Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the normal size from Hershey’s candy company, have been my absolute favorite candies for nearly all of my fifty plus years. Though my waistline hates these cups, my mouth thinks they’re terrific. That signature duo of milk chocolate and peanut butter remains second to none, even to this day, though others have tried to imitate the flavor, but have definitively failed.
Indeed, Reese’s bumped upon a winning chocolate formula with their long-running line of peanut butter cups. The bigger cups (king-sized versions) have a small ratio of chocolate to peanut butter. The small and mini cups have much more chocolate than peanut butter however. But if you like both chocolate and peanut butter flavors in roughly equal strength, the this medium-sized peanut butter cup is for you. It’s a taste that, like hot dogs and apple pie, never grows tiresome — unless you eat twenty cups in single sitting, which I’ve done rarely, but on occasion nonetheless. But even if I get sick of this sweet confection one night, I’m eager the next day to get into the cupboard and grab some more. That’s why you’ll almost never find any stock-piled Reese’s peanut butter cups around my house, as I usually eat them before I can store them.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
- Reese’s is a well-established name in the peanut butter cup industry. Indeed, every other brand has yet to achieve the long-lived acclaim of Reese’s. So, Reese’s cups can be found in almost any mainstream candy or grocery store.
- Though I’ve heard of them changing the formula on occasion through the decades, my tongue never knew it.
- Though some candies have begun using trans fats in the form of partially hydrogenated oils in their recipes, Reese’s peanut butter cups contain none of that.
- If I ever do get tired of eating this candy, as sometimes does happen during the holiday season, all it takes is a week or two away from it, and then, again, I yearn for that chocolaty peanut butter flavor. If I do get sick of these cups, my sickness remains for just a very short time.
- Though these peanut butter cups are indeed a candy, percentage wise, real peanut butter comprises roughly half their weight, which is nutritious. Unlike so many other popular candies, due to the peanut butter, you actually do get some valuable nutrition from these. While there may be many empty calories in this treat, some essential vitamins and protein exist as well.
- In recent years, Reese’s made the wrappers for this candy more air-tight. The result was that the peanut butter aroma stays inside the wrapper better, and outside odors are kept away from this candy. So you don’t get near the cross-contamination of flavors between candies these days. These peanut butter cups nowadays stay fresh and nutty tasting for many months, and never taste like other candies.
- It’s surprising that as delicious as these peanut butter and chocolate candies are, that you’d find much in them besides sugar and additives. Yet each cup has roughly 1 grams of dietary fiber and only 75 MG of sodium per cup.
- However, each cup has 2 grams of saturated fat. Thus, as is true of most any candy, restrained eating is key to enjoyment while still avoiding weight gain and other health difficulties that come from eating large quantities of fat and sugar.
- It’s impressive that Reese’s has been able to retain the same flavor for nearly nine decades. I suppose that means that this is a tried-and-true recipe, like Pepsi Cola, that generations of candy lovers have liked, including mine.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
- At 100 calories per normal-sized cup, these peanut butter cups, due to how good they taste, can really add the pounds because it can be a challenge to put them away before they’re all gone. I wish they made a sugar-free version.
- The 2-cup packs cost approximately $1 each. Not bad, but when I was a kid, you could get them for a dime.
- This candy is quite sensitive to heat, and like Frosty the snowman, melts easily in warmer areas; leaving a chocolaty mess on the fingers when eaten. However, if fixing this problem means adding more saturated fats, then I’d suggest that Reese’s leave the formula as is.
Our Rating
So, If you could take only one candy with you into exile to Siberia, take these Reese’s peanut butter cups. They actually taste quite good frozen. Actually, I’d recommend them either warm or cold because of their satisfying and addictive flavor. But since these cups have so much fat and added sugar, I’ll temper my rating, and rate this candy at 88 out of 100.
Where To Buy Reese’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Look for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at most any candy or big or little grocery store, gas stations, quick shopper places, or wholesale clubs. You’ll recognize them in the bright orange wrapper with the yellow and brown lettering. Don’t go hungry. Eat Reese’s.
References
Revision History
- : Moved this post to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, and tweaked the content.
- 2012-04-07: Originally published.