Magical Elves an urban legend in the making

England has great candy, and it's usually inexpensive. I love Hob Nobs and Mcvitie's chocolate digestives so much that I haven't bought them once since I moved here. Not once.

That's because on my last trip to the UK before my knees turned traitor and I could still get around easily, I lived off cookies - or biscuits, as the English so confusingly call them (it makes me think of something to be slathered in butter and dipped in gravy on Thanksgiving). Cookies were cheap and easy, and I wasn't up for spending my hard-earned dollars in high-priced restaurants. Even though I must've walked 8-10 miles most days, I still gained 5 pounds in two weeks due to my yummy fat-ass-making cookie diet.

So I try to avoid the sweets here, as I know I'll eat one at a time -- one pack of whatever it is, that is. This is a bit hard when you have a skinny husband who loves sweets and can eat all he wants without gaining an ounce, the beast. It's vile, but that's my situation. I make him hide his candy, and he hides it about as well as he puts on pounds. So I'm not saying I don't eat sweets at all, but I avoid them and don't usually buy them for myself, choosing instead to occasionally filch some from the hubby's stash if I'm jonesing for a fix. He doesn't go in for Hob Nobs or McVitie's, fortunately, or he wouldn't be able to keep any for himself. (Please note any low-cal snack bars marked low-fat don't count as candy, otherwise my system would go into shock from lack of chocolate).

Recently, I saw these little chocolate bars called Magical Elves at the news agent. They said they contained "Cadbury chocolate with popping candy." I was intrigued, and the bars were small, so I bought two and took them home to share with the hubby and see what the popping business was all about.

I got packs with two different elves, thinking perhaps this denoted different flavors. It didn't. We each ate half of our elves and traded the other half to see if any of it was mint flavored or some such, but no dice. The candy did pop, however -- pretty much like Pop Rocks from the '70s, but without the fruit flavoring. I wonder what happens if you eat a Magical Elves chocolate while drinking a Coke? There's a new urban legend just waiting to be born.

In the end, the elves weren't so magical. They tasted like your standard bit of chocolate, but with an odd, poppy sensation. I won't be tempted by them again when I'm at the store. Thank God they don't have Magical Hob Nob Elves on the counter, or I'd have to stop buying newspapers.