Mandatory Update

When the title of your blog is Twinkie Wiener Sandwich, and "Weird Al" Yankovic releases a new album, it goes with the territory that you have to do something special. Some may claim that having a blog like this is a Lame Claim to Fame but in My Own Eyes I find it a Handy way to express myself. Since an Inactive blog has never been our Mission Statement, I say we get over our First World Problems, dispense with the Tacky openings, and get to the Word Crimes.

 

Since today also marks the one year anniversary of the return of Hostess, I can think of no better way to celebrate the occasion than with an entry about the snack cake that has had the biggest impact on American pop culture, the Twinkie. Pop culture references to the Twinkie could be its own entry but among our favorites are:  (obviously) UHF's Twinkie Wiener Sandwich and Ghostbusters' "That's a big Twinkie", with an honorable mention going to Genghis Khan and his excellent sugar rush. No snack cake, perhaps no snack food, has so deeply imbedded itself into our culture. It's why I believe people were so upset when Hostess folded. Not because they like Twinkies, but because they are a part of us.
 

Anyway, on to the tasting!

 

Today we bought the Strawberry Creme and Blue Raspberry Creme varieties. I feel the same about both. Both retain their original Twinkieness but add a slightly different dynamic in the middle. Both are tasty without being overpowering. Granted, you have to like Twinkies in the first place to consider these, but if you do they could be a welcome change of pace.

 

NOW That's What I Call a blog entry!

(Yeah I missed a couple. So what?)

More Limited Edition Oreos

Well Nabisco is at it again with another batch of temporary Oreo flavors. It's getting a little ridiculous at this point. Like they're just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. Alas, a junk food blogger's work is never easy, so here goes.

 

Watermelon Golden Oreos

 

In a word, awful. These are watermelon candy flavored, not watermelon flavored. They taste like someone melted down watermelon Jolly Ranchers and stuffed them into a cookie. Way too sweet and I couldn't bring myself to eat even three of them. I'm told these are the second best selling seasonal variant behind only Halloween Oreos (and those hardly count as they aren't a flavor variant) but I can't understand why. These are a Target exclusive if you want to seek them out.

 

Limeade Golden Oreos

 

I'm not a big fan of lime at all. Still, I was convinced to try them and I'm sorry I did. Truth be told, they weren't quite as vile as I expected them to be. The limeade creme almost works, but not with the Golden Oreo cookie. I ate one cookie and couldn't bring myself to eat another. But again, I'm biased against lime.

 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Oreos

 

We teased this one a while back in our review of Oreo Creme Chips Ahoy and have been anticipating it for some time. Sadly, these are a tiny bit disappointing. They actually taste really good, but they're just peanut butter cup Oreos and there's nothing particularly "Reese's" about them. Still, they are very good and I'm sure the Reese's name is helping them sell. Nabisco seems to be doing a huge push on these, which leads me to speculate that these may actually become a permanent flavor sometime in the future.

 

I really wish Nabisco would sell mix packs of these flavor variants. I'm starting to feel cheated by buying three packages and hating two. If you're going to flood the market with all these flavors, at least make it a little easier for consumers to try them. Not everyone is as adventurous as we are!

Doritos Jacked 404

Funnily enough, when we first reviewed the Mystery Doritos we couldn't find flavor 404 (the orange ones). We have them now, so here goes.

 

I have literally no idea what these are supposed to be. They're sweet and citrusy, yet spicy. Perhaps another style of barbeque?  Regardless, I hated them. They're just plain awful. If these were a person, and I passed them trapped in a flaming car on the side of the road while I was driving a truck full of fire extinguishers, I wouldn't stop. It's not the sweetness, it's the obnoxious citrusness that I just can't get past. I ate 3, now I'm throwing away the bag.

 

So Frito is 0-3 with these for me (ok 855 wasn't too bad but it wasn't a win). Here's hoping the next contest has better offerings.

Birthday Frosting Chewy Chips Ahoy

We received a request to review the Birthday Frosting Chewy Chips Ahoy right after our review of the Oreo Creme ones. After a horrifying experience with the Birthday Frosting Oreos, we weren't really too keen on trying these (probably the only time in my life I've thrown out a package of Oreos). But a reader request is a reader request, so here's hoping my pancreas is up to the challenge.

 

Pleasantly surprised. I expected these to be way too sweet. They're not. Actually I think they're a little less sweet than the Oreo Creme flavor. These also have the candy coated chips which adds a different texture. Truth be told, I like this variety more than the Oreo Creme, and that I definitely didn't expect.

 

Remember that you too can submit requests through our Facebook page!

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Puffs

Goldfish crackers are a regular purchase for us. Now Pepperidge Farm has put the Goldfish name on their new line of cheese puffs. Let's see if they measure up.

 

First the texture. These fall somewhere in the middle of a cheese puff and a crunchy cheese doodle or Cheeto. It delivers a nice blend of lightness, satisfying crunch, and substance. It also makes them a little different from their competitors. We always welcome change.

 

Mega Cheese Flavor

 

Honestly, a little bland. Salty, yes, but not terribly cheesy for something called Mega Cheese. I'd rather have Cheetos.

 

Buffalo Wing Flavor

 

A nice wing sauce flavor but not much heat. These are tasty, but I like my wings on the hotter side, so I'd like to see them release an amped up version of this flavor.

 

Cheddar Bacon Flavor

 

Being part of the internet, we are contractually obligated to like bacon. Thankfully, that's not a problem for us. Bacon flavored snacks however tend to be smoke flavored and not really bacon flavored. These are the exception to the rule as they are surprisingly bacony. A quick review of the ingredients list explains why. These contain pork stock and pork fat as well as smoke flavoring. Adding two kinds of pig has made all the difference to these and easily catapulted them to my favorite of the three.

 

In summary I'd call these a win for Pepperidge Farm. The Cheddar Bacon flavor will most likely stay in my regular rotation.

Oreo Creme Chewy Chips Ahoy

Well Nabisco is at it again and this time they've impregnated America's most popular chocolate chip cookie with the creamy white goodness from America's favorite sandwich cookie (hey give us a break, we have to generate hits somehow and we are on the internet after all). All I want to know is what took them so long to think of this one?

There really isn't much to say about this one other than that they are fantastic. The texture is the same as a normal Chewy Chips Ahoy and the creme filling adds a little sweetness but doesn't overpower.

Nabisco really hit a homerun with these. Our first package disappeared in about 3 days, and that took restraint. This is truly the best idea Nabisco has had in quite some time, until next week when they release Reese's Oreos!

Keebler S'mores Cookies

Personally I'm a fan of Keebler cookies. I find them to be reasonably priced, well portioned, and hey, many of them are coated in chocolate. Today I'm giving the new S'mores sandwich cookies a shot.

I was a bit disappointed in these for a couple reasons. First, there's the marshmallow cream. There isn't enough of it. When you make a s'more you toast large or jumbo marshmallows, these have about the equivalent of two mini marshmallows worth of cream. This throws off the ratios. The problem is then compounded by the fact that Keebler's cookie coating chocolate is very sweet when compared to a Hershey Bar, and this results in the marshmallow flavor getting lost entirely. Also note this contains marshmallow flavored cream and not actual marshmallow.

Second is the portion. This package was purchased in the regular Keebler cookie section, on sale, for $2.50. There are eight cookies inside. EIGHT!  I expect that kind of thing from Pepperidge Farm, but not from Keebler. Especially when you consider that these are just Deluxe Grahams with some cream in the middle, and there's a lot of Deluxe Grahams in a package by comparison.  This bothers me even more because the package is deceptively large. It measures about 10" x 6" and is taken up mostly by a segmented plastic tray that houses each cookie individually. 

My verdict is that while these don't taste bad, if you want a s'more sandwich cookie you'd have a better experience just buying a package of Deluxe Grahams and a bag of marshmallows. Or better yet, just buy graham crackers, marshmallows, and a Hershey bar.