Review: Cadbury Crunchie Candy Bar

I have a very hard time finding the Cadbury Crunchie candy bar, a British-born, chocolate-coated, golden-centered, awesome treat of delight. (I bet you see where this review is going.)  In fact, one of the few places I know I can find them is at a little store in Gatlinburg, Tennesee, called Celtic Heritage. The last time my husband and I visited, I made sure to pick some up… And well, just a few other treats, as you can see over there.

Sadly, all but the memories are now gone. I suppose I could just order a box online, but too many Crunchies in my house at once might be a dangerous thing. So for now, I’ll take them however the universe happens to throws them at me… like at a random gas station in rural Illinois or a souvenir shop in Florida. The rarity in which I can get them just adds to its mystique. Though, if someone wanted to gift me a box (Hello, husband!), I probably wouldn’t complain. Anyway, let’s take a look at this sweet thing.

The center of a Crunchie bar is referred to as honeycomb toffee because of its dense, yet light, spongy texture. I often buy it sans chocolate if I happen to see it, like once during a trip to Silver Dollar City (but that’s another post). The flavor reminds me of peanut brittle, without the peanuts, which makes sense, considering both have essentially the same ingredients. And holy cow, you can MAKE IT YOURSELF! I seriously need to try that. So anyway, for a Crunchie, a bar of this delicious toffee is covered in Cadbury’s standard milk chocolate. That’s it. It’s a relatively simple bar, but totally delivers on flavor.

I love toffee, of course. It’s the perfect delivery system of sweet, salty, and crunchy all at once. And this bar lives up to its name. Wow, it is loud. I have to watch my TMJ-ridden jaw when eating this one. But the honeycomb center crumbles and dissolves easily in the mouth, and the buttery, almost burnt-caramel tones work well with the chocolate. But here, the thin chocolate coating takes a back seat. Oh, and oddly, sometimes bites of Crunchies are super crunchy, and sometimes the honeycomb is chewy. Perhaps it’s a storage or freshness issue, but doesn’t really impact my enjoyment of the candy. And, BONUS — each bar is just 185 calories.

Would I Buy It Again? Heck yeah!

Fun Fact: Many people compare Crunchie bars to an Australian candy bar produced by Nestlé called Violet Crumble, which I have unfortunately not had the opportunity to try yet.