REVIEW: Limited Edition Gingerbread Toast Crunch Cereal

/ / Reviews / 1 Comment

The 2021 holiday season began with a bang when the Toast Crunch gang dropped a Thanksgiving-leaning limited edition Apple Pie version of its beloved cinnamon cereal that instantly became a fan favorite. It’s back for a third year, but a new potential holiday hero has emerged — the twinkling blue-boxed Gingerbread Toast Crunch.

Let me get my personal bias out of the way: Cinnamon Toast Crunch is the greatest cereal ever. Whew, I said it. Growing up, it was all about Reese’s Puffs, and I still champion them, but for the last decade or so, no sweet cereal has delivered the way that CTC has. Even the Toast Crunch releases from the previous four years have been solid, especially CinnaGraham Toast Crunch, which, dare I say, might be even better than the original?

Now that you know where I’m coming from, this new cereal is something I’ve been dreaming about for years. In my head, it was always Pumpkin Spice Toast Crunch, but gingerbread is a slightly less crowded space, and I appreciate the nuance it has over its more in-demand pumpkin cohort. The texture of the squares is the same delightful little airy but gently crunchy one you know from the original — it’s perfect.

I’m more of a dry cereal snacker or enjoy putting it on top of bowls of yogurt or ice cream, so that’s how I tend to judge my CTC varieties, but it usually performs very well in milk, too. The flavor of these squares is delicious but a bit less spicy than I imagined. Specifically, they’re not very gingery. When I think gingerbread or ginger cookies, I expect a little bit of a tingle, and while these boast a nice undercurrent of molasses with some spice, I’m mainly getting cinnamon, and there isn’t much of a tingle. That doesn’t stop me from having handful after handful of crunchy, buttery, mildly spicy delight, but I expected a more potent flavor punch like 2021’s Apple Pie.

Milk doesn’t bring any spice to the table, but it does bring some creaminess that I suppose you could stretch your imagination to say emulates the cookie’s frosting. Either way, a decent amount of the Cinnadust comes off into the milk and creates some of the best cereal milk in the game (you know the vibes), which has a bit more of a special Christmas-y aura than the usual CTC milk.

For some, the mild ginger punch will be a welcome surprise, and for others, like me, it could leave you wanting a bit more. I think General Mills played it safe with this one, and for a sugar-laden cereal aimed at children, I’m totally okay with that because there’s still enough warm, molasses-y holiday magic to get me feeling festive.

Purchased Price: $6.49 (man this inflation is a DRAG)
Size: 18.8 ounces
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup, 41g) 170 calories, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

SPOTTED: 10/26/2023

/ / Spotted on Shelves / 5 Comments

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

Trader Joe’s Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts
Trader Joe’s Double Chocolate Croissants

(Spotted by Sarah R at Trader Joe’s.)

7-Select German Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
7-Select Cherry Pistachios Sandwich Cookies
7-Select Passion Fruit Sandwich Cookies

(Spotted by Tommy at 7-Eleven.)

Marie Callender’s No Sugar Added Lattice Apple Pie

(Spotted by Kelly W at Walmart.)

Great Value Limited Edition Chipotle Lime Trail Mix

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)

Take Home Chicken Enchilada Bake

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)

Sprouts Flax and Oat Bran Pita Bread
Sprouts White Lavash Flatbread
Sprouts Flax and Oat Brand Lavash Flatbread

(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Tillamook Crispy Stone-Fired Pizzas

/ / Spotted on Shelves
Tillamook Cheesy Uncured Pepperoni Pizza
Tillamook Cheesy BBQ Chicken Recipe Pizza

Cheesy Uncured Pepperoni features Uncured pepperoni floats over three cheeses with a savory red sauce. Cheesy BBQ Chicken has chopped white-meat chicken, red onions and cilantro are sprinkled over a trio of cheese with tangy BBQ sauce. There are also two other varieties. Three Cheese comes with a three-cheese blend atop a red sauce. Three Cheese Supreme is topped with uncured pepperoni and Italian sausage sprinkled with peppers and onions, all over a blend of cheese. (Spotted by Rachel J at Safeway.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Chili Cheese Fries Pringles

/ / Spotted on Shelves / 2 Comments

A new Pringles flavor that’s new, but doesn’t seem new for some reason. (Spotted by John R at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Popeyes TRUFF Chicken Sandwich

/ / Reviews / 3 Comments

TRUFF has been around since 2017, but I only became aware of the brand in 2022 when it collaborated with Taco Bell to feature its hot sauce. While researching, I was surprised to learn how many different products it had infused with the infamous fungus. Hot sauce was where it started, but now there’s a variety of products, including oil, pasta sauce, salt, and mayo.

Popeyes’ Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich takes the original chicken sandwich and swaps the standard mayo with Spicy TRUFF Mayo. It’s a rich, creamy base that gets its spicy flavor from red jalapeños and earthiness from the black winter truffles. You can also add a side of the Spicy TRUFF Mayo to your order if you want to try it without committing to having it on your sandwich.

Truffles and I have a mixed relationship. I appreciate the savory, deep, and earthy flavor they can bring to food. When paired and balanced right, the meal can be very enjoyable. However, when low-quality truffle oil is haphazardly added to something simply to make it sound fancy, it usually results in an inedible dish. I approached this limited time item with a healthy amount of skepticism but also a genuine hope it would surprise me.

The smell of the truffles was extremely bold as I took the sandwich out of the package. While not unbearable or nauseating, it was not pleasant. It reminded me of mushrooms in the back of the fridge one day away from becoming inedible. Interestingly, my husband didn’t mind the smell. (Holly Fact: Truffles are similar to cilantro in that a genetic component is most likely the cause of how you smell/taste them). Moving past the smell, I tried a bit of the sauce on its own first.

The creaminess of the mayo and the slight spice of the red jalapeño were the first flavors I tasted. The truffle came creeping up at the end, bringing the umami finish. The mayo didn’t really stand out in a positive or negative way after taking a bite of the sandwich. It was just sort of there, occasionally adding a slightly spicy tang or earth layer to the iconic sandwich with each bite. It was a bit disappointing to have the sauce feel so secondary to the flavor profile. The crunchy, juicy chicken breast, pickles, and soft brioche bun are still as good as they’ve always been.

Popeyes’ Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich is an interesting dabble into “fancy” for the chain, but it didn’t move the needle for me. The fungus-based condiment is certain to have its fans and haters, but for me, I fall in the middle. The sandwich did the heavy lifting of making the sauce palatable when it should have been the other way around, having the sauce elevate the sandwich.

Purchased Price: $5.99 (sandwich only)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 670 calories, 38 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 1560 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 28 grams of protein.

Scroll to Top