Can’t get enough of these nut snack things. It might be one of those things where you can’t fathom how good they are until you’ve actually had them. It’s definitely one of those things where you need to like nuts. But everyone sez that nuts are a healthy snack. And these in particular, from a cali co called Mrs. May’s, are pretty much all nut (nut + rice malt + cane juice, which forms a very subtle brittle-y crust) like a payday, but nuttier. Mrs. May’s R avail at wholesale stores, at WF, and at SuperT (methinks they’re also doing SuperT’s private-label Archer Farms’ brand cuz they look identical). They come in a buncha flavors; the pumpkin’s awesome.

In 2003, the FDA decreed that nuts could reduce the risk of heart disease. So people started feeling ++ about nuts, and the nut folk started mktg them as snacks w/ flavored glazes sold in foil pouches. Basically an upscale Poppycocks: 1. boutique: Sahale, started by a couplo Seattle outdoor types, is at the yummy high end, using pistachios, figs, pumpkin seeds, mango, papaya, dates, flax seed, balsamic vinegar, etc. Dallas angle: Danielle Custer, who usedta chef at Laurels at the Sheraton Hotel before moving to the NW, consulted on Sahale’s flavor combos. 2. corporation: Emerald, a new snack div. of Diamond, has a line of glazed walnuts w/ semi-funky flavors such as choc-brownie.

Reese’s Pieces*, eh. In fact, bleh to almost all in the recent parade of Reese’s spinoffs, from xtra choc to xtra PB, xtra-creamy to white choc. Even the original Reese’s cups were NSG. So, singling out Reese’s Big Cup w/ Nuts is no mere tossing-another-log, nor is it just another desperation blog entry. How dare you. No, Big Cup w/ Nuts is special. … i.e. really good, w/ a dialogue between the choc & peanuts (which are actually salted and some still whole).

*hershey’s site sez there’s a new reese’s pieces w/ nuts too. have not seen, have low hopes

Once stodgy, Hershey has refashioned itself into a nimble entity w/ new prods and ltd editions – currently 7, and that’s Hershey bars alone (not reese’s, not almond joy, not kit kat, not etc). Some were intro’d in june and haven’t appeared locally but this has: Hershey’s Nut Lovers, milk choc w/ peanut, almond, cashew, & pecan. It’s a flat bar (vs. blocky) and a neat idea to stud a hershey’s bar w/ a buncha nuts, even if the nuts are small & scattered. (it’s also, oddly, a reverse spinoff of a Miniatures product.) Meanwhile if anyone sees the ltd edition mocha almond, do drop a line