Cool. (Spotted by Robbie at Sam’s Club.)
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I bet it’s really fun to work on Pop-Tarts. The brand is iconic, the average consumer understands it’s not a “better for you food” (unless influenced by Spencer Sheehan… side eye), and the product mimics any manner of other sweet food types you can think of! Like the ocean of available potato chip varieties, I’ll always be curious to try a new Pop-Tart. This is especially true about its latest — Frosted Banana Bread Pop-Tarts.
I love banana bread. It’s basically cake for breakfast. But more importantly, I think banana bread is a very authentic fit for a Pop-Tart emulation. I decided to try these in the two standard preparation styles — toasted and un-toasted. I am not dedicated to either camp. I think each flavor has a best preparation method, but neither is best for every variety. For example, I think Cherry Pop-Tarts are freaking incredible toasted. A lot of the chocolate versions are better, in my opinion, un-toasted.
Anyway, I decided to try the Frosted Banana Bread Pop-Tart un-toasted first because, well, I had to wait for the other one to toast. I know, rocket science. Its crust is visibly more brown than Pop-Tarts’ core fruit flavors, and I could see many little cinnamon speckles throughout. The crust was subtly sweet with brown sugar/molasses notes and a hint of cinnamon. Pretty tasty and plenty reminiscent of banana bread.
The flavor of the center and insides was complicated. The filling on the inside had a more realistic banana puree taste, while the icing was like artificial banana candy. It wasn’t overpowering, but they were distinct flavors. I don’t love that artificial taste, so I wished they’d released this one as an un-frosted variety. But the filling, while delicious, was just way too mild to carry this breakfast pastry alone. That would have been very boring. What a conundrum!
Around this time, my toaster oven dinged, and I got to try the whole experience again with a toasted Pop-Tart, and WOW that made a WORLD of difference. Once toasted, the crust was far more pronounced, bringing a nice cinnamon-y base layer. But the filling! The filling, when toasted, just exploded with real banana flavor. I peeped the ingredient line and realized there is actual banana powder in these, so maybe that’s what was doing it? I still could have done without the super sweet frosting, but wow. That filling and crust combo (when toasted) was great.
Overall I thought this was a fun Pop-Tart that seemed like a long time coming. The banana candy frosting isn’t for everyone, but if you enjoy that flavor, grab a box of these as fast as you can and definitely put them in the toaster.
Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 13.5 oz box / 8 pastries
Purchased at: Mariano’s (Kroger)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 2 pastries) 360 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 360 milligrams of sodium, 71 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 34 grams of sugar (including 34 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.
I guess the sandwich cookies did well enough that we now have ICEE sugar cookies. (Spotted by Stephanie A at Smart & Final.)
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.
Living in an area where there’s access to good quality, authentic tortilla chips and Mexican products at most of my regular grocery stores, I have a local brand I regularly keep in my house. But you know what? Sometimes you just want Tostitos. They’re the tortilla chips I grew up on, they’re available everywhere, and they’re perfectly salty and delicious.
I have friends who can’t understand why I’d ever go to Taco Bell when there are so many great Mexican restaurants around. My answer is simple: I love them both, and stop being pretentious. Taco Bell isn’t trying to trick me into thinking it’s a Mexican restaurant, and these new Tostitos Mexican Style Three Cheese chips don’t have to do anything to win me over besides taste good. The cheeses present here are Cheddar, Parmesan, and Cotija, and they’re a winning combination.
These gently cheese-powdered little rounds have the appearance of lightly seasoned Cool Ranch Doritos, and they eat like Doritos too. Checking the ingredients, they share a handful of similarities (like buttermilk, tomato powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cheddar) with some of the classic Doritos flavors, and that’s a solid starting point. Where they differ are the parmesan and cotija. These flavors really come through and take the chip in a different direction. Without being overwhelming, they definitely have the essence of aged cheeses. They’re salty, a little tangy, sharp, and kind of earthy. I applaud Tostitos for going for a “Mexican style” flavor profile that doesn’t end up being just some sort of pepper and artificial lime.
The package proclaims that they’re “GREAT FOR DIPPING,” and while you could dip them, I found their bite-size nature to be on the small side for that, and they have enough flavor on their own that they’re enjoyable to eat without a need for accompaniments. I tried these with a (definitely not authentic to anywhere) cheese sauce, salsa, and guacamole. In the first two cases, I felt like I was doing the chip a disservice. Don’t worry. I made amends by eating another 17 chips plain. The only one that made sense as a pairing was the more mild guacamole. They’re plenty sturdy enough for dipping but covering one in something else takes away from the chip itself. When you snack on them alone, they’re more complex and have a surprising depth.
If Frito-Lay put these Tostitos Mexican Style Three Cheese chips in small bags and included them in its multi-packs, I think it would make a lot of lunch boxes happy. I won’t be surprised if we see more cotija chips from the company in the future because, with these delightful chips, it has proven it can capture that flavor.
Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 11 oz bag
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 20 chips) 150 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, less than 1 gram of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.
Vegan readers, cross this off your wish list: vegan, non-GMO Reese’s peanut butter cups are now on shelves. Available in packs of two, these cups feature Reese’s peanut butter filling surrounded by oat- and rice-based chocolate.
When I buy Reese’s, I usually give in to an indescribably strong instinct to buy two, just in case. In case of what? Emergency? Fire? That horrible moment when a friend comments on the fact you have a sleeve of Reese’s, a not-so-subtle hint that they’d like to share HALF of your precious candy? And in this economy! No matter the scenario, I’ve never regretted succumbing to the urge to double my purchase.
That statement continues to hold true because Reese’s Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups are delicious. The chocolate is thick and yields a sharp snap when broken apart. You know how Reese’s can sometimes stick to their wrappers, peeling the chocolate coating from its filling? You’ll find none of that here.
The its solid texture makes it less creamy than Reese’s milk chocolate, but still satisfyingly smooth and rich. Its flavor favors milk chocolate, but is slightly different from your standard Reese’s. The plant-based chocolate has a cocoa powder-like taste, lending a less-sweet depth of flavor that pairs beautifully with Reese’s iconic peanut butter filling.
Here comes my only criticism. Compared to the classic version, Reese’s Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups seem to contain less peanut butter per cup. It might just be my imagination, an illusion resulting from the chocolate’s sturdiness. But between the top of the cup and the peanut butter filling is a visible gap that could definitely hold more peanut butter. On the scale of chocolate-to-peanut butter ratios, the Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups fall somewhere between a classic Reese’s and Reese’s Thins.
In conjunction with the Reese’s product, parent company Hershey’s has released a plant-based Extra Creamy Almond and Sea Salt chocolate bar, which will soon be available in stores. I gave that bar a good review back in 2021 when it was released as a test product under the name Oat Made. I’m looking forward to the next innovation!
Reese’s first foray into plant-based confections may be a little shy on the peanut butter for some tastes, but its smooth, flavorful chocolate does the iconic brand justice. Buy two, just in case.
Purchased Price: $1.98
Size: 1.4 oz (39 g)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 210 calories, 14 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.