I got 'em! I got 'em!

They were not supposed to be available until May, but I got 'em!

"Sharing Size." Heh.

I must confess I have been riveted to the saga of the Caramel M&M's since they were announced last year. Like many of us, I grew up with just two M&M's, plain and peanut. Since then they've introduced fillings like almond, peanut butter, crispy, pretzel, cherry, dark chocolate, lots more chocolate, you name it, but never caramel, until now.

CNN Money said that there were some big chemical and techical issues to resolve, largely due to caramel's meltiness and softness. "[Veep of Mars research and development Hank] Izzo's team worked with engineers and product development scientists to design and develop machinery to fill the M&M's with caramel. The candymaker also invested about $100 million to build a new manufacturing site in Topeka, Kansas." I do not know why caramel was more of a problem than peanut butter, which is also plenty soft, but I'm no food engineer.

Somehow they overcame all these technical problems, and now we can all enjoy the fruits of their labors. Or can we? Maybe they suck! Let's try some! As my pal Stiiv might say:

"LUNCH TIIIIIMMMMMME!!!!!"

The verdict? They're good. Really good.

The lovely and tasteful Mrs. Key said, "They taste like a Rolo had a baby with a Milk Dud." There's definitely something like Hershey's Rolo going on here. I've always enjoyed the Rolo; I even shoplifted some in my misspent youth. M&M's Caramel has that same chocolate/caramel combo along with a candy shell. The caramel is more like the slightly salty Hershey's Milk Duds, but without the pull-your-fillings-out quality that has paid for a lot of dentists' boats. I've done my bit -- and my bite -- for that boat; I love caramel.

Takeaway: These are not the most incredible caramel candies I've ever had, but they're great. Nothing else is quite like an M&M, and no other M&M is quite like these.

We think they are a tasty and delightful treat. May starts Monday; go get some! Give them and try and let me know what you think. But I'm not sharing mine.