Mary Jane

Mary Janes are classic candy made by Necco. They come simply wrapped in yellow wax paper with a red stripe and a little cartoon girl (Mary Jane). They are basically a sweet molasses taffy-like candy with a peanut butter center. These are on Peta's Accidentally Vegan list.

The first bite is sweet, chewy, and slightly peanutty. I somehow managed to squeeze some of the peanut butter out and sampled it on its own. Yuck. It is kind of bland without the added sweetness of the taffy. Next I sample the taffy on its own.. and find it overly sweet. Together though, its a nice combination.

Ingredients: Corn syrup, Dry roasted peanuts, Sugar, Molasses, Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, soybean), Soy lecithin, Salt, Mono and diglycerides, Hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed, cottonseed, soybean), Glycerine, Natural flavor.

Nutrition: One serving is 5 pieces. 160 calories per serving. Total fat 4g, Saturated fat 1g, Sodium 45mg, Total carbohydrate 32g, Sugars 20g, Protein 1g.

I enjoy the taste of these but I'm not a huge fan of the ingredients list. They seem like a nice and cute candy but hydrogenated oils are kind of scary. In small amounts though I supposed it is acceptable. I like that there are no artificial colors in these. I rate them a 7 out of 10.

Chick-O-Stick

These are a delicious little confection of crispy crunchy peanut butter and coconut. I picked up a bag at the Dollar Tree for $1. They are made by Atkinson's and proudly in the USA. I have seen them in three sizes: the original candy bar sized stick, individual bite sized pieces (what I have), and movie theatre boxes filled with little ball-like bites.

I honestly can't get enough of the flavor/texture combo. They are like what I remember butterfingers tasting like (minus the chocolate of course). Crispy sweet and salty peanutty flavor rolled in toasted coconut. Yum. I am not a big coconut person and I love these. The bright orange color is kind of bizarre.. but the pros outweigh the cons with these perfect craving quenching morsels.

Ingredients: Sugar, Corn syrup, Peanut butter (contains fresh ground dry roasted peanut, salt, BHT to maintain freshness), Toasted coconut (contains sodium metabisulfite- a preservative), Citric acid, Sodium bicarbonate, Titanium dioxide, Natural & artificial flavors, Color includes yellow #5, red #3, red #40, and blue #1, Soy lecithin.

A serving size is 3 pieces. 80 calories per serving, 20 calories from fat, Total fat 2g, Saturated fat .05g, Sodium 30mg, Total carbohydrate 14g, Sugars 9g.

So I'll admit some of those ingredients are a little scary. But, this candy is on Peta's "Accidentally Vegan" list. The rattling off of artificial colors explains the unnaturally vibrant orange. However, these in my opinion, are delicious, relatively easy to find, and inexpensive. A 9 out of 10.