (dark brown): I’ve never had a Dark KitKat, but I’ve heard people rave about it. I have to admit that I was a little under-whelmed by this. It was good, but I wasn’t blown away. The initial flavor reminded me strongly of coffee, but that morphed into a semi-sweet chocolate chip flavor, which overtook the wafer. I think this would be very nice in a regular size, with more wafer to chocolate. Rating: 7/10

White Candy (white): Note that this is white confection, not white chocolate. That’s because it’s made with various vegetable oils, not pure cocoa butter. I’ve come to expect that with most mass-produced white products. Still, I did enjoy these. It has a strong vanilla flavor that works well with the wafers. Rating: 7/10

Nutrition Breakdown: Serving size is 5 pieces. Each serving contains 210 calories, 12g of fat, 20g of sugar, and 3g of protein.

Name: KitKat Assorted Minis
Brand: Hershey’s
Store: Target
Price: $1.66 (11oz)

Mint Truffle Kisses

The Mint Truffle Kisses are a new addition to the Kisses lineup. I think they're either limited edition or seasonal... I guess it depends on how well they sell this year! They are wrapped in either silver or green foil; each bag has a mix of both. They are dark chocolate filled with a creamy mint center. To my surprise, the center is bright green. I guess I should have looked at the picture on the wrapper.


These are very strongly minted, more so than either a York Pattie or Andes Mint, which I find myself comparing these to. The center is dense and creamy, not fluffy and sweet like a York Pattie. The dark chocolate is a nice addition, but it's really overtaken by the mint. I think the chocolate comes through more in an Andes Mint.

Nutrition Breakdown: Serving size is 9 pieces. There are 210 calories, 14g of fat, 22g of sugar, and 2g of protein per serving.

Bottom Line: These are good, but I'd rather have an Andes Mint or York Pattie.

Rating: 6/10

Name: Mint Truffle Kisses
Brand: Hershey's
Store: Target
Price: $2.00 (11oz)

Dove Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is very fashionable these days, but I can't think of many “convenience” dark chocolate bars. When I say convenience candy, I mean the candy that most people buy -- the candy at the checkout aisle. In fact, the only plain dark chocolate convenience bars that I can think of are the Hershey's Special Dark and the Dove Dark Chocolate. Or am I missing something?


Most chocolate lovers wouldn't call this dark chocolate. It contains milkfat, and the first ingredient is sugar. But I think this works. It's a convenience candy, so it's meant to appeal to the general public. Really dark chocolate can be a bit of a shock to people who are used to milk chocolate. I think this bar is a good introduction to dark chocolate.

Dove chocolate is always very smooth, and this is no exception. It melts excellently. It's sweet, but still has the deeper chocolate flavor that I expect from dark chocolate. There's better chocolate out there, but not much at 50 cents a bar.

Rating: 7/10

Name: Dove Rich Dark Chocolate
Brand: Mars
Store: Walmart
Price: $0.50

Newman's Own Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I'd been curious about these, so I was especially excited when I found them. I love peanut butter and dark chocolate, so the combination could lead to nothing but love, right?

Well, color me disappointed.


Each package contains three cups housed in a plastic tray. The cups are smaller than a Reese's Cup. They are sturdy, due to the very thick layer of dark chocolate that surrounds the peanut butter. I'd say the proportion here is 66% chocolate and 33% peanut butter... heck, there might be even less peanut butter!

That lack of peanut butter is the downfall of this candy. The chocolate completely dominates the peanut butter... so much so that I can't say much about the peanut butter. I didn't taste it that much. It's smooth and needs salt. That's all I can say!


The chocolate is fine. It's slightly sweet and not at all bitter. It's fruity but lacks a chocolate punch. The thickness gives it a nice snap, but that's not what I'm looking for here.

With 60 calories to each cup, they're good if you're watching what you eat and can exercise portion control. Dark chocolate and peanut butter are the healthier candy ingredients, after all. Also, it's all organic, which is a plus.

If you are looking for a dark chocolate peanut butter cup, this may be it. If you are looking for a peanut butter cup with lots of chocolate and little peanut butter, this is probably it. But it's not what I was looking for or expecting. I'll wait for the limited edition dark chocolate Reese's that are supposed to be coming, thanks.

These get a 5, which is what I give products that aren't bad, but I don't care for. Sorry Newman. I'm still interested in your Peppermint Cups and Ginger Os!

Rating: 5/10

Name: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Brand: Newman's Own
Store: Walmart
Price: $0.50

Hebert's Fully Loaded Rocky Road

The Fully Loaded bars are slabs of chocolate ‘loaded’ with extras on one side. It’s not filled, just covered. The Rocky Road bar is a slab of milk chocolate covered with dark chocolate pieces, walnuts, and “marshmallow.”


I put marshmallow in quotes because this bar doesn’t contain any actual marshmallow. Instead, it’s covered with what seems to be white chocolate. I suppose this is because marshmallows would go stale if you just slapped them on top of a bar. While the white confection adds marshmallow-like sweetness, the texture is totally lost.

In fact, I think the whole concept of Rocky Road is lost. Rocky Road is just chocolate, marshmallow, and nuts, isn't it? Without real marshmallow, can we really call this Rocky Road? The walnuts occasionally come in with a nice nutty flavor, but it's not enough.

The slab of chocolate itself is nice. It's rich and milky. But it overwhelms the other flavors, which are supposed to be the highlight of the bar.

I liked this bar just fine, but it didn't live up to it's name. Still, I'm interested in the other Fully Loaded bars, including the Dark Chocolate Turtle that's sitting in my candy chest!

Rating: 6/10

Name: Fully Loaded Rocky Road
Brand: Hebert's Confections
Store: Walgreens
Price: $1.50

Choxie Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans

Choxie is Target's brand of premium chocolate. I think the catchphrase when the brand arrived a couple years ago was 'Chocolate with moxie.” ...yeah. I've tried a couple things from Choxie before, and I think it's good but overpriced. It has attractive packaging and interesting flavor combinations going for it.

I've never had chocolate covered espresso beans before, so I have nothing to compare these to. They are packaged in a round tin. The thick layer of chocolate and crunchy bean make for a nice texture. The coffee flavor is intense. These are best eating by just popping them into your mouth and munching down. If you don't get the coffee and chocolate at the same time, the bean is rather bitter.

If you don't love coffee, you probably won't like these. I couldn't eat several in a row. The tin lasted about a week; I kept it in my bag for that quick chocolate/coffee fix. I don't think I'd buy these again, but I wouldn't turn them down.

Rating: 6/10

Name: Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans
Brand: Choxie
Store: Target
Price: $1.40

Frey Hot Chilli Pepper

I'd never had a spicy chocolate bar before, so this was a first. It's described as "extra fine dark chocolate with chilli." It's 55% cocoa solids, which I think of as classic dark chocolate. It certainly smells of chili, and when you snap it in half you can see the little reddish bits.

Like the other Frey bars, this is on the thin side. It is a 100g tablet with 2.5 servings per bar and 210 calories per serving.

Lets first talk about my expectations for this bar. I didn't expect any heat or burn. I expected that the chili would lend more complexity to the chocolate. What I got was the total opposite. The initial taste was your standard, slightly sweet dark chocolate. A few seconds later, the heat started. It wasn't really spicy, just hot; the kind that leaves a burn in your throat.

Now, I'm used to spicy/hot foods, so this was a fun surprise for me, but if you don't like heat, stay away! I only ate two of the ten pieces, and I'll probably share the rest. It's a fun novelty, and I'm glad I tried it, but it's not something that I really like. The chili just didn't add enough to the chocolate; it was more like a special effect.

However, these could be good for practical jokes..

Rating: 4/10

Name: Hot Chilli Pepper
Brand: Frey
Store: Target
Price: $1.66

Harry and David Dark Chocolate Maltballs

These candies are dark and shiny. The shape is irregular; they aren't perfect spheres, but they are still pretty. The box is pretty cute too, and contains about four servings of candy.

Now, let me say that I LOVE malted milk balls. My top 3 candy choices are always changing, but malted milk balls are a constant. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be that popular with others. It's rare to see a single serving bag of Whoppers down even the most well-stocked candy aisle. So I get excited when I see a malt product, and I'm not overly picky with them.

That being said, I was incredibly disappointed my these. I didn't even finish the box, and that's saying a lot.

My problem was with the chocolate. It had a fruity quality which came off as medicinal to me, like cherry cough syrup. The flavor completely overwhelmed the malt in the center; I could hardly taste it. Even worse, and rather odd, was the that the chocolate didn't melt well. I had to bite or scrape off the chocolate with my teeth. It is real chocolate, not 'mockolate,' so I'm not sure what the problem there was.

I can say that these were fresh. I never encountered one of those hard-sticky centers that can occur. Each was nice and crunchy. I can only tell you this because I spent time dissecting the candies (yes, I'm still playing with my food). I only ate a couple; the rest ended up in the trash because I really disliked the chocolate, and no one else in the house wanted them either.

I wonder if dark chocolate is too overwhelming for malted milk balls, or if it's just this brand? Or just me?

Rating: 4/10

Name: Dark Chocolate Maltballs
Brand: Harry and David
Store: Target
Price: $2.08

3 Musketeers Mint

I'll be honest: I didn't expect to like this. For one, I don't care for the original 3 Musketeers. Two, I didn't think this could measure up to the York Peppermint Pattie, which I'm a big fan of. However, I'm happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised by this bar.

The 3 Musketeers Mint is whipped-up minty candy covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. Like the original 3 Musketeers, this is advertised as a 'lighter' candy option. According to the wrapper, it's “a lighter way to enjoy mint chocolate.” With 150 calories and 5g of fat, I'd say that's a fair assessment. Better yet, this isn't a single bar, but two smaller bars, which makes it perfect for sharing or portion control. One smaller bar has only 75 calories, a pretty guiltless treat. I like it when a candy lives up to its claim.

The mint is sweet and fluffy. The texture reminds me of a dense marshmallow. The mint flavor is pretty mild, much less intense than a York Pattie. Whether that's good or bad depends on your taste. Now, what's odd about this bar is the aftertaste... I can only describe it as salty. It's strange, but I rather like it.

I ate one of the bars when I was in the need of a evening candy-fix, and it was surprisingly satisfying. I decided to put the other half in the freezer overnight. When I pulled it out the next day I found quite a treat. Of course, mint and cold work well together. I would eat these frozen fairly often over the summer.

While this doesn't overtake the York Pattie in my book, I can see myself alternating between the two.

Rating: 7/10

Name: 3 Musketeers Mint
Brand: Mars
Store: Walgreens
Price: $0.69