REVIEW: Banner Butter x Pop-Tarts Limited Edition Kit

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Buttertarts1 pkg

What is the Banner Butter x Pop-Tarts Limited Edition Kit?

Apparently, slathering butter on your freshly-toasted Pop-Tarts is a thing? I had no idea. As the person who believed for 20+ years that I had invented dipping Wendy’s fries into Frostys, I really should have known.

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Atlanta-based Banner Butter teamed up with Kellogg’s to make a combo kit of Pop-Tarts’ most iconic flavors and two small pats each of six Banner’s flavored butters. The packaging had suggested pairings, which is what I tried (with a couple of additional twists).

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How are they?

First up – Strawberry Pop-Tart with Sea Salt Butter. This was the basic proof-of-concept. And yeah, it was delicious. The butter gave the commercially-bland Pop-Tarts’ pastry the flavor of real, laminated pastry dough. (But did we need that?)

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Next, Strawberry Pop-Tart with Balsamic Fig and Caramelized Onion Butter. This was my favorite of all the butters – a nice sweet/savory combo. It gave the Pop-Tart a flavor complexity it usually lacks.

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Then, Chocolate Fudge PTs with Cinnamon, Cardamom & Ginger butter and Honey Habanero butter. The Cinnamon/Cardamom/Ginger butter was great, but the chocolate overwhelmed it a bit. The Honey Habanero butter gave the chocolate a dark intensity and a little heat – similar to a chili-tinged Mexican hot chocolate.

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Lastly, the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts with Strawberry butter and Dark Chocolate butter. These were both meh. The strawberry got lost in the cinnamon, and the dark chocolate just tasted like added cocoa powder.

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Brown Sugar Cinnamon PTs are one of my favorites, so I also tried them with the Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion butter and the Cinnamon, Cardamom & Ginger butter. They both worked way better than the suggested pairing. Balsamic Fig brought the same complexity as it did to the strawberry PTs. The Cinnamon, Cardamom & Ginger butter added an “adult” feeling. Both great butters.

Overall, I really liked some of the flavors here, but wasn’t sure about the “upgrading” of PTs. I love Pop-Tarts in all their naked, untoasted glory. If I wanted something that tasted like a fine French pastry, I’d just go buy the real thing. Give me my pasty pastry in a foil bag. That being said, Kellogg’s, why aren’t you just doing this yourselves? Cinnamon Cardamom & Ginger Pop-Tarts? Spicy Chocolate Pop-Tarts for winter? C’mon.

Buttertarts8 combos

Anything else you need to know?

This kit sold out a while ago, but you can get the same experience ordering Banner Butter and purchasing Pop-Tarts at the store. Or buy other butters. Or make your own compound butter – just soften some butter, mix in the good stuff, and let it sit in the fridge.

Conclusion:

If you’re a Buttered-Pop-Tarts stan, this fancy-butter-combo is definitely for you. If you’re just hearing about it, give it a whirl with whatever you have on hand. If you like your Pop-Tarts lowbrow like I do, try it for fun, but don’t expect it to become your regular thing.

Purchased Price: $25.00
Size: (3) 13.5oz / 8-pastry boxes of Pop-Tarts, (12) 2 tbsp. pats of butter
Purchased at: bannerbutter.com
Rating: 7 out of 10 (although the Balsamic Fig and Cinnamon Butters alone are 9 out of 10!)
Nutrition Facts: (For butters – 2 tbsp or ½ of a pat) Sea Salt – 100 calories, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 0 grams of sugar, including 0 grams of added sugars, and 0 grams of protein. Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion – 110 calories, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugar, including less than 1 gram of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein. Cinnamon, Cardamom & Ginger – 110 calories, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugar, including less than 1 gram of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein. Honey Habanero – 110 calories, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, less than 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, including 0 grams of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein. Strawberry – 110 calories, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugar, including 0 grams of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein. Dark Chocolate – 110 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugar, including less than 1 gram of added sugars, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Dublin Mudslide (2022)

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Ben Jerry s Dublin Mudslide 2022 Pint

Following 2020’s “Fan Favorite” resurrection of Gimme S’more, Peanut Butter Half Baked, and Cannoli, Ben & Jerry’s has once again taken a trip to its Flavor Graveyard and used ice cream voodoo to summon a heralded classic from the dead. Previously RIP’d in 2012, Dublin Mudslide is Irish cream ice cream with chocolate chocolate chip cookies and a coffee fudge swirl.

Irish cream is one of those flavors that seems to have been around my entire life in various forms, from Milano cookies to (more recently) Starbucks drinks, but I’ve never fully understood what it’s supposed to taste like. In its purest form, it’s a mixture of whiskey and milk, but I’ve had iterations that taste more like vanilla, coffee, or even chocolate. So I went into this pint not knowing what to expect.

The base tastes like a really rich sweet cream with a hint of whiskey. The booziness is mild but it’s definitely there, and adds a faint smoky oak note that brings a little depth and intrigue to the otherwise good but tame ice cream. Its main strength is its silky smooth and dense texture, a result of the mere presence of alcohol in the mixture, and it’s fantastic. I wouldn’t mind more punchiness like I’m taking a straight liqueur swig but I can’t deny the velvety richness of the mouthfeel.

Ben Jerry s Dublin Mudslide 2022 Booze

For this reinvented version, Ben & Jerry’s teamed up with Wheyward Spirit, a new liquor derived from whey, the liquid co-product of cheese and other dairy products. By partnering with domestic dairy producers they’re able to reduce waste and lower the environmental footprint of production while simultaneously creating a unique and sip-able booze. The Wheyward’s flavor is like a slightly fruity cross between sake and tequila, but in Dublin Mudslide it does a solid job of conjuring mild whiskey.

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The mix-in density is excellent, and I’m really happy with the quality control compared to this year’s Chewy Gooey Cookie. The cookies add a rich chocolate flavor with hints of butter and a perfectly soft chew, accented by the crunchiness of harder chocolate chips.

Bringing some sauciness to the equation, the coffee fudge swirl is abundant and tasty with a 60/40 split of chocolate to coffee that does well to add a touch of bitterness to the succulently smooth and mild ice cream. The two components work well in a coffee-meets-chocolate mocha tandem that tastes perfectly familiar and comfortable next to the alcohol-tinged base.

Ben Jerry s Dublin Mudslide 2022 Spoon

It became clear to me while scooping this pint that the confusion around what an Irish cream flavored product tastes like stems from the fact that something like Baileys is often mixed with other components. You can drink Irish cream straight, but it feels so much more common in an Irish coffee, White Russian cocktail, or even hot chocolate, so this Ben & Jerry’s creation kind of taps into all the components that could be found with Irish cream and brings them together as one.

This is a well executed flavor that does everything it tries to do as quietly but effectively as possible. There’s a little bit of whiskey, a little bit of coffee, and a little bit more chocolate. I can see why this would be considered a fan favorite, and kudos to Ben & Jerry’s for the excellent quality control. I would personally enjoy a stronger handed boozy flourish but I can’t deny how lovely this one is to scoop.

DISCLOSURE: I originally purchased a pint, but also received a free product sample from Ben & Jerry’s and attended a virtual tasting hosted by the company. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 134g) 340 calories, 18 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 34 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Gatorade Fit

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Gatorade Fit Bottles

What is Gatorade Fit?

It’s “Healthy Real Hydration.” I’m not sure where Gatorade is going with that because plain ol’ water could also be considered healthy real hydration. But does that also mean all of Gatorade’s other hydration products aren’t healthy?

What makes Gatorade Fit “healthy”? Well, it has no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners or flavors, no added colors, has only ten calories and one gram of sugar, and is an excellent source of vitamins A & C. It’s available in five flavors — Cherry Lime, Citrus Berry, Tropical Mango, Watermelon Strawberry, and Tangerine Orange. But I was only able to acquire the first four via a variety pack sold on Amazon. The line is available in 16.9- and 28-ounce bottles.

How is it?

Well, the short answer is they taste like Gatorade. If you’ve chugged the various colors of the Gatorade rainbow during your lifetime, you’ll be familiar with these four. With every flavor, I thought to myself that I had this before.

Tropical Mango and Watermelon Strawberry stood out to me among the four varieties. Their flavors mirror what I remember from their BOLT24 counterparts. The former has a pleasant strong mango flavor with a pineapple kick. Watermelon Strawberry leans more towards strawberry than watermelon, and that strawberry flavor reminds me of candy.

While those two are great tasting, Cherry Lime and Citrus Berry are also tasty. The former has a nice cherry and lime balance, while with the latter, the berry dominated the flavor so much that if you told me it was a mixed berry variety, I’d believe you.

Anything else you need to know?

Much like the skin under my shirt, Gatorade Fit has no color.

Gatorade Fit Glasses

Reader Josh G, who sent in photos of the new line for our Spotted post, mentioned that Gatorade Fit seems like a rebranding of Gatorade’s BOLT24. Because both lines get their electrolytes from watermelon and sea salt, provide 100% daily values of vitamins A & C, have no artificial sweeteners or flavors, and share some of the same varieties — Cherry Lime, Tropical Mango, and Watermelon Strawberry. But BOLT24 still exists because several types show up in my “Inspired by your purchases” section whenever I visit Amazon.

There are several differences between BOLT24 and Gatorade Fit. The latter has fewer calories (10 calories vs. 80 calories) and less sugar (1 gram vs. 19 grams). While BOLT24 used sugar and stevia, Gatorade Fit has only stevia. Much like when I tried BOLT24, I was surprised this has stevia. But I was even more surprised that it’s the ONLY sweetener because it doesn’t have any of the blechness that I’ve experienced with other beverages with it.

Conclusion:

If you enjoyed Gatorade BOLT24, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Gatorade Fit. Heck, maybe it should’ve been called Gatorade BOLT24FIT.

Purchased Price: $19.99 (12-pack)
Size: 16.9 oz bottles/12-pack
Purchased at: Amazon
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Tropical Mango), 8 out of 10 (Watermelon Strawberry), 7 out of 10 (Cherry Lime), 7 out of 10 (Citrus Berry)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of sugar (0 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Girl Scout Adventurefuls Cookies

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Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Box

What are Girl Scout Adventurefuls Cookies?

The Girl Scouts are back, hocking a new salted caramel brownie cookie for all to enjoy.

How are they?

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Make no mistake, these are good. I’d say they’re the best new Girl Scout Cookie flavor in at least a decade, but man, did they bungle the texture.

You’ve got a brownie-based cookie, and it’s as hard as a cookie could be. Now, some may like that. This is a COOKIE, after all, not a brownie… but I really question why they decided to go this route.

Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Bite

You know that corner brownie piece that’s harder than the rest of the squares but still has a firm chewiness to it? If these cookies were that texture, they’d be rivals to the Girl Scout cookie throne.

The cookie itself tastes like a brownie, but with such a hard, crunchy texture, it takes away from the enjoyment of the flavor. They were so close, yet so far away.

Anything else you need to know?

I would have probably forgiven the cookie more if the salted caramel flavored “crème” was actual crème, not hard synthetic plastic. Yeah, even the crème is texturally off. It’s not an icing, but more like a thin layer of Hershey’s chocolate, and the caramel flavor doesn’t really pop at all. It gets swallowed by the dense brownie chocolate flavor almost instantly.

This cookie isn’t “full” of “adventure” at all, unless they’re talking about the salt, which I will say does come through and is a great choice on their part.

Conclusion:

Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Tray

Far be it from me to tell those adorable little scouts how to make their cookies, but if these were brownie edge textured cookies, with a “crème” center similar to, let’s say, a Stella D’oro Swiss Fudge? I’m re-ordering five boxes.

As they are, they’re still good – Top 5 even. I’d rank ’em just behind Samoas, Thin Mints, and Tagalongs, but they could’ve been a 9 out of 10. If any Women Scouts of America in charge of cookie decisions are reading this, please consider softening these up next year. I alone will probably put you over your sales quota.

Purchased Price: $5.00
Size: 6.3 oz box
Purchased at: Girl Scouts of America
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 Cookies) 120 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, 9 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of fiber, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito

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Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito Split

What is the Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito?

It features the returning Nacho Fries with steak, tomatoes, reduced-fat sour cream, cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce, and nacho cheese sauce inside a warm flour tortilla.

How is it?

Well, it depends on how tired you are of Taco Bell’s creamy chipotle sauce. I’m fine with it because it’s still tasty to me, but it sure seems as if it’s been in every product the chain has put out over the past six months. So I wouldn’t be surprised if there are folks whose taste buds have grown bored of it. Last September, it came with the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco. Last November, it was in the Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito. In January, it was nestled in the Chipotle Cheddar Chalupa. And, last month, it was squirted into a Cantina Crispy Chicken Taco. But if you’re like me and still enjoy that smoky, slightly spicy sauce, then there’s a great chance you’ll like it in this burrito.

Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito Split 2

Along with the creamy chipotle sauce, the other highlight of this menu item was, and this is going to be hard to believe, the tomatoes. Yes, they’ve been in DOZENS of previous products, and I don’t think I’ve ever considered them a highlight. But the bites I enjoyed the most were the ones where the acidic explosion from a tomato happened on the backdrop of the chipotle and nacho cheese sauces, which created something like tomato queso.

The flavors of the headlining ingredients – the steak and Nacho Fries – come through with most bites, but the sauces stand out the most. The steak was, as usual, unusually tender. And, despite hanging out with three different sauces in the flour tortilla, the handful of fries surprisingly had some crispiness to them.

Anything else you need to know?

You’re not alone if you thought to yourself, “Is the Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito new?” I confused it with the Loaded Taco Fries Burrito I had last summer that had seasoned beef, Nacho Fries, crispy red strips, lettuce, nacho cheese sauce, spicy ranch, tomatoes, and cheese.

Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito Size

Also, while we’re comparing burritos, I felt that this one wasn’t as hefty as the Loaded Taco Fries Burrito because it appears to have fewer fries stuffed in it. Of course, your fry stuff-age may vary.

Conclusion:

If you want to celebrate the return of Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries, its Steak Nacho Fries Burrito is a delicious way to do so.

Purchased Price: $4.59*
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 520 calories, 27 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1140 milligrams of sodium, 53 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 17 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

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