Product Review: Walgreen's Old Fashion Candy Classics Butter Toffee

The bag reeks of vintage charm: the simple taupe and red color scheme, a 1920's circus poster font, the ridiculously cheap price (well, by today's standards, anyway). What's not to like about Walgreens Butter Toffees? Normally a devotee of candy empires Werther's and Brach's, I did the unexpected the other day. I bypassed the name brands for the generic Walgreens candy. I do not recall ever seeing the Butter Toffee candy before, but at just $1.69 a bag (or $3 for two bags), I could not control the urge to drop a bag in my red plastic basket, rather than pay what seems to be a steadily rising price for Werther's. I trust Walgreens for reasonably priced sunscreen and plastic ware; surely the store must know a thing or two about candy?

The Walgreens Butter Toffees have a distinctive butterscotch flavor, not unlike that of a butterscotch Life Saver. In other words, the taste screams "artificial flavoring!" I'd sooner whip up some butterscotch pudding than allocate my calories to the Walgreens Butter Toffee. I had expected something rich and creamy, but should have consulted the ingredients list before expressing such expectations. Absent were the "real" ingredients of cream or buttermilk; present and prominent were the ingredients of sucralose, butter oil (butter and oil together?), whey powder, and, much to my surprise, cocoa powder.

The Butter Toffee's caloric setback is comparable to that of a serving of Werther's. Three toffees, which are a bit more diminutive than their Werther's peers, will gash seventy calories from your recommended daily allotment. Likewise, you will have consumed a gram of fat and fourteen grams of sugary carbohydrates. Gluten-intolerant consumers rejoice, as these toffees are, in fact, gluten free.

The bag lists Ferrara Pan as the force behind the Butter Toffee. Ferrara Pan has given us such favorites as Boston Baked Beans and Red Hots. The Butter Toffees, as well as other house brand candies, are nestled among candy royalty - Werther's, Brach's, Hershey's - at your local Walgreens. But unlike said royalty, the Walgreens house brand candy does not command the same premium price. For just ninety-nine cents, you can buy a bag of peppermint patties, or sour green apple candies, or root beer barrels, or generic cow-tails, among others. It's a candy fantasy land for the addict short on cash. Maybe the Butter Toffees aren't a winning choice, but there are plenty of other selections that could restore the Walgreens name....time and tasting will tell.

I don't know that any hard candy can ever measure up to a Werther's Original. Brach's has produced some competition, and there are a few chewier candies that rival the Werther's flavor experience, but Walgreens has come up short in its effort. As I trudge through my bag of Butter Toffees, with any twenty or so toffees to go, I will spend the extra fifty cents next time and renew my allegiance to Werther's.