by: -RoG-

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Haribo Ghostly Gummies

It's always nice to see Haribo getting their gummies on board for the Halloween season, and I really like the packaging on these. Slime bats dripping down from the top of the bag as orange bats fly around, their signature bear dressed as a vampire with a jack-o-lantern in his hand, and a nice window to all the gummy candies in the bag. Excellent. These flavors aren't anything new, but the shapes of the gummies are. Skulls, skeletons, pumpkins, are all represented here. I've never been a big fan of the flavor of Haribo gummies, as I've always been more into the Black Forest brand, but if you like their standard gummy bears, I'm sure these won't disappoint, as they're the exact same taste & texture.

out of 5 haunted houses

Jolly Rancher Spooky Shapes Gummies

It's nice to see Jolly Rancher get into the Halloween spirit again with their candies. These new spooky shapes gummies are quite the departure from their standard hard candies, or even the ones that made the best of both worlds like their 2014 Caramel Apple Jolly Rancher variety. The packaging is killer. Little ghosts floating around a purple & black field, dressed in various costumes. I dig it. Upon opening the bag, you're hit with that same, incredibly strong scent that their hard candies are known for. For a bag this hefty, it would've been nice if they made it resealable, cuz there's no way anybody is eating all these in one sitting, and they're not individually wrapped. The candies come in three shapes - ghosts, bats, and pumpkins - and they're the classic Jolly Rancher candy flavors. I gotta say, they did a very nice job on these gummy candies. Not only are they not too hard to bite into, but the flavor is very reminiscent of the original Jolly Rancher candies. I know everyone has their favorite flavor... mine was always the green apple, and I'm happy to report that it does not disappoint in this softer form. Well worth picking up a bag!

out of 5 brains in jars of formaldehyde

M&M's White Boo-tterscotch Candies

I'm a huge fan of butterscotch, so these new "Boo-tterscotch" candies were easily one of the candies I was most excited to try this year. The packaging is great, with the big red M&M looking terrified of the ghost that just dropped some of the candies before him. Not sure why he's so terrified; you could certainly run into far more malicious ghosts than these ones who dish out free candy. We should all be so lucky. The candies come in three colors - yellow, brown, and white - and the insides are a ghostly white as well. So how do they taste? They taste like a mixture of butterscotch and white chocolate with a nice crunchy shell on the outside. Pretty damn good! The world needs more butterscotch flavored candies, and I'm glad to see someone decided to make them a part of Halloween. Here's hoping they continue to produce these for years to come!

out of 5 hearses

Amos Zombie Gummy Candies

Another offering from Amos this year are these zombie gummy candies that come in a variety of shapes and fruit flavors. The packaging is definitely the star here, what with the nice mindless zombie illustration as it strolls through the purple silhouette of a graveyard. I love it. The candies also have some nice shapes of zombies in various poses. Much like their gummy screaming skulls, the flavor is just so-so with a bit of a chemical aftertaste, and they're a bit tough to bite into. If they would just improve the quality of their candy flavoring, I'd gladly give these a higher rating.

out of 5 Counts (ah-ah-ah!)

Hershey's Caramel Pumpkins

I'm a total sucker for anything chocolate and caramel, and these new Hershey's Caramel Pumpkins are no exception. They taste a lot like Cadbury's Caramelo bars, and that's a really good thing. Combine that with the festive Autumn package design and bright red foil wrapped around each pumpkin-shaped chocolate, and you have a real winner here.

out of 5 leaf piles

Lunchables Cookie Dunks

I reviewed two Halloween Lunchables treats last year, and really enjoyed their presentation. I gotta say, these new Cookie Dunks are just as good, if not better. A big Frankenstein Monster is smiling at the top of them, for he knows you will soon be dipping adorably tiny chocolate chip cookies into orange marshmallow creme and Halloweeny sprinkles. But here's the best part: these are actually delicious! The Lunchables of 2015 looked great, but these Cookie Dunks actually taste great too! It's also just plain fun to take these tiny cookies between your fingers, and then dip them into the marshmallow creme and sprinkles. All that for a dollar? Sold!

out of 5 black widow spiders

Brach's Brunch Favorites Candy Corn

And the winner of the most random, unexpected Halloween candy flavor of the year, goes to Brach's, for creating candy corn inspired by... brunch!? These are a Target exclusive candy, and I honestly never thought I'd be reviewing candy corn pieces flavored like French Toast & Maple Syrup, Waffles & Strawberry, and Chocolate Chip Pancakes, but here we are. Life is crazy. I'm going to try these one by one. The French Toast & Maple syrup somehow tastes exactly like it sounds, and I'm kind of scared. Oh god, the Waffles & Strawberry do too! First you taste the strawberry, then the waffle flavoring comes through. Ahh!! Even the Chocolate Chip & Pancake ones taste like they should! What kind of mad science is this!? I'm simultaneously baffled and amazed by what I'm eating. Considering how many years I've been conducting these taste tests for, that's no easy thing to do. Most impressive, Brach's!

out of 5 Chucky dolls

Brach's Double Crunch Maple Almonds

Wow. These are really good! The maple flavoring combined with the almonds is absolutely perfect, and like their name suggests, they're super crunchy. The only strange thing is they're all orange, instead of a mix of orange and white ones that are pictured on the bag. Doesn't really matter though, because they're delicious. I will say that they're very rich and sweet, so it's hard to eat more than a handful at a time, but that just makes them last longer. And that's good, because I want to keep eating them, so I hope the whole "Limited Edition" thing is just their way of testing the market. Please bring these back next year, Brach's! And the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that....

   out of 5 puzzle boxes

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