REVIEW: Limited Edition Dirt Cake Oreo Cookies

Marvo 5 Comments

Sigh.

These Limited Edition Dirt Cake Oreo Cookies are good for a chocolate chocolate sandwich cookie. It combines a brownie-flavored creme with a chocolate creme with Oreo crumbs in it, and both are between two chocolate Oreo wafers with gummy worm-inspired sprinkles.

Sigh.

Let’s start with those gummy worm-inspired sprinkles. They’re flavorless rainbow shavings or unicorn eye crust. I get it; they’re “inspired” by gummy worms, but it would’ve been nice if these cookies had something else that brings gummy worms to mind other than color. These sprinkles aren’t gummy, fruity, or very noticeable without the right light angle. Look, I know an added fruitiness might’ve given some taste buds bad Swedish Fish Oreo Cookie flashbacks, but it would’ve also given these cookies some uniqueness. It’s as if the sprinkles were specifically added to look dazzling for social media.

As for the cookie as a whole, again, it’s a perfectly fine chocolate chocolate sandwich cookie, and I’ll enjoy the sugar rush I’ll get from it. I do get a Snack Pack vibe from the creme combination, and the addition of Oreo crumbs in the chocolate creme was a nice touch since those are the “dirt” in Dirt Cake, but it’s all a chocoreorgy that seems like a derivative of a cookie that the brand offered last year — Blackout Cake.

Sigh.

I just want to taste some magic with Oreo flavors again. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced those OMG moments. I remember the smiles on my face when I tasted Cotton Candy, Fruity Crisp, Fruit Punch, and Blueberry Pie Oreo cookies. I was amazed by how well the Oreologists recreated those foods in cookie form. But there’s no magic coming out of Oreo anymore. I hope the folks working on new varieties put the previous sentence on a bulletin board or something because, after a year or so of uninspired flavors, it appears the magic is gone.

If you want a good Oreo with chocolate cremes, then these Limited Edition Dirt Cake Oreo Cookies will satisfy the chocoholic in you. But if you’re looking for an innovative new Oreo flavor…

Sigh.

Purchased Price: $4.50
Size: 10.68 oz (When did it shrink?)
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.

SPOTTED: 3/7/2024

Marvo 1 Comment

Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.

Hidden Valley Ranch Parmesan Ranch
Hidden Valley Ranch Garlic Ranch

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

Prairie Farms Mocha Barista Style Iced Coffee
Prairie Farms Caramel Barista Style Iced Coffee

(Spotted by Robbie at Target.)

Wild West Huckleberry & Cashew Bear Claws
Wild West Almond & Sea Salt Bear Claws

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Sprouts.)

Midtown By H-E-B Four Cheese Tortelloni
Midtown By H-E-B Ricotta & Spinach Tortelloni
Midtown By H-E-B Butternut Squash Mezzelune
Midtown By H-E-B Procini Mushroom Ravioli

(Spotted by Amanda Y at H-E-B.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Rockstar Recovery Berryade Energy Drink

Marvo Leave a comment

Rockstar Recovery Berryade Energy Drink.

I just learned all of Rockstar’s Recovery flavors end with -ade. I should’ve known that. I apologize. I’ll make it up to you somehow. (Spotted by Phil at Boyer’s Food Market.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Reese’s Cluster Bites

Marvo 1 Comment

Reese's Cluster Bites.

Peanut butter, caramel, and peanuts covered in chocolate candy. Mmm…that definitely doesn’t sound like a clusteryuck. (Spotted by Sage G at Circle K.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ SPARKD’ Energy Drink

Erin 5 Comments

Dunkin’ is introducing some fruity new ways to get your caffeine (and your apostrophe) fix this spring with its new SPARKD’ Energy drinks. The jewel-toned beverages look like they belong alongside the Refreshers drinks Dunkin’ already serves, but SPARKD’ swaps the green tea for sparkling water and the syrups have a caffeine boost from guarana along with some vitamins and minerals. Available in Berry Burst and Peach Sunshine, these drinks are kind of interesting, if not totally successful.

Served over ice and pleasantly effervescent, both are visually appealing and feature a blend of two fruit flavors. Berry Burst is a mix of raspberry and strawberry, and Peach Sunshine mixes peach, obviously, with lychee. While I’d normally gravitate towards a berry flavor over peach any day, I was intrigued by the lychee and had high hopes for its inclusion.

Trying the berry first, I enjoyed its bubbly nature and had no real complaints about the flavor, but it didn’t wow me either. It’s somewhat generic in its berry-ness, which isn’t a bad thing, but I expected it to be more interesting. The longer it sat and the ice melted, the more I started getting a Kool-Aid vibe from it. Again, not exactly a complaint, but it also wasn’t what I was looking for.

The Peach Sunshine variety left me similarly disappointed. It’s predominantly peach and if I didn’t know it included lychee, I wouldn’t have guessed it. The orange color had me hoping for more citrusy notes, but it’s very peach-forward. And in a medium size, it ended up just too peachy for me. Dunkin’ has had some really good flavor combos in its Refreshers line so I had higher expectations for these that just weren’t met. I have a preferred brand of energy drink (Red Bull), and both of these flavors reminded me of something I might get from a Celsius or other canned energy beverage that I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy but will pick up when my grocery store offers them as a “free item of the week” thing.

One might assume these are packed with caffeine with a name like SPARKD’, but they actually fall kind of in the middle of that spectrum. A medium of either flavor contains 144 milligrams of caffeine, which is more than a Refresher but less than a Dunkin’ iced coffee and considerably less than a Panera Charged Lemonade.

I don’t have anything truly negative to say about Dunkin’s foray into the energy drink market, but the initial offerings didn’t spark any desire in me to purchase them again. The fizz is fun and the overall drink is fine but not memorable. I’m going to root for these to stick around in the hopes that future flavors will be more exciting.

Purchased Price: $3.32
Size: Medium
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Berry Burst), 6 out of 10 (Peach Sunshine)
Nutrition Facts: Berry Burst – 130 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 27 grams of total sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 144 milligrams of caffeine. Peach Sunshine – 120 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 27 grams of total sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 144 milligrams of caffeine.