A coated food product is produced by combining a plurality of dry ingredients to form a dry mix and combining the dry mix with water to form a dough. A plurality of base pieces is formed from the dough. A slurry is prepared by combining at least sucrose, fruit puree and calcium carbonate. The slurry is combined with the plurality of base pieces to coat the plurality of base pieces and form a plurality of coated base pieces. After preparing the slurry and before combining the slurry with the plurality of base pieces, the slurry is stored or held for at least 30 minutes.