Tag: Pretzels

REVIEW: Cheetos Pretzels

Tiffany 4 Comments

Chester the Cheetah is on a quest for snacking domination.

With his latest conquest, he sprinkled cheetle dust onto pretzels to create the new Cheetos Pretzels!

If you’re not familiar with cheetle, you definitely know of it. There’s just a name now for the cheese powder left on your fingertips after eating Chester’s creations. Cheetle. If you didn’t know, now you know.

While he seems too cool to have an evil genius muahaha laugh, it was still what I envisioned as I tried the two new offerings: Cheddar and Flamin’ Hot Pretzels. As a Flamin’ Hot fanatic, I was stoked to see a spicy version. Although, it wasn’t that surprising seeing that Flamin’ Hot is everywhere these days!

What was surprising, however, was the shape. It had been a minute since I’d consumed a classic, thick pretzel like this. Usually, I nosh on bites like Synder’s, thin Pretzel Crisps, or twists from Dot’s, but Chester went classic.

This shape probably made the most sense to retain as much seasoning as possible, and it definitely did a good job of that. Even though it was only supposed to be seasoned on one side, there was quite a bit of transfer, so everything was nicely distributed for maximum flavor with both offerings.

Unfortunately, though, the cheddar flavor tasted muted compared to regular Cheetos. My layman’s working hypothesis focuses on the base. Pretzel uses wheat, whereas regular Cheetos are on a corn base, so the wheat is somehow muting the cheddar. It also smelled kind of weird and cardboard-y, which was not an appetizing smell.

The Flamin’ Hot flavor, on the other hand, was fire! It smelled exactly like all other Flamin’ Hot flavors and tasted as expected. The pretzel surprisingly didn’t tame the heat, which was a win.

The downside to both flavors? The thick pretzel combined with cheetle made me more thirsty than usual. The gummy pretzel-ness also globbed around my molars in true pretzel fashion. By the way, I found them next to the other molar globbers in the snacking section rather than next to the other Cheetos in the chip section.

The opportunities here are limitless with this new launch. I would 100% try a soft Auntie Anne’s pretzel dusted in Flamin’ Hot.

Are any snacks safe from Chester? Methinks not.

Purchased Price: $4.38 each
Size: 10 oz bags
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Flamin’ Hot), 6 out of 10 (Cheddar)
Purchased at: Walmart
Nutrition Facts: (28g – about 10 pretzels) Flamin’ Hot – 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 360 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Cheddar – 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 350 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Snyder’s of Hanover Limited Edition Oktoberfest Rings

Vin 15 Comments

I once watched this movie… I don’t remember the exact name, but it was about a ring.

These two small dudes and a schizophrenic frog-man were climbing a mountain, and then they had to throw their wedding ring into a volcano or else some fire wizard would blow up New Zealand or something? I think it was a true story.

Anyway, until today, I thought THAT ring was the worst, most evil ring to ever exist. Then… I tried Snyder’s new Oktoberfest Rings infused with Beer Flavor, and now I’m not so sure.

I reviewed Snyder’s Beer Cheese Pieces in the past and loved them, so while I assumed these cheese-less pretzels wouldn’t stack up, I was still shocked how much I disliked these.

First of all, they’re barely pretzels. These are glorified bread sticks curved into a circle.

They went light on the salt crystals here, and I can only imagine it was in an attempt to let the beer flavor shine, but that “beer” flavor is as dull as dull can be. I’ll give them a tiny bit of credit because I did taste the essence of a sweet lager, or more likely an Oktoberfest-appropriate Marzin-style beer, but it quickly changes as you munch down on the pretzel.

All I could taste after that was, and this is oddly specific, black olive. These taste like someone soaked a breadstick in the water from a can of black olives and then let the breadstick air dry and crisp back up for a few hours. They’re not stale, but the flavor just has an air of staleness to it, like old bread.

I once had “healthy” pretzel twists. They were whole wheat, low sodium, and gluten free, and were one of the biggest buzzkill snacks I’ve ever had. I thought of them immediately while eating these.

I’ll be fair and say that while I sound like a hater, I did eat about 20 in one sitting. I craved something crunchy, but I never shook that weird hint of black olive. I kept thinking the next one would taste better, and it never did. I also never found the crunch all that satisfying.

Look, I love olives, and come to think of it, I’d probably really enjoy a full-blown olive-flavored crunchy snack, but this beer-infused flavor just really didn’t do it for me.

I might as well say I think rings might be the worst pretzel shape while I’m at it. Just give me the classic pretzel knot. I didn’t like a single aspect of these other than the bag with that classic blue Oktoberfest checkerboard pattern.

I wouldn’t even serve these to a frog-man. The shape of the pretzel almost represented my score. You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse bag of pretzels in the aisle. Snyder’s has rows of amazing pretzels, so just get one of them instead. This was a slip-up for the company, but I guess it tried.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m hitting up Google Maps to find the nearest volcano in my area.

Prost!

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 10 oz.
Purchased at: Shop Rite
Rating: 2 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1oz – 10 pretzels) 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 250 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Twists

Erin 9 Comments

What are they?

Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, the once regional savory snack that’s recently been expanding into stores nationwide, has come out with a limited-time Cinnamon Sugar seasoned version for the holiday season.

How are they?

If you’re familiar with the original Dot’s, you know these pretzel twists are seriously hard to stop eating, and this new variety is no different. The buttery, sweet scent smells just like an Auntie Anne’s cinnamon sugar pretzel or a freshly made piece of cinnamon toast. It’s a nostalgic flavor that Dot’s has taken a little deeper with notes of vanilla, maple, and molasses.

Anything else you need to know?

These pretzels don’t come cheap. A one-pound bag regularly runs somewhere in the 5-8 dollar range where I’m at. You can fairly regularly find them on sale, especially while they’re making a push to get into new markets, so if you see them for less, don’t hesitate to scoop them up.

Conclusion:

I think you get what you pay for here; these are so delicious. If you took them to a holiday party, they would disappear in a flash, and everyone would love you for bringing them. A warning, though. You should only do that if you bought several bags because you’ll want to hoard these for yourself.

Purchased Price: $7.49 (not on sale)
Size: 16 oz bag
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (16 pretzels) 130 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 260 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 6 grams of total sugars including 5 grams of added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Zapp’s Voodoo and Jazzy Honey Mustard Pretzel Stix

Ann 5 Comments

It’s hard to stand out in the chip aisle. There are so many brands, flavors, and formats, and the most popular are repeated between competitors — sour cream & onion, something cheesy, something spicy, something cheesy AND spicy, etc.

So I have to give some kudos to Zapp’s for the sacred space they’ve carved out for themselves with the “Voodoo” flavor. The brand recently expanded its snack offerings with Sinfully Seasoned Pretzel Stix in two flavors — New Orleans Style Voodoo and New Orleans Style Jazzy Honey Mustard.

I expected the honey mustard one to be the milder flavor of the two, so I started with those. I was impressed by the amount of seasoning because they looked like they’d definitely leave you with some Cheeto-like finger residue. They delivered a classic honey mustard taste, leaning more towards the sweeter end of the spectrum. I did think the pretzel itself was a little dry and crumbly. But overall, these were a nicely balanced sweet honey and savory mustard snack.
?The more unique of the two was the Voodoo seasoning. A coworker once described Voodoo as “barbeque mixed with salt and vinegar,” and I don’t think that description is too far off! These pack a big punch, flavor-wise, and the paprika and turmeric give them a bright color. Although, I did notice significantly more broken pieces in the bag.

The flavor of these Voodoo Pretzel Stix is bright, acidic, and very similar to the Voodoo chips. They do lean a little sweet, similar to the honey mustard ones. It makes sense that the same seasoning wouldn’t taste the same on a pretzel as it would on a kettle chip. I also thought the Voodoo pretzels were a bit dry, but the flavor more than made up for it.

Overall I think if you’re a fan of Voodoo, you will want to get your hands on these. And as Utz owns a vast range of pretzel and chip formats, I’m hopeful for more iterations on the base carrier or maybe more of Zapp’s flavors in the future.

Purchased Price: $5.99 each
Size: 16 oz bag
Purchased at: Jewel Osco
Rating: Jazzy Honey Mustard (7 out of 10), Voodoo (8 out of 10)
Nutrition Facts: (15 pretzels) Jazzy Honey Mustard – 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 300 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Voodoo – 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 400 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Snyder’s of Hanover Snyderfest Beer Cheese Pretzel Pieces

Vin 7 Comments

Snyder s of Hanover Snyderfest Beer Cheese Pretzel Pieces Bag

What is it?

While certain corners of the internet were campaigning to “Release the Snyder Cut,” I was yelling at anyone who would listen to “Release the Snyder Pieces!”

Well, it appears someone at Snyder’s of Hanover heard my cry because it has dropped a new Beer Cheese flavor just in time to celebrate Oktoberfest.

Thank you, and you’re welcome.

Snyder s of Hanover Snyderfest Beer Cheese Pretzel Pieces

How is it?

I’ve always been a fan of Snyder’s Pieces because there aren’t many flavored pretzels on the market. I used to snack on the brand’s wide array of flavors all the time, but that was before I lost my dental insurance and got extremely paranoid about chomping down on rock hard pretzel pieces.

Snyder s of Hanover Snyderfest Beer Cheese Pretzel Pieces in the Bag

It’d been a while since I’d carefully indulged, so when I heard about these, I figured it’d been long enough and decided to put my molars back at risk.

Guess what? They’re good. Obviously. Do I really need to sell you on cheese-flavored sourdough pretzel pieces?

The flavor here is basically cheddar with the hint of a sweet lager.

I was afraid these would be a bright orange, generic “cheese” tasting mess, but the flavor is more along the lines of a soft white cheddar. It lets the pretzel pieces breathe, making for a balanced flavor trio of cheese, “beer,” and the bready pretzel itself.

Anything else you need to know?

Snyder s of Hanover Snyderfest Beer Cheese Pretzel Pieces Plate

I find that the beer gets lost in some so-called “beer cheese” dips, so I was excited by how much it shined through. It made for a unique flavor blend you don’t often get in the snack aisle.

Also, I could be wrong, but the pieces seemed softer and not quite as treacherous as I remember. It’s also possible I was enjoying them so much that I stopped caring about my chompers.

Conclusion:

I think I kinda loved these, but I should warn you, they’re ridiculously salty. I mean, it’s a cheese-flavored pretzel, so that’s to be expected, right?

I’m not encouraging anyone to drink, but a nice Oktoberfest brew would counteract the salt pretty well. Just have one though, and be safe.

Prost!

Purchased Price: $3.59
Size: 10 oz
Purchased at: Wegmans
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 260 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of fiber, and 2 grams of protein.