Category: Waysnack Machine

If there wasn’t the photo above, I imagine it might be hard to believe Apple Pie Snapple Pie existed. I think the only other way you’d believe it is if the underside of a Snapple cap told you it was real.

Or maybe not.

The all-natural juice drink that sounds unnatural came out in 2003. I took this photo in 2005. There was also Berry Mix & Mingle Snapple Pie, which I didn’t even bother picking up when I saw both beverages at 7-Eleven.

I’ve had several apple pie-flavored products over the years and all of them, except this Snapple, were solid food. But, surprisingly, this beverage was the closest tasting to an actual apple pie. It even had a bit of crust flavor. Oh, I know the idea of drinking crust sounds weird, but it wasn’t. It was another W word — wonderful.

Sadly, this limited edition flavor disappeared from refrigerated beverage cases. At the time, I wish I called the Snapple Lady to tell her how much I loved it. My efforts might’ve saved Apple Pie Snapple Pie, or get me a nice letter from Snapple corporate thanking me for being a fan with a few coupons for free Snapple.

Since a number of beverages have been rescued from Discontinued Island, like Surge and Crystal Pepsi, I have hope Apple Pie Snapple Pie might find its way back onto shelves. While not as beloved as Surge and Crystal Pepsi, if you do a Google search, you’ll find links that lead to several folks who want to taste this apple pie-flavored beverage again.

Did you try Limited Edition Apple Pie Snapple Pie?

Waysnack Machine is a series that looks back at discontinued products.

Kellogg’s Banana Frosted Flakes was one of the cereals I ate in the 1980s while solving mysteries before Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo did.

They weren’t just Frosted Flakes with banana flavoring, they had actual banana bits on every flake. The box above says “natural banana-flavored sugar frosted flakes of corn,” but other boxes have said “frosted flakes of corn with banana.”

I don’t know which one I ate while determining the villain was the creepy old man wearing a mask, but I remember the cereal being gr-r-reater than regular Frosted Flakes. I think I loved this cereal more than actual bananas. It had a strong fruity flavor and the banana bits were crunchy. I think they were bits of banana chips and not freeze-dried, because partially hydrogenated coconut oil is listed as one of the ingredients.

The cereal was introduced in 1981 and discontinued in 1984. But while it was on shelves, it was a regular addition to the shopping cart because it was my favorite cereal. And I think I might’ve cried when I couldn’t find them anymore. I also remember being the only person in the house who ate it. So lucky 8-year-old me!

Banana Frosted Flakes is the number one breakfast cereal I’d like to bring back from Cereal Heaven. Sorry, Post Oreo O’s. I’ll get to you when Banana Frosted Flakes is part of my complete breakfast once again. But, to be honest, I don’t think that’ll happen. What made the cereal so great was the banana, but fried banana chips aren’t wholesome enough for today’s Frosted Flakes.

Do you remember Banana Frosted Flakes Cereal?

Image used with permission from Jason Liebig at Collecting Candy.

Waysnack Machine is a series that looks back at discontinued junk food.

Did you know there were sweet SunChips?

The brand got out of its savory comfort zone years before Pringles got out of its savory comfort zone. Although not as often as Pringles, who has released a new sweet flavor every year since 2012.

Cinnamon SunChips came out in 2007 B.C.B. (Before Compostable Bag that made too much noise) and disappeared about a year or so later. I think I’ve seen it come back once. Or maybe it was a HFCS-induced dream. Or maybe I’m confusing it with the also discontinued Cinnamon Crunch SunChips.

Out of all the SunChips flavors I’ve tried (Disclosure: I haven’t tried all of them), the short-lived cinnamon one is my favorite. They were really good. The cinnamon and sugar that heavily seasoned each grainy chip made each one taste like a churro. There was even a little buttery flavor. Sure, while chewing, the sweet flavors eventually dissolved and the graininess of the SunChip came through, somewhat ruining the experience, but I still love them.

I’d really like them to come back, and a quick Google search shows that I’m not alone. But I don’t have high hopes because if my beloved Lightly Cinnamon Wheat Thins have taught me anything, it’s that cinnamon-flavored crunchy wheat snacks don’t sell well enough to become permanent or a recurring seasonal product.

Do you miss Cinnamon SunChips?

Although it wasn’t sold on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bag of Dulce de Leche Caramel M&M’s. A co-worker brought back several bags after a family trip to Southern California. And because I tend to kiss the butts of everyone I work with, she gave me one.

According to this AdAge article, Dulce de Leche Caramel M&M’s was marketed at Hispanics and introduced in August 2001, but only in five markets, which included Los Angeles, Miami, and San Antonio. The chocolate and caramel inside the candy shell were swirled, which seems odd since I don’t know of anyone who consumes M&M’s by biting them in half and looking at the chocolate.

I can’t remember if I liked them or loved them. But I’m guessing I loved them because I kept the wrapper, which is in the photo above. I mean, what kind of person would keep a wrapper of something they just like?

Sadly, Dulce de Leche Caramel M&M’s were on shelves for only a year because the product didn’t create a large enough following. But perhaps it was just ahead of its time. Dulce de leche is a common flavor now. There’s been dulce de leche Cheerios, Chips Ahoy cookies, Milano cookies, and hand wash.

Would you like Dulce de Leche Caramel M&M’s to make a comeback?

Waysnack Machine is a series that looks back at discontinued junk food.

If I was given the power to bring back one candy bar from the dead, I’d revive Cookies-n-Creme Twix.

It was released in 1990, along with another new Twix variety, Chocolate Fudge, a flavor I totally forgot about until I started doing research on Cookies-n-Creme Twix. I guess I love this Twix so much that it made me blind to other flavors. When it was around, I always chose it over regular Twix. For those of you who weren’t alive yet or too young to remember, it was a Twix that had a chocolate cookie and a cookies and creme filling instead of caramel.

Now I’m one of those weirdos who likes to, occasionally, bite off the caramel layer of a Twix, leaving the cookie without its candy companion. But it was so much more satisfying with Cookies-n-Creme Twix because those cookie bits in the creme had a wonderful crispiness to them.

Cookies-n-Creme Twix wasn’t on the market for very long. The internet tells me it was around for a year, but I feel as if it was around for much longer, maybe the mid-1990s. There’s a Facebook page and online petition dedicated to bringing it back, but there isn’t as large as a demand as there was with recently revived products like Surge, Crispy M&M’s, and French Toast Crunch. So I don’t have high hopes of ever biting off the cookie and creme layer of a Cookies-n-Creme Twix and enjoying the crispiness of those cookie bits ever again.

Do you miss Cookies-n-Creme Twix?