SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Little Debbie Cookies & Creme Cakes

Little Debbie Cookies & Creme Cakes

They look like winter. They also look like dirty white ottomans. (Spotted by Dorothy at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) 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’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 10/20/2015

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Amazing Grass Holiday Cookie Green Superfood

Amazing Grass Holiday Cookie Green Superfood

Believe it or not, although you will probably believe it, there’s also a pumpkin spice flavor that debuted in 2013. (Spotted by Sylvia at Sprouts.)

DreamWorks Madagascar Cookie Dough-licious Instant Oatmeal and Shrek Orge Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal

DreamWorks Madagascar Cookie Dough-licious and Shrek Orge Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal

These have got to be the silliest movie tie-in products ever. (Spotted by Amanda at Walmart.)

Old Wisconsin Disney Frozen Turkey Sausage Sticks

Old Wisconsin Disney Frozen Turkey Sausage Sticks

Old Wisconsin Disney Junior Turkey Sausage Sticks

Old Wisconsin Disney Junior Turkey Sausage Sticks

Oh wait…I take back my previous statement. (Spotted by Amanda at Walmart.)

Village Farm Season's Indulgences Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal

Village Farm Season’s Indulgences Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal

Good for you, Village Farm! Getting on the pumpkin spice bandwagon like the big instant oatmeal players. (Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

Charm City Cakes Duff Goldman Hocus Pocus Premium Sugar Cookie Mix

Charm City Cakes Duff Goldman Hocus Pocus Premium Sugar Cookie Mix

Tie dye poop? (Spotted by Jacob at Smiths.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) 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’re wondering if we’ve already covered something, search our Flickr photos or use the Google Search box on the right (or below if you’re on a mobile device) to find out.

FAST FOOD NEWS: Denny’s Tastes of the Holidays Menu

Rudolph Pancake Breakfast

Three new dishes, two returning ones (Build Your Own Holiday Slam and Holiday Turkey & Dressing Dinner), and one new dessert are on Denny’s limited time Tastes of the Holidays menu.

The new Rudolph Pancake Breakfast is inspired by the lovable red-nosed reindeer. It features two pancakes topped with turkey bacon antlers, whipped cream, chocolate eyes, and a chocolate nose. It’s also served with two eggs and hash browns. The entree has 940 calories, 58 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 1760 milligrams of sodium, 71 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 27 grams of protein.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie Pancake Breakfast

Next up is the new Pumpkin Pecan Pie Pancake Breakfast, which is made up of pumpkin pancakes with glazed pecans and drizzled with pecan pie sauce. It also comes with two eggs, hash browns, and your choice of two bacon strips or sausage links. The meal with bacon has 1100 calories, 54 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 2320 milligrams of sodium, 124 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 45 grams of sugar, and 28 grams of protein.

Holiday Harvest Skillet

The last new dish is the Holiday Harvest Skillet. It features a gouda-apple chicken sausage on a bed of seasoned red-skinned potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, grape tomatoes, fire-roasted bell peppers, and onions that are topped with an Italian cheese blend. The entree also comes with two eggs. It has 900 calories, 64 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 1800 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 42 grams of protein.

Santas Milk and Cookies Shake

Finally, there the new Santa’s Milk & Cookies Shake, which is made up of vanilla ice cream blended with sugar cookies and topped with whipped cream and more cookie crumbles. The shake has 880 calories, 45 grams of fat, 24 grams of saturated fat, 310 milligrams of sodium, 109 grams of carbohydrates, 82 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

If you’ve tried any of them, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

(Images via Denny’s)

REVIEW: Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts

Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts

Hold the phone, lower the pitchforks, and pause the Science Channel Documentary on Unicycle Wheel Hubs because, potentially freeing us from the burden of choosing between pancakes and doughnuts ever again, Hostess has stocked the shelves with new Donettes, all gussied up with maple frosting.

This promise bodes well in a person whose fingers twiddle at the mere thought of a powdered Donette poofing the cusp of one’s upper lip. While we are few, I know there are other, like-minded packaged doughnut enthusiasts out there. These Donettes? They offer a bright new hope for both Donette aficionados and indecisive breakfast eaters alike, so put away the doughnut pan and that bottle of Aunt Jemima. There is no need for syrup where we’re going.

Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts 2

Mini doughnuts can be like small dogs: bold, yippy, potentially overrated, and/or cute. You never know what you’re going to get. In this way, they are always surprising. Here, we’ve got a crumbly cake of a doughnut. It’s moderately soft and, while not exactly fresh (hey, it’s been in a sack for a few weeks), it’s also not too dry, greasy, or messy to be offensive.

The glaze is all around and cracks through with a good combination of gritty and smooth. When combined with the neutral cake beneath, the taste comes through with vanilla, artificial maple flavor, straight sugar, and…science!

Sometimes, science has positive outcomes, like when you build a space satellite or invent a gym sock that always smells pleasant. Other times, science has negative outcomes, like when you create a shrink ray and your neighbor’s baseball crashes through a window and you accidentally shrink your offspring (lookin’ at you, Wayne Szalinski).

Here, science did okay. While all the preservatives saved the Donettes from mold and sustained its certain cakey quality, there’s still a bit of a metallic afterglow in the cake that keeps me from giving these an A-plus endorsement. Don’t get me wrong: it’s not like you’re eating the crushed metallic remains of the Terminator or anything, but the slight chemical aftertaste keeps the flavor from being the full-throttle, running-from-rampage, Terminator 2 Arnold Schwarzenegger-type of a Donette it could be.

Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts 3

As packaged donuts go, these succeed fairly well. They’re not too sweet, messy, or dry and have a delicious sugared glaze that crackles into maple-like sugar as you bite in. They’re also not perfect. Indeed, you may find yourself pushed away by the slight chemical aftertaste, the fact that they’re not doused in Grade-B maple syrup, or the non-fresh nature of Donettes as a whole.

On the other hand, if you enjoy packaged doughnuts, have a predilection toward maple syrup flavors, and struggle with Pancake-Doughnut Indecisiveness (a serious social issue), you may never have to make a decision about breakfast again, and that’s a platform I can get behind. Less stress. More mini doughnuts.

(Nutrition Facts – 3 mini donuts – 190 calories, 80 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)

Item: Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts
Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 10.5 oz package
Purchased at: Kroger
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Not too dry. Crackly, maple-forward glaze. Thoughtful balance of sweet glaze and neutral cake. Wayne Szalinski. Infinitely pleasant-smelling gym socks. Science Channel Documentaries on Unicycle Hubs.
Cons: Still kinda dry. Cake doesn’t taste like much. Yippy small dogs. Accidentally shrinking one’s offspring.

FAST FOOD NEWS: Burger King Extra Long Sriracha Cheeseburger

Burger King Extra Long Sriracha Cheeseburger

The Burger King A.1. Halloween Whopper was supposed to be around until, you know, Halloween, but it appears that perhaps due due…I mean, due to issues with what happened after folks ate the burger, it has been removed from their menu and replaced with the Extra Long Sriracha Cheeseburger.

BK’s latest Extra Long variation features two flame-grilled 100 percent beef patties, melted American cheese, iceberg lettuce, onions, and a spicy Sriracha-flavored sauce on a toasted hoagie bun. It’s also part of BK’s 2 for $5 menu.

The burger has 480 calories, 23 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 1210 milligrams of sodium, 45 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of sugar, and 26 grams of protein.

If you’ve tried it, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

(Image via Burger King’s website)