Spotted in Brooklyn: Mallo Cups

It was like finding the Alaska quarter from the U.S. Mint's "50 state quarters" series. A Mallo Cup candy bar! And one of the new, dark chocolate ones, at that.

I spotted it at a new deli that opened in my neighborhood in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

Mallo Cups are made of milk chocolate, with a marshmallow center and a little bit of coconut on the top. It's a regional goodie, made by Boyer Candy in Altoona, Pennsylvania. I grew up in Cleveland and ate them all the time. They are a staple of truck stops along Interstate 80 ... at least, until I-80 hits New Jersey. Then, they disappear.

I have found them here at specialty candy stores, like Economy Candy on the Lower East Side. 

According to the Boyer Candies Web site, the dark chocolate version was rolled out last year -- LAST YEAR!  -- in an effort to re-build the brand, after some legal troubles and distribution problems. But this was the first I saw of the new type. 

It did not spawn the same kind of Proustian memories that the old-timey version does, but the dark chocolate Mallo Cup is very good. The marshmallow creme is fluffier, and not as sticky. That's a good thing, because the filling in the Mallo Cup of my youth used to ooze out upon biting, and adhere to my skin like rubber cement. And the dark chocolate Mallo Cup doesn't have coconut. Those chewy bits used to get caught in my braces.

Huh. Maybe it's better NOT to have those memories. I should make the switch to the dark chocolate Mallo Cup permanent.

Below, a close-up shot of a childhood favorite. Let the obsession begin.