Keeping with Candy

Yes, your favorite food critic is back stateside. Yes, you'll actually be able to buy the products I'm reviewing again. After four months of reading about foods from across the pond and about two months of not reading about food at all, you can enjoy the full experience of reading my reviews of food right here in the United States.

These changes can be jarring, so let's start where we left off: with candy.

The big trend in American candy right now is to release new versions of classic candy bars. It's behind a slew of products, from the Butterfinger Crunch to the Kit Kat "Big Kat."

Reese's is mixing it up too. Their "Reese's Whipps" join the slew of other Reese's-themed candy like the divine "Fast Break" and the forgettable "Crispy Crunchy Bar." And with 40% less fat, what could possibly be wrong with the new(est)comer?

Not much, actually. The bar is a piece of peanut-butter flavored nougat, coated in the wonderful creamy peanut butter candy in the "Fast Break," coated in a thin layer of chocolate. It's a whole lot of sweet peanut butter flavor, and a whole lot of fun.

This thing fills your mouth with sugary Reese's peanut butter. Unlike the peanut butter cup, which only has limited peanut butter flavor, the nougat seems to expand on your mouth and militantly take charge of all your taste buds.

Sadly, it doesn't expand in your stomach. It's also very light and full of a good amount of air, so the bar won't fill you if your tummy is telling you it's time for a snack. The claim of less fat is also a little misleading, considering one not-so-filling bar still has 9 grams of the stuff.

Still, it's a great effort to make a Reese's product a little less damaging to your health while coming up with a new take on an old flavor -- worth 4 sporks out of 5. Think of it as a lighter Fast Break with more peanut butter, and use it as such. If you're hungry, eat a fast break. If you crave peanut butter without the heavy feeling in your tummy, eat a Whipp.

Or just eat three Whipps if you're hungry and want more peanut butter. Choice is American, after all.