Chocolate-peanut butter taste test: Does Reese's keep top spot?

Peanut Butter Snickers
Peanut Butter Snickers

When it comes to candy combinations, chocolate and peanut butter reign supreme. And since it was first introduced to Americans in 1928, the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup has been delivering it up well in its neat orange packages.

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Many other candy makers have offered their own versions, adding ingredients and varieties and morphing it into various shapes and forms over the years. But the question remains: Can anything taste better than a Reese's Butter Cup? We put some of the top candies to a taste test in search of an answer. Here's what we found:

Snickers Peanut Butter

First up, the newest treat to hit the market. Described as: 2 squares filled with peanut butter, peanuts, caramel, and nougat, covered in milk chocolate. Basically, it's a Snickers with a thin layer of peanut butter added.

Verdict: It's good, especially because of all the salty peanuts, though the combination of peanut butter and caramel is a little too much. It's nice that it's divided into two pieces, so you can, at least in theory, save one part for later or share it easily with someone.

Irresistibility Factor: 3.5 *

Take 5 Bar
Take 5 Bar

Hershey's Take 5

This boasts similar ingredients to the Snickers variation -- chocolate, caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter -- but instead of the nougat, it has pretzel pieces.

Verdict: Delicious. The pretzels add a nice bit of salt and crunch. It would still be nice to have it void of caramel, but overall this is a good use of chocolate and peanut butter.

Irresistibility Factor: 4

Peanut Butter M&M's
Peanut Butter M&M's

Peanut Butter M&M's

These jumbo-sized candy-coated chocolate pieces are filled with peanut butter.

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Verdict: Incredibly addictive, these have a good amount of peanut butter and just enough chocolate -- though a little more wouldn't hurt. They also could use just a bit more salt, and it would be great to see a version with peanuts.

Irresistibility Factor: 4

Reese's Fast Break
Reese's Fast Break

Reese's Fast Break

Again with the nougat, this bar by the famous cup creator pairs it with chocolate and peanut butter.

Verdict: The Snickers version is actually better because of the crunchy peanuts it includes. While it's not bad, it definitely was the least favorite of the bunch sampled.

Irresistibility Factor: 2

Dove Peanut Butter Bar
Dove Peanut Butter Bar

Dove Peanut Butter Bar

Creamy peanut butter meets Dove chocolate.

Verdict: By far the biggest challenger to the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It's a different taste than the original, but a nice twist on it, especially if you're a fan of Dove chocolate.

Irresistibility Factor: 4.5

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Bottom line: While it's hard to go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate, Reese's still rules when it comes to the combo. It's great to see plenty of other options on the market, though, and we welcome any and all competition in this area.

Have you tasted any chocolate-peanut butter candy that you think beats a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?

*The irresistibility was rated on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most delicious.


Images (from top to bottom) via Amazon, Amazon, Amazon, Amazon, Amazon


Written by Julie Ryan Evans for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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