QUICK REVIEW: Limited Edition Celebrate Mickey Birthday Cake Oreo Cookies

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

REVIEW: Oreo Chocolate Crunch State Fair Cookies

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Oreo Chocolate Crunch State Fair Cookie

I was watching the Food Network recently, and one of the dozens of “Best of…” programs was featuring State Fair food. I hadn’t been to so much as a county fair in a long time, so I was not mentally prepared for the monuments to gluttony that I saw.

The last time I checked, funnel cake with powdered sugar or maybe an extra long churro was peak-indulgence. I’m not complaining, but we’re living in a world with fried cheesecake hot fudge sundaes topped with caramel, pralines, brownie pieces, and whipped cream, so I needed to reorient my worldview.

When I saw Oreo’s new Chocolate Crunch State Fair Cookies at Walmart, I knew I had to try to try them. Can the State Fair experience be recreated at home?

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There are two cooking instructions on the box, conventional and microwave oven, so in the interest of experiencing everything these cookies had to offer, I tried both methods. The conventional oven preparation is pictured on the left and microwave on the right. I’m pleased that neither preparation has resulted in Oreo Crème leaking out the sides. I get inordinately angry at burst filling.

Right out of the oven, the scent immediately reminds me of french toast sticks. That’s a bit…strange, but not too off-putting. As I bite into it, my first impression is of chicken nuggets.

What?

No, the sharp chocolaty sweetness is quickly apparent, followed by the filling’s mild creaminess. So, they taste like Oreo cookies, but what’s going on here? Both the conventional and microwave oven samples share the same aroma, and I realize that what I’m detecting the ubiquitous essence that all deep fried and frozen snacks share, like fryer oil that should’ve been changed sooner. These also have the soggy breading that is the fate of so many other freezer-to-oven items.

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These are not the little morsels of bliss that I was hoping for, so I decide to deconstruct them in an effort to see where everything went wrong. The crème is ordinary Oreo filling that thankfully never gets too hot or melty. (Imagine burning your tongue on molten crème filling.) The Oreo cookie is plain Oreo cookie that’s a bit soggy. The breading is plain breading that, despite the name, doesn’t taste like chocolate and never gets very crunchy. Combine all this and you get something that’s edible, but doesn’t even surpass common Oreo cookies, much less something you could get at a State Fair.

In the end, these State Fair Oreo Cookies are a bit disappointing. Perhaps Food Network programming has set my expectations for decadence too high. Will normal deserts now turn to ash in my mouth, forcing me to seek ever-loftier sensual delights until the line between pleasure and pain, virtue and vice are blurred? I dunno, but normal Oreo still taste pretty good, so I’m probably safe.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 cookies – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 10 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Warm Oreo Crème doesn’t leak out the sides and is very tasty.
Cons: Odd-yet-familiar deep-fried frozen item scent and flavor. Doesn’t get very crisp even in a very hot oven.

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