Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we follow.

Awesome! Now I have something I can dip my marshmallows in that’s not fire. (via Crazy Food Dude)

It turns out these cookies aren’t Smurftastic. Or as Drunk Smurf would say, “They’re smurfin’ smurfy. They taste like a piece of surf. Smurf that smurf!” (via Review Spew)

With a name like Smucker’s, I thought I’d be able to use these to write in jam, but there’s no jam in them. (via Clearance Cuisine)

Oh, Trader Joe’s. These makes me yearn to be closer to one of your stores. Instead, I will have to settle for Ruffles dipped in chocolate pudding. (via Candyblog)

With the Phillies out of the playoffs and the Eagles off to a horrible start, this probably won’t make Philadelphians happy. But, this might. (via Grub Grade and Eat!Drink!Snack!)

If you’re looking to piss off the trick or treaters in your neighborhood and ensure your home will get either egged or TP-ed, then pass out Chips Ahoy! Halloween chocolate chip cookies. Their chocolatey goodness puts them just a step above a roll of pennies, but their fragility puts them several steps below any candy.

Chips Ahoy! Halloween are somewhat similar to Chips Ahoy! American Summer, except instead of red. white, and blue candy coated pieces, they just have orange candy coated pieces. Since they aren’t very different, I also expect Chips Ahoy! Halloween to taste just like regular Chips Ahoy! cookies.

Let’s just hope Nabisco decided this time to make Chips Ahoy! Halloween in an appropriate country, unlike with Chips Ahoy! American Summer which were made in Mexico. So I hope Nabisco had these Halloween holiday chocolate chip cookies made in Transylvania.

Chips Ahoy! Halloween are currently available for a limited time in 13 ounces packages.

Thanks to @NickL3git on Twitter for letting us know about Chips Ahoy! Halloween and for the image above.

There are times I feel like, for as great as modern life is, things might be a little too advanced, with too many choices for us to handle.  After realizing my cell phone was in fact a tin can with a string tied to it, I got a new smart phone.  It can give directions to anywhere in the world and track weather patterns; I mainly use it to play Angry Birds and check baseball scores.  I have a TV that gets roughly 700 channels; I watch five of them.  I’m writing and you’re reading this on machines capable of accessing libraries around the globe, and the most spirited debate I’ve seen today was about whether, even if given human intelligence, there are really enough apes in the city of San Francisco to stage a successful uprising.  (Which: point, but I really feel like once you’ve bought into the notion of hyper-intelligent apes, it’s time to leave your finer points of military strategy at the door, Sun Tzu.)
 
Yet every time I start feeling like progress is passing me by, some food company will release a product that makes us all wonder why no one ever thought of it before.  Well hold onto your butts, because the latest embarrassment of riches has arrived in the form of Triple Double Oreos.  Those of you who have a hard time dealing with the opulence that is Double Stuf Oreos might want to quit reading now, as there’s a very real chance that merely hearing about the Triple Double will make the rest of us have to look away awkwardly and pretend that’s just water on your pants.
 
Now that we’ve dispensed with the nancies, the rest of you are ready to hear about the next phase in Nabisco’s arms race against Keebler.  Remember that Onion article from a few years back with a supposed Gillette executive proclaiming “Fuck everything, we’re doing five blades”?  And then a couple of years later, the actual Gillette company really did?  Well, this is Nabisco’s five blades.  More specifically, it’s two Oreo cookies mashed together like so: cookie top, vanilla creme filling, cookie middle, chocolate creme filling, cookie bottom.

I have to be honest: as much as what I just described would’ve blown the mind of a kid in 1975, it’s still less than what I was expecting.  The words “triple” and “double” right next to each other had me conjuring visions of mammoth Oreos you couldn’t fit in your mouth without unhinging your jaw, like the cookie equivalent of a Dagwood sandwich.  That… is not this.  It’s really just two Oreos (one and two-thirds if you’re a math nerd) (which I’m not) stacked atop one another; the three cookie layers provide the “triple” element, while the twin layers of creme filling account for the “double.”  I initially suspected that the filling layers would be extra thick, like Double Stuf Oreos, hence the “double” part of the name.  Turns out I was wrong; they aren’t any thicker than normal Oreos, there are simply two layers.  And I guess technically that makes sense, but since regular Oreos have both a top and a bottom cookie, the “triple” part feels pretty disingenuous.  Maybe that’s just me.

On the plus side, they taste basically the same as regular Oreos, which is to say quite good.  Perfectionist that I am, I performed controlled taste tests both with and without milk (1%, if you’re looking to replicate the experiment yourself), and the results were as expected: pretty tasty plain, significantly better in milk.  If I have a quibble, it’s that they might as well have saved themselves the trouble of using chocolate creme.  The chocolate of the cookie layers is so dominant that you can’t taste any chocolate in the creme, so it’s really just a marketing tool to look more appealing to your subconscious.  Hell, for all I know it’s just vanilla creme with brown food coloring thrown in.  That actually would not surprise me in the least.
 
On the more negative end of the spectrum is the fact that HOLY BALLS THESE THINGS ARE 100 CALORIES APIECE.  Apiece.  When a calorie count makes even me blanch, you know it’s bad.  It’s not like I’ve never eaten high-calorie desserts before, but usually they’re at least something big.  In this case I think the Triple Doubles’ heft may work against them — you’re still going to eat a few at a time because no one has eaten a lone Oreo in the history of ever; but then you remember they’re 100 calories apiece and your head explodes.  So, hey, watch out for that.
 
I can still recommend Triple Double Oreos for your consumption, but not unequivocally, and I doubt they’ll be around for long.  Like most ridiculously overindulgent products bestowed upon us by food companies, they make for a nice gimmick but will never replace the classic brand and are targeting the same market share.  I don’t expect there are too many people out there thinking, “You know, I like the taste of Oreos and all, but until they’re ready to take it to the next level, eff those guys.”  So if you’re interested in trying them out, I’d plan on doing so sooner rather than later.  You may be disappointed that they aren’t so gargantuan as to come one to a package, but come on: how bad can an Oreo really be?
 
(Nutrition Facts – 1 cookie – 100 calories, 40 calories from fat, 4.5 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 35 milligrams of potassium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of sugars, and less than 1 gram of protein.)
 
Other Triple Double Oreo reviews:

Foodette Reviews

Item: Nabisco Triple Double Oreo
Price: $2.99
Size: 13.1 ounces/18 cookies
Purchased at: Wegman’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Taking it to the next level.  Dissecting the finer points of Planet of the Apes.  Five blades.  Not having to unhinge your jaw.  Triple doubling up on milk.  Not stingy on the creme.  Tastes just like a regular Oreo.
Cons: Not really triple, unless you usually eat your Oreos open-faced.  Embarrassment of cookie riches.  100 bleeping calories apiece.  A bit disappointing visually.  Tastes… just like a regular Oreo.

Update: Click here to read our Triple Double Neapolitan Oreo review

Remember those Triple Double Oreo cookies we mentioned a few months ago. Well, they’re popping up in stores, so if you want to enjoy these Big Mac-like cookies, you’ll be able to do so. However, alongside the regular Triple Double Oreos, Nabisco has also released a Neapolitan version of the tall cookie.

Yes, Neapolitan, as in the chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream.

Fat Guy Food Blog has a review of the Nabisco Triple Double Neapolitan Oreo cookies, which consists of three golden Oreo cookies with a layer of strawberry creme filling and a chocolate creme filling in between them.

When I get my hands on them, I’ll try a few of them whole. But I’ll probably end up doing what I always do with Neapolitan ice cream and get rid of the strawberry part.

Source: Fat Guy Food Blog

August 14th is National Creamsicle Day.

I didn’t know that until just moments ago and although it’s only a few more months until it comes around again, I’ve been making up for the years I didn’t celebrate National Creamsicle Day by eating one Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo for each year I missed it. Unfortunately, I don’t know when the holiday was established, so I hope the thirty cookies I’m eating will make up for it.

When the holiday comes around again, I won’t be sucking, licking, or biting a frozen Creamsicle to celebrate the day. Instead, I’ll be eating more of these Limited Edtion Creamsicle Oreo cookies to honor the orange and vanilla treat. I hope they’ll still be available, since they’re limited edition.

Why not honor a Creamsicle by eating a Creamsicle? Because I believe one should honor something by eating something else that honors it. I wouldn’t eat an actual flag on Flag Day or a mother on Mother’s Day. In the case of Flag Day, I would eat something that honors the flag, like a cake or cookie decorated to look like an American flag or a pizza that uses pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to create the thirteen stripes.

Although, to be honest, I don’t really celebrate Flag Day, because no one gets the day off, there aren’t any fireworks, and I don’t want to blow my entire patriotic load before the Fourth of July.

Speaking of blowing entire loads, it looks like the folks at Nabisco have been doing just that with their Oreo cookies. Over the past two months, they’ve not only released these Creamsicle Oreos, but also Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreo, new flavors of Oreo Fudge Cremes, Oreo Brownies, and Triple Double Oreo.

However, out of that high fructose corn syrup-sweetened group, Creamsicle Oreo is the only one labeled limited edition and I’m disappointed by that because they make me wish every day was National Creamsicle Day.

After all the twisting, licking, biting, and other verbs that sound sexual but are also done with Oreo cookies, I think the cookie as a whole doesn’t taste like a Creamsicle. However, the orange and white creme itself does taste very similar to the frozen treat, but it doesn’t have a strong enough flavor to stand out from the vanilla Oreo cookie. When the creme is combined with the vanilla Oreo cookie, its flavor reminds me of Fruity Pebbles.

Even though the Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo as a whole doesn’t taste like a Creamsicle, it’s still a pretty good cookie. And I look forward to celebrating National Creamsicle Day with it.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 3 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of potassium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, less than 1 gram of protein and 2% iron.)

Item: Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo
Price: $2.98
Size: 15.25 ounces
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Creme taste like a Creamsicle. As a whole, it tastes like Fruity Pebbles. Honoring something by eating something that honors it. The number of Oreo varieties released recently.
Cons: As a whole, it doesn’t taste like a Creamsicle. Limited edition. Missing years of celebrating National Creamsicle Day. Eating an actual flag on Flag Day.

Chips Ahoy cookies are like the human drug testing subjects of the cookie world because Nabisco will stick anything into them to see if it works. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups…yup. Heath Candy Bar pieces…yup. Candy coated chocolate pieces…yup. Oatmeal…yup. Patriotism…yup.

This time around they’re putting fudge into the center of their signature chocolate chip cookies to create Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey Chocofudge and Megafudge cookies. Yes, the fudge puts the “gooey” in the Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey. Yes, Chocofudge and Megafudge sound like Godzilla’s gigantic blob-like neighbors on Monster Island. And, yes, I wish one of them was named Superfudge so that, much like Nabisco stuffs fudge into these cookies, I could stuff this review with Judy Blume references.

The Chocofudge version looks like a regular Chewy Chips Ahoy cookie, while the Megafudge looks like a Chips Ahoy cookie from a bizarro dimension with its chocolate cookie and white chocolate chips. Although, due to the fudge injection, both varieties look a little more plump than regular Chewy Chips Ahoy.

Fudge fills each cookie like a Great Dane fills a Smart Car. With the amount of fudge it’s almost impossible to not get fudge in every bite, unless you’re one of those odd people who nibbles a cookie like a bunny rabbit nibbles on a carrot.

The Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey cookies are chewy, but I’m not completely sold on the gooey part. In my mind I’ve always imagined gooey being something soft and sticky that holds together as if their lives depended on it as it’s being stretched apart and only separating because gravity demanded it. Although, I may have this mindset from watching way too many pizza commercials. There is some stretching, but the fudge gives up easily, much like I do when playing Madden at All-Madden difficulty. But the fudge doesn’t cry, throw a controller across the room, and scream “I suuuuuck.”

While they aren’t gooey in my eyes, the Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey Chocofudge are really good and a step above regular Chewy Chips Ahoy. Heck, let me say they’re also better than regular non-chewy Chips Ahoy. The fudge, while not quality stuff, does give the cookie a significantly stronger chocolate flavor which makes these cookies much more satisfying than regular Chips Ahoy.

As for the Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey Megafudge, I can’t say I enjoyed them as much as the Chocofudge. And I blame the white chocolate chips for that. The chocolate cookie and fudge give it a deep chocolate flavor, but the white chocolate chips disrupt it. They’re like those people who ruin the telling of a really good story by interrupting the storyteller at the most interesting moments with meaningless comments and questions, like “What happened next?” or “If that was me, I’d slap that bitch.”

What happened next? If you shut up, you’ll find out.

I’m glad Nabisco decided to stuff fudge into these Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey cookies instead of dipping them in fudge like they do with their Oreo cookies, because having fudge on the outside tends to get a little messy. Although, since Chips Ahoy are like the human drug testing subjects of the cookie world, I wouldn’t be surprised if a fudge filled and fudge dipped Chips Ahoy cookie popped up on store shelves.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – Chocofudge – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 60 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 1 grams of protein. Megafudge – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 80 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 1 grams of protein)

Item: Nabisco Chips Ahoy! Chewy Gooey Cookies (Chocofudge and Megafudge)
Price: $3.99 each
Size: 10 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Chocofudge)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Megafudge)
Pros: Chocofudge is a better Chips Ahoy cookie. Enough fudge to have fudge in every bite. Strong chocolate flavor. Not using an exclamation point after EVERY Chips Ahoy reference. Judy Blume.
Cons: Not as gooey as I hoped. White chocolate chips throw off flavor of Megafudge. People who interrupt storytellers. Playing Madden at All-Madden level.