Denver Food Blog

​At first, handing out lame treats on Halloween seems like a victimless crime. Kids are already getting bags of candy as it is, so what's the harm with one fewer awesome treat.

Part of the harm is that they're not the victim, really--you are. You, your house, your cars, your trees, your pets. But mostly, your reputation. What you dole out speaks for you, for better or worse, so here's what some legendarily crappy Halloween treats are screaming for you, at the top of their lame-ass lungs.

Liz Kellermeyer

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Liz Kellermeyer

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Liz Kellermeyer

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During last year's introduction of Hershey's autumn-themed candies, we tested the Candy Corn Kisses and found them tastier than expected, though tooth-achingly sweet. This year, the Pumpkin Spice Kisses lured us into buying them off an early Halloween rack being prepared at Target. 

From the picture on the front of the bag, we were expecting a chocolate kiss with a pumpkin-pie-like center, so we were thrown off when the foil strip-down revealed a light orange candy.  This put on hold any debate about whether a chocolate/pumpkin combination would be a match made in heaven or if we'd end up wishing we could separate the flavors. 

With that potential dilemma removed, we dove into the bag.

Liz Kellermeyer

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Liz Kellermeyer

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We're suckers for a beautiful sucker. We can appreciate the way that candy on a stick is both form and function -- a stylish way to eat a favorite treat while keeping your hands free from stickiness. Sadly, this Hello Kitty marshmallow pop, while strangely beautiful with its shimmering sugar coating and fluffy texture, is all form and no flavor. Fans of the Japanese cat might enjoy this for decorative purposes, but please, don't attempt to eat it.

Right out of the wrapper, we were hit with an overpowering sweet vanilla scent. Curious about the content of the pink bow perched upon Miss Kitty's head, we pried it off and attempted to take a little nibble. Was it fondant? Or maybe just crystalized sugar? Whatever it was, we were unable to penetrate its rock-hard surface and ended up with sore teeth for all our efforts.

Liz Kellermeyer

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Liz Kellermeyer

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In our families, grandma usually does all the holiday candy-making to create our yearly dose of buttery toffee, peanut clusters and peanut brittle. But grandma never made peanut brittle like this. The Fluffy Gourmet Peanut Brittle made locally by "Grampa" Michael Apodaca at Grampas Candy is "injected with air to make it easier on you teeth," according to the website. Not only is the texture nice and crunchy without the normal teeth-pulling hardness of other brittle, but the flavor blends the sweet, butterscotch notes of the sugar with the salty peanuts to create a treat that really is hard to resist.

Apodaca, a Denver native, started selling the brittle at the beginning of July, and he makes, weighs and packages everything himself. The recipe comes from his father-in-law (the original Grampa). "He made this candy every Christmas and everyone would eat it up," Apodaca told us. "Before he died, he not only gave me his recipe, but he also showed me his secret process on how to cook it and inject it with air to make it more fluffy."

A quick perusal of the list of ingredients and some internet research tell us that at least part of the secret is the inclusion of baking soda, which explains all the little air bubbles and the cloudy look. While we're not so sure that the addition of baking soda is enough to elevate a traditional candy to "gourmet" status, we have to admire the Grampas marketing efforts, including a website that is bare bones and looks a bit more suited to a tech company than a candy maker. Nevertheless, it serves its purpose and explains that a half-pound batch can be yours for $10 (shipping included), or you can buy a case of twelve boxes for $100. Plus, Apodaca made the site all by himself, and it's sure a heck of a lot better than our grampa could do.

Overall, we like what Grampas has done with peanut brittle, and after eating more of it than we ought to, we have to agree that the fluffy texture really is a tooth saver. Won't our dentists be sad?

Would we finish it? With help from our office mates, we finished off the half-pound box in no time flat.

Would we buy again? This first box was a gift, but we'd definitely consider buying some in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Liz Kellermeyer

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Liz Kellermeyer

 

Liz Kellermeyer

We must be looking a little tired around the office, because a co-worker recently bestowed this candy upon us. Hey, we don't look gift horses in the mouth, we just put them in our mouths. The gifts, that is. The candy.  Maybe we need a couple more of these...

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

The history of the Ferrara Pan Candy Company has Salvatore Ferrara coming to America from Italy in 1900 to start a small company that sold Italian pastries and Jordan almonds.  In 1919, Ferrara joined forces with his brothers-in-law to form a partnership that offered a "wide variety of confections."  Today the company is most famous for iconic candies like Boston Baked Beans, Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs and Red Hots.

 

We don't know how far down the family line or how many cousins removed you have to go in order to arrive at Juicy Oozers Sour Gummy Fun Bugs, but we have a feeling this probably wasn't in Salvatore Ferrara's vision for the future of his company, even one that included a "wide variety of confections."  The bug-shaped gummies were launched in February of this year under the company's Black Forest brand, which also makes novelty chews in the shape of worms, fish, sharks and bears.

 

Perhaps the most disturbing part of the packaging is the cricket-type bug on the front, kicking it back all chill with his arms behind his head, while his stomach is exploding juicy ooze.  We can't quite call the bug's expression "happy," though a hint of a smile plays at his lips.  We're wandering in the creepy territory of anthropomorphized food here, but our love for sour gummy candies requires us to look past this and go for the goo.

Krista Overby

Ice cream season is upon us, and we didn't need to look too far down Broadway to find our cold indulgence for the summer.  Sweet Action Ice Cream opened its doors in early March to the general enthusiasm of the entire Baker neighborhood.  After moving from New York to Denver, owners Samantha Kopicko and Chia Basinger knew they wanted to start some sort of business.  "We thought about opening a bar," said Sam, "but it just didn't sound like fun."  The couple had been messing around with making ice cream at home and got to the point where they felt like they had something special.

And they do.  Not content to simply sling your standard ice cream around, they went into  business with the goal of offering the best product possible, while being as responsible and sustainable as possible.  This passion comes through in a variety of ways, from locally sourced milk and produce, to biodegradable spoons, to participation in Xcel's Windsource program.  They support other nearby businesses by working with them in creative--and delicious--ways.  Watch out for an ice cream/cupcake collaboration with The Shoppe, and for a monthly specialty flavor whose proceeds benefit a local organization.

All very impressive, but let's get down to it: how does it taste?

Liz Kellermeyer

A year ago, we came to you with a simple pink maltball that tasted like Barbie, and the Candy Girls were born.  In addition to this momentous anniversary, Aubrey has even bigger news to commemorate with the birth of her baby boy last night!  What better way to celebrate the concurrence of these events than with a cigar.  Chocolate, of course.

Liz Kellermeyer

Liz Kellermeyer

Aubrey's expecting her first baby any day now, and at a recent shower her friends presented her and other shower-goers with the following challenge: Identify the chocolate bar that has been melted down in a diaper to look like really disgusting poo.

While we certainly all hope that her baby's dirty diapers don't reach the level of grossness that these melted candy bars have achieved, at least we can take solace in the fact that these poopy diapers are made of 100 percent delicious candy.

So our challenge to you, dear candy fans, is to see if you can name the melted chocolate bars in the diapers above. Aubrey was presented with five candy choices and went five for five, earning her an unmelted chocolate bar and a chance to retain her candy cred. We're only giving you three diapers to look at, but you still have a list of five possibilities to choose from. Post your best guess and the first person to get all three correct wins a stash of our grossest leftover candy to sample and enjoy.

The three diapers shown are either: Hershey's with peanuts, Three Musketeers, Snickers, Baby Ruth or Butterfinger. Tell us which number diaper corresponds to the correct candy bar and you win. You can click on the photo for a better view.

The Candy Girls were systematically working our way around the chocolate shops, bakeries and specialty candy makers of Denver when we stumbled upon Big Fat Cupcake, 129 Adams Street. While the uniquely flavored, award-winning cupcakes drew us in, it was shop-owner Kathleen Nevin's mission to donate 10 percent of her shop's profits to help men and women who have been diagnosed with cancer and can no longer afford to pay their mortgage or rent that really piqued our interest.

Turns out, Nevin is a breast-cancer survivor who offered to let us help create a special, limited- edition "celebrity" cupcake for the month of April. With the help of talented baker Kristin Snow, we created the Pink Hooter -- a vanilla cupcake filled with pomegranate cream, topped with pink buttercream frosting and a cherry -- that's fashioned after the Pink Lady, that classic cocktail.

So five minutes into our baby shower for Cafe Society's Veggie/Candy Girl (and three other future mothers here at Westword), a crazy singing telegram man showed up and started singing "Push It." By the time I had my phone out, he was on to "It's Raining Kids."

It was cute. It was creepy. It made me thirsty. Highlights above.