Tag: Cookies

REVIEW: Limited Edition Peppermint Bark Oreo

Vin 3 Comments

Limited Edition Peppermint Bark Oreo Cookies

Hey, did you guys finish your Halloween ensemble yet?

Are you starting to think about which side dishes you’re gonna be cooking up for Thanksgiving?

Well, guess what? None of that matters anymore, because it’s officially Christmas season.

Sorry, but I don’t make the rules, Nabisco does, and with the release of new Peppermint Bark Oreo, you might as well start duct-taping the Christmas lights to your gutter. It’s here. There’s no fighting it.

Peppermint Bark still feels like a relatively new thing to me. I feel like I never had it until about a decade ago, but it has already become one of my winter staples.

Chocolate and peppermint have always been a winning combo. But there’s something about the mix of white and dark chocolate with those peppermint pieces that do it for me. It’s as if someone reinvented a Hershey-style bar AND the candy cane while improving on both of them. (Hershey’s Candy Cane bar is also excellent.)

Peppermint Bark feels like a natural progression for the Oreo assembly line, and I couldn’t be more excited to try ’em.

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This probably goes without saying, but these cookies smell fantastic. Just imagine that waft you get when tearing open a sleeve of Thin Mints because the scent is identical to that.

You get your standard chocolate Oreo wafers that are “always made with real cocoa” according to the packaging. Perhaps someone was calling the validity of the chocolate into question, so they felt the need to reassure everyone. I guess it’s nice to know.

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While you can never go wrong with the iconic chocolate Oreo, the peppermint flavored crème is the star of the show here. It toes the line between minty and sweet nicely. I’m always a bit nervous companies will go overboard with the peppermint oil, and leave me feeling like I ate an Altoid instead of a cookie.

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Not only does it taste good, it’s crispy. Yes, “Crispy Crème,” which I’m pretty sure Nabisco couldn’t flaunt due to trademark laws. The crème is peppered with sugar crystals that mimic peppermint candies. They give it a nice little crunch, and unlike actual candy canes, don’t chew like shards of glass.

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Nabisco’s willingness to get creative with the crème has been my favorite thing about this seemingly endless Oreo-issance. Whether it be adding popping candies or rice crisps, any inclusion made to the crème has enhanced the Oreo. The peppermint crème and sugar crystals are so good here that I didn’t even bother eating the actual cookies a few times.

I know Oreo has had mint flavors in the past, but they’ve perfected it here. Peppermint Bark Oreo Cookies are a winner.

Here’s hoping these last on shelves long into the new year. If you love Peppermint Bark, but don’t feel like paying lots of money for the fancy tin it comes in, pick up Peppermint Bark Oreo, it’ll do the trick.

Purchased Price: $2.98
Size: 10.7 oz. package
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar (includes 13 grams of “added sugar.”) and less than 1 gram of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Limited Edition Celebrate Mickey Birthday Cake Oreo Cookies

Rachel

Limited Edition Celebrate Mickey Birthday Cake Oreo Cookies

What is the Limited Edition Celebrate Mickey Birthday Cake Oreo?

Mickey Mouse is a nonagenarian! And much like my nonagenarian mother, he’s still going strong. To celebrate, Oreo has taken its chocolate Birthday Cake cookies – which have been on shelves since 2012 – and stamped birthday images on them in honor of the world’s most famous mouse.

We’ve got a party horn with tiny Mickeys bursting forth, Mickey in a party hat, and the number 90 with floating Mickeys. The other side is the traditional Oreo pattern.

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How is it?

If you like Oreo’s chocolate Birthday Cake flavor, you’ll like these. The only difference is the patterns on the top.

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If you haven’t had Birthday Cake Oreo Cookies before, they’re a slight twist on the original. Identical chocolate wafers. Softer crème filling with that comforting cake batter aroma and flavor – almond, butter, and vanilla. Brightly-colored confetti speckles make them festive.

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Personally, I love Birthday Cake Oreo, so the Mickey iterations were fine by me. I wanted to ding them points-wise for not bringing anything new to the table other than the visuals, but I couldn’t do it. They’re just too tasty.

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Is there anything else I need to know?

Nonagenarian means a very, very rich mouse in his 90s. Or an elderly woman full of advice I didn’t ask for.

Conclusion:

Good (if familiar) cookie. Cute Mickey Mouse. What’s not to love here?

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 15.25 oz. bag
Purchased at: Key Food
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 13 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugars and less than 1 gram of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Starbucks Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws

Tiffany 1 Comment

Starbucks Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws

What are Starbucks Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws?

The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws are essentially Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL)-flavored rolled wafers. Pirouline, the Belgian inventors of this wafer form, manufactures this eco-friendly straw alternative that’s part of Starbucks’ “Coffee At Home” efforts. This means it’s available at grocery stores along with PSL K-Cup pods, VIA Instant flavors, etc.

How are they?

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The Pumpkin Spice Cookie Straws tin has an overpowering holiday candle smell, but the wafers taste like a delicious PSL! The flavor comes from the inner white chocolatey coating.

They’re individually packaged, which I thought was a waste of packaging at first. But when I realized I could only eat one at a time, I appreciated it kept the others at optimum freshness.

Is there anything else I need to know?

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I thought sipping an iced PSL through this cookie straw would be too much (also see: too basic), but it was surprisingly good. It accented the pumpkin spice sauce and made the drink taste even more festive with a touch more of the cinnamon and nutmeg goodness.

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However, the wafer does NOT work well with hot drinks. I thought the inner coating would melt and add some its flavor to my Pike Place brewed coffee, but it just made the exterior mushy.

Conclusion:

It’s worth the splurge especially if you love all things pumpkin spice. It’s good enough to eat it on its own as a snack or as a sweet treat to complement your coffee. With this launch, Starbucks is cementing its PSL foothold in snacks too. I can’t wait to see what other PSL snack innovations come next year!

Purchased Price: $6.98
Size: 9.1 oz. container
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cookie) 60 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugars, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Pillsbury Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies

Marvo 6 Comments

Pillsbury Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies

Reese’s and Pillsbury have teamed up to offer a peanut butter cookie dough made with Reese’s Peanut Butter. No mixing. No bowls. Just break apart the block of dough, place the pieces on a cookie sheet, bake, and then think of all the time you’re saving by not making cookies from scratch and having to deal with all the cleaning after. It’ll give you so much time that you have the time to think that.

The name Reese’s brings excitement when printed on a package. Go post a photo of something with Reese’s on Instagram or Facebook, and I’m sure it’ll be one of your most liked photos. But this cookie dough is not something to get super excited about.

Look, I’ve had a shedload of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in my lifetime and I’ve had a bucketload of homemade and store bought peanut butter cookies during the decades I’ve been on this planet, so I’m disappointed these taste more like your run-of-the-mill peanut butter cookies than anything that reminds me of the iconic candy I’d steal from a baby.

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The peanut butter in a Reese’s PBC has a distinct nutty flavor that I don’t detect with these. I ate the ENTIRE batch on my own over the course of several days, like a leisurely-eating Cookie Monster, and every one I stuffed into my mouth didn’t invoke any tastes, smells, or inkling of the beloved chocolate and peanut butter treat.

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As peanut butter cookies, they’re fine, and I enjoyed eating every single one of them. But there’s nothing to distinguish them from any other I’ve had.

For you fork impressions in peanut butter cookies people, do it quickly because the dough gets super sticky if it sits for a little while, making it hard to create the imprint without having a clump of dough stick to your fork.

I can’t say Pillsbury’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies are bad, but I can say if I were to hand out these to random folks on the street, I’m sure they would not be able to tell it’s specifically a Reese’s product. By the way, if a stranger on the street offers you a cookie, don’t accept it.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 160 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 16 oz. (makes 24 cookies0
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Good peanut butter cookies. I bet this would make great bread for a Reese’s PBC sandwich. No mess and washing mixing bowls after. How easy it is to steal candy from a baby.
Cons: Not good at capturing Reese’s peanut butter. Nothing to distinguish it from other peanut butter cookies. Hard to make fork impressions in cookie dough. Stealing candy from a baby.

QUICK REVIEW: Nestle Toll House Seasonal Batch Maple Walnut Cookie Dough

Leonard 2 Comments

Nestle Toll House Seasonal Batch Maple Walnut Cookie Dough

What is it?

A seasonal offering that isn’t pumpkin!

Nestle offers up their break-n-bake cookie dough in a Maple Walnut flavor for all those looking for something else fall-related after they tire of pumpkin-flavored donuts, coffees, snack bars, cereals, muffins, and, of course, after they’ve already indulged in the Nestle Toll House’s Pumpkin Spice Cookie Dough. This seasonal batch of cookie dough is chock-full of walnuts and what Nestle is calling maple flakes.

Nestle Toll House Seasonal Batch Maple Walnut Cookie Dough 2

How is it?

I much prefer maple-flavored things over pumpkin, so I was very excited to try these, and in a nutshell (sorry!!) they didn’t disappoint. As mentioned above there are a good amount of walnuts present here, and the maple flavor is intense. It smacked me in the face when I opened up the package but in no way am I complaining about that.

Nestle Toll House Seasonal Batch Maple Walnut Cookie Dough 3

After baking, the nuts still offer a nice earthy kick even if they’re rendered a little rubbery instead of crisp and crunchy. I didn’t see any so-called flakes, but the maple flavor is present regardless. It’s almost as if maple syrup was just poured into the batter. They are definitely a tad sweet with the maple intensifying the sugar notes.

Is there anything else I need to know?

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The singular squares of these usually come out a little a crispy for me so if you like your cookies a bit softer and chewier make sure to keep some clusters of squares together when baking.

Conclusion:

As always these cookies are a cinch to prepare and, while very sweet, they do have a strong maple flavor that’s a nice indulgence for a chilly fall night and to offer respite from that pumpkin spice hangover.

Purchased Price: $3.19
Size: 16 oz.
Purchased at: Giant
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Cookie) 80 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.