If regular Hershey’s Kisses are a peck on the cheek, then these are one big, smooch

Hershey’s debuted its largest innovation in 25 years: a new gold-wrapped, hazelnut-filled, mega-sized creation called Kisses Deluxe on Thursday, October 22, according to hershey’s.com.

At twice the size of a standard Hershey’s Kiss, the Deluxe has a creamy chocolate ganache center that surrounds a whole roasted hazelnut, all encased in a shell of milk chocolate that’s scattered with lightly crunchy crisps, according to Hershey at hersheys.com.

Caution: The fancy gold foil is not edible. But it does make this thing look pretty good (even if it tastes just so-so):

Hershey’s Kisses were first sold in 1907, getting its name from the smooching sound it made when coming out of the machine, according to thehersheycompany.com.

The Kisses Deluxe is significantly bigger than a regular Kiss (but not THAT much bigger in circumference than a penny, as you can see) ..

It’s pretty hard not to compare the Kisses Deluxe to a Ferrero Rocher chocolate — and to be honest, the latter has a heartier, richer bite. Kisses Deluxe also lacks the solid chocolate core that makes a regular Kiss so lovable: Its airy, creamy center is a bit disappointing, unless you love hitting a roasted hazelnut with your teeth, according to the Huffington Post.

The new product is meant to be a classy holiday or Valentine’s Day gift for the chocoholic in your life: Options range from a 3-piece bag for $1 to a 75-piece jewelry box for $32, available only online.

According to examiner.com, Hershey has often added color to the packaging of the Kisses with holiday “dress-ups” of red and green for Christmas, autumn leaf colors for Fall Harvest Kisses, red and silver Valentine’s Kisses and Easter pastels.

Hershey’s Kisses Deluxe will appear at grocery stores, drug stores and on Amazon by Nov. 5. They’ll be available through Valentine’s Day and will return again for Holiday 2016, reported the Huffington Post.

In the meantime, we’ll be watching chocolate melt hot off the 3-D printer:

Photos courtesy of Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com