Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Candy In A Crunchy Shell is the peanut butter counter part to milk chocolate M & Ms candies. They crunch like M & Ms. You can suck off the outer shell just as you can with M & Ms, to reveal the difference between the two candies. Plain M & Ms are filled with chocolate, while Reese’s Pieces contain that trade mark Reese’s peanut butter. While Reese’s Pieces contain no chocolate, and so do taste identical to Reese’s peanut butter cups, their sweet “peanutty” flavor helps make them the unsurpassed nut-based candy in children’s eyes everywhere they’re sold.
Though my scale dislikes even the small bags of Reese’s Pieces, my mouth loves them. While I do miss the chocolate and peanut combination of the peanut butter cups, I’m still a big peanut fan. So the absence of the milk chocolate doesn’t matter. I still enjoy these shelled candies once in a while.
Even with no milk chocolate, Reese’s hit upon yet another a winning formula with their Reese’s Pieces candies, which I first tried in the early 1980s after seeing them in the E.T. movie. They’re not overly sweet, and any salty taste is quite low — much less so than in salted peanut butter spreads.
So if you like peanut butter flavored candies, then this take on peanut butter M & Ms by Reese’s will indeed make you happy. Reese’s Pieces are becoming one of America’s favorite coated orange-colored candies.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
- This candy holds up pretty well in warm environments. The shell remains hard and effectively contains the peanut butter center, even in temperatures in the nineties. So eating Reese’s Pieces in the hot weather generally will not mess up your fingers or lips.
- The peanut butter in Reese’s Pieces shelled candies tastes almost identical to that in those ever-popular Reese’s peanut butter cups.
- These treats consist mostly of peanut butter with just a little bit of other stuff for the candy shell.
- Unlike so many other sugary candies, the peanut butter in these sweets gives you some valuable minerals not found in other sweets that consist of just sugar and some artificial flavorings.
- While there may be many empty calories here, some essential vitamins, protein, and healthy nut fats exist too.
- In recent years, Reese’s made the wrappers for many of their candy products more air-tight, opting for a plastic-based covering over a glossy paper one. They include that wrapping on the bagged Reese’s Pieces. This better protects the peanut butter flavor from contamination from outside agents. So you rarely taste any unexpected flavors from nearby candies on the store shelf beside these.
- Reese’s Pieces stay fresh and nutty for many months or years even, thanks in part to the air-tight bag.
- Reese’s is a well-established name in the peanut butter candy-making trade. Indeed, every other brand has yet to build the long-lived good name of that signature Reese’s butter of peanuts flavor.
- This Reese’s product is carried by just about all retail candy and grocery stores and quick shoppers.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
- Unfortunately, Reese’s chose to incorporate a small amount of trans fat in this product with the addition of partially hydrogenated oils. However, the amount is probably negligible, as the nutrition facts label still reports the amount of trans fats as zero grams.
- At roughly 380 calories per king-sized bag, these nut candies, due to how good they taste, can really pack on the pounds because putting them away before they’re all gone is just too difficult for sugarholics like me. I wish they made a dieter’s version.
- Each king-sized bag contains 14 grams of saturated fat. Thus, as is the case with most candy, moderate indulging is key to weight-gain-free enjoyment of this peanut-based reward.
- The king-sized pack of Reese’s Pieces costs approximately $1.50. Not too pricey.
Ingredients List
Sugar, partially defatted peanuts, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel and soybean oil), corn syrup, dextrose. Contains 2% or less of artificial color (yellow #5 lake, red #40 lake, yellow #6 lake, blue # lake), salt, resinous glaze, soy lecthin, modified cornstarch, carnauba wax, vanillin, artificial flavor, milk.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 51 pieces (40 g). Servings per container: About 2.
- Calories: 190. Calories from fat: 80.
- Total fat: 9 grams, 14% DV.
- Sat. fat: 7 grams, 35% DV.
- Trans fat: 0 grams.
- Cholesterol: 0 grams.
- Sodium: 75 MG, 3% DV.
- Total carbohydrate: 25 grams, 8% DV.
- Dietary fiber: 1 gram, 4% DV.
- Sugars: 21 grams.
- Protein: 4 grams.
Product Rating
I’d suggest Reese’s Pieces as a once-in-a-meteor-shower treat. They taste great cold or warm. But since this candy has so much fat, sugar, and artificial colors in my view, I’ll reduce my rating, and rank Reese’s Pieces at 85 out of 100.
Where To Buy Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Candy In Crunchy Shell
Look for this three-plus-decades-running candy at most any candy or grocery store, quick shopper, or wholesale market. They come in the signature bright orange wrapper with the yellow and brown lettering.
References
Revision History
- : Moved this post to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, and tweaked the content.
- 2012-04-28: Originally published.