SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Hostess Limited Edition Donettes Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts

Hostess Limited Edition Donettes Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts

I wonder if Hostess will pumpkin spice-ize their Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, Sno Balls, and Suzy Q’s. (Spotted by Chris N 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.

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.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts

Hostess Donettes Maple Glazed Mini Donuts

After seeing Pumpkin Spice Cup Cakes and Pumpkin Spice Twinkies from Hostess, I’m surprised there isn’t a pumpkin spice version of these. Well, I guess there’s always next year. (Spotted by Jake at Frys.)

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.

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, Wayback Burgers, Krystal, Giraffas USA, and Burger King Peace Day Burger

Peace Day Burger

McDonald’s rejected Burger King’s proposal to create the McWhopper. But McDonald’s being a McDowner didn’t stop Burger King from creating a burger to raise awareness for Peace Day.

The burger chain instead joined forces with Denny’s, Wayback Burgers, Krystal, and Giraffas USA to create the Peace Day Burger. It’s a mashup that will contain parts of Denny’s Bacon Slamburger, Wayback’s Wayback Classic, Krystal’s Cheese Krystal, Giraffas’ Brutus, and Burger King’s Whopper.

The Peace Day Burger will be offered for one day only (September 21), from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, in Atlanta at a pop-up restaurant on 1122 Northside Drive. There will be only 1,500 burgers available for free, so expect a line that I imagine will be as long as one that combines all the folks waiting to buy a new iPhone with those waiting to get on a Disneyland ride.

If you happen to be in Atlanta on September 21st, and receive one of the 1,500 Peace Day Burgers available, and not accidentally drop it while trying to get a photo of it for Instagram, let us know how it tastes in the comments.

(Image via Burger King)

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 9/18/2015

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.

Duncan Hines Limited Edition Maple Spice Creamy Frosting

Duncan Hines Limited Edition Maple Spice Creamy Frosting

Watch out, pumpkin spice! There’s a new seasonal spice flavor in town! (Spotted by Jacob at Walmart.)

Atkins Classic Trail Mix

Atkins Classic Trail Mix

Atkins Sweet & Salty Trail Mix

Atkins Sweet & Salty Trail Mix

“Thank you for buying at Kroger. If found for resale elsewhere call…” Well, if they’re cheaper than $7.29 per box elsewhere, I’d prefer to buy from elsewhere. Also, I’m no snitch. (Spotted by Havva at Kroger.)

Venom Energy Strawberry Apple

Venom Energy Strawberry Apple

Venom Energy still exists? (Spotted by Joseph at Fuel Plus.)

Carnationi Breakfast Essentials Strawberry Banana Grab 'n Go! Protein Smoothie

Carnationi Breakfast Essentials Strawberry Banana Grab ‘n Go! Protein Smoothie

Stouffer’s Dinner Essentials Fried Chicken Grab ‘n Go Meal Smoothie. Sorry. This product just got me thinking. (Spotted by Carla at Walmart.)

Tastykake Fall Karrot Kake Kandy Kakes

Tastykake Fall Karrot Kake Kandy Kakes

The box could’ve also said, “White Konfectionery Koated Karrot Kakes with Kreme Filling.” Missed opportunity, Tastykake. (Spotted by Nicole W at Target.)

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.

REVIEW: Nabisco Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies

Nabisco Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies

I can picture it now. Nabisco marketers frantically running up and down supermarket aisles, whispering to themselves in a panic:

“Gotta find another cookie idea! What haven’t we tried yet? Coffee? Rutabaga? Could we cram some creme between two Doritos-flavored cookies for the Super Bowl?”

A worried mother protects her children from the sweating marketer. She tells him he’s gone “crazy in the coconut.” He cracks an inspired smile and steals away into the night.

And so, Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies were born. Rejecting my own brilliant idea for “Back to School PB&J Oreo Cookies,” Nabisco avoided the low-hanging fruit and reached higher up the palm tree.

Nabisco Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies 2

To mimic the taste of a coconut creme pie, these cookies use Oreo’s vanilla-flavored Golden cookies instead of the chocolate. I’m guessing this choice angered all the Mounds bar lovers of the world. All four of them.

Because single stuf Oreo cookies are now the MySpace of the cookie aisle, Toasted Coconut Oreo are stuffed with a double helping of white creme that is specked with darker gold shavings of “real toasted coconut.” This creates a complex filling that looks like a petri dish of e. coconut specimens.

The package lacks the traditional lift-n-peel opening, so like Tom Hanks and his coconut in Castaway, I first tried to open this by throwing it against a wall and smashing it with a rock. After finally struggling it open, my nose was assaulted by vanilla and sugar.

Uh-oh. Any fellow Oreo connoisseur knows this is a bad omen. My fears came true when I bit into a cookie. The powerful Nilla Wafer taste of the cookie stomps out the creme’s subtle coconut flavor like a Vanilla Godzilla.

Nabisco Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies 3

The faint coconut taste that attempts a futile rebellion against its Orwellian cookie overlord doesn’t give the distinct, tropical, and nutty experience you’d get from a Mounds or coconut scented soap, either. It’s closer to the cloying, heavily sugared richness of sweetened, shredded baking coconut.

The “coconuttiest” part is the creme’s texture, as there is a noticeable gritty chewiness. But any intended “toasted” notes are completely obscured by the pure, unadulterated confectioner’s sugar sweetness of the creme.

But I thought maybe my personal coconut-o-meter was just broken. So I asked a few taste testers — and by “asked,” I mean, “aggressively shoved cookies into the face of” — and got these responses:

“I don’t get it…it’s just a cookie?”

“It’s only like coconut when you lick the creme.”

“It tastes like a really sweet piña colada Dum-Dum sucker.”

So perhaps these divisive Oreo cookies just require a more sophisticated palette to bring out the coconut. If I ever fulfill my dream of hosting a ritzy lecture series called “Oreos & Orators,” I’ll be sure to accompany the heated discourse on the social commentary of Robinson Crusoe with these thematically appropriate coconut confections.

Nabisco Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies 4

Overall, they taste like a plain vanilla creme pie that a coconut just happened to sneeze on. I found it pleasant, but since it’s easier to sell a used Toyota to a manatee than to recommend coconut to coconut haters, regular Golden Oreos are probably a safer, crowd pleasing option.

Meanwhile, those who like coconut will be left wanting a more pronounced taste. This leaves Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies suspended in limbo. And not the fun, luau kind of limbo, either. I think Hunter S. Thompson said it best when he called them “too weird to live, too rare to die.”

Wait, what do you mean he’s been dead for 10 years?

Guess I’m gonna need to book a new orator for next month.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 15 milligrams of potassium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.).)

Item: Limited Edition Toasted Coconut Oreo Cookies
Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 10.7 oz
Purchased at: Meijer
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: All the goodness of Golden Oreo Cookies. Fun creme texture. Cookie kaiju. The under-appreciated genius of PB&J Oreo Cookies.
Cons: Little reason to buy them over Golden Oreo. Only a ghost of coconut toast. Non-luau limbos. The inevitability of nacho cheese-flavored Oreo.