The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Brownie Bites

December 5, 2012December 1, 2023 Marvo 4 Comments

Some folks like their brownies with a texture that’s similar to cake, while others like them dense and chewy. I’m in the latter crowd.

I say if you I want a brownie that’s a bit more spongy, go crash a child’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s and get yourself a slice of chocolate cake.

If you’re like me and enjoy chewy brownies, then Jack in the Box’s new Brownie Bites aren’t for you. Actually, if you’re a fan of any kind of brownies, then Jack in the Box’s Brownie Bites aren’t for you. Well, unless you’re a fan of dry happiness-draining brownies.

The only time brownies have ever wiped the smile on my face was when I forgot to add eggs to the brownie mix and I ended up with brownies that resembled, and were as hard as, what we call here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, pahoehoe lava.

Geology lesson bonus!

I didn’t expect Jack in the Box’s new Brownie Bites to be elegant made-from-scratch brownies from a reality show dessert chef trying to please three judges in order to not be eliminated, but I presumed they would be almost as good as brownies made using a Betty Crocker mix by an eighth grader in a home economics class.

Unfortunately, the Jack in the Box Brownie Bites didn’t meet my low expectations.

Again, they weren’t chewy, but that could’ve easily been forgiven if they had a nice chocolate flavor. However, as I chewed through each of the five pieces, I could feel the disappointment my taste buds were experiencing from the dessert’s unsatisfying chocolate flavor.

And after I was done with this dainty snack, all I could think about was how I wished it had chocolate chips baked in them or it came with a chocolate dipping sauce, both of which would’ve enhanced the flavor.

But all is not bad with Jack in the Box’s Brownie Bites. They’re served warm so if you buy two Brownie Bites servings, each of which contains five pieces, you can stick one on every fingertip to keep them temporarily warm during these cold months. Also, they’re cheap enough that you can probably purchase it with the loose change you find under your car’s seat.

But if you do that, please look for the money before you go to the drive-thru.

Overall, I’m pretty sure I won’t be ordering Jack in the Box’s Brownie Bites again. With desserts, it should make you think, “Oh, what a wonderful way to end a meal!” or “That was so worth the calories!” But these brownie bites didn’t do either.

(Nutrition Facts – 288 calories, 115 calories from fat, 13 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 44 milligrams of cholesterol, 159 milligrams of sodium, 225 milligrams of potassium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 30 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Item: Jack in the Box Brownie Bites
Purchased Price: $1.19
Size: 5 bites
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Warm. Inexpensive. Bite-sized. Crashing birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Finding money under your car seat. Droppin’ geology knowledge on y’all.
Cons: Edible, but not delightful. Dry. Unsatisfying chocolate flavor. Had a more cake-like texture than chewy. Not a good way to end a meal.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES (HOLIDAY EDITION) – 12/5/2012

December 5, 2012December 24, 2020 Marvo 6 Comments

Here are some interesting new and limited edition holiday products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers.

Sweet sugar and cinnamon, Batman! Mission’s Sweet Sugar & Cinnamon tortilla chips are back this season! By the way, isn’t putting “sweet” and “sugar” in its name a bit redundant? Junk Food Betty and Junk Food Guy have reviews. (Spotted by Linda at Nob Hill Foods.)

Awww. These mini Jet-Puffed PeppermintMallows look like the result of what would happen if two of these went out for a lovely dinner, to the theater to watch an R-rated film with a couple hot lovemaking scenes, and then came home to make real sweet, sweet love. (Spotted by Kayla at Walmart.)

Oh, Nestle Toll House! How I wish you had cookie products that didn’t need to be baked. (Spotted by Kenneth at Walmart and Target.)

Although your chocolate morsels make a wonderful snack while I wait for your cookie dough products to bake. Baking Bites reviewed the Dark Chocolate & Mint variety. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

Gingerbread is a common flavor this season and Stacy’s has been offering their Simply Gingerbread pita chips for a few years now. Spoil Your Dinner and Junk Food Guy have reviews. But it’s surprising to see the company also release a flavor that represents my Christmas tradition of spending it completely nude so I’m ready to try on any clothing I receive as gift. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

Thanks for the photos, everyone! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended With Real Jalapeño

December 3, 2012August 14, 2023 Marvo 10 Comments

For years, Heinz ketchup has been my condiment of choice for French fries and to make my cooking a little more tolerable.

While Heinz ketchup has changed the flavor of my weak tasting food, the condiment itself has never really moved beyond the formula of tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavoring.

However, a few years ago Heinz came out with a Hot & Spicy variety that was flavored with Tabasco sauce. And last year they came out with a limited edition ketchup blended with balsamic vinegar that later became a regular addition. This year, Heinz has released another limited edition ketchup and this time it’s blended with jalapeño.

I’ve had a number of jalapeño products over the years and many of them have been disappointing because while they have the jalapeño flavor, they also have little to no heat. However, the Limited Edition Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended With Real Jalapeño has the opposite problem.

I tried the spicy ketchup by itself, with McDonald’s fries, on a condiment-less Jack in the Box Jumbo Jack, and on top of my awful cooking. I was going to use it to make spicy sketti, but I didn’t want to find out if my horrible food was worse than a reality show star’s horrible food.

On everything I used the jalapeño-enhance ketchup with, all I initially noticed was the heat.

On a scale of one to ten, with one being the heat I would feel on the top side of a pillow that has just been slept on for eight hours and ten being the heat one would feel on a pan that has just been in an oven for eight hours, the spiciness of the Limited Edition Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended With Real Jalapeño would be a four or five. It’s a nice kick that didn’t instantly shock my mouth’s nerves.

While its spiciness and tomato flavor was wonderful, it’s hard to notice the jalapeño flavor. Once in a while, I got a hint of it, but it’s definitely not as strong as I hoped it would be. Also, I don’t know if the heat was distracting my taste buds, but the ketchup’s vinegary flavor was slightly lacking. I wouldn’t have minded it so much if it had a jalapeño flavor to replace it with.

Overall, the Limited Edition Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended With Real Jalapeño does make McDonald’s fries, a Jack in the Box Jumbo Jack, and my cooking spicier, but it does just a decent job at helping the awful meals I make taste better.

Disclosure: I received a free bottle of Limited Edition Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended With Real Jalapeño from the fine folks at Heinz in order to review it.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 tbsp – 20 calories, 0 grams of fat, 160 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, 2% vitamin A, and 2% vitamin C.)

Item: Limited Edition Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended With Real Jalapeño
Purchased Price: Free
Size: 14 ounce bottle
Purchased at: Received from the folks at Heinz
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Nice spicy kick and tomato flavor. Heinz coming up with more limited edition ketchup. Regular ketchup makes my cooking taste taste better.
Cons: Doesn’t have a strong jalapeño flavor. Vinegar flavor is slightly subdued. My cooking. Does just a decent job at improving my cooking. Sketti.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 12/3/2012

December 3, 2012December 24, 2020 Marvo 4 Comments

Here are some new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers.

The list of Extra Dessert Delights gum has just gotten longer. There’s root beer float, apple pie, strawberry shortcake, mint chocolate chip ice cream, key lime pie, rainbow sherbet, orange creme popsicle, and now lemon squares. I wonder what they’ll come up with next. I hope it’s brownies or baklava. (Spotted by Cortney at Shoppers Food Warehouse.)

Speaking of baklava, this baklava Greek frozen yogurt would’ve never happened in 1800s because of the strife between Greece and the Ottoman Empire and because frozen yogurt hadn’t been invented yet. (Spotted by Melissa at Giant Food Stores.)

Hey, college kids or 40-somethings who want to relive their youth, Jolly Rancher has watermelon and green apple gelatin for you to make Jolly Rancher Jello shots with. Although, Jolly Rancher would probably want you to call them Jolly Rancher gelatin shots because their gelatin is not under the Jello brand. But that probably won’t happen because Jello has pretty much replaced gelatin in our vernacular, much like Kleenex has replaced facial tissues. (Spotted by Nadirah at Walmart.)

“Welcome to the rum raisin ice cream party, Blue Bell,” said Häagen-Dazs with sarcasm. (Spotted by Kenneth at Target.)

If you’re out shopping and see a new or limited edition product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

NEWS: Jack in the Box Adds Brownie Bites To Their Dessert Menu

November 30, 2012September 5, 2023 Marvo 1 Comment

Jack in the Box now has another “mini” dessert — Brownie Bites.

The new dessert joins Mini Churros and Mini Cookies in something I call Jack in the Box’s Mini Grub Club. The mini brownies are served warm and, like the Mini Churros and Cookies, will probably be served in the same sleeve that’s used for small fries.

A serving of five Jack in the Box Brownie Bites has 288 calories, 13 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 44 milligrams of cholesterol, 159 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 30 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Right now, you can get a serving of five Brownie Bites for one dollar at participating locations. Non-participating locations definitely include those in Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Laredo, or McAllen/Brownsville, which won’t get Jack in the Box’s Brownie Bites at all.

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