So if you've been following me on Twitter or Facebook you've probably seen a bunch of posts about a new product Hershey's is coming out with. Simply called Hershey's Spreads, they come in 3 flavors: chocolate, hazelnut & almond!
Crowdtap gave me an opportunity to test it out & I received the hazelnut spread from them. I was hoping to receive it before Festivus, Christmas & New Years as I had some baking ideas & that would have been an ideal time to "share" with others personally. Unfortunately, I received it just after the new year. So, even though the parties are over & done with, I got to try it with some things at home with my boyfriend & will share with the world of the internet the goodness of it.
The 1st thing I noticed is it's just like Nutella. So, I'm the kind of person that's going to do some comparing. It smells the same, tastes the same, spreads the same. So what makes Hershey's Spreads better than Nutella?
Which is which? Can you tell? If you click on each one it should open a new page & make it bigger to compare. Oh, & the URL should give it away. :) Almost everything is the same (serving size, calories, etc.) except for a few things. The big thing for me was that, per serving / % daily value, the Hershey's Spread had 10% less saturated fat!
Initially when opened I could smell more hazelnut than chocolate. Then, depending what I used it with, sometimes I would pick up more on the chocolate, & other times, more on the hazelnut. The consistency was a tad thick so it might tear apart soft bread, but if warmed, it will spread more easily. Please don't heat up the plastic jar it came in. A spoonful or two in a small sauce pan on low heat will do the trick! Below are some pairings I used it with. I'll save the best for last!
- Toasted Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich: I initially tried this on soft white bread but it wasn't that easy to spread & I ripped the bread apart. After toasting the bread, the warmth of it softened the spread & it spread more easily. Using it with peanut butter, it kind of drowned out the hazelnut in the product but all together, with the bananas, it was so yummy! The next time I will just use the spread & forget the peanut butter.
- Pretzels: Salty & sweet! What's better than that? The chocolate taste came out more with this pairing. Because it is a bit thick, if you dip the pretzels in the jar it came in, you might end up with a lot of broken pretzel pieces left in it. Best soften it up a bit before dipping your pretzels in.
- Coffee & Hot Cocoa: Really easy. Take 1 spoonful & stir it in! Watch how easy it is right here in my short video. I really thought it would be good in coffee considering it's hazelnut & the 1st ingredient is sugar but it left it pretty bland & I ended up adding more sugar to it. It gave the coffee a hint of hazelnut but wasn't as great as I expected it to be. The hot cocoa on the other hand ended up super creamy & tasty! I just used one of those dried packets of cocoa, added hot water, a spoonful of the Hershey's Spread & it was like getting a hot cocoa from a cafe! It made it THAT much better! Try it!
- Waffles: Just spread it on like butter. The only problem for me was that it was just dry. I like having my waffles where they are crisp but have that juicy bite when you drown it in syrup. Even if I added syrup it didn't do much for me. On the other hand, my boyfriend really liked it, without the syrup.
- Banana Bread: Skip adding the chocolate chips & walnuts in the bread as the Hershey's Spread with chocolate & hazelnut will do the trick! My boyfriend baked up a fresh loaf for us & spreading Hershey's Spread onto a warm piece was delish! Next time I'm thinking we can somehow incorporate the spread into the bread that's baked. Hershey's has a recipe for a Chocolate Banana Snack Cake on their site I may need to try out in the near future!
- Popcorn: We air popped a bowl of popcorn & added a little butter & salt. I took 2 heaping tablespoons of the Hershey's Spread & melted it in a small saucepan on low heat and it quickly became a fondu-like consistency. One spoonful probably would have been enough. I took the melted spread & drizzled it onto the popcorn & it was amazing! I do have to say that our fingers got messy eating the popcorn but who cares! It was really easy & quick to make. It left us wanting more when we were done! A definite must try!
