REVIEW: Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nuts

/ / Reviews / 3 Comments

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nuts

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nuts come in two varieties — Roasted Almonds with Dark Chocolate and Roasted Cashews with Milk Chocolate.

If you think about it, with this line, Planters is giving us less of the good stuff. I’m not talking about the nuts, which pay for Mr. Peanut’s closet of top hats, monocles, and canes. I’m talking about the chocolate.

Of course, that is not Planters’ expertise. Nor does its parent conglomerate, Kraft Heinz, have a chocolate brand under its umbrella. But the sweet stuff is what makes these appealing, and they’d be a lot more so if they had more than just a drizzle.

Actually, “drizzle” might not be the most accurate description of how much chocolate is on each nut. Yes, it’s drizzled on top, but underneath there’s a solid thin layer of it. So it covers about 60-70 percent of the nut, but I wish it had more.

But I can understand why Planters didn’t thoroughly coat the almonds and cashews. It doesn’t help highlight the nuts, which is Planters’ bread and butter that pays for Mr. Peanut’s other closet of white gloves, wingtips, and Crest Whitening Strips. I understand it, but I don’t agree with it.

Let’s be honest; drizzle is a fancy way of saying less chocolate. Heck, the word “less” can be spelled using “drizzle,” if you take the L, E, and flip the two Zs horizontally.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Almond with Dark Chocolate

As someone who likes dark chocolate covered almonds, I feel I’m getting a little ripped off here. Why would I pay for partially covered almonds when I can get fully covered almond for the same price or less. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth that you’d think would go well with the bitterness from the dark chocolate and almonds, but doesn’t.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Almond with Dark Chocolate

My issue is that sometimes I can taste the drizzle, but most times I can’t. When that happens, what my taste buds are left with are plain, unsalted almonds.

Maybe it’s the quality of the confection, which doesn’t seem very good. Or its bitterness gets lost in the almond’s bitterness. Whatever the reason, these aren’t that satisfying if I’m trying to satiate my sweet tooth.

Purchased Price: $13.14
Size: 14.5 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 20 pieces) 160 calories, 13 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 8 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Cashew with Milk Chocolate

FULL DISCLOSURE: I eat a lot more almonds than cashews, but I love the C-shaped nut a teeny bit more. I should mention this because I enjoyed these more than the almond one.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Cashew with Milk Chocolate

The chocolate isn’t that great when eaten by itself because it’s not that sweet, although noticeably sweeter than the dark stuff on the other one. But when eaten with the cashews, the sweetness and creaminess of both parts complement each other.

The combination makes me want to eat a cashew butter and chocolate sandwich right now, which I would do if cashew butter wasn’t so darn expensive. With the almond one, I could pop a few in my mouth, and I’m good. But with this, I want to eat the entire bag.

I do wish they had better chocolate and more of it, but comparing the two Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nut varieties, the cashew version is far and away the better one. Also, chocolate covered cashews aren’t very common, so it was nice eating them.

Purchased Price: $13.14
Size: 12 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 pieces) 160 calories, 12 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty! Bars

/ / Reviews / 6 Comments

Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty Bars

What are Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty! Bars?

Having grown up in a family that always had Little Debbie treats scattered around the house, these new confections seem to be Hostess’ take on its rival’s iconic Nutty Buddy Bars. They feature layers of peanut butter filling sandwiched between fudge-coated wafers.

How are they?

Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty Bars 2

Hostess was right to call these treats Totally Nutty because they were all about the peanut butter. It was the most prominent flavor I noticed when I initially tasted one of the bars, and it was also the aspect that made me want to reach for another pack after polishing my first one off.

With all the nutty goodness going on, I forgot each bar has a fudge coating. Well, at least until it started to melt on my fingers. It’s easy to forget about because it’s bland compared to the rest of the bar.

Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty Bars 3

If I had to describe the specific flavor of the peanut butter filling, I would say it’s quite close to what’s in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Creamy, sweet, and salty enough to make them hard to put down, it was the perfect companion for the light and airy texture of each wafer layer.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Unlike Nutty Buddy bars, which come in twin packs, these are individually wrapped. So don’t plan on being able to split a sleeve between you and a friend all that easily.

Conclusion:

Despite the fudge coating’s shortcomings, I still found these quite enjoyable. They may not carry the Reese’s name, but peanut-butter-lovers everywhere should definitely make a spot for these in their snack cabinet.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 12 oz. box (8 bars)
Purchased at: Kroger
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 230 calories, 140 calories from fat, 16 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 16 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby (Japan)

/ / Reviews / 2 Comments

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby

What is the Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby?

While in Tokyo recently, I made a stop at the Kit Kat Chocolatory store & café and brought home some goodies. Ruby Kit Kats are a new type of chocolate made from unfermented cocoa beans (regular chocolate is fermented). There’s no coloring added, so the dusty mauve tint is the natural shade of the cocoa beans.

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby 2

How is it?

Ruby Kit Kats smell like white chocolate and taste like a blueberry or blackberry-flavored white chocolate. There’s a prominent cheesecake-style tang.

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby 3

It’s a tasty Kit Kat, but I expected something out of left field since it’s a whole new category of chocolate. However, it tasted like something I’ve had before. Without the press releases and special packaging, I would have figured it was just another novelty flavor.

The color is lovely. It gives the illusion that it’s more natural than the bright pink most berry items sport these days. Maybe it is since there’s no coloring added?

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby 4

Is there anything else you need to know?

Wanna know how to spend $42 in a Kit Kat store? This is it. These are ‘spensive – $3.50 for a tiny box. The packaging is so distinctly Japanese – graphically clean and minimalist, carefully wrapping a precious single stick of Kit Kat – as in 1/4 of a standard Kit Kat package here in the US. $3.50 for one finger of a Kit Kat! I was so disappointed, then nauseated by my American-sized gluttony. So I ate another one.

Conclusion:

These are interesting, but no more than any other random flavor variety of Kit Kat. I hope millions weren’t spent developing this new ruby chocolate, because it’s not all that. Try them if they’re easy to get and the price lowers, but don’t bend over backwards to find them.

Purchased Price: 400 yen (approx. $3.52 US)
Size: 12 g bar
Purchased at: Kit Kat Chocolatory main store, Ginza, Tokyo
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 g bar) 61 calories, 3.6 grams of fat, 2.4-11 milligrams of sodium, 6.5 grams of carbohydrates, and 0.61 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Burger King Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich

/ / Reviews / 4 Comments

Burger King Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich

What is the Burger King Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich?

The Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich is a fairly straightforward offering from The King. You’ve got a big, crispy chicken filet (which, if you so request, comes with special spicy seasonings), a couple of strips of smoky bacon, a toasted potato bun, and two types of cheese-related dressings underneath. There’s a thick, creamy cheddar sauce and what appears to be at least two slices of melted (or at least slightly warmer than usual) American cheese.

How is it?

Burger King Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich 3

The chicken filet is actually a lot better than you may anticipate, and as always, Burger King’s bacon, in my opinion, remains one of the most underrated toppings in the world of fast food fix-ins.

Burger King Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich 4

The potato bun, unfortunately, doesn’t have much flavor to it, but where this thing really disappoints is in the cheese department. The proprietary cheddar sauce is shockingly tasteless, and whatever brand of American cheese BK is using these days has to be one of the more mundane variations on the market.

Is there anything else you need to know?

This is a perfectly fine fast food offering… and that’s the problem. There’s no denying the Cheesy Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich — which I’m just going to call the CBCCS from here on out — is a flavorful, hearty sandwich, which will certainly fulfill whatever poultry-burger cravings you may be having.

Alas, it doesn’t offer anything new, and the lack of any fresh produce to counterbalance the medley of meats makes this a recipe for cottonmouth city (not a surprise in the slightest, since this sammich packs nearly an entire day’s worth of recommended salt intake).

Conclusion:

The CBCCS plays it a little too safe, and the result is a tasty, but hardly remarkable, limited time only sandwich from the fast food juggernaut that seems like it’s pumping out a new LTO item every 10 to 12 days.

The sandwich definitely could have been improved with a different sauce (a savory boom-boom aioli, perhaps?) and with so much meat in the mix, some lettuce and tomato almost seem like a gustatory necessary.

It would have been nice to see BK get a little experimental with the toppings (some onion rings or fried mushrooms would’ve been great), but it seems like the choice of dairy is where the King went astray here. Swiss, mozzarella, gruyere … pretty much anything would’ve been a better fit than the Velveeta spread they ultimately opted for.

Still, it is good and extraordinarily filling; but for the rather steep price point, it seems like you should be getting something a little more distinct than the final product.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 650 calories, 32 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,980 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 31 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Great Value Danish Butter Cookie Coffee Creamer

/ / Reviews / 1 Comment

Great Value Danish Butter Cookie Coffee Creamer

What is Great Value’s Danish Butter Cookie Creamer?

Walmart’s Great Value Danish Butter Cookie Creamer is a union between an often overshadowed holiday treat and similarly underappreciated line of private-label coffee accoutrements. It promises to give you the ability to freely pour the nostalgic flavor of Danish Butter cookies into your morning cup of joe.

How is it?

Considering that Danish Butter Cookies are one of the best treats to pair with coffee, it should be no surprise this creamer is ideally suited for your morning caffeine. It’s sweet enough to take the bitter edge off a fresh cup without adding additional sugar. Also, the creamer’s predominant flavors of vanilla and butter complemented my drink well.

Great Value Danish Butter Cookie Coffee Creamer 2

After trying this in several different types of coffee, this tastes best when used alongside light or medium roast beans. It’s passable enough in bolder brews, but I found that darker ones tend to drown out some of the creamer’s flavor.

To be honest, I can’t believe Walmart was the first company to think of making a creamer like this. Coffee-mate and International Delight have covered everything from

Is there anything else you need to know?

Since I got the taste of Butter Cookies when I tried it in java, I got curious as to whether drinking it on its own would be like the Danish variation of

Walmart s Great Value Danish Butter Cookie 3

Lesson learned: It’s not. Without coffee to hide the artificial flavor, sipping this by itself tastes less like a cookie and more like how a vanilla Yankee Candle smells.

Conclusion:

If you prefer your joe on the light to medium side and have been looking for a new creamer to try, then I’d say Walmart’s Great Value Danish Butter Cookie Creamer is worth a shot. Just don’t expect to be able to leave out a straight glass of this for Santa without getting coal in your stocking.

Purchased Price: $2.48
Size: 32 fl. oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tablespoon) 30 calories, 1 gram of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 5 grams of total sugars, 5 grams of added sugars, and 0 grams of protein.
Scroll to Top