For many families, Hershey's Kisses are an irreplaceable part of the holidays, and not just because of that classic Christmas ad set to "Carol of the Bells."
These bite-sized chocolates feature in all sorts of classic holiday recipes, or just for snacking on. But a major defect in recent batches of the holiday candy has bakers up in arms.
Online baking group members have been complaining that the "tips" on their Hershey's Kisses are snapped off, with some claiming they dug through an entire bag without finding a "good" Kiss with the chocolate stem intact.
"There is obviously a manufacturing problem," Laura Magone, who created the Wedding Cookie Table Community group on Facebook, told the Observer-Reporter.
"Suddenly, and for the first time ever the tips of the kisses are missing."
Home bakers say they've even complained to Hershey's about their "broken" baking supplies, as well as about changes to their size and the foil the chocolates are wrapped in.
While Magone admitted it sounds "crazy," the sheer number of complaints reveals something drastic must have happened.
Jeff Beckman, a spokesman for the chocolate giant, said Hershey's is investigating the cracked chocolates.
"We appreciate their love of the brand and taking the time to bring the appearance of our iconic Hershey's Kisses to our attention," he said.
"We understand that bakers' expectations are high for an iconic brand that is more than 100 years old because they are proud of their desserts."
Despite the nationwide attention, there's still no word on why the Kisses are rolling off the assembly line with broken tips, or when the issue will be corrected.
And, sadly, there's more bad news about Kisses to come, as the price for these chocolates will go up in 2019.
Hershey's revealed the cost of many of their products will increase next year, with rising shipping costs being blamed for the price hike.
[H/T: Observer-Reporter, USA Today]