One of the best things about visiting Hawaii is how often macadamia nuts appear in everyday food. They show up in pancakes, cookies, breads, candies, and desserts, and they are often used as a crunchy coating for beautifully cooked fish. You also see them dipped in chocolate and packed into gift boxes for travelers who want to bring a taste of the islands home. Macadamia nuts are closely tied to Hawaii’s food culture, and anyone who enjoys their rich, buttery flavor will find plenty of opportunities to enjoy them during a trip. On my recent visit to Kauai, I noticed a bag of Hershey’s Kisses with Macadamia Nuts while I was on my way to the airport. I had seen plenty of chocolate-covered macadamia nut candies before, but I had never come across macadamia nuts inside Hershey’s Kisses. That made the bag stand out immediately. It looked like a familiar candy with a distinctly Hawaiian twist, and I wondered whether it was a brand-new flavor, a limited-edition release, or something made especially for local stores.
As it turns out, Hershey’s Kisses with Macadamia Nuts are a regional treat sold in Hawaii. Hershey’s purchased Mauna Loa, a well-known macadamia nut producer based on the Big Island, a few years ago, and this island-inspired version of Hershey’s Kisses was introduced not long after. Each piece is wrapped like a classic Hershey’s Kiss, but inside the milk chocolate is a generous piece of macadamia nut. Most of the candies seemed to contain about half of a nut, and while the size varied slightly from piece to piece, none of them felt skimpy. The macadamia nuts were crisp, fresh-tasting, and pleasantly buttery, which made them an excellent match for the sweet milk chocolate. The combination worked better than I expected because the nut balanced the sweetness and added a satisfying crunch without overpowering the chocolate. I have not been eating many regular Hershey’s Kisses lately, but these were good enough to make me reconsider. If Hershey’s Kisses with Macadamia Nuts were available year-round where I live, they would be much harder to resist.
For anyone looking for a simple Hawaii souvenir or an easy edible gift, these candies are a great choice. A single bag includes plenty of individually wrapped pieces, so they are easy to share with friends, family, coworkers, or anyone who enjoys chocolate and macadamia nuts. They also seemed to cost a little less, at least in the stores I visited, than some of the boxed macadamia nut chocolates marketed mainly to tourists. That makes them feel practical as well as tasty. When I bought my bag, the cashier asked whether I had tried them before. After I said no, she smiled and warned me that I might not want to go back to regular Hershey’s Kisses afterward. She may have been right. The distance between home and a steady supply of these Hawaii-only Hershey’s Kisses makes that difficult, but they are definitely something I would buy again. Next time I visit Hawaii, I will not wait until the airport to pick them up. I would rather buy a bag earlier in the trip and enjoy them throughout the vacation, with a few extras saved to bring home.