The Discontinued Cake-Inspired M&M's Variety That Deserves A Second Chance

M&M's have long been a beloved candy with a myriad of fun flavors to choose from. Among many hits, misses, and otherwise, there are some discontinued M&M's flavors that still have fans clamoring for a sweet return. One of the most divisive flavors was the oversized White Strawberry Shortcake M&M's that arrived on the scene around the spring of 2016 and were only available at Target stores.

These discontinued cake-inspired candies certainly spawned a spectrum of enthusiastic opinions. While some reviews maligned the confection as one of the worst M&M's flavors, others offered constructive criticism that the flavors and additives could be adjusted slightly for a more authentic and pleasing taste. Between Reddit users calling the candy "disgusting" and other reviews noting the overpowering artificial strawberry flavor and scent, it would seem these M&M's might just deserve a redo.

Strawberry shortcake has evolved over the years from original European versions that used a firm, biscuit-like cake to a considerably softer sponge or angel food cake in American iterations. For the purposes of the discontinued white chocolate M&M's flavor, the actual cake element was entirely missing and replaced with an infusion of artificial strawberry flavor to complete the overall profile. Though it might not have been the biggest hit of the candy world, there are definitely some simple improvements that could make these shortcake-themed candies even better.

Given how often folks question whether or not white chocolate is actually real chocolate, making it the base of these since-discontinued M&M's was definitely a polarizing choice. Obviously, the creamy and milky taste is slightly similar to strawberry shortcake; however, a fusion of the cake flavor with a rich milk chocolate might have made for a more decadent and desirable treat. While actual cake pieces would be more difficult to fit into a candy the size of M&M's, even a crisp bit of shortbread cookie would have given a more believable cake-like taste and texture to the M&M's.

The oversized M&M's candies simply didn't take advantage of the extra room, letting the fake strawberry taste and white chocolate do most of the heavy lifting in lieu of adding any real cake. With the many new flavors the M&M's regularly introduce, improving upon a discontinued option might just lead to a renaissance in strawberry shortcake-inspired candies, giving consumers a better choice of sweet treats.

Of course, you can also get creative and take matters into your own hands by making your own strawberry shortcake-style candies. Working with a batch of melted white chocolate, fresh strawberries, and shortbread cookies, you can make shortcake-inspired confections that might just rival the discontinued M&M's. Alternatively, try preparing a strawberry shortcake recipe and decorating it with white chocolate M&M's for a fun riff on the long-lost candy.