Cadburys milk chocolate buttons consist of small button shaped pieces of cadbury's milk chocolate. Since their introduction in 1960 they have proved extremely popular both in the UK and Ireland, with the range now including not only the standard 33 gram packs but also multipacks, and larger bags of 65 and 145 grams. There are also button ice creams, giant buttons and white chocolate varieties. Expect to pay around 40 pence for a standard bag and £2 for a 6 pack of ice creams.

A standard pack of buttons comes in a purple (easy to open) bag with Cadburys written in yellow at the top and buttons in white. Underneath there used to be illustrations from nursery rhymes. However, different animals, including cats and owls, now decorate the front of the packet. The buttons should be kept in a cool dark place (they are very prone to melt in hot weather so should be kept in the fridge in the summer) and will keep for several months.

A standard bag of buttons contains 170 calories, 18.1 grams of sugar and 9.6 grams of fat (of which 6 grams is saturated). As pure chocolate, these were inevitably going to be high fat. As it is quite a small bag, these make a handy snack for children or treat for adults, but should only really be eaten in moderation.

There's something very compelling about cadbury's buttons - although I don't have children, they remind me of when I was little - I liked them then and still do now - the chocolate is high quality, milky and rich, with a smooth texture that melts on the tongue. Also, although each individual button is small, the fact there are quite a few in the packet makes it seem you're getting quite a lot of chocolate, and they also take quite a long time to eat. All in all a fun way to have a small treat.