Reviewing Oreo Lava Cake Mix, Brach’s Mellowcreme Roses, Hot Cocoa Kisses, & More

Wow these are sweet! Although, I don’t get any hot cocoa vibes from these. Sure, the center is made of soft solid white stuff but I’m not tasting any marshmallow, it all just comes across as very sweet creamy milk chocolate. At the very least, the filling is nice as it makes it easy to bite through.

Released October 2018 for the winter season. These have come back every year since.

Compared to regular Peeps, the marshmallow in this tastes more genuine and less artificial with the same amount of sweetness. There isn’t much of a s’mores taste although there is somewhat of a “toasty” flavor to them similar to that of a toasted marshmallow. Aside from the flavor, I really think the chocolate dipped shell is a must for all Peeps, it’s so good and compliments the gushy marshmallow composition.

Released around January 2024 for the Easter season alongside other new flavors and products. Found at CVS.

Amazingly cute, detailed, and filled with soft truffle filling. All three flavors are sweet, creamy, and represented nicely without being artificial or off. If anything, I wish there were more sprinkles!

Exclusive to Walgreens. Not sure when this was released, though, it seems to be a Valentine’s only item.

Like other Brach’s Mellowcreme candies, these come off as your typical candy: sweet and artificial. There’s three different flavors represented here and they hardly taste as advertised. Basically, the super sugary tasting composition overshadows the flavors. However, like other Mellowcremes, the soft texture of these is great, they practically melt in your mouth (likely because it’s pure sugar!).

Released around January 2024 for the Valentine’s season. Found at CVS.

The baking process has a few more steps than a cake or brownie mix but it’s worth it, and frankly, it’s still very easy to create. In the batter itself, you’ll notice it’s chu ky and has Oreo bits already mixed in on top of what you add before putting it in the oven.

After it’s done, you’re greeted with what is more or less a regular lava cake with a gooey inside. This inside goo doesn’t have the humongous amount of Oreos pouring out as shown on the box, in fact, the Oreos it does have clump at the top, and are super soft and soggy from baking. It’s also not that sweet and on the darker side, reminding me exactly of the Oreo cookie without the creme. Due to the dark tasting nature of these, it pairs well with whipped cream or ice cream.

Released in partnership with Betty Crocker around January 22, 2024 alongside Oreo Brownies and Cake Mixes.

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a candy that uses real strawberry quite like this. The ingredients aren’t lying when it says they have them as the inside filling, tasting absolutely tastes like real strawberries with added sugar. There’s also crunchy strawberry specs in the filling that add to the texture. Overall, all of this comes across as more strawberry than strawberry creme and from my experience, this Ritter Sport variation is sweeter than many of its counterparts.

These may have been released around July 2023. I saw these in the Valentine’s section at Stop & Shop.

To my surprise, these tasted just like a Reese’s and were stupidly easy to make, kind of! The recipe calls for spreading the frosting after pouring the thick liquid into a pan which is nearly impossible because the frosting is thick and the surface is soft. I’d suggest waiting for the peanut butter portion to harden in the fridge first. Additionally, what I didn’t like is that these come out thin! You definitely need to opt for a smaller pan like 6-8 inch or even smaller–also be sure to use parchment paper as these stick to even a well oiled pan.

Baking procedures aside, the soft peanut butter bar part is gritty, crumbly, moist, and tastes like the inside of a Reese’s while the chocolate frosting flavor is exactly like the Reese’s shell. It really is a very accurate rendition of a Reese’s in bar form!

A similar product was released in 2014 that required baking. These no bake bars were released January 2024 alongside Reese’s Muffin Mix. Found at Stop & Shop.

Just like how they’re advertised, the flavor is that of a brownie with a little bit of caramel on top. It’s very accurate, and isn’t too artificial either. In terms of sweetness, it’s nowhere near what I thought it’d be. It’s semi-sweet which is nice, and I especially like the soft, thick texture.

While I’m not sure when these were released, reviews date back to around 2021. Found at Five Below.

Like most other Lindt Truffles, these are soft, creamy, and sweet. But unfortunately, while this advertised three flavors, I didn’t taste much of the chocolate part from it. Frankly, the strawberry chocolate shell and the inside filling which consists of both chocolate and vanilla simply overwhelmed the chocolate. What I got from this was a creamy vanilla with a light strawberry. Not bad, I just hoped for a balance of the three flavors.

Released around February 2020 for the Easter season. These have come back every year around the same time since.

How do these resemble Galaxy Brownies? Taste wise, it’s your typical dry, odd tasting, somewhat sweet, semi-dark chocolatey bar. The texture at least is thick and soft which I really like, I just can’t get over how fraudulent it portrays itself as! Not only does it taste and look completely different than a Galaxy Brownie, even the sprinkles on this are flat and irrelevant! Also, don’t heat this up! The chocolate on the outside melts quickly and it becomes a liquid mess!

Released August 2023 with a Caramel Churro flavor. Found at Walmart.