{"id":17593,"date":"2014-09-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=17593"},"modified":"2020-12-28T19:19:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T05:19:26","slug":"review-pepperidge-farm-pumpkin-spice-milano-cookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2014\/09\/03\/review-pepperidge-farm-pumpkin-spice-milano-cookies\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Spice Milano Cookies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pepperidge<\/a><\/p>\n

The Milano cookie has always been something of an enigma for me. With its elegant yet simple design and name conjuring images of the Italian Alps<\/a>, it was beyond my childhood capacity of appreciation. Later in life, after I had graduated from a packaged cookie diet consisting entirely of Oreos and Chips Ahoy, Milanos still perplexed me. A dense yet slightly chewy crumb and buttery but dark chocolate flavor pointed toward a cookie on its own plane, distinct and unabashedly unique from every other prepackaged treat.<\/p>\n

Oh yes, and terribly delicious.<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that we expect much from Milano cookies. When you nail the chocolate flavor better than 95 percent of the competitors, I think expectations are a given. Nevertheless I couldn\u2019t help but wonder if that sophisticated edge would translate with the addition of pumpkin spice. It\u2019s one thing to pair mint and raspberry with chocolate, but when you start playing matchmaker with chocolate and the sometimes ambiguous concoction of fall spices, the results aren\u2019t always so endearing.<\/p>\n

Examining the bag confirmed my initial skepticism, as there\u2019s no mention of pumpkin or the usual suspects of cinnamon or brown sugar in the ingredients. Nevertheless the orange lip representing pumpkin appeared on each cookie, while an unmistakably pumpkiny aroma danced from the open bag in perfect step with aromas of shortbread and chocolate.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really a scintillating aroma, one with notes of pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin loaf cake supporting the dance. Actually, it\u2019s so great I nearly passed out of asphyxiation due to a prolonged moment of sticking my schnoz right into the bag and failing to breath anything but the glorious smell of autumn.<\/p>\n

\"Pepperidge<\/a><\/p>\n

The orange \u201ccream\u201d\u2014for want of a better word\u2014is thin and slightly viscous, with a texture somewhere between cream cheese on a hot day and the filling they stick inside those stacked wafer cookies. Tasting it from the lip of the cookie, it comes across as a less intense version of Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese, right on down to a slightly artificial flavor that seems a bit too quiet for fall\u2019s most iconic squash.<\/p>\n

Artificial flavor aside, there\u2019s a pleasantly light sweetness and lickable texture that leaves me wanting more. The problem is there really isn\u2019t much more to be had. Even though the chocolate-to-pumpkin filling ratio is about 1:1, the pumpkin finishes a distant third in its impact. The filling and the spice together are enough to let you know we\u2019re talking pumpkin and not just cinnamon-flavored cookies, but the milk chocolate filling and scrumptious cookie base seem unwilling to let the pumpkin intrude on their synergy.<\/p>\n

\"Pepperidge<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been my experience through a quarter century of pumpkin eating that pumpkin is a very jealous flavor. It just doesn\u2019t like playing second fiddle, much less third string. Yet in the distinct and careful balance of buttery cookie crumb and rich chocolate taste the pumpkin seems an awkward third wheel, attractive enough to want on its own, but not enough for either of the other two elements of the cookie to commit to.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as if the cookie and the chocolate know what they have together, and while tempted by the pumpkin\u2019s autumnal notes, neither flavor wants to commit to the newcomer over its tried and true other half. My God, it now occurs to me as I polish off another cookie, I have just described a twisted escapade of cookie love.<\/p>\n

\"Pepperidge<\/a><\/p>\n

The sophisticated chocolate taste and buttery crumb native to all Milanos make the Pumpkin Spice Milano flavor unique and tasty. Yet for such a trendsetting cookie the pumpkin spice flavor doesn\u2019t come through enough to make it a distinctively pumpkin product, while the hints of an attractive and creamy texture mitigate it to an awkward role player. As for that role, it\u2019s just not cast right, and despite a promising beginning and intoxicating aroma, the Pumpkin Spice Milanos failed to make me fall in love with their take on the seasonal flavor.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 130 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Item:<\/b> Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Spice Milano Cookies
\nPurchased Price:<\/b> $2.50
\nSize:<\/b> 7 ounces
\nPurchased at:<\/b> Safeway
\nRating:<\/b> 5 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Quite possibly one of the most enjoyable smelling cookies in creation. Buttery Milano cookie. Rich milk chocolate flavor. Pumpkin flavored \u201ccream\u201d is slightly reminiscent of pumpkin cream cheese. That feeling you get when you buy Milanos.
\nCons:<\/b> Too little pumpkin filling. Slightly artificial pumpkin spice \u201ccream.\u201d Third wheel flavors. Death by cookie bag. Nineteenth century packaging of Milano cookies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Milano cookie has always been something of an enigma for me. With its elegant yet simple design and name conjuring images of the Italian Alps, it was beyond my childhood capacity of appreciation. Later in life, after I had graduated from a packaged cookie diet consisting entirely of Oreos and Chips Ahoy, Milanos still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1501,1502,1503],"class_list":["post-17593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-cookies","tag-milano","tag-pepperidge-farm"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13489,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2012\/09\/21\/review-pepperidge-farm-chocolate-buttercream-crumbled-cookie-milano-cookie-cake\/","url_meta":{"origin":17593,"position":0},"title":"REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Buttercream & Crumbled Cookie Milano Cookie Cake","author":"Marvo","date":"September 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I think it's safe to say Pepperidge Farm's Milano is America's second favorite cookie that ends with an O. Every year, 558 million Milano cookies are made. But did you know the Milano was the result of a happy accident, like Post-It Notes, penicillin, and, maybe, you or your siblings?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookie CakeChocolate Buttercream & Crumbled Cookie","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8458\/8002774736_f56d7a7fe8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20982,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2016\/12\/14\/review-pepperidge-farm-toasted-marshmallow-milano-cookies\/","url_meta":{"origin":17593,"position":1},"title":"REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Toasted Marshmallow Milano Cookies","author":"Ben","date":"December 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m starting to think I might have the wrong mailing address for Santa Claus. 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The candidates were mango ginger, green tea, and chocolate chili. As you've probably figured out from reading the title of this review, chocolate chili won and it probably did so with promises\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pepperidge Farm Limited Edition Chocolate Chili Milano Cookies Closeup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/16019875813_48614a2774_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/16019875813_48614a2774_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/16019875813_48614a2774_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26774,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2018\/01\/22\/review-pepperidge-farm-milano-strawberry-chocolate-cookies\/","url_meta":{"origin":17593,"position":3},"title":"REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Milano Strawberry Chocolate Cookies","author":"Mark","date":"January 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When I heard Pepperidge Farm was making a new strawberry chocolate Milano, I was sure it was for Valentine\u2019s Day. Red velvet and strawberry are the kings of amorous flavors (recently, at least), and the timing\u2019s right. 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So disillusioned, I choose to believe a bite into Pepperidge Farm\u2019s new Banana Chocolate Milano cookie will result in a reverse York Peppermint Patty effect\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pepperidge Farm Limited Edition Banana Chocolate Milano Cookies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1616\/24422296739_e4732b814e_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18080,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/02\/17\/spotted-on-shelves-pepperidge-farm-limited-edition-chocolate-chili-milano-cookies\/","url_meta":{"origin":17593,"position":5},"title":"SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Pepperidge Farm Limited Edition Chocolate Chili Milano Cookies","author":"Marvo","date":"February 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I have to admit, I've never been excited about any Milano cookie. 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