REVIEW: Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Cheerios Cereal

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Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Cheerios Cereal

What is Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Cheerios Cereal?

Fall might have begun on September 23rd, but it seems like neither the weather, nor General Mills got the message that summer is said and done. Promising to pack a tropical, toasted coconut punch, and sporting an island-inspired motif, Toasted Coconut Cheerios are here for a limited time only to bring the beach to your breakfast bowl.

How is it?

Unassumingly similar to Honey Nut Cheerios in size and appearance, the main aesthetic setting these toasted oat o’s apart from their famous predecessor is the slight coconut-y aroma. Even so, it’s quite light, and I can easily imagine sleep-deprived individuals overlooking it while they devour a mound of whatever cereal falls out of their cabinet, eagerly awaiting their initial fix of freshly-brewed caffeine.

Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Cheerios Cereal 2

Falling in line with their subtle coconut scent, these Cheerios are similarly light on any kind of tropical taste. There’s a slight hint of it if I chew slowly – intentionally – and really hunt for it, but it doesn’t really jump out at me and make me recognize that I’m eating anything more unique than, say, Frosted Cheerios.

Even so, I don’t really fault General Mills for that. I imagine tackling coconut is tricky business in food science. Too little flavor and nobody will even taste it; too much and the resulting creation could become more reminiscent of a bottle of sunscreen than of the famous hard-to-crack drupe. For once, I actually applaud General Mills for exercising restraint, as I thoroughly enjoyed being able to finish a box of coconut-flavored anything without getting sick of how they taste.

Is there anything else you should know?

Eating these in a bowl of regular milk erases any and all coconut flavor to be had, but recent innovations in the non-dairy milk industry have got coconut-lovers covered. Just substitute your normal moo-juice with any one of the countless coconut milk beverages in your grocer’s dairy cooler to boost this cereal’s flavor.

Conclusion:

Even though I liked Toasted Coconut Cheerios well enough, I just can’t seem to get behind them enough to give a solid recommendation. Maybe they’re not eclectic enough to stand out against Cheerios’s other offerings, or maybe they were released after my interest in summertime seasonal flavors waned, but I think I’ll probably stick to Honey Nut Cheerios from here on out.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 10.8 oz. box
Purchased at: Food Lion
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 110 calories, 10 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 65 milligrams of potassium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of total sugars, 12 grams of other carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Duncan Hines Gooey Bakes

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Duncan Hines Gooey Confetti Sugar Cookie and Chocolate Chip Cookie

I say Duncan Hines. You say Pusha T’s verse: “That white frost on that pound cake so your Duncan Hines is irrelevant.”

But, contrary to rap music’s opinion, Duncan Hines is pretty relevant with all its innovative drops. It just made money moves into the frozen aisle with its new Gooey Bakes line with four new products:

  • Chocolate Chip Cookie – a chocolate chip cookie with melted chocolate chunk and chips with a super gooey center.
  • Confetti Sugar Cookie – a confetti sugar cookie with a super gooey center and with melted confetti chips and sprinkles.
  • Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie – an oatmeal cookie loaded with melted butterscotch-flavored chips and a gooey center.
  • Double Chocolate Brownie – a double chocolate brownie with a gooey center and loaded with melted chocolate chunks.

Duncan Hines Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie

Duncan Hines Gooey Confetti Sugar Cookie

I was only able to find two of the cookies, but if the other two taste half as good, that would still be pretty dang tasty. Between the two cookies, I favored the more true-to-form chocolate chip one. The latter was delicious and festive, but more like a vanilla confetti cake than a sugar cookie.

I was amazed by how easy this made it to have a “fresh” cookie. It was just a minute or so of microwave time. To be precise, I preferred 1 minute 15 seconds for the more melted chunks in the choco chip one, and one minute was fine for the other.

So, you may be wondering what’s different with this and the “Perfect Size” line? From my vantage point, it’s THAT, but even EASIER – no need to add/mix ingredients.

Duncan Hines Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Spoonful

But, because it’s heated up in the microwave, there weren’t any crispy edges. I prefer cookies with crispy edges and gooey centers. That said, the chocolate chip one’s texture feels more like a slightly under-baked cookie, whereas the confetti one is like a cake.

Duncan Hines Gooey Confetti Sugar Cookie Spoonful

Note that it wasn’t quite as fluffy or risen as Duncan Hines’ mug cakes, but it didn’t seems as cookie-like to me. Also, another gripe was that the confetti chips added nothing; they melted down into white blobs that I thought was unmixed flour.

The size probably also contributed to the perception of cake because each of these babies has NINE servings. I wanted to eat both in one sitting by myself, but I failed. If you find yourself in a cookie surplus situation as I did, you can put it in the fridge overnight and microwave it for a quick minute when you want to consume it. It’s like new again!

Folks, we have entered a new era of cookie craze – from edible cookie dough to these new ready-to-eat frozen cookies – and I’m here for it.

Purchased Price: $3.89 each
Size: 10 oz. box
Purchased at: Meijer
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Chocolate Chip), 8 out of 10 (Confetti Sugar Cookie
Nutrition Facts: (1/9 cookie) Chocolate Chip – 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. Confetti Sugar Cookie – 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein..

REVIEW: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate & Whoppers Bar

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Hershey s Milk Chocolate Whoppers Bar

What is the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate & Whoppers Bar?

This is the newest addition to Hershey’s flagship line of candy bars, and it features a milk chocolate brick studded with Whoppers malt-flavored cookie pieces.

How is it?

Hershey s Milk Chocolate Whoppers Bar Top

As to be expected from a company best known for its ubiquitous milk chocolate bars, this treat doesn’t disappoint on the cocoa front. Smooth, creamy, and only slightly-too-melty on the 95-degree day I was eating it, I found myself all too easily plowing through all 340 calories of the King Size bar I brought home with me.

Hershey s Milk Chocolate Whoppers Bar Bottom

In contrast to the chocolate’s velvety texture, the Whopper cookie pieces provide a pleasant hint of crunch. They are similar to the chocolate cookies pieces in Hershey’s Cookies ‘n Crème bars. Their small size seems to limit how malty they come across as, but I honestly didn’t find that to be a bad thing. In the context of the entire candy bar, they taste more like crunchy little cookie dough bits than they do miniature Whoppers.

Hershey s Milk Chocolate Whoppers Bar Cross section

And, you know, I’m pretty okay with that. Whoppers have always been one of those candies I only ever ate in the weeks following Halloween, after having already inhaled all the fun-sized Milky Way, mini Twix bars, and every other treat in a kid’s candy bucket that overshadows them. This is a candy bar that brings Whoppers back into the spotlight and causes people to realize, “Oh yeah, those are a thing.”

Is there anything else you should know?

I’d recommend having a couple of napkins on hand while you’re eating this. Maybe it was the unusually hot weather causing my bar to be so eager to liquefy, but I can’t imagine being able to eat one of these without getting it all over your hands. Even so, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to eat this on the road unless they want it to be all over them.

Conclusion:

Even though Hershey’s new Milk Chocolate & Whoppers Bar might not be as malty as one might expect, chocolate and cookie chunks are always a winning combo in my book. I’d advise those unafraid to get their hands a little dirty to pick one up on their next trip to the store.

Purchased Price: $1.49
Size: King Size 2.5 oz bar
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 pack) 170 calories, 9 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 18 grams of total sugars, 16 grams of added sugars, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sonic Garlic Butter Bacon Burger

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Sonic Garlic Butter Bacon Burger

As I sampled Sonic’s spectacular new Garlic Butter Bacon Burger, it struck me as kind of odd that more hamburgers don’t offer a medium scoopful of garlic butter swathed across their toasted buns and seared into their beef patties.

It is such a rich and wealthy additive that, when it comes to such dairy products, I loudly say, to no one in particular, “To hell with cheese! Give me more of that damning garlic butter!”

I arrived at my local Sonic and was happy to see it has the Garlic Butter Bacon Burger in a Jr. size. However, as I was enjoying it, all I could think about was quickly shoving this Jr.-sized burger in my mouth and then following it with another. With such a notable taste, it’s impossible not to feel like a beef addict, needing more and more of that creamy garlic butter running through your veins.

Every bite was, of course, juicy as a flood of grease and oils flowed down my chin and onto my chest and lap, with the omnipresent American cheese seeping out of the sides. The garlic and butter concoction mixes admirably with the four or five pieces of crispy bacon and, of course, the profound all-beef patty. The taste was a unique intoxicant of everything a burger should be, fast food or otherwise.

Sonic Garlic Butter Bacon Burger Toppings

The buns, as you’d imagine, tasted like garlic bread. The tiny onions that dotted the top were unnecessary but welcomed to this feeding frenzy. Feeling, at times, more like a dirty breakfast sandwich than a sexy noontime burger, there’s a wholly sinful part of me that wants to nosh on this every day around 6 a.m. with a cup of strong black coffee. And possibly a Route 44 slush.

Sonic Garlic Butter Bacon Burger Bite

But I can’t. As it is, I had to slow down eating and catch my breath while dining on this burger. I haven’t had a non-Mexican fast food offering that aroused my lustful hunger like this in a very long time. Even after one, however, I feel like I have to cut back on food in general and hit the gym, possibly right now.

Very rarely have I ever eaten anything that left me feeling so preternaturally guilty and so predominantly proud because of its sheer butter content. Thanks, Sonic.

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: Jr.-sized
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 530 calories, 34 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 1000 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 21 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Pepsi Pineapple (Japan)

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Pepsi Pineapple Japan

If you’re looking for a review of the U.S. version, click here

What is Pepsi Pineapple?

The newest Pepsi flavor in Japan, if you’re reading this in summer/fall 2019. If you’re reading this after that, it is a Pepsi flavor that will never come to the U.S. unless a PepsiCo bigwig reads this review and is moved by my words so much that he or she convinces the powers that be to sell a pineapple-flavored Pepsi in the U.S.

How is it?

It’s good enough that, if a bigwig at PepsiCo is reading this review, he or she should persuade everyone there to offer a pineapple Pepsi in the U.S. next summer.

Now I say it’s good enough, but it’s not “Oh, my God! Find your passports and fly to Japan to buy them all” good. It’s pleasant enough that, if you’re willing to spend roughly $10-$15 and wait 3-5 weeks for a bottle to be shipped to you from Japan via some of the slowest forms of parcel transportation, then I’d say spend the money and wait.

The fruity flavor at the beginning of every sip is a bit too faint for my liking. The cola prevents it from shining. But the tropical fruit pops mostly in the aftertaste, which is not ideal. But it’s prominent and better than having no pineapple flavor at all. It’s a sugary, somewhat natural pineapple flavor that kind of makes me forget about it being not so noticeable at the beginning of each sip.

Is there anything else you need to know?

As I’ve said many times on this blog and in conversation ice breakers, I wish Pepsi in the U.S. was creative with cola flavors. I know we had mango, berry, and lime varieties earlier this year, but two of those have been done before. The creativity Pepsi expends in new varieties is about the same as what Hollywood expends nowadays with all these reboots.

After typing that, I realize the possible bigwig at PepsiCo reading this might’ve been insulted.

Also, I could go for a lychee Pepsi, Japan. I’d spend good money and wait ten days for one. (Ten days being how long it takes for products shipped from Japan to end up on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean).

Conclusion:

Although I’m not entirely pleased with it, Pineapple Pepsi is one of the better Pepsi flavors I’ve had from Japan since I started spending money on obtaining them over a decade ago. Some U.S. Japanese grocers might bring this in, so if you happen to see it in one of those stores, I’d recommend picking it up.

Purchased Price: $12.99
Size: 490 ml
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (100 ml) 47kcal, 0 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat, 11.7 grams of carbohydrates, and 0.03 grams of salt.

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