Here are a few interesting junk food-related stories from the past week or so. Enjoy.
Burned Out (via Eater)
This Norwegian Candy Bar Is Superior to the Kit Kat (via Munchies)
Pumpkin Spice Pizza Exists, Because Nothing Matters Anymore (via Munchies)
Why Wendy’s Is The Only Chain That Serves Baked Potatoes (via Thrillist)
Excited, curious BYU students react to caffeine on campus (via Deseret News)
Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we follow of stuff we probably won’t try.
“Rocky road is not one of my go-to staple ice cream flavors, but this is the best rocky road I’ve ever had.” (via Sean’s Skillet)
“Pumpkin cheesecake over a fudgy brownie base? Yes, please! Looks delicious! Except once you bite into it…” (via What’s Good at Trader Joe’s)
“I thought aus jus might provide that needed ‘oomph,’ but both the creamy sauce in the sandwich and the dip served alongside curiously lacked in flavor and seasoning.” (via Brand Eating)
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a ‘smoky’ cola before, but this certainly qualifies as one. By the way, Smoky Cola sounds like a soda in a video game.” (via The Soda Jerks)
Here are some new fall products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.
(Spotted by Meagan T at Safeway)
(Spotted by JoAnna B at Target.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)
(Spotted by Rachel C at World Market.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Big Lots.)
(Spotted by Carla at Costco.)
(Spotted by JoAnna B at Target.)
(Spotted by Rachel C at Target.)
(Spotted by Rachel C at Whole Foods.)
(Spotted by Rachel C at Sprouts.)
Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.
Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.
I begin this review with an urgent request.
Run, don’t walk, to your nearest grocery store/megamart/convenience store/bodega/Nabisco factory to get your hands on a pack of Cookie Butter Oreo Cookies.
And I’m not joking. After personally eating the first package I bought (and upon realizing that I probably needed at least one cookie to take a picture of for this review), I went to Target the very next day to procure another bag. Upon arriving, I found the Oreo shelf decimated, but managed to grab the last package on the shelf. Apologies in advance to anyone who shops at my local Target.
Nabisco’s newest limited edition Oreo flavor features two graham flavored cookies with cookie butter crème sandwiched between them. I’m going to assume that most TIB readers are well versed in the flavor of cookie butter, but here’s a crash course for those who haven’t: cookie butter is a spreadable concoction popularized by Trader Joe’s featuring the flavor of speculoos, a spiced shortcrust biscuit popular in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. It’s good on waffles, toast, pretzels, and (obviously) cookies.
When I opened my package, I was immediately overwhelmed by beige. While the packaging suggests that the cookies should have some definition against the darker brown cookie butter filling, they instead all blend together into an amorphous tan extravaganza. To be fair, the appearance doesn’t affect the taste, but it wouldn’t have hurt if the cookies got a little bit more time in the tanning bed before packaging.
Similar to the cookie butter’s indiscernibility visually, the graham scent of the cookie masks most of the spicy cookie butter smell. The taste, however, is a different story. Per usual, the filling is the star of the show, with a strong gingerbread and molasses flavor evident throughout the cookie sandwich. The texture of the cookie butter is on-point as well, and when eaten independent of the cookie base you can really feel the familiar grit of the crushed speculoos biscuits mixed within the crème.
If there’s any area these Oreo cookies fall short in, it’s in the durability of the cookies themselves. With one bite, the cookies shatter quite noticeably and coat your cookie-eating-surface with a shower of graham sand. I’d imagine that the non-traditional graham cookie base has something to do with this, and it makes me wonder how these would have tasted with Oreo’s original chocolate cookie (*makes note for next visit to the Target cookie war zone*).
All in all, these cookies are excellent. While some previous limited edition Oreo flavors have fallen flat, these sandwiches reign supreme over the cookie kingdom. They’re speculoos-tacular!
(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, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.).)
Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 10.7 oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Burning off the Oreo cookies by running to the store. Amazing flavor. Visions of Franken-Oreo creations.
Cons: Needs a few more minutes out in the sun. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Here are some new pumpkin products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.
(Spotted by Rachel C at Trader Joe’s.)
(Spotted by Bob K at Wegmans.)
(Spotted by Sylvia at Target.)
(Spotted by DJ and Blaire at Giant.)
(Spotted by Robbie at Target.)
(Spotted by Rachel C at Sprouts.)
(Spotted by Stephanie A at Walmart.)
(Spotted by Rachel C at Whole Foods.)
Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.
Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.