I prefer Oreo Thins to Oreos.

Sure, you can’t beat a classic Oreo, I’ve just never been able to eat many in one sitting. Regardless of flavor, I’m done after about four. I can polish off an entire sleeve of Oreo Thins without even realizing it. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.

Listen, I can hear your outrage from here. “Vin likes Thins more than Oreos?! This is outrageous. Wait, who the heck is Vin?”

I get it. I know people still have some problems with Oreo Thins. They convey an unattainable image to young Oreos. They’re a false portrayal of what society thinks an Oreo should look like. Every new Oreo Thins flavor that hits shelves feels like a slight to Double Stuff Oreos the world over, but hey, I like what I like.

Speaking of new flavors, remember like a decade ago when you never even knew salted caramel was a thing? Can you believe we once lived in a world where “sweet and salty” wasn’t a super mainstream flavor profile? Now even the world’s most famous cookie is dipping itself into the salted caramel pool.

The new Salted Caramel Oreo Thins have that distinct Golden Oreo cookie smell with just a spritz of eau de stale caramel.

There isn’t much crème per cookie, but I imagine you know the drill with Thins at this point. I personally prefer the Thins ratio to a normal Oreo.

Honestly, the caramel flavor in these cookies isn’t all that strong. It’s more of a “yeah, I guess that’s caramel” than anything, but it still tastes good. I wouldn’t get my hopes up expecting a big blast of caramel flavor.

As for the salt? It’s there, but not overpowering. I did get a couple salt crystal crunches from time to time, which are always appreciated. I could be crazy but the cookie might have a little more saltiness to it than normal. Don’t quote me on that though, I haven’t had a Golden Oreo in a bit.

Caramel is a delicious flavor in general, but it’s also very dependent on texture. Sure, I get annoyed when a chewy, sticky piece of caramel sticks in my molar, but that’s also part of the charm. The caramel “crème” in these cookies doesn’t hold a candle to a good piece of actual caramel. You might as well call it “car-mull” crème like one of those weirdos who say “car-mull.”

I’m sure people will complain about the lack of normal sized Salted Caramel Oreos. Let me tell you something – they wouldn’t be good. This is the perfect ratio of crème to cookie. A double serving of this crème would be gross even with more cookie to counter it. They knew what they were doing.

So, these aren’t bad. Salted caramel doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a crème consistency, but these go down easy.

I hope Nabisco continues to drop exclusive flavors on its Thins line, because that’s a line I want to walk.

(Nutrition Facts – 4 cookies – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 11 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 10.1 oz. package
Purchased at: Stop & Shop
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Solid caramel-ish flavor with a touch of salt. Golden Oreo thins are much better than the normal size. They go down easy. Oreo’s most recent packaging update. The “sweet and salty” boom.
Cons: Somehow not sweet or salty enough at the same time. Golden don’t beat the original chocolate cookie and never will. The different pronunciations of “caramel.” The cream vs. crème battle wages on. That corny final line.

I guess the best way to describe Coconut Oreo Thins would be to copy a year old viral video.

C-C-C-C.

I have a cookie. I have a choco.

Uuh! Choco cookie!

I have a creme. I have a coconut.

Uuh! Coconut creme!

Choco cookie. Coconut creme.

Uuh! Coconut-creme-choco-cookie!

Coconut-flavored creme is not new in the vast Oreo universe. It was in the Coconut Delight Oreo Fudge Cremes, 2015’s Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo, and in Oreo cookies overseas.

The new Coconut Oreo Thins look exactly like the original Oreo Thins. — two chocolate wafer with a thin ghost white creme layer between them. The big fat clue that tells you they aren’t regular Oreo Thins before you pop them into your mouth is their Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen-like coconut aroma. Just one whiff and my mind is whisked away to a far away destination about one mile from my house to the beaches of Waikiki and rows of tourists that radiate the aromas of SPF 30-50. Even though it reminds me of sunscreen, it’s an inviting scent.

Now I’m one of those people who likes the flavor of coconut, but doesn’t like its texture. So if you’re like me, there’s good news because there aren’t any coconut shreds, slices, specks, or scraps.

Now I’ve had a problem with Oreo Thins ever since they debuted in the U.S. about two years ago. They’re too easy to eat. The serving size is four cookies. But sometimes I eat six. Sometimes I eat eight. And sometimes I eat enough to get a stomachache.

That hasn’t been the case with these. But there’s an odd reason why.

With that first cookie, the semi-sweet chocolate wafers allow the sweet, artificial coconut flavor to hit my taste buds with just the right amount. It’s delightful.

BUT.

There’s something I notice when I eat a subsequent cookie right after the first. The coconut flavor that I experienced with the first cookie almost completely disappears. It’s as if my taste buds are numb to it or the chocolate wafers are cocoblocking it.

Eating four, six, eight, or enough to get a stomachache doesn’t improve things. However, if I allow my taste buds to reset for 30 minutes or so, the coconut flavor comes back with another cookie. But those I eat right after lose their coconuttiness. It’s a vicious cycle.

Of course, your results may vary. But it’s disappointing to me because these are cookies I don’t want to put down. They’re really good. But to experience the best flavor, I have to put them down and wait. So I guess my original problem of Oreo Thins being too easy to eat is solved, but now there’s another.

(Nutrition Facts – 4 cookies – 140 calories, 50 calories from fat, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 45 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.98
Size: 10.1 oz. package
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Great cookies. Right amount of coconut flavor with the first cookie. Smells nice. No coconut bits. Pikotaro.
Cons: Subsequent cookies don’t have as strong of a coconut flavor as the first when eating one after another. Having to let my taste buds reset in order to enjoy these cookies. Eating so many cookies that I get a stomachache.