NEW! Snickers Ice Cream Tubs (ASDA)

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I caved and bought the Mars ice cream tub? Well it didn't take long for me to return to ASDA on the pursuit of the Snickers tub. Normally I'm a Mars bar over Snickers girl, but I'd heard great things about the ice cream version and simply had to find out for myself what it was like! 

"Peanut (4%) dairy ice cream with milk chocolate coated peanuts (10%) and caramel (7.5%) and chocolate sauce (7.5%)."

The caramel sauce was instantly evident as soon as I removed the lid, and so was the softness of the ice cream. In fact I was patient enough to wait for the temperature outside to cool down last week before attempting to try the Snickers ice cream (just for info Ben & Jerry's Sofa So Good is sofa no good to scoop on the hottest days either, unless you fancy mousse).

I couldn't see a huge deal of the chocolate coated peanuts though, and felt a pang of disappointment at the lack of chocolate shards that made a surprise appearance in the Mars tub. I hadn't written this ice cream off just yet though... 

Kudos to Mars for using real peanuts in the ice cream (yep, I'm looking at you Mondelez), but unfortunately it wasn't as flavoursome as I'd hoped. There was a mild peanut taste but it certainly wasn't on par with Ben & Jerry's or the Co-Op. It was still enjoyable though, and despite the chocolate sauce being as lost in this pint as it had been in the Mars version, the caramel sauce made up for that. 

Oh there they were: the chocolate coated peanuts! Jackpot! They'd just been well hidden amid the ice cream, and actually there was an abundance of them. They were pretty smashing too, large in size and delivering the chocolatey hit that was missing from the sauce, as well as a textural contrast from the welcome crunch. 

Perhaps the link between ice cream and chocolate bar is on the tenuous side, given that there's no nougat in the ice cream and that the peanuts aren't chopped and are chocolate covered, but I don't mind that -like I say, I'm not a huge snickers fan anyway. Personally the Mars tub pips the Snickers to the top spot, but only just, and it's well worth a try whilst on offer for £2.

7/10

White Snickers

There are not many chocolate bars that can't be improved by swapping milk for white chocolate. White Reese's cups & Twixs are God's gift to man, and don't even talk to me about the devastating loss of white Maltesers, let alone not finding out that white chocolate Côte D'Or's Bouchées exist until this late into my adulthood (which thankfully I now have a healthy supply of thanks to the kindness of One Treat). I've reviewed many of the Snickers* (excluding the PB squared which is my favourite to date) but none have left me craving my next bar. In fact I could happily not have some of them ever again. The continental White chocolate Snickers piqued my interest though, was this the one variation that could finally turn me into an knickers *sorry snickers* addict? If Nat's review on Lot-O-Choc was anything to go by (and I trust her opinion implicitly) they could certainly be up to the job.

Could I find the imported white Snickers though? Of course not. Luckily for me the lovely Sîan offered to send me a bar. Only she didn't just send me one, she sent me three. How fortunate am I? Thanks Sîan.

They looked much more striking with their snowy white covering. Just look at that cross section! Isn't it attractive?

Crikey. How can a change in chocolate type make all the difference? By all accounts the sweetness should be sickly, but in actual fact the salinity of the peanuts works extraordinarily well against the creamy white chocolate. The Caramel and nougat were as soft and gooey as normal, providing the ultimate juxtaposition of textures against the crunchy nuts.

There's not much more I can add really, apart from that if you're a peanut lover with a sweet tooth then you simply MUST track these limited edition bars down pronto. It's one of the best chocolate bars I've had in a good while!

10/10

*Other Snickers bars I've reviewed:
Almond
Rockin Nut Road
Crisper

Snickers: Rockin' Nut Road & Almond 2 To Go (American Fizz)

Today's double review is a bit baffling. Why am I reviewing not one but TWO American Snickers bars when I'm not particularly keen on either of the British flavours? I guess I'm still a bit confused as to why I'm not a huge Snickers fan when peanuts, caramel, milk chocolate and nougat are all absolutely delicious in my books! It might be because I prefer smooth nut flavours (I very rarely buy crunchy peanut butter) but then I love M&S' The Nutty One, so god knows! Anyway, I keep on buying and trying Snickers (including the Crisper) hence the purchase of these two bars from American Fizz.

Rockin' Nut Road

“Almonds, caramel and marshmallow-flavored nougat wrapped in dark chocolate."

A dark chocolate covered snickers is a new one for me. As you'll know, American chocolate is a different entity to our British stuff. This bar was the colour one might expect from plain chocolate, which was fine by me given my dislike of the darker, more bitter flavours.

Slicing it in two revealed the caramel encased almonds atop the nougat, which was hidden inside the chocolate. The layers were satisfyingly distinct.

Unfortunately the flavours just didn't quite work together for me. The marshmallow flavoured nougat tasted a bit odd, more like an overly sweet version and was ultimately quite jarring. The almonds were crispy, and the caramel of standard Snickers quality, but altogether the combination was far too sickly -yes, even for my sugar addicted tastebuds. The dark chocolate wasn't great either, reminding me of the super cheap value range cooking chocolate -not good.

4/10

Almond 2 To Go

Snickers have simply swapped their standard peanuts for almonds here, and given that the nuts were my favourite component of the Rockin' Nut Road, I was hoping for better things from the Almond Snickers. The 2 to go actually comprises of two (almost full size) bars.

The tiers were slightly less pretty and more smoothed in the almond bars, but I didn't mind that as long as the taste was better.

Fortunately it was much tastier. Although the milk chocolate was sweeter (of course) the nougat was less so and this resulted in a better harmony between the flavours. It's a shame that the UK doesn't make more chocolate bars using almonds really, as the combination can work very well.

Almond Snickers isn't a bar that I'd rush out to buy again in a hurry, but I wouldn't turn my nose up if I spotted a good deal either. Meanwhile, my search for the White snickers continues...

7/10

NEW! Snickers Crisper (American Fizz)

How is it possible that new British food can take up to six months to reach our little city, yet I can have delivered a new American chocolate bar in far less time? The new Snickers crisper was launched in November 2015, and I bought it from American Fizz in February. 

Anyway, I digress, did you know that Snickers is the fastest selling singles bar in the U.S? Well according to Mars it is! 

"Crispy satisfaction is on the horizon with new SNICKERS® Crisper - a delicious combination of crisped rice and peanuts topped with a layer of caramel and coated in creamy SNICKERS® Brand milk chocolate."

This snickers is in the same format as their wonderful Peanut Butter squared bar*, with two individual chocolate covered cubes. Once sliced, the even layers of peanuts, rice, caramel and chocolate became apparent. 

The chocolate was noticeably worse quality than what we're used to in the UK, something I can easily forgive Reese's for, but not Mars. I think it's because the company also makes my favourite British chocolate (Galaxy) and so I know they're capable of something better than this!

Fortunately the other components were far more enjoyable: the oozy caramel above the peanuts and puffed rice- which were both as crispy as promised. The ratio of each element worked well together, but I can't help thinking that the bar could've benefitted from some extra saltiness to balance out the sweetness, perhaps in the caramel layer.

I'm glad I tried this bar, it's novel, but I probably wouldn't buy it again in all honesty. If I was hankering for another American crunchy peanut chocolate bar, I'd rather a Take 5.

6/10


*I was fortunate enough to be sent the yummy Snickers PB Squared by fellow blogger One Treat & you can read a fair review of the bar by Nibs 'N' Scribs here.