James Kenji Lopez-Alt
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I couldn't try every variety of Reese's if I wanted to (and I want to).
🕑 Added 2025-01-29 14:00:15 +0000 UTC
WTF, Reese's. You're getting out of hand.
A couple days ago I was recording the upcoming Super Bowl snacks episode of my friend Ed Levine's podcast Special Sauce and as we usually do, we got off on a tangent. This time it was about the wild proliferation of Reese's products. According to Hersheyland.com, there are a whopping 195 different Reese's branded products and packagings available, ranging from the traditional cups (available since 1928!) to Combos-style peanut butter-stuffed pretzels, Reese's ice cream, and Reese's breakfast cereals.
"They're like the new Oreo," said Ed, a reference to the exorbitant number of Oreo products that are available these days.
I'm not going to do one of those things we used to do at Serious Eats where we try literally every variety available. However, as a lifelong Reese's lover, I can't help but be curious about how these new things taste, so over the past several months, my partner Tessa (a fellow Reese's fanatic) and I have been holding casual tests, buying and tasting any new Reese's product we come across.
Here are some of our thoughts:
My Favorites
Reese’s Potato Chips Big Cups
Hands down my favorite of the non-traditional Reese’s offerings. The potato chip pieces add crunch to the filling and a satisfying saltiness with just a hint of that potato chip grease flavor.
"I wish there were more potato chips in there. It seems accidental," said Tessa. I concur. More or bigger bits of chips would be the best way to improve on an already good idea.
Get Reese's Potato Chip Big Cups here.
Reese’s Pretzels Big Cups
I was a big fan of the Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, which is a vanilla base with chocolate and peanut butter swirls, and pretzel pieces. The crunchy, salty pretzels complement chocolate and peanut butter so well. It’s a real good combination in a Reese’s context as well, though I wish the pretzel bits were just a bit bigger and saltier so they really stand out to the peanut butter. Still, these are a top tier Reese’s variety.
Get Reese's Pretzels Big Cups here.
Reese’s Caramel Big Cups
"Reese's are a soft solid, and when you add a syrup in there, it's a different experience," says Tessa. It's true. You have to be in the mood for something that is fundamentally different from a peanut butter cup when you bite into these.
Of the two gooey-liquid-added big but varieties, the caramel version is far superior to the chocolate lava (see below). It’s not the most complex caramel in the world, but it adds a hint of nutty butteriness and salt as well as a gooey creaminess that is a nice addition to the chocolate and peanut butter when I’m looking for that creaminess.
Get Reese's Caramel Big Cups here.
Reese's Ice Cream
This has been around since 2007, but it wasn't until this year, 2025, that I tried it for the first time. I love a peanut butter ribbon or swirl in ice cream, and Reese's, with its peanut butter ice cream base and bites of peanut butter cups, has triple the peanut elements as most basic peanut swirl ice creams which is good news.
Bad news is that the ice cream itself is pretty low quality with a sort of gritty texture (were they trying to go for the mouthfeel of the inside of a peanut butter cup?), high overrun (that's fancy ice cream-speak for "it has a lot of air churned into it), and a texture that melts down pretty thin.
The good news about high overrun is that it's soft and scoopable straight ouf the freezer so you, like me, can walk over and sneak spoonfuls straight from the tub as you're prepping dinner or your kids are distracted by the cats for a moment.
Reese's Sticks
These are light, crunchy, biscuit-y bars. The peanut butter flavor is strong and I like the flavor. I wish they didn't disappear quite so quickly–I associate the Reese's brand with a certain density, and these are light and crispy, giving them a bit of an uncanny valley sensation. Still, they're a good alternative to Little Debby Nutty Buddies.
White and Dark Chocolate Reese's Cups
I bought a variety pack of mini peanut butter cups that included milk, white, and dark chocolate varieties. The difference between the milk and dark chocolate are pretty subtle. The dark has a bit more bitterness and a milder sweetness, but just like Hershey's Special Dark, it's still real sweet for a dark chocolate, and the intensity of Reese's peanut butter filling covers up the flavor differences even further.
The white chocolate tastes different, though not necessarily better in my opinion. White chocolate is really just chocolate without the bits that make it taste complex and chocolate-y and as un-complex as Reese's chocolate is, the white chocolate version is even simpler.
Tessa, however, is a fan of the white chocolate. "I like them. It's not at all the same thing as a regular Reese's, but there's something that happens with the white chocolate and peanut butter combo that's magical, like when you combine peanut butter and banana. It comes together to make a new whole."
Get Reese's Miniature Cups Assortment here.
Interesting Twists
Reese’s Thins
I am a fan of these. They have the flavor of a regular peanut butter cup but eat more like an Andes mint. Importantly, while they alter the ratio of chocolate to peanut butter in a standard Reese's, the absolute thickness of the chocolate is roughly the same as in a regular Reese's cup, which means they retain the tender, delicate quality of Reese's chocolate.
For Tessa's taste, they are lacking in peanut butter and, more importantly, the chocolate ridge along the exterior is not quite as satisfying to nibble off.
Reese's Fast Breaks
Have you noticed the math in Mars products?
Milky Way = Three Musketeers + caramel
Snickers = Milky Ways + peanuts
Baby Ruth = Snickers - nougat
Pay Day = Baby Ruth - chocolate
There's similar math in some Hershey's products as well. Fast Breaks are essentially Reese's Peanut Butter Cup + nougat. Like a regular peanut butter cup, it has good heft and density. I'm not a big nougat lover, but it works decently in this context. It's a Reese's for people who like a little more chew in their bites and things in stick form. Chew on that.
Reese's Outrageous and Nutrageous
Continuing with our candy bar math, Nutrageous are like Snickers + peanut butter, and Outrageous are like Nutrageous - peanuts + Reese’s Pieces. Here’s some more math: Both of these simultaneously taste better than the sum of their parts, but also make you feel worse after eating them than the sum of their parts. Go figure.
Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces
Have you noticed that the peanut butter inside of Reese’s Pieces is different from the peanut butter in a peanut butter cup? It’s got a creamier texture that melts more smoothly. It’s the same with the mini Reese’s Pieces inside these stuffed peanut butter cups, which means that if you are the kind of person who used to double-fist a peanut butter cup and a bag of Reese’s Pieces to experience the crunchy candy, sandy peanut butter, and smooth peanut butter all at the same time, you no longer have to, as it can all be found in a single product. Way to go consumerism, we did it!
"I don't think these add much to the experience," says Tessa. "It's a little different texture but it just means less of the regular sandy peanut butter."
Get Reese's Peanut Butter Cups with Pieces here.
Reese’s Big Cups with Reese’s Puffs
In concept these are great. As anyone who's had a Ritter Sport with corn flakes knows, crispy cereal in chocolate is a winning combination. But for some reason the Reese's puffs (essentially chocolate and peanut butter flavored Cocoa Puffs-style cereal balls) found inside these cups are not as crisp as I'd like them to be. Perhaps it's the extra moisture in peanut butter as opposed to pure chocolate that is causing them to go soggy. It's not a bad treat, but there are better Reese's options out there.
Not an Improvement
Reese’s Big Cups
For when one regular size cup is not enough but two is too many. These cups are taller than your standard cup and make up the extra volume in more of that sandy, salty, sugary Reese’s peanut butter. The problem, however, is that in order to support that extra peanut butter, the chocolate has to be poured extra thick.
"The chocolate is just too firm," says Tessa. "The ridges don't come off the same way when you bite around them, and I miss the tenderness of a regular Reese's."
You also have to factor in an extra 200 calorie workout per piece (thats almost quadruple the calories of a single Thin cup).
Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cups
“The chocolate lava Reese’s was a misstep for the franchise,” said our mutual friend Edgar in our text chain about Reese’s products. It’s not that they’re bad, per se, but the chocolate “lava” tastes very corn syrup-y with not enough chocolate flavor to actually add any contrast to the peanut butter or the existing chocolate.
"Pretty good, but pretty useless," is Tessa's assesment.
Get Reese's chocolate lava cups here.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Bar
This is a Reese’s peanut butter cup in a sectioned, breakable bar form. As with the Chocolate Lover’s cups, the thickness of the chocolate detracts from the flavor of the peanut butter which, for me, detracts from the overall experience. The upside of this format is that it’s easier to share, which is important when you have little children whom you don’t want to make cry.
"Where's the ridge?," asked Tessa. Without the crinkled ridge of a regular Reese's cup, these are less fun to eat.
Reese’s Popcorn
I love Reese’s and I love popcorn, but this was disappointing on both fronts. As a popcorn, it’s a little soggy and heavy tasting. As a Reese’s product, it is real low on peanut flavor. It tastes like chocolate-coated caramel corn that’s been sitting out in damp weather a bit too long.
Tessa says: "The popcorn seems stale, and there's not much Reese's flavor involved in it. It all feels like a forgotten accident. Like an expired accident. I miss the unique texture of Reese's peanut butter. This is too smooth."
Some Spare Reese's Thoughts
There are still a few varieties that I am keen to try but have not come across yet: Red Velvet Cups and Marshmallow Cups. Reese's Snack Cakes. Peanut butter-stuffed pretzel bites. Chocolate and peanut butter animal crackers. Maybe a few more.
"I'd also like to get every iteration of Reese's products and isolate the peanut butter to taste side by side because it's not the same stuff in all of them," says Tessa. The standard candy comes with a sandy, sweet, salty, and extra-roasted peanut butter, but some of the other products are different. Reese's piececs have a creamy peanut butter. The popcorn has a smooth drizzle. The long-format candy bars all have variations. The ice cream is its own cold beast entirely.
My final thought: Ditch the Reese's popcorn and instead, add half-popped bits of popcorn to the middle of a Reese's big cup.
Stay tuned for my rant about off-brand "fancy" Reese's knockoffs. And in the meantime, what's your favorite off-brand non-Reese's peanut butter and chocolate product?
Comments
Barb
I recently tried the Reese's Big Cups for the first time, and have to agree they are the best - esp the pretzel one. Around Halloween this year I wrote a roundup of my favorite seasonal Reese's cups, in case it's helpful to your research! Enjoy: https://comesatime.substack.com/p/reeses-peanut-butter-pumpkins
Amanda McAuley
Agreed, the TJ's dark chocolate PB cubs have ruined Reese's for me. They're superior!!
Amanda McAuley
Chocxo (brand) makes some great dark chocolate cups that are clearly a healthier-ish spoof on Reese's with some unique fillings (peanut butter, lemon creme, coconut creme). My favorite is actually the lemon creme flavor.
EnthusiasticOwl
Take 5 is the best candy bar that's ever been created. If you like the pretzel cup, it's really just an inferior twist on the Take 5.
NelsonH
The thins are kinda great for s’mores. That was the first time I’ve ever typed the word s’mores.
Jon
I live in Europe but had a friend bring me some american candy from their trip. The trees are crazy - just unashamedly a huge lump of peanut butter covered in chocolate. What a nation.
Tim Glover
The 365 brand milk chocolate peanut butter cups are surprisingly good. The peanut butter tastes like peanut butter and isn’t greasy or gritty. Especially good if you let it melt in your mouth.
Dalkor
Reese's Crispy Crunchy are bar far my favorite Reese's and even more, candy bar. It's thier take on a butterfingers but with a lot more peanut butter. The biggest problem though is they are only intermittently available at gas stations and convenience stores.
Lionstooth
Yesss Take 5s rule. Seconding this.
Vivace
I liked the Reese’s Sticks. Kinda like upleveled KitKats which are also a fave.
Cheri Davidson
The Reese’s dipped animal crackers are amazing!
Lisa
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups leave Reese's in their dust. I can't go back.
Lissa Brooks
I created a recipe in my 20s that’s a dead ringer for Reese’s filling. I’ll share if you want.
Kato
Oh man, I wanna hear your thoughts on Take 5s. They were my favorite candy bars even before they merged with Reese's and judging from your writeups you might like it!
David Troyer
what about other nut butters? lots of chocolate almond butter treats out there, for example.
Chuk Goodin
Yes I would recommend the animal crackers too.
Maggie Butler
This was delightful to read! Now I feel like I need to dive into the world of all the variations of Reese’s products. I’ve tried the Reese’s animal crackers and highly recommend! Favorite non-Reese’s chocolate and peanut butter product? Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups and Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups.
joe breslin
I came here to say exactly this. Trees, eggs, and pumpkins ftw!
Red
Another Vote for Take 5!
Matt McCracken
Found myself still reading this article even though I’m allergic to peanut butter. Would like to hear thoughts on the most satisfying PB alternatives!
A.J. Earleywine
10000000%
Chad Kinsman
I love the Reese's Take Five, which started out as its own Hershey's candy offering in 2004 before a 2019 rebranding. You get two in a pack, and each bar is two or three bites. Satisfyingly sweet, crunchy, and salty. The name makes me think of Brubeck's album, too, which is a plus.
Marc Heinzman
The seasonal Reece’s that are themed to the holidays are the best. The trees, pumpkins, and so on. They hit the best chocolate to peanut butter ratio
CRyan
I've been trying to reverse engineer the peanut butter sauce from a Friendly's Reese's Pieces Sundae for years, and none of the online copycats are really close. Would love to see that experiment.
Chris Pickard
for my money the best reeses are the holiday ones with the highest ratio of peanut butter to chocolate. the eggs are the clear winner for me
mathw
I have never had a Reese's product (I'm British and they only showed up here a few years ago) but I really appreciated this article. It's fun to be thoughtful about all these products that every company seems to feel we need at the moment. And I loved reading Tessa's observations alongside your own.
Nicholas Isola
Potato chips Reese's are one of my favorites as well - the rest of my family thinks I'm crazy. They're proving incredibly difficult to find here in the Southeast though.
Emily DeVoto
I did notice that Reese’s Pieces were different; last time I checked they were full of trans fats, but that was quite a while ago. They are not my favorite.
Len Markidan
Sent you a DM, I can help!
David Powell
a while back Costco had Skinny Dipped dark chocolate PB cups that I really liked
Aimee Suffridge
Trader Joe’s dark chocolate PB cups have ruined Reese’s for me. I love the quality of the chocolate and whenever I have Reese’s, it tastes cloying to me now.
Jason Clopper
The Reese's bar is a fun option for s'mores if you want to mix it up
Jacob Skowronek
I will eat a Reese's Stick any day any time. But I also love Lil Debbie Nutty Bars (Reese's Sticks are better though)
Trey Marks
Reese's Sticks are my absolute favorite
Robert M
The Reese take 5 bar is an elite entry
