One of the benefits to the hectic haze of Christmas shopping is picking up a couple delectable treats for yourself. Some holiday candy you just can't pass by, but there are others that should definitely be given a pass. Here are some of the seasonal editions of my favorite candies, with a rundown on a scale of 1-10 how well they were packaged, tasted, and caused nostalgia.
Lindt Lindor Truffle Peppermint Cookie, Limited Edition
Packaging - 8: This little green bag screamed "iconic Christmas" with its classic packaging with a holiday spin. The adorable candy stripes on the side were endearing, which the individual candy also emulated. It ended up feeling cheerful and recognizable.
Taste - 6: The little truffle had interesting crunchy little bits of peppermint coupled with smooth classic Lindt milk chocolate. While it contained familiar flavors, there was no "wow" factor. I am personally not a fan of peppermint flavored chocolate, but the treat still hit all the sweet notes.
Nostalgia - 6: As a limited edition, this has not yet become a staple in my family's holiday traditions. The minty chocolate flavor brought in the Christmastime nostalgia points; however, it didn't bring back a rush of memories.
Lindt Lindor Truffle Milk and White, Limited Edition
Packaging - 8: The cute little snowmen and snowflakes decorating the bag brought along some festive cheer with the identifiable Lindt wrapping. The individual candies also displayed a miniature happy snowman.
Taste - 8: This candy featured the smooth, silky chocolate that Lindor truffles are famous for. The milk chocolate shell and soft white chocolate center worked well together, and displayed a nice balance. The chocolate ended up being slightly too sugary for even my sweet tooth, but delicious nonetheless.
Nostalgia - 6: The simple truffles were not especially unique to the holiday season, despite how tasty they were. They earned a higher rate for nostalgia on my end, because my grandma routinely keeps a healthy supply of Lindor truffles at her house this time of year.
Ghirarardelli Chocolate Squares, Holiday Limited Edition Assortment
Eggnog
Packaging - 8: This holiday candy assortment featured a white bow and snowflakes adorning the crimson red iridescent package. The wrapper itself was plain gold with white snowflakes.
Taste - 5: You HAVE to like eggnog to enjoy this chocolate. Period. This holiday candy is good if you like eggnog, if not eating it may result in instant regret and revulsion.
Nostalgia - 6: It definitely displayed the holiday flavors, and caused some nostalgia to seep in. Which was mostly flashbacks to being mystified by the enigma of eggnog.
Pumpkin Spice Caramel
Packaging - 7: These all come in the same overarching bag, but this was wrapped in shiny brown plastic with no snowflakes. Sad.
Taste - 8: The Pumpkin Spice Caramel had delicious chocolate, a slightly spiced flavor, and oozing gooey caramel with a pumpkin flair. It was quite tantalizing for the taste buds with a smooth milk chocolate to wash it all down.
Nostalgia - 6: This was pumpkin spice done right, and brought to mind all of the holiday delicacies and cheer. This definitely induced the warm fuzzies.
Peppermint Bark
Packaging - 8: This also came in the same bag as above, but had charming candy stripes and promising shiny wrapping.
Taste - 9: The combination of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and peppermint bits is always a crowd-pleaser. Ghirardelli does chocolate right, and the bang of flavor with the creamy finish leaves you with a smile.
Nostalgia - 10: This holiday candy proved to be an ultimate Christmas classic. All you need is a steamy cup of cocoa, a blanket made by mom, and a "Charlie Brown Christmas" to finish you off in a pool of nostalgia.
Pepperidge Farm Raspberry Linzer, Limited Edition
Packaging - 6: The package had little snowflakes and pine trees decorating the outside. The cookies looked adorable, with delicate detailing and the pretty red raspberry filling oozing from the cut out.
Taste - 3: The raspberry fruit filling tasted gelatinous, sticky, and very fake. While I should have anticipated this, I was slightly disappointed. The cookie itself lacked the ability to be either crispy or soft, and was an awkward in between. The cookie also lacked any distinctive or pleasant flavor.
Nostalgia - 5: This is sadly reminiscent of a Christmas cookie exchange gone wrong. It seems like it was the last one left at the bottom of your Ziploc bag only to be discovered once stale and obscured by the other flavors in the bag.
Terry's Chocolate Orange, Milk Chocolate
Packaging - 10: Fun was the epitome of this treat; it has highlighted the classic Christmas orange. It was literally an orange that you get to "whack" in order to eat little individual slices of orange chocolaty goodness. It came in a very quaint box, perfect for gift wrapping.
Taste - 7: The quality of chocolate was not on par with the Milk and White Lindor truffles, however still quite delicious. The pop of orange was very nice and refreshing, and paired very well with the milk chocolate. There was, however, a slight grainy quality to the chocolate.
Nostalgia - 10: This type of chocolate orange has long been a popular holiday gift and novelty; as such, it receives full marks. Oranges have traditionally been common for Christmas occasions, and this is another exciting way to include that in celebrations
White Reese's Peanut Butter Trees
Packaging - 6: The tree shaped treats were cute, but didn't particularly look like trees. While it attempts to be festive, and makes an admirable attempt, it doesn't quite hit the mark.
Taste - 10: White chocolate and sweet peanut butter deliciousness caused this candy to jump to the top of the ladder for me. Classic Reese's, as always, was very delicious; it had the signature creamy peanut butter inside and a nice slightly crunchy white chocolate shell.
Nostalgia 4: While it was not at all nostalgic in the holiday realm, these brought back more of a generalized childhood nostalgia. It is candy staple in general, but it's not specifically meant for the holidays.
Caramel Filled M&M's
Packaging - 7: The adorable Mr. Red M&M wearing a Santa and wising the consumer "Happy Holidays" was very heartwarming, especially when written in caramel goo. The red and green food coloring for the candy shell of the M&M's rought another level of holiday spirit as well.
Taste - 5: The caramel M&M's were very average tasting. It pretty much was just a larger, sweeter, chewier M&M. While not bad, they were not great, but it was definitely fun to try. There was not a distinct caramel flavor, instead just an overwhelming sweetness. The chewy flavor was quite nice, and added something new and interesting to the mix.
Nostalgia - 2: This was not reminiscent enough to earn classic M&M's memory lane points, and as a new product had really no base of familiarity.
Average Scores:
Lindt Lindor Truffle Peppermint Cookie: 6.7
Lindt Lindor Truffle Milk and White: 7.3
Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares: 7.4
-Eggnog: 6.3
-Pumpkin Spice Caramel: 7
-Peppermint Bark: 9
Pepperidge Farm Raspberry Linzer: 4.6
Terry's Chocolate Orange: 9
White Reese's Peanut Butter Trees: 6.7
Caramel Filled M&M's: 4.7
The clear holiday winners were the Ghiradelli peppermint bark and Terry's chocolate orange, with the runners up being the Lindt Truffle Milk and White and Ghiradelli pumpkin spice caramel squares. Now get out there and enjoy some Christmas candy; it's definitely one of the more pleasant ways of managing the chaos of holidays.