Tag: Dunkin

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Pancake Wake-Up Wraps

Vin 3 Comments

Dunkin Pancake Wake Up Wrap Both

Wake up (wake up)
Grab a coffee eat all that pancake-up
Dunkin’s got a brand-new breakfast shake-up
Why’d you leave the keys up on the table?

Nah, seriously, why? Grab your keys, and head over to Dunkin’ for its new Pancake Wake-Up Wraps. I promise they’ll leave a better taste in your mouth than that weird System of a Down parody I just opened this review with.

Pancake Wake-Up Wraps are right in my wheelhouse. I think McGriddles are one of the modern food marvels. I love when BK gets frisky and uses French Toast as “bread,” and I truly enjoyed all the wacky Taco Bell breakfast items that Pete Davidson is apologizing for. If you mix a sweet carb with eggs and meat, I’m first in line.

I mean, these aren’t exactly rocket science. Dunkin’ took traditional breakfast sandwich ingredients and folded them into a mildly sweet and fluffy pancake. There’s brilliance in its simplicity, and I gotta say, Dunkin’ did not disappoint me one bit. I can confirm what I already assumed to be true – these are great.

You can order a wrap with sausage, bacon, or meatless. I opted for one sausage and one plain egg wrap.

Dunkin Pancake Wake Up Wrap Sausage

If you’re a fan of Sausage McGriddles, you’re gonna love the sausage version because it’s essentially a taste doppelganger in a different form.

Dunkin’s previous attempt at mini pancakes didn’t really blow me away, but the chain killed it here. As I noted, the pancake wrap’s texture is impressively fluffy.

The eggs weren’t rubbery and probably about as good as fast-food eggs can be. The sausage patty has a pretty overwhelming flavor that kinda masks the subtle sweetness of the pancake, but you’re given a maple syrup dipping cup, so you can control how sweet you want each bite to be. There’s also a slice of cheese that provides a nice salty punch that balances everything out.

Dunkin Pancake Wake Up Wrap Egg

I also got a plain egg version because it was free with a purchase in the app. I actually have a bone to pick with Dunkin’s new rewards program, but I appreciated it here, at least for one day.

I honestly may have liked the meatless wrap more. Without the sausage flavor bully, the pancake provided just enough sweetness that I didn’t even bother with the dipping cup. It was just a nice, soft few bites of food. I see this becoming a regular in my rotation when I need a quick breakfast bite –- and make no mistake, they are “bites.” These are really just half sandwiches, so they go down quickly. You only get half an egg, half a cheese slice, and half a sausage patty, but I’m not complaining.

Dunkin Pancake Wake Up Wrap Side

Dunkin’s Pancake Wake-Up Wraps are one of the best things I’ve ever eaten from Dunkin’, and it didn’t leave me with that “ah man, I just fast food” feeling of regret I get after a McGriddle. The price is also right at less than three bucks.

So yeah, I can’t recommend these enough. If you haven’t already, grab those keys and get moving.

Purchased Price: $2.19 (Egg), $2.69 (Sausage)
Size: n/a
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Egg 180 calories, 10 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 120 milligrams of cholesterol, 710 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of total sugars, 10 grams of protein. Sausage 290 calories, 21 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 470 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of total sugars, 7 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Cookie Butter Cold Brew

Holly 3 Comments

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Whole

Did you know that cookie butter has been around since 2007? It was first pitched on a Belgium TV competition show (similar to Shark Tank) and caught the attention of Lotus Biscoff. The sweet, spiced spread is a unique blend of flavors that I wasn’t sure Dunkin’ could capture in its newest holiday offering — the Cookie Butter Cold Brew.

Starting with the slow-steeped cold brew coffee, the drink is then sweetened with a brown sugar cookie flavor, topped with cookie butter cold foam, and finished with cookie butter crumbles. Being a cold brew fan, I was happy that the newest holiday drink wasn’t a hot beverage. Don’t get me wrong, I will absolutely enjoy a hot peppermint mocha the week of Christmas, even when the weather is still in the 80s, but I like to stick with cold drinks most of the time.

I was happy to see it look fairly close to the promotional materials. The first sip was mostly a mouthful of the crunchy cookie butter crumble, but once the cold brew broke through, I got a better sense of the overall drink. Unlike a majority of Dunkin’ coffee beverages I’ve tried, the sweetness level was much more measured. The balance of the spice from the cookie butter crumbles and cold foam cuts down on the cloyingly sweet nature of most Dunkin’ drinks.

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Foam

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Top

The cookie butter cold foam was delicious from the bit I could taste. Unfortunately, on the 10-minute ride home, it had all but dissolved into the beverage. While it was no longer as strong, it blended well by adding a creaminess to the strong cold brew. The brown sugar cookie flavor wasn’t as noticeable, but when competing with a very loud taste like cookie butter, that’s not a shock. I can’t speak on its comparison to the much missed Starbucks Gingerbread Latte, but the strong cookie butter flavor certainly invokes a gingerbread-like taste.

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Dissolve

While the cold foam blended in well as it melted, the cookie butter crumbles didn’t fare so well. By the time I got home, half sat at the top like cereal floating on the cold brew, and the other half had sunk to the bottom. Mixing just made them smaller and created a weird mouth feel to the sips that were like wet sand.

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Bottom

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Topping

Dunkin’s Cookie Butter Cold Brew is a unique offering that, with those initial sips, brings a fun flavor to the chain’s holiday lineup. Unfortunately, if you are a slow drinker like myself, you risk it melting into a less pleasant drinking experience, texturally speaking. The overall flavor is wonderful, but not good enough for me to ignore the gritty crumble that settled to the bottom of my cup.

Purchased Price: $5.09
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 390 calories, 19 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 56 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 53 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer

Marvo 6 Comments

Dunkin Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer Bottle

It might just be me, but I think the new Dunkin’ Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer tastes like International Delight’s Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, because they’re both made by the Danone company.

I’d do a taste test, but I’ve been having difficulty finding the seasonal International Delight flavor here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. My calls to the Great Pumpkin have not been returned.

Dunkin Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer Descript

I want to say it maybe tastes a little more pumpkin-y than my memory of International Delight’s offering. There isn’t even anything that I could consider cake or icing-like.

But besides what my hazy memory can remember, there is a difference between the two. The Dunkin’ coffee enhancer is made with real cream. Well, cream and skim milk, to be exact, which International Delight creamers don’t have. Does that create a creamier creamer? I don’t think so.

There isn’t even a color difference. Maybe if Dunkin’ wanted to be cute, it could’ve made this Dunkin’ orange. But instead, it looks like most other creamers, so the coffee photo I took below could contain Dunkin’s Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer. Or it could be International Delight French Vanilla. Or maybe it’s Coffee mate’s Hazelnut. Or perhaps that’s a glass of storm water.

Dunkin Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer Color

Dunkin’s Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer is pretty much a pumpkin spice-flavored creamer without “pumpkin spice” in its name. If you’d like a slightly more natural pumpkin spice creamer than International Delight’s (or if the stores around you aren’t carrying it for some reason), but also don’t want to pay more for Coffee mate’s Natural Bliss version, this is a great tasting option.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 32 fl oz
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Tbsp) 35 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar (including 5 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Goldfish Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams

Sean 13 Comments

Goldfish Dunkin Pumpkin Spice Grahams Bag

When Pepperidge Farm opened the collaboration gates with its iconic line of Goldfish crackers last year, I was excited about the possibilities. Sure, Goldfish are known for “blasting” things and “extra crunch-ing” things but colliding with other established seasonings for a limited time is fun, especially when they’re done well. Both the Frank’s RedHot and Old Bay collabs were fantastic, but as someone closely watching for future Goldfish marriage partners, I never saw this one coming. The snack that smiles back has officially gone “basic” with Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams.

I love that the bag is shaped and colored like a bag of Dunkin’ coffee, but also thrilled that the Goldfish are pumpkin spice-flavored, not pumpkin spice latte. Rather than go the PSL route, the cracker-cookies aim to mimic the chain’s Pumpkin Spice Cake Donut, which is great for me because I don’t need any more caffeine than I’m already consuming.

Goldfish Dunkin Pumpkin Spice Grahams Pour

Immediately the aroma wafting from the bag is like a warm autumn hug with honey-kissed swirls of graham. This is my first pumpkin spice product of the season, and I’m giddy. The taste immediately hits me in all of my fall feelings — mild cinnamon and nutmeg back up a fantastic buttery sweet brown sugar molasses flavor accented by cloves. None of the spices are too aggressive, but they’re all accounted for.

The snack has a really great texture too. I would never call Cheddar Goldfish “dry” as an insult, but these are less so than your classic Cheddar variety. Like many crackers, normal Goldfish can build up to a salty paste when eaten quickly, and these carry a bit more moisture than their cheesy counterparts, crumbling with buttery ease. That gentle crumble makes them hard to stop popping into my mouth. It’s far too easy to down a 52-fish serving without thinking of closing the non-resealable bag.

Goldfish Dunkin Pumpkin Spice Grahams Swimming

The more I eat, the more the spices mellow, and the flavor fades to a mild but delicious graham that’s incredibly snackable. They’re like a more complex sibling to Cinnamon Teddy Grahams. The Goldfish don’t have the aggressive, in-your-face punch of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, but I don’t think they need that. No matter how much they might like it, I’m not going to throw these fishies in a bowl to swim in milk, and I love how perfectly balanced the flavor is straight from the bag. When I take a break from the fish and return after eating something salty as a palate cleanser, the spice level is right back to being where it was — a mild but present mix of cloves and cinnamon with the subtlest touch of vanilla.

Goldfish Dunkin Pumpkin Spice Grahams Pumpkin

Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams don’t really remind me of a donut, and they don’t taste distinctly like pumpkin, but they do summon the flavors of the sweater weather season wonderfully. Perhaps if Pepperidge Farm finished the fish with a glaze like the donut pictured on the bag, they would do better to channel that flavor. But I like these Goldfish more than Dunkin’s donut, so I don’t mind its absence.

Purchased Price: I paid way too much to get a two-pack shipped from Goldfish, but you can get them at Target for $2.39
Size: 6.6 oz bag
Purchased at: Online
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (52 pieces, 30g) 140 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Blood Orange Refresher

Vin 4 Comments

Dunkin Blood Orange Refresher Hand

I’d like to share a joke with you that I distinctly recall reading on a Popsicle stick.

What was the vampire’s favorite fruit?

G’head and take a few seconds to think.

Ready? Here we go. The vampire’s favorite fruit was…

“DRACberry!”

Yeah. It was, uh, it was the Dracberry. Look, it’s a weak joke. They always are. The fact that the answer wasn’t “blood orange” kinda made me want to chisel that popsicle stick into a stake and go vampire hunting.

I guess ol’ Vlad and the boys don’t like citrus? That’s a real shame because that probably means they won’t be trying Dunkin’s new Blood Orange Refresher.

I only look like a vampire, so I tried it, and I have some thoughts.

Just to refresh you on Refreshers, they are Dunkin’s line of B vitamin and green tea-infused fruit drinks, and they mostly live up to their name. Mostly.

Blood orange is a solid flavor addition to the menu, but I’m not sure it’s a worthy “Refresher.”

I’ll cut to the chase; the Blood Orange Refresher is basically just Dunkin’s attempt at an Orangeade. It smells and tastes like orange-flavored green tea. That’s not necessarily a bad thing –- mission accomplished. After the first sip, I thought it was the most refreshing Refresher I’ve tried.

Dunkin Blood Orange Refresher Top

While the orange flavor was vibrant and landed right in a sweet spot between typical fresh Tropicana style orange juices and the more sugared up fare that have to be labeled as “drinks,” I don’t necessarily associate “_____ades” with the word “refreshing.”

I could be alone here, but lemonade isn’t refreshing. It might be for a sip or two, but then it starts to dry my mouth out and just makes me thirstier. That’s exactly what happens here. This should be the drink that peps me up and quenches my thirst, not one that makes me wish I also bought a bottle of water.

With that said, it’s still a good flavor, and the green tea does the job. I think you can get away with replacing a coffee with one of these and get that boost of caffeine you crave, but once more, you’ll probably just be thirsty again once you finish.

Dunkin Blood Orange Refresher Cup

I’d also be lying if I told you this was distinctly “blood orange.” I’m not even sure I could articulate the subtle difference I was expecting, but it’s basically just “orange” flavored, so don’t assume any crazy new flavor experience.

So, in the end, this might be the least refreshing Refresher I’ve tried to date, but I guess I still give it a light recommendation. You can also order it cut with coconut milk, which might actually curb that sour drying finish a bit and help with the thirst problem.

I imagine using “blood” orange might be a thinly veiled Halloween tie-in, so I’d expect this flavor to hang around for at least a couple months. If not, get it quick because it could be replaced by “DRAC-berry” any day now.

Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of total carbohydrates, 29 grams of sugars, 0 grams of fiber, 1 gram of protein, and 100 mg of caffeine.