by Teresa Gubbins

Smaller than the old-school caramel squares, and free of the tedious individual plastic wrappers.

Cooks in a rush don't have time to unwrap each and every individual caramel square. They have to bake those sweets NOW.

Kraft Caramel Bits were actually introduced last October (in time for Halloween caramel apples), but were only recently spotted at the SuperTarget in Garland. They're the best kind of "new product" in that they're not new so much as the re-engineering of an already-existent product -- Kraft caramels, which previously came in little squares wrapped in plastic, a candy you ate on its own which went on to become an essential ingredient for caramel apples.

The point of these is that cooks can't hack taking time to unwrap each caramel for baking. But there's something a little funky about these unwrapped bits. When the bag was opened, the smell of oil wafted out. Palm kernel oil is the fourth ingredient (after sugar, corn syrup, and skim milk). Expiration date says "May 1 2008" so the bag isn't old; do the caramel bits get stale because they're not wrapped in plastic? Or is it just that the aroma of oil is more transparent without the wrappers to get in the way.

Each bit is actually made up of two half bits that are mysteriously fused together to form a sphere of sorts.

The other thing is the bits' odd formation. They're intended to be round, about the size of petite peas, but it's obvious that they're manufactured in halves which are then glued together to make a sphere of sorts. So when you roll them out on the table, it's a mishmash of asymmetric circles. Still, their diminutive size begs for a recipe incorporating them in their real state, i.e., as drops in a bar rather than melted into a caramel mass.

The Web site says that Kraft caramel comes in three "major forms" -- enrobing, sauce, and bits. Who knew? It also says, "Our chewy 3/8-inch bits are ideal as baking pieces, especially in cookie doughs." In that context, "3/8-inch bits" sounds like some kind of tool. They also "work well when mixed into pudding and yogurt, as well as granola and trail mix", and are "excellent for panning." Because they're so small, there's something alluring about wanting to pop them in your mouth, though the actual eating isn't as pleasant as the idea.