7 Reese's Snacks, Ranked Worst To Best

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are undeniably one of the greatest candies of all time: The rich milk chocolate and creamy peanut butter come together perfectly in one (or two) perfect bites. But these days, Reese's has expanded far beyond its original cups, now offering a variety of other candy options as well as frozen desserts, pies, and so much more. That's why I'm taking a look at some of the brand's snack offerings. The snacks on this list are only somewhat reminiscent of the candy they're made to mimic, but that novelty is a huge part of their appeal.

I've ranked these Reese's snacks according to my own perceptions of their flavor and texture. Mostly, I'm looking for snacks that are well-balanced without being too sweet, and that don't taste ... well, cheap (and many of them absolutely do). Additionally, I appreciate an interesting, dynamic texture as well, since Reese's is specifically known for its delicious texture. The next time you get a craving for Reese's, knowing about these other options on store shelves can help you switch up your snack time from the basic candies to some of Reese's more esoteric products.

For those who like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate but don't particularly enjoy the format of a standard Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, there's perhaps no candy more satisfying than Reese's Pieces. Basically, this product tastes like Reese's, just in M&M's format. But now, Reese's has not just the standard Reese's Pieces but also boasts a Reese's Pieces Bark. The "bark" itself is made with milk chocolate studded with peanuts and Reese's Pieces.

I thought that this snack looked promising, but when I took a bite, I found myself immediately disappointed. The quality of the chocolate seems very low, with a Hershey's-like sugariness and oiliness that immediately turned me off. You get none of the rich creaminess you'd expect from a quality chocolate brand, which ultimately makes the snack taste cheap. Sure, the peanuts offer a nice crunch, and tasting those Reese's Pieces bits definitely made the bite more pleasant. But since that milk chocolate functions as the base of the entire snack, it ultimately falls flat. I think you're far better off getting normal Reese's Pieces or simply choosing from one of the other snacks on this list.

I love a frozen dessert — especially a candy brand ice cream bar — just as much as the next person. But that doesn't mean that I can get on board with every single candy-flavored ice cream bar out there. One that I'm not a big fan of is Reese's Frozen Peanut Butter Bar. This ice cream-filled, uniquely textured frozen dessert bar tastes way too strongly of peanut butter for my preference. That peanut buttery flavor takes over the whole rest of the treat, offering very little room for those chocolatey flavors to shine through from the cake crumble filling.

Now, if this ice cream flavor were similar to what you taste in a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I'd absolutely be here for it. But instead of offering that signature saltiness in this treat, it has an overly sweet flavor that makes this dessert taste rather cloying. And as much as I love the little cake crumbles on the outside of the treat, they don't seem to add much flavor — they're incredibly bland, giving the bar nothing but extra sweetness (along with an interesting texture, of course). Compared to all the other frozen Reese's desserts out there, this isn't one that I'd pick up again.

When I think of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I think primarily of them as chocolate candy. Yes, the peanut butter plays an incredibly important role, but it's not really the star of the show — the chocolate's sweetness balances the bite. Therefore, I was sort of surprised to see Reese's Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels in the snack aisle at my local grocery store. I wondered where the chocolate was, if it was somehow hidden in the product and just not well-advertised. But once I tasted this snack, I realized they're merely basic peanut butter-filled pretzels and that there's essentially not that much about them that's particularly Reese's-like.

Sure, I think the peanut butter is probably pretty similar in flavor to a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but that flavor is obscured by the taste of the pretzel itself. The pretzel portion of the snack is also quite salty, which makes the iconically salty peanut butter taste less so. I don't think this is a bad snack, and if you like peanut butter-filled pretzels, then you should absolutely give them a try. I don't think that this selection is all that novel, since you can find extremely similar products from other brands.

There are few treats more nostalgic (nor more versatile) than animal crackers, which are more cookies than crackers. They can come in a wide variety of flavors, but Reese's has now made its own Dipped Animal Crackers for a new take on the original treat. The "crackers" have a neutral taste on their own, perhaps with a bit of sweetness to make things more interesting. What sets these animal crackers apart, though, is their coating. One side of the crackers are covered in a layer of Reese's chocolate, while the other side features a layer of hardened peanut butter candy. Therefore, you get that classic mixing of peanut butter and chocolate that Reese's is known for.

Now, is this a groundbreaking snack? Not really. Honestly, animal crackers aren't that delicious to begin with, and coating them with a peanut butter and chocolate mixture can only do so much to help. I found them a bit too sweet as well. But with both a level of creaminess and crunch, they at least have a texture that'll keep you coming back for more. Plus, compared to some of the other options on this list, the chocolate in this product doesn't taste quite as cheap (although it certainly doesn't taste luxurious, either). If you love animal crackers and Reese's, this is a treat worth trying. Otherwise, you can probably skip it.

There are Rice Krispies treats, so why shouldn't there be Reese's Puffs Treats as well? This snack isn't actually based on the brand's peanut butter cups, but rather on the spin-off cereal, which features a Cocoa Puffs-like chocolate profile mixed with some peanut buttery notes. The main ingredient in these bars is the cereal itself, followed by corn syrup, crisp rice, and Reese's peanut butter and peanut butter chips. The result is a sweet, crispy treat that tastes more decadent than a bowl of cereal but not quite as indulgent as a piece of candy.

Overall, I think this is a pretty solid cereal bar, with a nice, balanced sweetness that isn't too intense — although it may still be a bit exaggerated for my liking. I don't like that there aren't any chocolate chips included in the mix, since I think it would make the snack taste a lot better. Still, it's a relatively minor oversight. I'd probably enjoy this snack as more of a dessert than a breakfast, though, as its sweetness level doesn't seem like it would be very pleasant first thing in the morning. This is yet another product I wouldn't go out of my way to buy, but I probably wouldn't turn it down if it were offered to me and I was feeling hungry.

In my ranking of Chips Ahoy! cookies, the chewy variety of Chips Ahoy! Reese's took the second spot in the entire lineup. This time, I'm taking a closer look at the crunchy version of the cookie, which is considerably tastier than a lot of the other snack options on this list. Let me start by reminding you that we're talking about Chips Ahoy! brand specifically. This is one of the most recognizable cookie brands on store shelves, but it's not exactly known for being bakery-fresh, so you should keep that in mind when you're wondering what to expect about this specific flavor. The base of the cookie isn't great, but the little pieces of tiny Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in every bite? Those are undeniably delicious, making this one of my favorite packaged cookie options on store shelves.

Admittedly, I do think that the chewy version of this snack is better, because that soft texture can't be beat. However, I also understand the appeal of a nice, healthy crunch, and that's just what you'll get with this snack. It's absolutely earned its No. 2 spot on this list.

Most of the snack items on this list are exceedingly sweet. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I found a lot of them to be unbalanced. With Reese's Dipped Pretzels, you're still getting quite a bit of sweetness, both from the peanut buttery candy coating and the milk chocolate that these pretzels are drizzled with. However, that sweetness is well-balanced here thanks to the salty pretzel itself. That intense saltiness might be too much on its own, but it really works to counteract the intensity of the sweetness in this snack.

Because I love a good salty-sweet combo, this is my favorite Reese's selection of the bunch. Does this snack still taste a bit cheap? Unfortunately, yes — it doesn't feel like Reese's is using particularly high-quality chocolate, and the peanut butter coating has some oiliness to it. But compared to the other snacks in this lineup, I think this one is undeniably the tastiest.

I sought out all of the snack-adjacent, Reese's-branded food at my local grocery store for this piece. Since all of the products are quite different from one another, I decided to use relatively broad criteria. On the flavor front, the highest-ranked snacks tasted like they included higher-quality ingredients and weren't too intensely sweet, leaning toward a more balanced flavor profile; the worst-ranked varieties featured noticeably cheap-tasting ingredients and were often way too sweet for my liking. I also prioritized snacks that had a nice crunch to them — along with some other interesting textural element — for more of a snacky vibe.