
Every
holiday season, I love indulging in those classic peanut butter cookies dimpled with a
Hershey Kiss center. For our
12 Days of Edible Gifts, I experimented with this same concept to create a
Ferrero Rocher-inspired treat. The combination of hazelnuts and chocolate is always divinely delicious and these crumbly hazelnut cookies with chocolate middles are no exception.

Happy National Candy Corn Day! This
Halloween, grocery aisles have been stocked with two distinct types of my favorite seasonal
candy: the traditional version made by Brach's, as well as a newer
Hershey's rendition.
Last year, when I
first tried the Hershey's candy corn, I thought it had a cloying aftertaste, and despite giving them a second chance, I still didn't care for them.

Last Friday after hearing
the news that Hershey's had changed its chocolate formula, YumSugar and I decided to perform a taste test. Luckily we had the perfect place to host a chocolate taste test —
CasaSugar's space at Park(ing) Day! For the taste test, we pitted
Nestle's Crunch against
Hershey's Krackel.

Hit by the worsening economy and the
rising costs of raw materials, candy giant
Hershey's has not only
raised candy prices, but has also begun replacing cocoa butter, the ingredient that allegedly gives Hershey's candies their delicious flavor, with vegetable oil.
The formulas of candy products such as Whatchamacallit, Milk Duds, Mr. Goodbar, and Krackel, among
other candies, have been changed.

Being a big
Red Vines and Twizzlers fan, I was excited to find out that
Hershey's brand Y&S Candies was debuting a new line of "grownup," bite-sized soft candy,
Young & Smylie licorice ($2.99). The licorice is sold in a resealable plastic bag, which locks in the candy's moisture and keeps it soft. Another thing I enjoyed about the packaging was the "licorice lore" on the back: Did you know that the licorice plant Glycyrrhiza, belongs to the pea or bean family?

If the thought of someone sending you a box of chocolates and telling you to host a party sounds like a fun plan, then you might want to check out
Hershey's new scheme. To promote their new line of Bliss chocolates, Hershey's is selecting 10 thousand folks to host Hershey's Bliss Chocolate Parties. If you're chosen to be a hostess, Hershey's will send you a party pack full of dark, milk and meltaway chocolates, as well as various host gifts.

This summer a press release went out with limited fanfare. The folks at
Hershey's were teaming up with Starbucks. At the time there was very little news available, other than an upcoming Starbucks-branded premium chocolate.

Attention all you candy freaks! Looks like it's time to start pinching your pennies. This morning Hershey Co.

Round up your sweet teeth and get ready for a road trip. Here are the
top ten U.S. candy destinations.