It’s Valentine’s Season, and in the junk food world, that means one thing: chocolate and strawberries. Or chocolate or strawberries. Or chocolate-covered strawberries. Okay, so that’s three things, I guess. Or just one, if it’s chocolate-covered strawberries. Either way, Valentine’s Day.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch — no stranger to branching out beyond its square Cinnadust-blasted archetypal form — is ready to celebrate the season of romance with its own lusty offering, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Strawberry. It’s not a weird concept, really, I don’t guess. I mean, people put strawberries on top of French toast all the time. Well, okay, I guess that requires you to overlook that Cinnamon Toast Crunch is cinnamon toast-based and not French toast. But you get the idea. It’s like making cinnamon toast and then topping it with strawberries. Is that a thing? Well, it is now. And in cereal form!
So, does it work? I honestly can’t decide! I mean it. It’s strange, but I’ve had a few bowls and can’t decide how I feel.
The thing is, it’s exactly what it sets out to be — and that’s what I’m so on the fence about: do we actually need strawberry cinnamon toast? The base layer here is very identifiably Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but there’s a slightly tart strawberry punch instead of that sugary, cinnamony finish. But also? It’s not strawberry enough. One thing CTC isn’t shy about, as the basketball fans say, is “going hard in the paint.” Cinnamon Toast Crunch and all of its sugar cookie, gingerbread, and waffle iterations are boldly seasoned, not for the faint of heart.
And so, honestly, it feels like if they wanted to commit to this strawberry thing, they should have really gone heavy with the strawberry seasoning shaker. I’d go one step further and suggest that they would have been just as well served to limit the cinnamon component entirely. Just go Strawberry Toast Crunch. (Hy-Vee does [or did?] a “blueberry squares” cereal that was just that, but, you know, with a crazy-strong blueberry flavoring, and it is [or was?] a solid 9 out of 10. That’s what this could have been.)
I’m not mad about this cereal, but I’m also not in love with it. When Cupid finally shoots it with his arrow, and it goes to Cereal Heaven, I won’t mourn it.
Purchased Price: $4.93
Size: 18.8 oz box (Family Size)
Purchased at: Walmart (Exclusive)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (41 grams) 170 calories, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
