CANDY REVIEW: Tootsie Roll Harvest Chews

 

Though my candy consumption continues to decline from year to year, I always have my eyes out for what's an actual new product as opposed to the same candy in a new Halloween costume.  I spotted these Tootsie Roll Harvest Chews way back in August in a Walgreens, and braved the stinkeyes of the staff who were literally just beginning to place the Halloween candy on shelves.  In an act of sheer willpower and forced scarcity, I ran home and put them in my ceremonial orange and black Halloween storage bin until I could sample them closer to Halloween.  

 

That time is now.

 

When I was a young one trick or treating, Tootsie Rolls were always "filler candy."  I didn't dislike them, but they were certainly the last things eaten out of my bag after the Reese's PB cups, Hershey bars, SweeTarts, etc. etc.  

 

As I got older I came to really appreciate their simplicity and unique flavor.  They weren't quite chocolate,  they weren't quit taffy.  But they were small, snack-able, and GOOD.  

 

In later years, Tootsie Roll released their Fruit Chews --sort of the Tootsie Roll version of Starbursts-- and I've enjoyed those also.  I mention them because these Harvest Chews are definitely closer to the Fruit Chews than the original Tootsie Rolls.  They have a softer consistency and are less dense.  

The bag features autumn leaves accenting the usual Tootsie Roll color scheme of dark brown, red, white, and yellow.  The chews themselves though, are bright as Fall leaves:  red, light brown, yellow, and orange in various combinations.  If you use candy as decorations, these would look fantastic in a display bowl.  

Let's get down to brass tacks:  Harvest Chews are a mix of four flavors:

• Cinnamon
• Caramel Apple 
• Candy Corn
• Pumpkin Spice

 
 

CINNAMON:

The Cinnamon chew is a light red, or a dark pink.  The flavor is subtle.  Less Atomic Fireball and much more what cinnamon tastes like dusted on a snickerdoodle cookie.  It's a mild cinnamon.  Tasty, but of the 4 chews, I think this was my least favorite for no other reason than cinnamon technically is encompassed in pumpkin spices.

 

CARMEL APPLE:

They had two ways they could have gone with the color of this chew:  caramel brown, or granny apple green.  I'm happy to say they went with the latter.

 

Caramel Apple candies are sorta my THING so I was very excited to try this one.  The flavors are there for sure:  the creaminess of caramel, with a sharper bite of tart apple--- but the whole thing is muted.  It's a good candy, but my personal preferences for caramel apple candies are still the flavor-forward Caramel Apple Sugar Babies, or Brach's Caramel Apple Mellowcremes.  

 

The Sugar Babies are a Tootsie Roll product, so they know what they're doing, and I have to assume the flavor profile of these was a conscious choice to tone-down the flavor.  

 

CANDY CORN:

One interesting thing about this chew is that its' individual wrapper is the only one to stray away from the red stripes of the Tootsie Roll brand.  The choice here was to go with orange stripes, making the wrapper adhere to the actual colors of candy corn:  orange, yellow, and white.  

Flavor-wise:  this is spot on candy corn.  If you like candy corn, you'll love this.  If you hate candy corn.  Well.  There you go.

I thought this would be my least favorite of the bunch, but in hindsight I think it was the winner for me.  Aesthetically pleasing, and spot-on flavor.  This one got me.

 

PUMPKIN SPICE:

The pumpkin spice chew is a creamsicle orange.  As for flavor, it's all there:  the nutmeg, the cloves, the cinnamon, the PUMPKIN SPICY.  However, like all the flavors sans candy corn:  it's muted.  I had one of these with a cup of regular coffee and really enjoyed the compliment-- felt like a pumpkin spice donut chew.  If you're a pumpkin spice fan-- this is something you'll enjoy.

 Overall I'm super happy with this assortment.  I love the colors, and think they look great strewn on a Halloween buffet, or piled high in a Fall-themed bowl.  The flavors are all delicious, although mellowed, but very much evoking the season and flavors and smells of Autumn.  

Hopefully the market has flattened out and you can still find them on store shelves instead of paying triple on eBay.  

In the words of They Live:  CONSUME!