Tag: Nabisco

I begin this review with an urgent request.

Run, don’t walk, to your nearest grocery store/megamart/convenience store/bodega/Nabisco factory to get your hands on a pack of Cookie Butter Oreo Cookies.

And I’m not joking. After personally eating the first package I bought (and upon realizing that I probably needed at least one cookie to take a picture of for this review), I went to Target the very next day to procure another bag. Upon arriving, I found the Oreo shelf decimated, but managed to grab the last package on the shelf. Apologies in advance to anyone who shops at my local Target.

Nabisco’s newest limited edition Oreo flavor features two graham flavored cookies with cookie butter crème sandwiched between them. I’m going to assume that most TIB readers are well versed in the flavor of cookie butter, but here’s a crash course for those who haven’t: cookie butter is a spreadable concoction popularized by Trader Joe’s featuring the flavor of speculoos, a spiced shortcrust biscuit popular in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. It’s good on waffles, toast, pretzels, and (obviously) cookies.

When I opened my package, I was immediately overwhelmed by beige. While the packaging suggests that the cookies should have some definition against the darker brown cookie butter filling, they instead all blend together into an amorphous tan extravaganza. To be fair, the appearance doesn’t affect the taste, but it wouldn’t have hurt if the cookies got a little bit more time in the tanning bed before packaging.

Similar to the cookie butter’s indiscernibility visually, the graham scent of the cookie masks most of the spicy cookie butter smell. The taste, however, is a different story. Per usual, the filling is the star of the show, with a strong gingerbread and molasses flavor evident throughout the cookie sandwich. The texture of the cookie butter is on-point as well, and when eaten independent of the cookie base you can really feel the familiar grit of the crushed speculoos biscuits mixed within the crème.

If there’s any area these Oreo cookies fall short in, it’s in the durability of the cookies themselves. With one bite, the cookies shatter quite noticeably and coat your cookie-eating-surface with a shower of graham sand. I’d imagine that the non-traditional graham cookie base has something to do with this, and it makes me wonder how these would have tasted with Oreo’s original chocolate cookie (*makes note for next visit to the Target cookie war zone*).

All in all, these cookies are excellent. While some previous limited edition Oreo flavors have fallen flat, these sandwiches reign supreme over the cookie kingdom. They’re speculoos-tacular!

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.).)

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 10.7 oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Burning off the Oreo cookies by running to the store. Amazing flavor. Visions of Franken-Oreo creations.
Cons: Needs a few more minutes out in the sun. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.

If you’re holding a grudge against Oreo for temporarily ruining your taste buds with its Swedish Fish flavor or turning your poop pink with Peeps Oreo, Limited Edition PB&J Oreo might be the olive branch that causes you to forgive.

The sandwich cookie features a creme layer that’s half peanut butter-flavored and half raspberry jelly-flavored between two Golden Oreo wafers. It’s disappointing Nabisco didn’t use their Oreo Thins technology to stack two thin creme layers on top of each other to make it look more like a PB&J sandwich and less like Grimace lying on top his own filth after drinking too many McDonald’s chocolate shakes.

The peanut butter creme has a pleasant balance of sweet and salty. I haven’t had Peanut Butter Oreo Cookies in a long time, so I’m not sure if this one tastes similar. But when I lick the creme and eat the cookie, Nutter Butter pops into my head. The jelly creme tastes like the same one used in the Limited Edition Jelly Donut Oreo. While I didn’t care for it with that cookie, I like it in this one. While it has an artificial raspberry flavor when eaten alone, it’s turns into a generic berry flavor when eating a whole cookie.

When the two cremes come together in one bite, it brings a smile to my face because the cookie hits the PB&J flavor target. There’s the right balance between the two cremes, one flavor doesn’t overwhelm the other. These cookies make Smuckers Uncrustables seem more like Unbearables. The Golden wafers are great as the “bread” for these cookies because, while sweet, they’re also mild enough to allow the cremes to shine.

These cookies are delightful, so much so that I’d bet money we’ll be seeing these as a permanent or returning flavor in the future. Also, let me include more praise by stating this is one of my Top 5 favorite limited edition Oreo cookies.

While wonderful, I do have some minor issues with it. The way the creme layer is forces us to bite into a particular side to get both flavors in our mouths. Approach it from the wrong side and you end up with all peanut butter or all jelly. Of course, one can overcome that by shoving the whole cookie into your mouth like a competitive Oreo eater.

Also, raspberry jelly is an odd choice. If I was playing Family Feud and Steve Harvey asked me “Name me a jelly flavor you’d put on a PB&J sandwich,” I’m sure answering “raspberry” wouldn’t be any help towards getting to 200 points.

So to all who have been burned by previous Oreo flavors, the Limited Edition PB&J Oreo is one helluva “I’m Sorry” card from Nabisco.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 140 calories, 50 calories from fat, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 25 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: Too much from eBay
Size: 10.7 oz. package
Purchased at: Kroger (by eBay seller)
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Does PB&J well. Peanut butter reminds me of Nutter Butter. Jelly creme works better with this cookie than Jelly Donut Oreo. Possible future varieties, like strawberry jelly, grape jelly, or crunchy peanut butter creme.
Cons: Raspberry jelly seems like an odd choice for jelly. Creme is half peanut butter and half jelly, not two layers on top of each other. Currently a Kroger-exclusive.

The scene: Nabisco’s headquarters. Half a dozen marketing executives are sitting at a table.

“Alright, guys, we really, really have to hit this one out of the park,” the leader of the brainstorming session says. “It’s summer, and Walmart demands we outdo the Root Beer Oreo.”

“How about, uh, ice cream-flavored Oreo cookies?” one suit proposes.

“What about, um, a chili pepper Oreo?” suggests another.

“Would it be possible to test a pot brownie Oreo in the Denver market?” inquires yet another.

The rest of the team shakes their heads.

“No, we really have to think outside the box,” the team leader says. “Seriously, what’s something unique and summery we can work with here?”

A long silence follows. Then, at the very end of the table, the newest member of the team speaks.

“Maybe…jelly donut flavored Oreo cookies?”

A mile-wide grin stretches upon the team leader’s lips. “Kid – you’re a genius.”

The room bursts in applause, confetti falls from the ceiling and the celebratory jugs of milk doth spray.

And scene.

Okay, so I’m not entirely sure that’s how Jelly Donut Oreo Cookies came to be, but it’s probably pretty close. Coming up with an infinity number of twist-top sandwich cookie variations can’t be easy, and it’s way easier to go wrong (cough SWEDISHFISHOREO cough) than go right with the gimmick.

In the rich panoply of limited time only (LTO) Oreo cookies, I’d say these Walmart exclusives are in the top 30 percentile. They’re no match for the pumpkin spice permutation, but they’re definitely superior to B-leaguers like watermelon and cotton candy.

According to Nabisco, these things are supposed to taste like an amalgamation of custard and raspberry. Oddly enough, the cookies at first bite taste indistinguishable from the rank-and-file Golden Oreos – and technically, they are save that smidge of raspberry goop (which I thought tasted more like grape than anything else) in the middle. I didn’t really get a distinct custard flavor from the creme, but I certainly got a mouthful of artificial fruit flavoring, which – to my taste buds, at least – tasted remarkably similar to the molten jam stuffed inside a Frosted Wild Grape Pop-Tart.

I guess the best LTOreo to compare this one to is the fruit punch version from a couple of years back. It has that same sugary-yet-still-quasi-believable fruit taste, except slightly more tart. So if you were a fan of that one and have been desperately, direly praying for the product’s return, this is probably as close as you’ll ever get to reliving the wonder and whimsy of 2014.

Granted, it may not taste too much like your favorite Dunkin’ Donuts staple, but it’s nonetheless pretty yummy. And regardless how you feel about the deluge of seasonal Oreo cookies hitting the store shelves, we can at least take some comfort in Nabisco appearing to pursue more subdued flavors than in years past – sorry, those of you still patiently waiting for those Limited Edition Macaroni and Cheese Oreo Cookies.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 10 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: 10.7 oz. package
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: The artificial jelly flavor is pretty good. The interior creme has a rich taste and texture. The Golden Oreo “toppers” allow you to eat it without your teeth looking like a collapsed coal mine.
Cons: The “donut” flavor is faint. It doesn’t taste that much different from a few previous LTOreos. Burning your fingertips trying to dip ‘em in a cup of piping hot extra-dark roast coffee…over and over again.