KANSAS CITY — Food manufacturers are innovating with chocolate, integrating the ingredient into products ranging from snack cakes to sweet biscuits and pies to popcorn.

The sweet substance is paired with peanut butter in Hostess Brands’ new Chocolate Peanut Butter Twinkies. The snack cakes consist of chocolate cake filled with peanut butter crème filling.

Chocolate appears in two varieties of Snyder’s-Lance’s new Snack Factory Dessert Thins. The lightly textured, airy biscuits are available in brownie and chocolate chip varieties.

The indulgent ingredient is also key in the new S’mores Crème Pie from Schwan’s Co.’s Edwards desserts brand. The pie features a vanilla cookie crumble crust, a layer of Hershey’s chocolate crème filling and graham-style cookie pieces and a topping of toasted marshmallow-flavored meringue and a chocolate drizzle.

The S’mores flavor is featured again in The Little Kernel’s new S’mores mini popcorn. Made with mini marshmallows, the popcorn offers a toasty, chocolate and marshmallow taste, the company said.

Click to view a slideshow of new products.