FOOD: An Investigation Into American sweets

From the huge amount of suggestions for doing this adventure into American candy it's been super fun getting to taste them all. Although I must add as as if I need an excuse! I'll run it over a couple of posts rather them bombarding them all at you in one go.

ALMOND JOY

Almond Joy [part of the Hersey brand] can be described as a Bounty Bar with a twist. A coconut bar covered in milk chocolate it's even presented in two mini sized portions - but with an additional helping of almonds. I say helping - I mean two almonds are placed on each bar like mini mountains. It comes out of the wrapper on a cute little cardboard tray [I'm all for details] and really does look like a rough version a Bounty. The coconut isn't as white and it's more gooey but the addition of the almonds offers an added crunch. Apparently Bounty Bars are released in America under the name Mounds [all this renaming gets a girl confused] although I've never come across them, at least not yet.

CUPCAKE BITES

These are one of the goodies found in the dollar store, like the pound shop you can find some amazingly different things in there and these are one of them. Boxed candy seems to be rather common and I love the cheesy, cheap packaging. Cupcake Bites are described as "bite sized cupcake morsels coated with sprinkles and white frosting!". Not only are they really sweet, but they are really additive. The mini bites taste of vanilla are certainly on the small size yet the sprinkles give an extra crunch and have a strong butter cream frosting smell. They look as cheap as they are - somewhat like the play dough you played with as a child that's got messed up a little with the other colours. They are fun and you can't go wrong with them, but have more than a few and they can be sickly.

TOOTSIE ROLLS

I first heard about Tootsie Rolls while watching Modern Marvels [basically a geeky History Channel show which tells the story how things are made] and we won these at the arcade. It's one of America's oldest candy and one of the first penny candies to be wrapped individually and they consist of a hard chewy chocolate mixture, tastes kinda like very cheap fudge but nice all the same. While they have been introduced to the UK market I'm not sure of their success outside of the USA. Because of their age and not being as visual appealing in comparison to many of their sweet counterparts, Tootsie Rolls are rather over looked but they are tasty all the same especially if you just want a quick sugar fix.

TWINKIES

Although they are a must eat American food, tracking down a Twinkie was harder then you would have thought. Granted they aren't really a sweet - it's a snack cake but its worthy of a mention. Twinkies come with the tag line of being a "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling" which it pretty much is, and it's rather basic as a cake. Saying that, they are tasty if not sickly. I could only manage eating one of the two cakes in a sitting because they are that rich. It seems a weird creamy filling too - a little marshmallow like - or at least that kind of consistency wrapped in a light sponge. While Twinkies have been a staple of America since the 1930s its future is in jeopardy as it's sales decrease and it's manufacturers file for bankruptcy. Yes my experience of them was nice but I think I'll stick to more traditional chocolate based snacks.

Keep your eyes peeled for a part two of this girls sweet adventures in the coming weeks ...

What's your favourite kind of sweets, American or otherwise? Any candy recommendation for me to try on my sweetie adventures?

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On a side note LOTS is featuring over one Jess's Live Life, Save Money blog on my feature about visiting York on a budget and free things to do so go have a peek!