3 Other Things I Consumed This Week: 11/21/2025

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Hillshire Farm Turkey & Bacon Ciabatta Deli Sandwiches

I don’t own an air fryer, so I can’t give you the 411 on how crispy this sandwich can get. However, I do have a microwave that, according to the box, will create a softer sandwich, so beep beep boop!

Before I comment on how this sandwich tastes, I must mention how it’s constructed. Obviously, everything is frozen — the provolone cheese, oven-roasted turkey, hickory-smoked bacon, chipotle aioli, and ciabatta roll. However, they’re not stacked nicely. A good portion of the cheese protruded from under the bun, and the frozen disc of chipotle aioli sat on one side of the sandwich. So when I microwaved the first one, most of the cheese melted onto the paper towel I was instructed to wrap around the sandwich, and the chipotle aioli ended up in one corner of the sandwich.

So if you happen to buy this or any of the other varieties, I’d highly suggest, after the suggested defrost time, repositioning the slightly less frozen ingredients so you can achieve a better balance. And that was your Public Service Announcement for the day.

Okay, now how does this taste? Good enough for a frozen sandwich. The bread, surprisingly, wasn’t dried out or tough to bite through, which has haunted previous microwave sandwiches. Between that bread was a decent portion of turkey that ended up a bit dry and tasted overly salty. Bacon did what bacon does and added some smokiness and porky flavors. The provolone was surprisingly noticeable for a mild cheese, and the chipotle aioli kicked up the flavor a few notches with its smoky, peppery notes. 

Stacking issues aside, Hillshire Farm’s Turkey & Bacon Ciabatta Deli Sandwich is a decent tasting offering that has gotten me curious about the other varieties. It’s $6 for two, they’re ready in under 4 minutes, and each provides 25 grams of protein.

Unwell Frosted Cranberry Energy Drink

Is it just me, or does someone else have Matchbox 20 pop into their head whenever they see an Unwell product? 

This seasonal energy drink has 150 milligrams of caffeine from green coffee extract, and like Unwell Water, it has 745 milligrams of electrolytes and contains no artificial sweeteners. Actually, I think this is the company’s first energy drink.

Maybe because it comes in a can and it’s an energy drink, I thought the beverage would be carbonated, but it’s not. Because it’s not carbonated, its cranberry flavor is decent, and it’s not too tart, I found it easy to drink. However, I don’t taste anything that could be considered “frosted.” Or maybe “frosted” was added to the name to make it sound wintery. 

While it tastes fine and I could see it coming back next year, I don’t think it’s delicious enough to make me want to repurchase it if it does.

Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies

Vin already covered this with a full review, but I wanted to add my two cents here. These cookies were good. I thought the speculoos cookie butter flavor was mild, but noticeable. I was disappointed that the cookie’s filling didn’t have a texture similar to cookie butter. Instead, it had the same snap as the chips in the cookie.

However, after going through half of the package, I came across the warming instructions, which involved heating a cookie or two on a plate for a few seconds. Those suggestions made the cookies better in my opinion. The speculoos flavor popped much more, and some of the cookie filling had melted a bit. So beep beep boop, if you decide to buy these cookies.

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REVIEW: Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies

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Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies package

What inspires you?

Your family? Money? The prospect of a long and fruitful life?

Boring! How cliché!

Chips Ahoy! has the right idea when it comes to inspiration because they’re only inspired by one thing this holiday season – Cookie Butter!

Some twenty years after the advent of pulverized Speculoos cookie spread, Chips Ahoy! is finally dipping its chips into the world of cookie butter with its new Chewy Chips Ahoy! Cookie Butter (Inspired.)

If you’re wondering what “Speculoos” means, it’s a portmanteau of the words “speculation” and “looky-loo.” Perhaps it’s best you stop being so nosy, you speculoos.

Actually, speculoos are thin spiced Belgian wafers and the centerpiece of cookie butter. I apologize for calling you nosy.

… but speaking of nosy – these Chips Ahoy! smell incredible!

Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies package peeled back

I’ll be honest, Chips Ahoy! Cookies are a mixed bag for me, so I was a bit of a speculoo myself when I saw the folks at Mondelez tackling this flavor profile. The aroma instantly sold me. They smell like 25% gingerbread and 75% fresh pancakes. I’ve been huffing the sleeve for days. It’s getting weird.

Taste begins at your schnoz, right? Surely these scent-sations must taste amazing?

They taste pretty good, but dare I say uninspired?

It’s a nice random sweet cookie, but severely lacking cookie butter flavor.

Top view of Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies

I’m sure you’re all familiar with Biscoff cookies and know what they taste like. They have what I just call a “winter spice” flavor. It’s that concoction of every spice in your Lazy Susan – cinnamon, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, etc. Maybe not all, but you know what I’m saying. They’re delicious. I’m a big fan.

Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies middle

These Chips Ahoy! are tasty but… lack taste. They’re at most about 20% “cookie butter.” They don’t claim to use Biscoff or any cookie similar, but they don’t taste like ‘em anyway. They’re inspired by cookie butter in the same way this review I’m “writing” is technically inspired by the collective works of Bill Shakespeare.

Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies split

The fatal flaw here is in the namesake – the ahoy… no, wait, the chips. Cookie Butter flavored cookies shouldn’t have chips, especially chips that are inexplicably white chocolate, I think? White chocolate inspired at least.

The white chips taste fine, but they’re unnecessary. There is a layer of inspiration in the middle of the cookie that has a little bit of a “gingerbready” flavor when isolated, but it’s no match for the overpowering chips. I guess you just can’t be Chips Ahoy! without chips, but then why do the white chips?

It’s weird — these don’t taste like they should, or like anything, really, and I still like them.

Chips Ahoy Chewy Cookie Butter Inspired Cookies recipes

The best I can tell you is that the “holiday spice” flavor is there, but extremely muted. No one on Earth would ever guess “cookie butter” in a blind taste test. They’d probably say, “uhhh, cookie. Cookie flavor? It tastes like a cookie.” Did Chips Ahoy! just think cookie butter tasted like generic cookie?

There just wasn’t nearly enough inspiration with this flavor. The speculoos over at Chips Ahoy! should’ve probably just stuck to what they know. That said, it’s still a good cookie-tasting cookie.

Purchased Price: $4.97

Size: 9.9 oz

Purchased at: Walmart

Rating: 6 out of 10

Nutrition Facts: (2 Cookies) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 12 grams of sugar, 0 grams of dietary fiber, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Oreo Reese’s Cookies

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Butterfly clips, low-rise jeans, Ed Hardy jeans, and apparently Oreo Reese’s Cookies are all back in rotation. What’s old is new again.

If you’re feeling déjà vu too, you’re not wrong. Back in 2014, there was that split-filling Oreo – half chocolate crème, half Reese’s peanut butter crème. Fast forward to 2025, and the upgrade is a full peanut butter crème filling with Oreo cookie crumbs mixed in for texture.

But the brands didn’t stop at just another cookie. They went full “platform launch” in marketing-speak with three delights: Reese’s Oreo Cups, a Crumbl collab (from the cookie chain known for its weekly rotating menu), as well as a Reese’s cup with Oreo baked in.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, this mashup wasn’t just product development; it was more like a secret affair between chocolate and peanut butter – recipes guarded like love letters, prototypes smuggled in foil. Food scientists worked in code, tweaking formulas for nearly a year until each product “met the parents.”

So, how do they actually taste?

The Oreo version: What really stood out first was the packaging. Instead of the usual Oreo sleeve, it came in a box with a separate inner sleeve stamped with both Oreo and Reese’s logos. My friend even asked if it was ice cream sandwiches because the packaging looked so different.

But once I opened it and took a bite, it was mostly just another peanut butter Oreo. The cookie flavor overpowered the filling, and the balance felt off. Maybe a golden cookie or a Thins wafer would have allowed the peanut butter to shine more.

Oreo also added cookie crumbs to the filling, but it didn’t do much for me. I wasn’t sure if it was meant for texture, flavor, or just visual interest. As it stands, the chocolate cookie steals the spotlight. Normally, I wouldn’t mind, since I think the cookie is the best part of an Oreo, but if you’re marketing this as Reese’s (my all-time favorite), it doesn’t deliver.

The Crumbl cookie (bonus taste-test): Since their collab hit the same week, I had to snag it. And honestly? Totally different story. That giant, soft cookie leaned all the way into peanut butter, and I loved it. Salty, creamy, almost fluffy in texture – admittedly not quite Reese’s peanut butter, but way more satisfying.

I admire the effort that went into this collab, but the cookie-aisle version felt more rerun than reboot. Both were limited-time drops, yet Crumbl’s oversized take is the only one I’ll be keeping an eye out for when it makes its way back to its stores!

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 10.81 oz
Purchased at: Meijer
Rating: 6 out of 10 (8 out of 10 for Crumbl’s version!)
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies – 29g) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (includes 11 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Oreo Cups

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Snack food all-stars Reese’s and Oreo have collaborated to grant fans not one, but two best-of-both-worlds mash-ups: Reese’s Oreo Cups and Oreo Reese’s Cookies. A cookies and creme peanut butter cup AND a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich cookie? Whichever product speaks to your preference, we can all agree that both brands have been reading our diaries.

I tried the candy half of this collaboration. Available in Standard Size, King Size, and Mini varieties, Reese’s Oreo cups consist of a milk chocolate and white crème shell filled with peanut butter confection and Oreo cookie crumbs.

Reese’s connoisseurs may also think of this cup as a collaboration between two past varieties: Reese’s Crunchy Cookie Cups and the seasonal Werewolf Tracks Cups. Like the former product, Reese’s Oreo cups contain delightfully crunchy chocolate cookie crumbs. Like the latter, they use half milk chocolate and half white creme to achieve a unique taste and cool colorblock look. With all this mixing and matching of parts, maybe Dr. Frankenstein was in charge of engineering this collaboration.

If Frankenstein did channel his unchecked scientific ambition into candy, I would argue that he played it safe with the Reese’s Oreo cup. The white creme doesn’t taste much like an Oreo’s center, but it adds extra sweetness to the cup. The Oreo cookie crumbs add fantastic texture to the peanut butter filling, but I wish I could taste more of the wafer’s characteristic dark cocoa flavor. The crumbs are concentrated at the bottom of the cup, which creates a cool layering effect, but a whole wafer would have been a more exciting way to achieve Oreo flavor.

Despite the Oreo’s subtle flavor, the cookie crunch—in satisfying contrast to Reese’s perfect, smooth peanut butter—is the best part of the candy. I wish I had found the Mini variety at my local store rather than the King Size pack. I suspect the cookie’s texture and flavor might be more pronounced in a smaller cup. Readers, confirm my hunch?

Although the cookie flavor is generally lacking, Reese’s Oreo cups are crunchy, sweet, peanut buttery, and very easy to eat. It’s hard to achieve snack food perfection, but this flavor pays respectable homage to two brands that already have.

Purchased Price: $1.97
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 2.8 oz (79 g) King Size package
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 2 cups) 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein

REVIEW: Apple Pie a la Mode Oreo Cookies

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The story goes that Isaac Newton discovered gravity after an apple fell from a tree and hit him on the head, and I like to think that that’s the same way an executive at Oreo came up with the inspired idea for its new Apple Pie a la Mode flavor.

As soon as I opened the package, the autumnal smell that wafted up to greet me (like I’d just poured a batch of fresh apple cider!) was a signal that things were about to get good. Visually, these look more or less like Golden Oreos, except the cookies are a smidge darker and the crème is tan instead of white. They’re also quite hearty, closer in crème level to a Double Stuf than a regular Oreo—more on that to come!

I can’t help but play with my food, so I neatly twisted off the top cookie in my first Oreo and sampled it alone. This was a multifaceted flavor; buttery, with notes of apple and cinnamon coming on stronger in the aftertaste. The crème was noticeably fruitier, which felt appropriate. Biting into two toasty cookies with the luscious crème within was a neat and satisfying way to replicate the experience of a tender pie crust encasing a gooey filling (and got bonus points for being much less messy). If you can manage some restraint, though, I would suggest it; in larger mouthfuls, the flavor was a bit overwhelming, feeling too synthetic for my liking, which wasn’t a problem when I was just taking dainty little nibbles.

At first, I thought the “à la mode” aspect might just be marketing jargon to spice things up (which I slightly resented, finding apple pie plenty compelling on its own), but then I pondered the double helping of crème. It occurred to me that perhaps that extra layer was meant to mimic the creaminess of the ice cream served atop a dessert in a la mode style. With this new perspective, I appreciated how the extra richness and sweetness in that robust filling allowed me to visualize myself snacking on a warm piece of pie decked out in slightly melty vanilla ice cream. A quick look at the marketing copy online confirmed that the crème is specifically meant to be “apple pie and vanilla ice cream-flavored,” and while advertising the vanilla flavor in a crème that’s famously vanilla-flavored feels a little like low-hanging fruit, I can’t deny that it works. The combination was nostalgic and comforting.

If you typically enjoy a non-chocolate Oreo, these are certainly a worthy addition to the pantheon. In fact, even if you don’t typically enjoy a non-chocolate Oreo, these are complex and interesting enough that they might just change your mind. I myself have had a longstanding belief that fruit-flavored desserts are inferior, but Apple Pie a la Mode Oreos are good enough to make me eat my words… plus about five cookies in one sitting.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 10.68 oz package
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (serving size of 2 cookies): 150 calories, 7 grams of fat,2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

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