A Quick Kiss

http://motivationbychocolate.blogspot.com

I'm a sucker for Hershey's Kisses. I love all the great flavors, love the shape, love the wrappers. So I'm always excited to see the new flavors. This one isn't new (I reviewed it last year):



Still a solid choice. I stand by last year's comments. There's also a really good looking cookie recipe on the back of the package.

These I haven't had before:



The dark chocolate is a nice offset to the mint. No candy chunks as in the peppermint ones and not as sweet with the dark chocolate. More sophisticated. And pretty darn good, I might add. No Lindor Truffle, mind you, but good.

And these I hadn't seen either:



Wow!! Yum!!! I didn't think I would like these at all (not a big fan of whiskey), but they are really good! Once again, I have no idea what I'm going to really like until I try it. I hope this won't interact with my Percocet.....

More on whiskey, rum and liqueur tomorrow! Woowee!!

Let's start with gingerbread - a holiday tradition and a personal favorite of mine:



They look festive enough, they were the perfect degree of softness, but - alas, they were just not good. I ADORE gingerbread but these seem to have some kind of weird aftertaste. Not sure what was happening here, but it was not good. Archway makes a MUCH better gingerbread cookie. I'd post pictures of the Archway ones, but I already ate them all.

These looked good:



Creative, right? Love the red and green. Again, not good - nothing bad, just kind of tasteless. I have a box of regular Rice Krispy Treats and they are WAY better. Something is missing here. ZZZZZ.

Okay, there's still hope! There's chocolate!!!



Okay, maybe the sprinkles need a little help, but these look good! And they were definitely the best of the bunch, but for 190 calories each, not amazing. Only average. I'd rather have one of Little D's pumpkin cookie things or her peanut butter bars. Or even an oatmeal cream pie! Sad, but true.

Okay wait, what about these?



Okay, artistically they don't really look like the trees on the box. Taste-wise...well, they are just kind of flat. They aren't bad brownies, they just aren't really good brownies. They have a great consistency, but again, the flavor is just, well - average. Again, not really worth the calories. Disappointing. : (

And finally:



Something clearly happens to the sprinkles between posing for the shot on the box and getting to the consumer, but hey, what the heck. I had high hopes for these too. I like frosted cookies like these - I know they are cheap, but I've always liked 'em. These? Not so much. Again - a weird aftertaste. A blah factor. So heartbreaking.

Now here's a shocker:



Okay - another sprinkle mutiny, but look at that radioactive green! I LOVE it! I was surprised by the shameless printing of their name on every cookie, but whatever. There are like 10 billion cookies in here and they were cheap as dirt. I got them at Target. I bought them for the name - Festive - and the outrageous color. And as cheap and cheesy as they are - they are the best of the lot!

Oh Little Debbie, why have you forsaken me? Was it what I said about Martha?

The lesson? We always want what we can't have. I really, really wanted the Fall Little Debbie brownies. When they were sold out, I was sure they would be the best thing EVAH! But now that I have the Christmas ones - well......

Here's the eternal challenge of the human race - continue to strive and grow vs. being happy with what you have. The secret is to find the mix that works for YOU. What works for your friend on the corporate fast track may not work for you. You might choose more time with family or more time to travel and less income.

So this holiday season, be very thankful for all you have and remember that what you don't have may not be as great as it seems. And if you do get it, it may not have nearly as many sprinkles on it as you thought.