Tag: Oreo

I think the junk food gods wanted me to have a good experience sampling the new Apple Cider Donut Oreo Cookies, which are a standard Golden Oreo cookie with a tan-colored creme that tastes like apple cider donuts.

I had been actively (obsessively) searching for several days, and finally found them the fourth day in a random local grocery store, when it just happened to be twenty-five degrees cooler than average. So even though it’s August, it totally felt like fall, making a perfect atmosphere to review these new cookies that totally taste like fall.

When I first heard about these, I was intrigued and excited but also skeptical. I hoped for three elements from cookies with “Apple Cider Donut” in the name: apple, donut, and spices (specifically cinnamon). Would they deliver? Let’s find out!

Apple: Check!

Donut: Check!

Spices: Check?

OK, so I don’t really taste the spices, even though the ingredients list says “spices (includes cinnamon).” But the rest of it is so good that I don’t mind!

I don’t know how Nabisco’s food scientists did it, but these cookies really taste like donuts, like there’s been dough fried in oil.

The most prominent flavor, though, is apple. It’s not an authentic flavor, but it’s also not like an artificial candy flavor. It’s somewhere in the middle. And even though I don’t always like apple flavors, I don’t mind it at all here!

The Oreo is known as a dunking cookie. So I dunked these in milk, and the result surprised me: the milk neither enhanced nor detracted from the experience. It brought the apple flavor forward, but not overwhelmingly so.

And since it’s apple cider donut, I dunked these in apple cider as well. I worried the authentic cider would make the creme taste too artificial, but nope, it was still enjoyable. Neither better nor worse.

No matter how I tried them (eating normally, separating the creme, dunking in milk, dunking in cider), I liked them equally. You know those people who are friends with everyone? These Oreo cookies are the junk food equivalent.

For more than a decade, we have had lots of candies and treats flavored like candy corn, caramel apple, and of course, pumpkin spice. I love them all, but I’m so glad to see another iconic fall food get some recognition.

There are other Oreo flavors that I like more, but these just make me happy. Like any good Oreo should do.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 12.2 oz. package
Purchased at: Dan’s Fresh Market
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugars), and less than 1 percent protein. (Neither the website nor the label gives an actual protein gram amount.)

Someone at Oreo has a weakness for chocolate, and we are reaping the benefits. Earlier this year, we saw the releases of Brookie-O, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Java Chip Oreo, and when the news of Limited Edition Salted Caramel Brownie Oreos broke earlier this month, another chocolate offering from the brand still felt like a welcome surprise.

Although Oreo is no stranger to caramel and brownie flavors (see: Salted Caramel Oreo Thins, Brownie Batter Oreo, and the aforementioned Brookie-O variety), this is Oreo’s first attempt at a salt-dusted chocolate wafer cookie. Two kinds of creme (brownie and caramel-flavored layers) complete the sandwich.

Mere days after the product announcement spread over social media, Limited Edition Salted Caramel Brownie Oreo Cookies graced my shopping cart. Why was I thrilled to give these a try?

A. Despite accusations of overstaying its welcome as a fad flavor, salted caramel remains among my favorites.

B. I enjoyed the Brookie-Os and need some brownie creme back in my life.

C. The promise of a new Oreo flavor hitting store shelves periodically halts my desire to escape society and live in the woods as an urban legend slash bog witch.

D. I’ll take any possible opportunity to reinforce that “caramel” has three syllables.

E. All of the above

(If you guessed E, you are correct. Have an Oreo!)

With these reasons in mind, the Salted Caramel Brownie Oreo mostly satisfies.

First, adding salt to the outside of the cookie is truly an inspired choice. Biting into the sandwich yields a pleasant experience, much like eating a sea salt caramel or any other salt-topped sweet: a strong saltiness hits the mouth first, but quickly melts into and enhances the sweetness of the other flavors.

Unfortunately, the Oreo’s caramel creme layer needs more help than the salt can give. Besides a delicate brown sugar vibe, it doesn’t offer a ton of flavor. A hint of browned butter flavor would have gone a long way to recreate the taste of salt’s tri-syllabic life partner. Swapping the caramel creme entirely for a dot of sticky caramel sauce would have been an interesting choice too. (Maybe two novelties — real caramel and a salted cookie — would have been too much excitement for one launch?)

Happily, each Double Stuf-size cookie contains proportionally more brownie creme. It definitely overshadows the caramel layer — but that’s for the best. The brownie creme is rich and fudgy, just like the batter I make sure to salvage from the bottom of my mixing bowl, and works well with the salt.

Overall, these Limited Edition Salted Caramel Brownies feature a successful salty hit, but it is hard to overlook the imperfect caramel creme. If you purchase them, take a bite of the entire sandwich for a sweet-and-salty chocolate experience that includes — if you pay attention — a whisper of caramel. If you insist on twisting open your Oreo cookies to indulge in the creme first, you might become salty yourself.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 12.2 oz (345 g) package
Purchased at: Wegmans
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 2 cookies) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

Oreo should rename its newest limited edition Strawberry Frosted Donut sandwich cookies to “Strawberry Frosted D’OHnuts” because we are all Homer Simpson getting duped by the Oreo hype. I reference The Simpsons because the picture on the packaging definitely looks like it could be of the Lard Lad variety.

To be fair, the brand has had a steady stream of knockout limited edition flavors, so by Murphy’s Law, there’s bound to be a dud. This one was that dud for me for a few reasons.

First and foremost, the glitter was non-existent. There were clearly colorful pieces, but it was more like pieces of rainbow sprinkles rather than any sparkle or shine. It also didn’t help that the smell was overwhelmingly vanilla, just like a birthday cake or confetti flavor, which further reinforced cake instead of a donut.

I will admit that I did not try the Trolls World Tour version, which also featured “glitter.” Apparently, we didn’t complain enough then because they just tried to plug and play with this one.

The flavor itself was distinctly artificial strawberry. Think creamy, muted like strawberry-flavored pocky or Nesquik as opposed to a bright, slightly tart, and fresh strawberry. The light brown crème added nothing to the flavor department. Even eaten solo, it was one-note and ambiguously sweet like it was straight-up table sugar. If this was supposed to be the donut part, I definitely didn’t get that.

My final gripe is that it’s pretty clear they’re finding clever ways to reduce their costs. The cookie’s image on the front of the pack looks like an even double stack of crème. When you look at the actual thing, the crème overlaps to create just one layer. Furthermore, like most of their limited edition packs, it’s a smaller 12.2 oz package size (compared to a standard 14.3 oz package) at a higher price.

It’s not an awful flavor, but Oreo can do better because we’ve experienced it! Am I still going to continue trying their new flavors? Absolutely. Until then, I’ll stick to my precious stash of my favs from the last drop: Brookie-O and Chocolate Hazelnut.

Purchased Price: $5.80
Size: 12.2 oz
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 150 calories, 7 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of total sugars, and less than 1 gram of protein.