December meme: 5 Sweets

[clevermanka]

Requested byforestofglory, five sweets.

Saltwater Taffy
One of these days my teeth won't be able to handle it, but until then, YUM YUM. My current favorite is Maple Bacon from TaffyTown. The company has some wild flavors. The Coconut Curry one is truly An Experience, but I doubt I'll order it again.

Tomato Candy
I think a few different companies make the flavor, but I've only tried the Songwha brand. I bought them on a whim a couple years ago at the Asian grocer and if I hadn't waited until I got home to try them I'd have marched back into the store to buy three more bags. They're like sucking on really sweet ketchup. Incredible.

Reese's Peanut Butter Miniatures
I only eat them when they're in someone's candy bowl because if I buy a bag I'll inhale them all in one sitting. One of my few no-brakes foods. They were my paternal grandmother's favorite candy and we'd eat them in bed when I visited.

Rice Krispie Treats
My other no-brakes food. I will eat them until my mouth bleeds. #NoRegrets. Pro Tip! Add a quarter teaspoon of almond extract to the butter-marshmallow mixture before stirring in the cereal. Delicious.

Toffee
Former Co-worker A brought me a little bag of toffee they'd made with their mom for the holidays and it's amazing. I don't like toffee that's too hard. It's gotta be firm enough to break, but with a delicate crunch that still leaves a bit of sticky in your teeth as you chew it. The toffee they gave me is exactly that. So good.

If you'd like to ask me for five somethings (I'm terrible at favorites, but I'll give you five and you can pick your favorite 😂), please leave a comment on this post!

Comments

[resonant]

Reese's come in so many sizes and shapes, and the chocolate-to-peanut-butter ratio is subtly different in each. My favorites are the bite-sized Easter eggs, and the miniatures are a close second.

Locally I've found that you get the freshest ones if you buy them from Target in seasonal colors. Sometimes those are still fresh enough that the chocolate snaps when bitten.

[clevermanka]

Hard agree on the peanut butter/chocolate ratio. I have zero interest in the full-size peanut butter cups.

[oracne]

OMG I love Rice Krispy treats. I have made a note of your almond extract version. I am also ride or die with Reese's and toffee.

Taffy I can take or leave.

[clevermanka]

Hope you enjoy the almond extract addition!

[msmitti]

I tried making rice krispie treats with fruity pebbles once. It was an utter failure and probably gave me temporary diabetes. I think a few sprinkled in regular rice krispies, or a few cocoa krispies in rice krispies might have been a good idea. Now I'm too lazy to deal with the melty marshmallow-y mess.

And I think taffy would literally pull out some of my teeth.

[clevermanka]

Oh god I actually cringed at the Fruity Pebbles Krispies 😂

I'm very careful when I eat the taffy, that's for sure!

[umadoshi]

I've never heard of tomato candy and can't even begin to guess if I'd like it, but it sounds fascinating!

[clevermanka]

Four of the five people I've shared it with loved it. I think if you like ketchup and weird candy flavors (or tomato potato chips) you'd probably like it. If you don't like ketchup, definitely no.

[wrote_and_writ]

I love Reeces minis -- they have the perfect ratio of chocolate-to-peanut butter, IMO. I am going to steal your Rice Crispies hack. Have you ever made popcorn balls? Basically, they are just rice crispie treats but with popcorn. Mom called it popcorn cake. She makes it at Christmastime and puts spice drops in it. I like to put dried cranberries and cashews in mine. You have to make sure you sift out the unpopped kernels before you make them, though, because chomping on one of those will break your tooth. And toffee -- yummmmmmmmmmmm

[clevermanka]

I tried making popcorn balls with the marshmallow mixture but couldn't get it thoroughly mixed in before it hardened so I had clumps of largely-marshmallow popcorn and way too much plain popcorn. Wah! The cranberries and cashews idea kinda makes me want to give it another try, though, that sounds DELICIOUS.

[wrote_and_writ]

It is tricky. I had to coat my hands in Crisco to really make it work. It’s been a long time since I made it, though, so idk if there are any other tips or tricks.

[clevermanka]

I wonder if it would give a similar flavor if one made regular popcorn balls (with corn syrup) but added a bit of marshmallow flavoring...

[wrote_and_writ]

Maybe 🤔 although what I like about the marshmallow is the stickiness like rice crispie treats 😂 iirc I just had to use a lot more marshmallows and make it in small batches. If you like spice drops, they add a nice bit of chewiness and, y’know, spice 😁

[naye]

I hope I can find tomato candy somewhere, because it sounds interesting and potentially delicious!

[clevermanka]

I hope you can find it, too! If you do, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

[lunarriviera]

like you i am extremely picky about my toffee texture (just crumbly enough) but am fortunate enough to have two friends who live in nyc who make it for me every christmas. theirs has dark chocolate and toasted almonds on one side and it makes me nearly weep, it's so perfect. looking forward to this year's toffee delivery already, i have to ration a tiny piece a day to make it last till new year's—

[clevermanka]

I'm so glad you have a Toffee Fairy! Mine said they'll make another batch if I want more. I'm truly blessed.

[redheadfae]

Oh yeah, the Reese's Minis! I think that's why the Puppy Chow is so dangerously delicious, you get a crunch in there, too.

[clevermanka]

Mmmm, dangerously delicious

[brandywine28]

I see those tomato candies at the Korean market all the time, and I've always been curious! Maybe this is a sign I should go for it?

[clevermanka]

Definitely give them a try. Unless you really hate ketchup in which case absolutely NO.