We seem to be in the midst of a cerealssance.
Not only are the permanent fixtures beefing up their flavor varieties, but brands not usually known for cereal keep sneaking their way into the aisle. Hell, at this rate of expansion, they may LITERALLY beef up the aisle with a McDonald’s hamburger flavored cereal soon.
You cringe, but you’d probably be morbidly curious enough to try a box. Don’t lie.
Anyway, the point is, new cereals be droppin’.
After its recent venture into the frozen section, Hostess has partnered with Post to transform two of its most iconic snack cakes into a different form of breakfast treat – Powdered Donettes and Honey Bun Cereal.
In an effort to stick to my “chill on the sweets” New Year’s resolution, I decided only to buy the flavor I’d prefer in snack cake form – Honey Bun.
Right from the jump, a pleasant and familiar scent hit me that I didn’t necessarily associate with Honey Buns, despite really trying. I did however immediately think of ripping the seal off a carton of fresh vanilla icing, so I wasn’t too disappointed.
The cereal pieces have an interesting shape completely authentic to the look of Honey Buns, except they’re holier. I’m not just referring to the holes, I also mean “holier” in the religious sense, because HOLY CRAP, this cereal is good!
I imagine some people might say it tastes a bit like sugar cookies, but I’m gonna throw a flavor combination at you because it’s all I could think about while eating these – General Mills Oh’s meets Waffle Crisp. (French Toast Crunch also works.)
Oh’s are one of my favorite cereals of all time, but I always kinda hated the rough texture. Waffle Crisp was a cereal that laid dormant in my memory until now, because a nostalgia flavor wave, or “flave™” if you will, hit me as soon as I ate a spoonful of Honey Bun cereal. While there isn’t maple, something about the level of sweetness and the texture instantly brought Waffle Crisp right back into my brain.
The odd shape of this cereal lends itself to an excellent textural experience. They aren’t teeth-shatteringly crispy while dry, but also don’t sog into mush as they settle in the milk.
Now with all this said, I do still think the flavor is true to the iced goodness of Honey Bun snack cakes, which just makes it all the better.
In case you are wondering, the cereal leaves behind a “Honey Nut Cheerio-esque” milk, which is a perfect capper to the experience.
In the end, Honey Bun cereal might be a little too sweet, but that’s me nitpicking and trying to find a negative.
I wasn’t excited about the prospect of a powdered donut cereal, but you better believe I’ll be snatching Donettes up soon. I cannot wait until every last Hostess snack cake becomes a cereal. At this point, that seems inevitable. Don’t miss out on these.
Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: 11.5 oz. box
Purchased at: ShopRite
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.
I felt like the Honey Bun one doesn’t taste like Honey Bun, to me it has a generic sweetness. It’s a good cereal for sure though.
I’ve tried the Donettes too, the powdered sugar they use on it and the almost dough like aftertaste does mimmic the flavor a bit, the powdered sugar leaves an unpleasant film in your mouth. I thought it taste better dry than in milk.
After reading your comment, I remembered that ‘unpleasant film’ from the 1980s powdered-donut cereal ‘Donutz’ and I never really liked those either back then. I’ll probably pass on both.
General mills Ohs are so good, definitely one of my favorite under known cereals.
Now I want to try these but fear thei will just be a lesser Ohs.
Cookie Crisp. I knew I’d had this flavor of cereal before but took me awhile to put my finger on it. It tastes exactly like Cookie Crisp cereal.
I’ve only had these just recently, and they might be the best cereal I’ve ever eaten, or are just slightly behind CTC, which is probably why they’re impossible to find.