REVIEW: Limited Edition Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies

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Limited Edition Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies

What are Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies?

In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing in July 1969, Oreo has launched (pun unintended) a cookie with chocolate wafers and purple, marshmallow-flavored creme.

Limited Edition Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies Designs

There are also three separate images on the wafers: a crescent moon with stars, a rocket (Apollo 11?), and an astronaut on a moon with a flag. (It can’t be Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin on our moon, because the image appears to have Saturn or another ringed planet in the background. Really, Nabisco?)

How are they?

The marshmallow creme does taste different from the standard creme, but it’s a pretty nondescript flavor. It’s reminiscent of all the Peeps-flavored products that come out in the spring. In fact, the filling might just be leftover

Is there anything else you need to know?

Limited Edition Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies Stickers

The fun of this product doesn’t stop with the cookies. The packaging glows in the dark (but it says “Marshmallow M N”), and there are stickers on the back, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Two cookies contain six percent of your daily recommended iron. I hoped for a higher iron content so it would be more like lunar maria, the dark, iron-rich volcanic patches on the moon’s surface.

Conclusion:

Limited Edition Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies Phases

Marshmallow Moon Oreo Cookies are nothing earth-shattering (pun unintended again), but they’re good enough. And in this summer of Game of Thrones and Stranger Things food products, it’s refreshing to have a factual, scientific, historic event get its due.

Purchased Price: $1.99
?Size: 10.7 oz.
?Purchased at: Walgreens
?Rating: 7 out of 10
?Nutrition Facts:: (2 cookies) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: KIND Frozen Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Bar

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KIND Frozen Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar

What is the KIND Frozen Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Bar?

No, these counterparts to the famous fruit and nut bars aren’t shelved next to the ice cream by mistake. Instead, this Walmart-exclusive novelty requires frozen storage, and features an ample sprinkling of chocolate-drizzled almonds and peanuts atop a creamy almond base.

How is it?

Unassuming appearance aside, one bite is all it takes to realize these are definitely at home sandwiched in-between the frozen dessert aisle’s typical guilty pleasures. Unlike KIND’s flagship line of bars, which I feel generally emulate eating a brick of compressed bird seed, the addition of an almond-based frozen dessert layer, as well as generous amounts of dark chocolate, keep this experience 100% indulgent from beginning to end.

KIND Frozen Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar Halved

The almond base is really where KIND hits it out of the park. Rather than resembling an icy, chalky brick like most supposedly “creamy” plant-based frozen desserts, it’s smooth, silky, and melty as soon as it hits your tongue. Part of this superb texture may be attributable to the addition of milkfat, which makes this a rare KIND offering that doesn’t cater to the dairy-intolerant.

KIND Frozen Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar Top

The nuts on top provide a pleasant crunch to contrast against the creamy almond layer, and help accentuate the light nutty taste of the base itself. On the bottom, the dark chocolate coating provides an extra bit of snap, and a pleasant bittersweet note to offset the treat’s sweeter aspects.

Is there anything else you need to know?

One not-so-great thing about this treat’s readiness to melt is that it’s nearly impossible to get home without having it going completely soft. Luckily, re-freezing it doesn’t seem to hurt its texture too much, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem as long as you’re okay with less-than-picture-perfect bars.

Conclusion:

Do the KIND thing for your body and soul by picking up a couple bars the next time you stop by your local Walmart. Just be sure to bring a cooler to carry them home in.

Purchased Price: $1.37
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 1 bar (49 grams)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts:: (1 bar) 190 calories, 12 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 6 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 11 grams of total sugars, 10 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Museum of Ice Cream 2019 Flavors

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Museum of Ice Cream 2019 Flavors

Target’s exclusive Museum of Ice Cream line has four new flavors this year — Malt Shake, Queen Bee, PB&P, and Cone Zone. To be honest, I didn’t try any of the original varieties that debuted last year. I assume they must’ve been decent to justify having new flavors. Well, let’s find out how these new varieties are.

Malt Shake

Museum of ice Cream Malt Shake

If you’ve ever wanted to eat a Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty without having to go to a Wendy’s, the Museum of Ice Cream Malt Shake flavor would be one way to do it. Of course, the other way would be to order it via DoorDash and hope it’s not a cup of chocolate malt soup when you get it.

The pint features malted chocolate ice cream with mini malted milk balls.

The base tastes like a hardened Wendy’s Frosty, making it a pint that was hard for me to put down. One complaint I’ve read about this is how the tasty base is a little gritty. It is, but being that it’s supposed to be like a malted shake, it should be that way. After all, if I remember correctly, a Wendy’s Frosty has some grittiness.

Museum of ice Cream Malt Shake Closeup

The Whoppers-like candy encased in the base taste and crunch better than the classic candy. Biting into one turns the maltiness up to 11. Unfortunately, there were significantly less than 11 of those mini malted milk balls in my pint. Hence, the reason why the photo above is an empty sea of malted chocolate ice cream.

Malt Shake is a great flavor, and my favorite of the four, but it would’ve been more fabulous with more balls.

Purchased Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 230 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Queen Bee

Museum of ice Cream Queen Bee

Of the four new flavors, Queen Bee sits on the throne.

Nah, just kidding. I wanted to shoehorn that throne line into this review. But you already knew that since I mentioned Malt Shake is my favorite 15 seconds ago. It’s tasty, but it’s not what I’d hope it would be. It features honey ice cream with chocolatey covered honeycomb and English toffee with almonds.

While there are two honey-related ingredients, Winnie the Pooh would take off his red shirt, stomp on it, and growl in protest of how little honey flavor the pint has. The honey ice cream reminds me of Ben & Jerry’s Sweet Cream base, and the chocolatey coating overwhelms the honeycomb’s flavor. The English toffee isn’t Heath-like. Instead, they’re like gloops of caramel with chunks of almonds.

Museum of ice Cream Queen Bee Closeup

With all that said, it’s a decent ice cream, but it has a ho-hum flavor doesn’t make me want to protect it by stinging anyone who might be a perceived threat to eat some of it.

Purchased Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 230 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 24 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

PB&P

Museum of ice Cream PB P

The PB stands for peanut butter, but the P stands for pretzels. The pint contains peanut buttery ice cream with chocolatey covered pretzel pieces and a peanut butter swirl. If you’re a fan of sweet and salty, this would be the pint to get.

Obviously, there’s a potent peanut buttery presence. The ice cream base has a pleasant nutty and sweet flavor, while the swirl brings more of the salty side of peanut butter. The thing about the swirl is that it’s not a gooey ingredient that’s easy to scoop out. It’s a hardened stream that I sometimes had to stab at to break it up into smaller pieces.

Museum of ice Cream PB P Closeup

The chocolatey covered pretzels are a much-needed addition to cut through the rich peanut buttery flavor of the other two components. They have a significant crunch and the saltiness from the swirl enhances them. Unlike the chocolatey coating around the honeycombs in Queen Bee, the one that surrounds the pretzels doesn’t mask the flavor of what’s inside of it.

Overall, PB&P is a good sweet and salty flavor, and my second favorite of the four.

Purchased Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 230 calories, 15 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Cone Zone

Museum of ice Cream Cone Zone

Finally, we have the pint that honors Conan O’Brien. Just kidding. But it would’ve been cool if it did. Inside the pint there’s vanilla and chocolate ice creams with chocolate coated sugar cone pieces and a fudge ribbon.

Museum of ice Cream Cone Zone Closeup

The fudge ribbon tastes similar to the fudge flakes in Ben & Jerry’s pints, but maybe a tad sweeter. Much like the peanut butter swirl in PB&P, the fudge in the pint is solid, which can lead to excavating things like this:

Museum of ice Cream Cone Zone Chunk

The ribbon also amps up the flavor to make the battle between the chocolate and vanilla ice creams in the pint unfair. And you might think the chocolate-coated sugar cone pieces might further enhance the cocoa flavor, but with most of them, I noticed a strong marshmallow flavor that made the chocolate less intense and prevented the pint from being overly one note.

Cone Zone is a fine ice cream, but even with the crunchy sugar cone pieces, I didn’t find it to be as exciting of a flavor as PB&P and Malt Shake.

Purchased Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 250 calories, 16 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza (2019)

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Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza 2019

It was a surprise to me when I heard Pizza Hut was “repairing” its Pan Pizza recipe, changing the type of cheese and, more important, utilizing a new baking method meant to “enhance” the crust’s flavor. I really didn’t know people even had a problem with it.

Recently, I went to the neighborhood Pizza Hut down the street from my house and ordered, for myself, a Personal Pan Pizza, making sure from the pizza-barista that they utilize this new process at about a fourth the size, just like they do their full-size. Confirmed and comfortable, I ordered one with pepperoni. The smell of the baking pizza floated about the small building, enticing me in a way the Hut never had before.

Brought to my table — that was fully emblazoned with Wing Street logos, natch — I opened up the adorable miniature pizza box and, after snapping a couple of pictures, gently pulled a small slice from the somewhat larger pie, the new cheese stringing across the box like it was being filmed for a recent commercial campaign.

Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza 2019 Slice

Full steam ahead, I bit into the pan pizza; the cheese was notably different right from the start — a bit more heavy than usual and with somewhat more of a fuller bite — it was definitely an improvement on the old recipe. Using a part-skim mozzarella cheese, there seems to be far more of it, making it a wonderfully cheesy mess. The tomato sauce, additionally, melded very well to the cheese, pairing together like some well-worn partners in pizza-esque crime.

But, and this was what made it for me, the crust tasted absolutely new and improved. The buttery richness of the baked dough made me want a loaf of this as a crispy bread, with maybe the aforementioned melted cheese as a cruel dipping sauce of sorts. Can we get on this idea, Pizza Hut?

While the calorie count, even for a Personal, is quite loaded at 610 calories, it might be worth it on a special cheat day just to desperately try these modern improvements in the pizza-making abilities of Pizza Hut, no matter how long you’ve been away from or how often you likely go to the Hut. Cómpralo ya!

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: Personal Pan Pizza
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 610 calories, 26 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1260 milligrams of sodium, 69 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 25 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Herr’s Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls

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Herr s Crunchy N Sweet Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls

What are Herr’s Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls?

I’m 70% sure this is how this product was developed:

“Ok, what flavor are we making these new orange crunchy balls?”

“How about orange?”

“Don’t be so obvious, Jim. Anybody else? Ideas? Anything? No? OK, orange it is!”

Hence, we have Herr’s Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls – orange cream-flavored, orb-shaped puffs.

How are they?

The aroma in the bag is straight-up, not-screwing-around-with-subtlety orange. After cracking it open, I left the room and could smell them when I walked back in. Not the Epcot Soarin’ orange grove mist variety, more like candy or soda. I liked it, but it’s hardcore fakey-fake.

Herr s Crunchy N Sweet Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls 2 Back

Ironically, they’re not even orange – they’re cream-colored with orange flecks.

Herr s Crunchy N Sweet Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls 3 Balls

I expected the flavor to be a sweet/savory combo, since I associate the puff format with cheese, but these were all sweet with just the slightest hint of savory from the puff base.

The orange was much more laid back in taste than aroma. The cream was definitely present, along with a wheaty/baked flavor, which gave the whole thing a breakfast-cereal vibe. I thought about dumping them in milk, but it only occurred to me after I’d finished them all. Whoops.

Herr s Crunchy N Sweet Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls 4 Closeup

Is there anything else you need to know?

No day-glo dust means no orange fingers. No one would even know these hands just pawed through an entire bag!

Herr s Crunchy N Sweet Orange Cream Pop Snack Balls 5 Fingers

Conclusion:

These were tasty, and a novel flavor I haven’t seen in this form. Not Epcot-orange, but a fun snack that’s worth a try. I binge-ate them.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 6 oz. bag
Purchased at: Five Below
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (39 pieces) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, including 6 grams of added sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

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