{"id":245,"date":"2023-10-02T00:29:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T00:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squarespace.joannawhiteart.com\/wp\/2023\/10\/02\/costco-kirkland-caramel-smores-clusters-review\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T20:55:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T00:55:06","slug":"costco-kirkland-caramel-smores-clusters-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/02\/costco-kirkland-caramel-smores-clusters-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirkland Caramel S\u2019Mores Clusters Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s note: I have no affiliation with <\/em>Costco<\/em><\/a> and I was not paid to write this review. I bought these S\u2019mores with my own dad-gum money.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More grahams, pleeeease! <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Folks in my local Facebook groups were raving about Costco\u2019s new Caramel S\u2019mores Clusters. So, naturally, I was forced to buy some. I did it for science. I did it for the good of humanity. I did it for my adoring fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Not really. I don\u2019t care about y\u2019all that<\/em> much.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. These clusters are too dang sweet<\/em>! But, to be fair, I am generally not a fan of \u201cvery sweet sweets.\u201d Costco\u2019s s\u2019mores are definitely some of the sweetest treats I\u2019ve eaten in a while. Probably in the \u201csickeningly sweet\u201d category. Exceedingly sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The milk chocolate coating is so sweet<\/em>, it\u2019s more like icing. In fact, it\u2019s oddly soft, too. It\u2019s so<\/em> soft and melty, these made a mess when I handled them. Living in balmy Florida doesn’t help. I ended up refrigerating mine, to minimize the melty-mess. They were much crisper and nicer after chilling. Probably these are great for you folks in the frigid North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I think part of my problem is that I\u2019ve always thought regular campfire s\u2019mores <\/a>were too sweet. I should probably be disqualified from reviewing these candies, based only on my pre-existing bias. But, it\u2019s my<\/em> blog, and no one can stop me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the backside of a cluster, for absolutely no reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What sets Costco\u2019s S\u2019mores apart from other<\/em> s\u2019mores<\/a> is the addition of the caramel. Happily, this is particularly<\/em> nice caramel. In fact, the rich burnt-sugar flavor is my favorite part of these s\u2019mores clusters. I loved how soft and gooey the caramel is inside. It\u2019s oozy nearly to the point of being runny. But I relished this. It\u2019s got a wonderful saltiness, too. According to the bag, the caramel is kettle cooked, and it\u2019s made with butter, cream, brown sugar, and real vanilla. Yum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Looking for another chocolate caramel treat from Costco? Check out my review of Sanders Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels<\/a>, which are available as dark or milk.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The crunchiness of the grahams is my second favorite part. They taste like the Golden Grahams cereal<\/a> flakes. I did<\/em> generally feel that there were not enough grahams in proportion to everything else. More grahams, pleeeease! The graham pieces are beautifully crisp and fresh \u2014 the chocolate coating seals them from the air, so even in humid Florida, they don\u2019t become soggy over time. You can leave these out on a plate without the grahams becoming stale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(If you love crunchy stuff in your chocolate, you may enjoy this pretzel-filled Belgian chocolate bar from Tony’s Chocolonely; here is my full review<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If it were up to me, I would have reduced the number of marshmallows and increased the crunchy grahams. I also would have used a \u201cless sweet\u201d chocolate coating. I\u2019m always<\/em> \u201cteam dark chocolate,\u201d but there are some<\/em> milk chocolates that are less obnoxiously sweet than others. This one is extremely obnoxious. My teeth were not happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Detail<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The marshmallows are a little firmer than typical bagged mini-marshmallows, which I enjoyed. They\u2019re less generically spongey, and have a pleasant chewiness. This might be because they are made with tapioca syrup instead of high fructose corn syrup. The marshmallows are, however, quite sweet. And with all the other sweetness, it became cloying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the inside of a cluster, showing how tiny the graham fragments are, compared to everything else. Admittedly, it varies from one cluster to another. Some clusters have only one<\/em> small marshmallow, but some have many<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients in Costco Kirkland Caramel S\u2019mores Clusters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a list of the ingredients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n