Perhaps no category of brand-name foods is the subject of more constant change and experimentation than candy. Whether it's the big players in the sweets section testing a new twist on an old favorite or a bold freshman effort from an outsider, every month has something different to offer. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but most of the time it's a resounding "meh". General Mills, a company best known for its cavalcade of popular breakfast cereals, has decided to elbow into the candy bar business with one of its old standards, Chex. Or, more accurately, Chex Mix. They've come out with two varieties of the treat in bar form- Chocolate Chunk and the always welcome Turtle.
Chocolate Chunk
Right off the bat I can tell you that the Chocolate Chunk Chex Mix Bar is the more visually appealing of the two. The titular chunks are clearly visible, as are the sticky pretzel sticks and crushed Chex pieces. That last part is a bit disappointing, though. The packaging suggests that whole Chex pieces will be present in the bar, not just the dust of pulverized, bottom-of-the-box remnants. The back of the bar has a thin sheen of dried chocolate syrup that takes away from the overall presentation a bit, but not much. As for the flavor, it leaves a lot to be desired, though it's not exactly bad. The syrupy back is disconcertingly tangy and the whole thing really isn't as overtly chocolaty as it has every natural right to be. All in all, the lesser of the two.
Turtle
The Turtle bar, while not as visually appealing, is bar far better in the flavor and texture department. It has the same shiny, sticky back, though it's really more of a caramel so it benefits from this. Best of all, it actually tastes a lot like the Turtle Chex Mix. A little nutty, a hint of chocolate (from chocolate candy pieces) and sweet, sticky caramel. It has the same crushed Chex pieces as the Chocolate Chunk. If you're going to try one of these bars, the Turtle variety is the clear winner by leaps and bounds.
My biggest problem with the Chex Mix Bars is that they aren't crunchy. I mean, isn't that supposed to be the hallmark of Chex cereal? General Mills has based decades of marketing on the idea that the lattices of a Chex piece allow milk to slip through without turning the cereal soggy, or at least as quickly as most cereals get soggy. By crushing up the Chex pieces and slathering the whole thing in a sticky mess, General Mills has done little more than ensured a pre-soggy candy bar. I get the sneaking suspicion that the Chex Mix Bars are just an attempt to salvage broken pieces from the factory line into more product.
Ultimately, I'd recommend all but the most curious parties to skip the Chex Mix Bar. The Chocolate Chunk is substandard in taste compared to just about every other chocolate confection in the candy department and fans of the Turtle flavor should just stick with the original mix. Some things just don't translate well into bar form.