SPOTTED (SEASONAL EDITION): 11/2/2024

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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.

Maud Borup Pickle Lovers Collection

(Spotted by Robbie at Big Lots.)

Maud Borup Gummy Pickle

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

Spongebob Squarepants Krabby Patties Pretty Patties

(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Frankford Green Color Bomb
Frankford Red Color Bomb

(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Sprouts Orange Cocoa Dusted Truffles
Sprouts Coffee Cocoa Dusted Truffles
Sprouts Champagne Cocoa Dusted Truffles
Sprouts Maple Pecan Gourmet Soft Toffee
Sprouts Dark Chocolate Peppermint Gourmet Soft Toffee
Sprouts Cinnamon Sugar Puffs
Sprouts White Cheddar Puffs

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Sprouts.)

1836 Farms Non Filtered Apple Juice

(Spotted by Robbie 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 ([email protected]) 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: Baskin-Robbins Brie My Guest Ice Cream

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Baskin-Robbins’ Flavor of the Month for November 2024 is Brie My Guest. It’s a cheeseboard-inspired flavor that features brie and burrata ice creams, almond slivers, pistachio pieces, and apricot swirls. I was a bit saddened it wasn’t a charcuterie board-inspired flavor, but there’s always future Flavors of the Month.

Pardon my lack of cheese knowledge, but I’d never heard of burrata before having this ice cream. It sounds more like a Taco Bell mad food scientist abomination, but it’s a semisoft Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. Thankfully, I know and have had brie before.

The cheese-flavored ice creams give this a cheesecake-like vibe. There’s some savoriness, but thankfully, it doesn’t go too far that it gets weird, like Van Leeuwen’s pizza flavor. The sugar and cream are doing their job of helping balance the savory with sweetness. I thought the flavors would be a little odd, but they were surprisingly tasty. They also paired nicely with the apricot swirls, which added a pleasant fruity tartness. My favorite spoonfuls were those with just the bases and the swirl.

Disrupting my enjoyment of the sweet, cheesy bases were the almond pieces, which provided a slightly crunchy texture but also a bit too much nuttiness that gets in the way of the ice creams. Maybe they should’ve been chopped a bit more instead of slivers? But I had a much better experience with the smaller pistachio pieces, which provided enough of their flavor that they let the headliners shine but also contributed some of their nuttiness.

The idea of eating brie and burrata-flavored ice creams may seem weird, but I enjoyed it and would’ve like it more if it weren’t for those almonds.

Purchased Price: $4.39
Size: Single scoop
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 260 calories, 13 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 25 grams of sugar (including 18 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein.

SPOTTED: Pillsbury The Grinch Shape Sugar Cookie Dough

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Pillsbury The Grinch Pre-Cut Cookies 1.

Pillsbury The Grinch Pre-Cut Cookies 2.

Hearts and a bell? Hearts and a green UFO? Hearts and a pear? (Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) 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: Pepperidge Farm Peppermint Cocoa Thin & Crispy Cookies

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Pepperidge Farm Peppermint Cocoa Thin & Crispy Cookies.

Would Santa approve? (Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) 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: McDonald’s Dulce de Leche Frappe

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It’s been a minute since I’ve had a McDonald’s Frappe. My usual heavily masked with sugar and dairy coffee drink from the fast food chain is its iced coffee. Tasting this new McDonald’s Dulce de Leche Frappe reminded my sweet tooth of what it’s been missing, and it’s sugary enough that it won’t ever forget it.

The limited time coffee drink features a caramel coffee frappe base, dulce de leche flavored syrup, and ice blended together. It’s then topped with whipped light cream and crunchy caramel pieces. I thought McDonald’s might’ve used the crunchy pieces from its Grandma McFlurry for streamlining purposes, but what tops this is different.

The caramel coffee base and the dulce de leche syrup combined created a drink that tastes like a McDonald’s Caramel Iced Coffee that’s been pumped with caramel syrup with reckless abandon. Did it have a coffee flavor? You’d have to ask my taste buds after they wake up from being carpet-bombed with caramel and sugar. I should mention that this was even before I mixed in the caramel pieces and whipped topping. The base has a nice texture; it is not entirely Slurpee slushy, but it is also not completely melted. There were ice crystals to satisfy my molars’ desire to crush them. Yes, my dentist hates me.

I also enjoyed chomping on the crunchy caramel-flavored pieces, which kind of crunched like ice crystals, so if yours ends up melting too much, the sugary pieces can still give you an ice-like texture. The candy pieces with the Frappe base gave my mouth a double drubbing of dulce de leche. Not a hint of coffee could be detected. As I quickly drank through this to make sure those ice crystals didn’t completely melt, I felt my mouth coming close to the point where it would think it was too sweet. But it never crossed that line. However, I imagine some people will think this tastes too sugary.

McDonald’s Dulce de Leche Frappe was a delicious, nice change of pace from my usual iced coffee. I thoroughly enjoyed its sweetness and texture from beginning to end, although some of that delight was interrupted by a bout or two of brain freeze from consuming it swiftly. Because of its sweetness, it’s definitely a sometimes drink, so it’ll be another minute before I have another.

Purchased Price: $5.29*
Size: Medium
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 630 calories, 20 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 420 milligrams of sodium, 106 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 97 grams of sugar (including 85 grams of added sugar), and 9 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.