Many of us have fond memories of eating Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, whether it be from halving packets with friends in the cafeteria or indulging on the miniature versions during Halloween. Reese’s has been around for nearly 100 years now, and they’re still a top-selling peanut butter candy in the U.S. today. However, we have found a slightly less-processed dupe that really gives this OG a run for its money: Justin’s.
In a taste test featuring 9 Reese’s knockoffs, our experts ranked Justin’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups as their number one pick. The confections — which are made using organic ingredients and natural peanut butter — are rich and creamy, yet perfectly balanced. The little bit of sea salt added really brings out the roasted peanut and rich cocoa flavors of the cups. Additionally, the layers are just thick enough so neither the nutty filling, nor the chocolate coating overpower each other. Ultimately, you can really taste the quality of Justin’s. Since they are a little more expensive than Reese’s, though, we might not be sharing the cups like we once used to!
If that weren’t enough to sell you on Justin’s, the brand also makes other types of tasty peanut butter cups using white or dark chocolate as well as various nut butters like cashew or almond butter.
For many, Justin’s rivals Reese’s
There are some people out there who have admitted to preferring Justin’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups over Reese’s — as controversial as that may be to say out loud. Arguments on platforms like Blogger have been made that Justin’s cups have “more filling” and “little sweetness” compared to Reese’s. In a review on Amazon, one shopper even said, “Once I tasted Justin’s, it was over. Sorry, but I don’t believe I’ll be buying Reese’s again.” Another echoed this, commenting, “Once you try Justin’s, it’s hard to go back to Reese’s. These peanut butter cups feel like an elevated, gourmet version of a childhood favorite.”
Justin’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups were also met with rave reviews elsewhere. On Influenster, one customer said that they felt better about buying a candy where they could “pronounce everything on the ingredient list”, whereas another praised Justin’s before confessing that sometimes “the classic taste of Reese’s” just couldn’t be beat. The peanut butter cup debate has made its way to TikTok to Youtube, too. Many have also sampled other peanut butter cups against the two. But, based on our ranking, we didn’t find other brands to be nearly as impressive.
If we’re not snacking on Reese’s, we’re just as happy sampling Justin’s fun flavors or using the peanut butter cups in creative ways like baking them into cookies, using them to top ice cream, or even transforming the cups into chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars!
