REVIEW: Little Debbie Red, White and Blueberry Creme Rolls

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Little Debbie Red White and Blueberry Creme Rolls

Do you remember that lyric from “Sam’s Town” by the Killers? “Red, white, and blue upon a birthday cake; my brother, he was born on the Fourth of July.” Well, these Little Debbie Red, White and Blueberry Creme Rolls are nothing like that.

First of all, my brother was born closer to Halloween.

Second, if you tried to use these for the cake at a birthday party, well, you would cry too if it happened to you.

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And third, there’s no blue on them. Little Debbie’s other patriotic goodies this year have blue star sprinkles on the white icing and red stripes, but these blueberry rolls have no such sprinkles, and the blueberry filling is purple. Now, we all know that blueberries become purple when you put them in things, but these have artificial colors and no blueberries.

Why didn’t they keep their patriotic theme by just making it blue instead of purple? Or at least put some stars on top like they did the others? The red and white outside looks as much like a candy cane as it does the waving stripes of the American flag.

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When I ate the roll, I was surprised to find the blueberry flavor to be faint. The last Little Debbie cakes I had were the St. Patrick’s Day Creme Rolls, which were very minty, so I expected the berry flavor to stand out more.

Instead, it hides behind the generic white “icing” and yellow cake. If you’ve had Little Debbie cakes, you know what I’m talking about —- that super sweet coating and that dry-ish cake that always sounds better than it is.

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I had another roll the next day to make sure I still thought the berry flavor was lacking. And then I figured it out. I can taste and even smell the blueberry, but the level of berry-ness is more along the lines of a blueberry bagel than a blueberry pie.

I think this works to the cake’s advantage; fake blueberry flavor often goes wrong. Oddly enough, I could taste the blueberry more when I ate the cake as a whole than when I licked the creme by itself. The creme alone reminds me of the excessive frosting on cheap grocery store cupcakes.

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I had to buy some blueberries, bananas, and asparagus along with my snack cakes to make me feel better about myself, so I decided to put some blueberries on the last bit of the cake. And I really liked it better that way; it provided a nice contrast to the overly sweet pastry. Plus, I got to pretend to be healthy.

At thirty-something cents a cake, these are passable. You get what you pay for. I would have liked a stronger blueberry flavor, but the faintness is better than too much.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 roll – 280 calories, 120 calories from fat, 13 grams total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 20 milligrams of potassium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 29 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein..)

Purchased Price: $2.00
Size: 13.1 oz. package (6 rolls)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Blueberry flavor is light, which is better than too much. Creativity behind a new flavor instead of just seasonal colors. Tastes better with real blueberries. You get what you pay for.
Cons: Looks like Christmas on the outside and Easter on the inside. Super sweet “icing” and cake that sounds better than it is.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Cheesecake Cool Whip

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Limited Edition Cheesecake Cool Whip

Despite Reddi-wip’s furious smear advertising campaign touting the advantages of real cream, Cool Whip remains untouchable, eaten by 66 million more Americans than its canned counterpart.

The reasons are pretty simple: You can freeze Cool Whip and eat it like ice cream, you can blend it into no-bake desserts easier than Reddi-wip, and you can leave it on your angel food cake outside during a hurricane and it’ll stay put.

Despite that indestructible texture reputation, the new Cheesecake Cool Whip isn’t any thicker or creamier than the original version. While the packaging art would have us skip June, July, and August to pumpkin season, the allusion to cream cheese frosting is a poor one, mostly because trying to use Cool Whip as frosting is like trying to use tomato juice for pizza sauce —- it’s just not thick enough.

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Eaten directly out of the tub (which is completely acceptable if you ask me) the Cheesecake Cool Whip has a distinct taste from the original variety. There’s a cheesecake vibe upon first lick, but it’s faint, giving way to a French Vanilla-type sweetness. The deeper, nuanced cream taste of actual whipped cream is obviously absent, but what’s really missing is the richness of a real cream element, which would otherwise bring out the cheesecake flavor.

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It also tastes less like cheesecake when eaten with common whipped cream accouterments. The ever reliable blueberry —- plump, sweet, slightly tart -— all but mutes the cheesecake flavor.

Even trying to cheesecake-ify yogurt is somewhat hit or miss. I tried it with strawberry yogurt, and while I did notice a cheesecake flavor, I had to add a lot of it — like 50 or 75 calories worth — to get a consistent tang. It would’ve been easier to just buy a container of Dannon Strawberry Cheesecake Greek Yogurt

Seeing that it’s 2017 and we still haven’t gotten a cheesecake Oreo or cheesecake Pop-Tart, I appreciate Kraft’s effort. That said, Cool Whip, which is mostly just water and hydrogenated oil, might not be the best medium for the flavor.

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(Nutrition Facts – 2 Tbsp – 25 calories, 15 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 gram of dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein..)

Purchased Price: $1.78
Size: 8 oz. tub
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Recognizable cheesecake flavor when eaten alone. Adds a slight cheesecake taste when mixed with yogurt. Eating Cool Whip like ice cream.
Cons: Cheesecake flavor isn’t strong enough to stand out with other ingredients. Not thick or sweet enough to use as frosting. Lacks cheesecake richness. Eating soggy angel food cake.

REVIEW: 7-Eleven Caramel Bar Made with Twix Donut

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7 Eleven Caramel Bar Made with Twix Donut

I open my review with a quote from pop culture’s most famous convenience store proprietor, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon:

“You’ve clearly taken items from the candy rack and placed them on top of the donut in an attempt to pass them off as sprinkles. A Mounds bar is not a sprinkle! A Twizzler is not a sprinkle! A Jolly Rancher is not a sprinkle, sir. Perhaps in Shangri-la they are, but not here!”

So, is a Twix bar a sprinkle? Did 7-Eleven break the convenience code, or do they use a different rulebook than the Kwik-E-Mart?

I guess a better question is do you care?

You don’t care. You just wanna know if a donut sprinkled with Twix pieces is good. I’ll kill the suspense right here. Yes. Of course a donut covered in Twix pieces is good.

Do you like heavy donuts? Your entire enjoyment of the 7-Eleven Caramel Bar made with Twix Donut might hinge on that question. This donut was almost as big a mouthful as that name.

I personally like really dense donuts, so this was right up my alley. If you wanna know what the texture was like, think of two chocolate frosted Dunkin’ Donuts violently mashed together. This is a heavy piece of pastry. The fact it’s oblong and hole-less definitely added to that density.

Sticking to that comparison, this basically tastes like a chocolate frosted Dunkin’ Donut with caramel added (Note to Dunkin’ Donuts: Sell those.)

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The caramel is painted on top like a standard icing, and definitely tasted authentic to a Twix. I will say that it did get a bit overshadowed due to the chocolate drizzle and candy pieces that were caked on top as well as the dense dough, but it was still tasty.

The Twix bits, which looked like pretzel pieces on first glance, did their job just fine. I probably could have even used more of them. The Homer Simpson approach of just tossing an intact bar atop the donut may have worked better. Instead of chopping Twix up, I would have liked five or six mini Twix on top – one per bite.

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I thought for sure there would be some kind of caramel or chocolate filling, but I cut it open and was proven wrong. That may have been overkill, but I can imagine some people yearning for a little something to cut the dough.

The donut had a pleasant scent, but everything in a 7-Eleven bakery cabinet smells the same over time.

I would recommend the 7-Eleven Caramel Bar made with Twix Donut for sure. I’d also recommend picking up a Twix and chasing each donut bite to really hammer home the Twix experience. Why not? You’ve been good all week.

This is a winner for 7-Eleven in my eye, but it might be too heavy and too skimpy on the Twix pieces for some people. Still, if you’re stopping in for a morning coffee, this beast will hold you over ’til lunch.

Thank you, come again.

(Nutrition Facts – Not available.)

Purchased Price: $1.69
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: I really like dense, chewy donuts. Fresh. Tasty combination. Can’t go wrong with Twix. Your brain reading that quote in Apu’s voice. There’s a Simpsons reference for everything.
Cons: Caramel gets masked a bit. Not enough Twix pieces. Oblong donuts. Could have come up with a better name. Nutritional facts not available on website.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Cocoa Puffs Ice Cream Scoops Cereal

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Limited Edition Cocoa Puffs Ice Cream Scoops Cereal

I look forward to the day 10 years from now when a young underpaid staff writer for Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Delish, Refinery 29, Epicurious, Thrillist, or some not yet created online publication posts “23 Cereals You Didn’t Know Existed from the 2010s” or “14 Cereals From the 2010s You Might’ve Missed in the Glut Known as the Cereal Aisle.”

On that day I will most likely see one of the photos in this review and read 75-125 words about Limited Edition Cocoa Puffs Ice Cream Scoops Cereal.

For those of you who have read articles on Buzzfeed or HuffPost titled something click baity like “17 Breakfast Cereals From the 1980s We’d Kill To Try Again” or “42 Cereals We’d Go Back in Time For If Time Travel Existed,” you might’ve seen another ice cream-flavored General Mills cereal — Ice Cream Cones. I’d like to think this new variety of Cocoa Puffs is the reincarnation of that cereal I’d kill to try again.

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The part of a complete breakfast features strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavored corn puffs. So it’s a Neapolitan ice cream-flavored cereal. It’s also a 100 percent strawberrier version of Cocoa Puffs Combos that was on shelves years ago. While Cocoa Puffs is in its name, the chocolate pieces are not actual Cocoa Puffs. They’re smaller and not as spherical. All three corn puffs have dull colors. Thanks no colors from artificial sources!

The aroma that comes out of the bag is all strawberry. All day. All night. 24/7. Actually, its smell reminds me of Cap’n Crunch’s Crunchberries, which is not a bad thing. With a strong berry scent, I thought it would have an overall strawberry flavor. And after eating a bowl, dry and with milk, I was right.

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Through, I imagine, cereal osmosis, the strawberry attached its flavor to the other cereal pieces. I tried them individually. I ate them mixed with each other. I had them mixed with each other in milk. I tasted them from a box. I consumed them with a fox. I tasted them in a house. I gobbled them with a mouse. But no matter how I ate them, strawberry was the dominant flavor and I detected only a little chocolate and even less vanilla. It’s decent tasting, even though it’s mostly berry flavored and doesn’t remind me of ice cream. But I wouldn’t buy it again.

So if you’re one of those folks who eats all the strawberry from a Neapolitan ice cream container or enjoys berry-flavored cereals, you’ll like this. But if you’re one of those who avoids the strawberry in Neapolitan, you’ll dislike this as much as those who dislike you for eating just the chocolate and vanilla from a Neapolitan ice cream carton.

(Nutrition Facts – 3/4 cup cereal only – 100 calories, 10 calories from fat, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 50 milligrams of potassium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, 14 grams of other carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: Bought on eBay, so significantly more than you should pay
Size: 10.8 oz. box
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Not horrible. If you love the strawberry part of Neapolitan ice cream or berry-flavored cereal, you’ll like this.
Cons: If you avoid the strawberry part of Neapolitan ice cream, you might not like this. Weak chocolate flavor. Weaker vanilla flavor. Doesn’t remind me of ice cream.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Jelly Donut Oreo Cookies

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Limited Edition Jelly Donut Oreo Cookies

The scene: Nabisco’s headquarters. Half a dozen marketing executives are sitting at a table.

“Alright, guys, we really, really have to hit this one out of the park,” the leader of the brainstorming session says. “It’s summer, and Walmart demands we outdo the Root Beer Oreo.”

“How about, uh, ice cream-flavored Oreo cookies?” one suit proposes.

“What about, um, a chili pepper Oreo?” suggests another.

“Would it be possible to test a pot brownie Oreo in the Denver market?” inquires yet another.

The rest of the team shakes their heads.

“No, we really have to think outside the box,” the team leader says. “Seriously, what’s something unique and summery we can work with here?”

A long silence follows. Then, at the very end of the table, the newest member of the team speaks.

“Maybe…jelly donut flavored Oreo cookies?”

A mile-wide grin stretches upon the team leader’s lips. “Kid – you’re a genius.”

The room bursts in applause, confetti falls from the ceiling and the celebratory jugs of milk doth spray.

And scene.

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Okay, so I’m not entirely sure that’s how Jelly Donut Oreo Cookies came to be, but it’s probably pretty close. Coming up with an infinity number of twist-top sandwich cookie variations can’t be easy, and it’s way easier to go wrong (cough SWEDISHFISHOREO cough) than go right with the gimmick.

In the rich panoply of limited time only (LTO) Oreo cookies, I’d say these Walmart exclusives are in the top 30 percentile. They’re no match for the pumpkin spice permutation, but they’re definitely superior to B-leaguers like watermelon and cotton candy.

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According to Nabisco, these things are supposed to taste like an amalgamation of custard and raspberry. Oddly enough, the cookies at first bite taste indistinguishable from the rank-and-file Golden Oreos – and technically, they are save that smidge of raspberry goop (which I thought tasted more like grape than anything else) in the middle. I didn’t really get a distinct custard flavor from the creme, but I certainly got a mouthful of artificial fruit flavoring, which – to my taste buds, at least – tasted remarkably similar to the molten jam stuffed inside a Frosted Wild Grape Pop-Tart.

I guess the best LTOreo to compare this one to is the fruit punch version from a couple of years back. It has that same sugary-yet-still-quasi-believable fruit taste, except slightly more tart. So if you were a fan of that one and have been desperately, direly praying for the product’s return, this is probably as close as you’ll ever get to reliving the wonder and whimsy of 2014.

Granted, it may not taste too much like your favorite Dunkin’ Donuts staple, but it’s nonetheless pretty yummy. And regardless how you feel about the deluge of seasonal Oreo cookies hitting the store shelves, we can at least take some comfort in Nabisco appearing to pursue more subdued flavors than in years past – sorry, those of you still patiently waiting for those Limited Edition Macaroni and Cheese Oreo Cookies.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 10 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: 10.7 oz. package
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: The artificial jelly flavor is pretty good. The interior creme has a rich taste and texture. The Golden Oreo “toppers” allow you to eat it without your teeth looking like a collapsed coal mine.
Cons: The “donut” flavor is faint. It doesn’t taste that much different from a few previous LTOreos. Burning your fingertips trying to dip ‘em in a cup of piping hot extra-dark roast coffee…over and over again.

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