It’s no secret that I love chocolate. When I get ice cream, it’s always chocolate with brownie bits or fudge swirled in it. After dinner, I usually have a square or two of dark chocolate before heading to bed. In fact, my borderline chocolate addiction has gotten so bad that I’m trying to give up refined sugars for good. Something tells me I won’t be able to keep this up for long though, because Hershey’s just announced that it’s releasing its fourth ever flavor of candy bar, and I can't resist the siren call of this new treat.
Called Hershey’s Gold, this candy bar is loaded with peanuts and pretzels, and is unlike anything Hershey’s has ever created. Labeled as a “caramelized creme” bar, Hershey’s Gold is essentially a white crème that’s been cooked until it’s golden in color and tastes slightly like caramel (hence the name).
Personally, I don’t think the taste of Hershey’s Gold matches up to how it’s marketed. The flavor is reminiscent of caramel, but tastes more like peanut butter fudge that’s had an extra cup or so of sugar added to it. It’s still tasty, but if you’re a caramel fiend, this might not be the candy bar for you.
If you’re confused about this being Hershey’s fourth ever flavor release, you’re not alone. Initially, I didn’t understand how a chocolate company with dozens of products could call this its “fourth ever” flavor. Between all the flavors of Kisses, chocolate bars, and seasonal products, how can this only be its fourth flavor? After chatting with Hershey’s chocolatier Jim St. John, it made more sense. All of Hershey’s products up to this point have included its milk, special dark, or white chocolate, which are its three core flavors (until now).
When compared to its three iconic chocolate flavors, the new Hershey’s Gold flavor is a huge leap from what the company typically produces. Most notably because this is a candy bar, not a chocolate bar. The main ingredients in the Hershey’s Gold bar are sugar, vegetable oil, and skim milk. There’s not a single cocoa bean byproduct in this bar, which is pretty shocking considering Hershey’s built its empire on cocoa products.
To highlight the newness of the Gold bar, Hershey’s changed the shape of the chocolate bar. In the wrapper, it looks like your run-of-the-mill candy bar, but once opened, you’ll see the new puzzle-like arrangement of the chocolate squares. Although cool to look at, it’s pretty impractical because it makes it impossible to break off a piece of the candy bar without tearing into the other pieces. For a taste this good, though, I’m willing to overlook it.
If super sweet treats are your thing, the new Hershey’s Gold bar is for you. Personally, I’ll stick to the Special Dark for everyday snacking, but I bet the Gold bar would be a killer replacement for chocolate chips in my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Unfortunately, I can’t do anything with this sweet treat any time soon because the Gold bars won’t be sold in stores until Dec. 1. Until then, I’ll scroll through Pinterest for inspiration on how else I can use this candy bar. Yep, I’ll definitely need to reintroduce refined sugars to my diet soon.