Pumpkin Spice M&Ms

Happy Halloween...Week!

This week I've got some posts brewing in my cauldron that are all somewhat spooky, or at the very least autumnal....Will any of it be ghastly or bewitching? Boo knows!

First up, we've got these Pumpkin Spice M&Ms straight from the US of A. They're a Target exclusive in America, which isn't too surprising at Target often has the best Halloween aisle, the best limited editions, and over-all just the best place to shop in the US for general home goods that aren't total crap, but aren't that great either. There really isn't an equivalent place in the UK, I suppose it is a mildly upscale grocery/'big box' store, which you just don't seem to get here. Maybe a really big, really nice Sainsbury's? Anyway, Target rocks and if you visit America you should find your way to one immediately upon arrival.

Aw yeah, pumpkin spice M&Ms. When I spotted these at Target during my vacation I literally did a double take and tip-toed backwards to the display. Like all red-blooded patriots I'm crazy about pumpkin pie so I snatched 'em and brought 'em back home with me, so I'd always have a taste of A'murrrca's favorite seasonal treat. I guess the UK's is blackcurrant or something? That's a shame, eat pumpkin!

Funny enough, these M&Ms are pictured in a bloody skull bowl that I bought at the aforementioned Sainsburys!

They smelled like chocolate and cinnamon - it's interesting that the fine folks over at M&Ms headquarters decided to combine chocolate and pumpkin pie spice, when the natural assumption would be white chocolate and spice, as white chocolate lends itself very well to imitating other flavors. Like, the Candy Corn M&Ms (to be reviewed later this week) are white chocolate based, as were the Carrot Cake M&Ms. I guess pumpkin pie is very rarely coupled with chocolate -usually the only accompaniment is something light like vanilla ice cream - so I was surprised to see the pairing here.

The color combination is nice, Halloween-y but also just autumnal, so you could have these out past the 31st without being considered tacky. I guess black & orange after Halloween is like white after Labor Day.

They tasted really good - mostly chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. Not too spicy and not at all 'hot spice', just warming, like pumpkin pie or a chai latte. It tastes mostly of chocolate, which I think is good. They're just as easy to eat as regular M&Ms, which isn't the case with many of the limited edition flavors!

I wish I could link you to a place to buy these in the UK - really, I do - because they are awesome.

There are a couple of places that stock some great American candy at decent prices (being an American, imports from my homeland always seem crazy priced, but hey, I get it)  but unfortunately none of them have these Pumpkin Spice M&Ms, probably because they are a Target exclusive.

 There are a few bags on Ebay from UK sellers, but since I haven't bought anything from any of them I wouldn't feel confident in linking to any specific one, but feel free to search them there and you'll find them for about £4.00. Worth it, I say! They'd be quite tasty in brownies, as well.