As a food editor, I take my candy seriously. I like my stars bursting, my musketeers in sets of threes and my chocolate colorful and candy-coated. Case in point: Countless times I’ve bravely traversed the tourist trap that is Midtown Manhattan just to secure a DIY bag of exclusive M&M’S flavors and colors from the NYC flagship store.
M&M’S have been present at just about every significant occasion in my life. They were in my summer-camp care packages, with me during my first PG-13 movie outing, and key participants when I announced where I was going to college. (Doesn’t everyone do this with a school-color-themed assortment of M&M’S?) These days, they’re everything from a midday pick-me-up to fight off a work slump to a post-golf, -tennis or -pickleball staple for every member of my family. (Conveniently, they console for losses just as well as they celebrate wins.) I guess what I’m saying is: M&M’S and I go way back, and as my palette has developed, they have too.
But the latest addition to the beloved Mars brand has blown me away: M&M’S Peanut Butter Minis. Minis have forever been my favorite variety of the candy, and this update is an especially welcome addition to the canon. Here’s a few reasons why:
They’re the innovation fans have been asking for.
Year after year, as M&M’S has released fun new flavor after fun new flavor, we Minis fans have been left wondering when it would be our turn. Well, the time is now. Creamy peanut butter is the perfect complement, and this classic combination is a home run in any form, but the Minis have me dreaming up all the desserts I’ll be decorating with colorful patterns and intricate M&M’S mosaics.
They’re perfect as a mix-in.
M&M’S are hands-down the best candy to add to popcorn—and Minis nestle perfectly into the crevices of popped morsels for the ideal mix. Now that peanut butter’s gotten involved, a whole new world of flavor can be mine. Cinnamon-sugar-tossed popcorn with PB Minis? Yes, please. PB&J popcorn with dried strawberries? Say no more.
They go where I do.
Whenever I get a bag of M&M’S, I feel compelled to eat them all at once—and sometimes I prefer to savor the experience, and save some chocolatey morsels for later. Thanks to the iconic M&M’S Minis packaging, these little treats go wherever I go, sealing perfectly between servings so I can get my chocolate whenever I need it. I definitely carried around one of the prized colorful tubes in one of my first big-girl purses long after it was empty, and now that my handbags and totes are a bit more sophisticated, the peanut butter has elevated my chocolate choice, too (a little). M&M’S have always been there with me, and with these Minis, I know they always will be.
Available in two sizes — 1.74-ounce tubes and 8.6-ounce sharing pouches — M&M’S Peanut Butter Minis can be found at retailers nationwide.
Sarah Strong is a Food & Drink editor for branded content at Hearst. Her special skills include watching more television in a week than there are hours in a week, tap dancing, archery, boy band trivia and bargain hunting. You can follow her on Instagram at @feedsstrong to see where she's eating, what she's reading and which sneakers she’s wearing.
