Saturday, December 27, 2014

Sugar Cookie Pebbles - Target: Marlton, NJ

Sugar Cookie Pebbles - Target: Marlton, NJ
Back in October, Post released some Limited Edition Candy Corn Pebbles and, although I don't enjoy actual candy corn all that much, I really enjoyed that cereal! I thought that it tasted a lot like the Rice Krispy Treats Cereal that I ate as a kid in the 90's. (Which is still actually being made! Who knew?Since I liked their last seasonal release, I figured I might as well try this one too.


Although I'm a Scrooge and I love Halloween a lot more than any of the winter holidays, I have admit that the Halloween themed Pebbles had way too much going on. That box was a visual manifestation of a sugar high. This time around the box art seems a lot more cohesive and subdued, while still looking festive and fun. I think this art would really appeal to children, and it does a good job of being festive without being horribly obnoxious. (I don't think children even remember the Flintstone's...do they even know who these character are? Are they even on TV anymore? Is Cartoon Network's Boomerang still a thing? One day I'll sit down with elementary schoolers and do a survey. This is really starting to bother me.)

I opened the box and gave this very heavily colored cereal a sniff, and it was really artificial and unappealing, but I think that's a problem I've had with every Pebbles cereal I've ever tried. They always smell awful, but once and a while they actually taste good. (I was never a HUGE Pebbles fan, but I do like those Candy Corn ones and I would happily re-buy them next fall.) 


When eaten dry, the cereal has some sweet artificial vanilla and butter flavoring. It's kind of reminiscent of the Candy Corn cereal I liked, but a bit more heavy handed with the artificial vanilla. I want to say this is more like the Cupcake Pebbles, but it's been a very long time since I've had those. I wish I had some on hand to compare it to, but the bottom line is: I would never think that this flavoring was meant to be sugar cookies. It's sweet, sugary, and vanilla heavy, but so are a lot of other vanilla based cereals. Sugar cookies are a sugary vanilla and butter based cookie, and there are tons of different recipes to make them. I think this is Post trying to rename a vanilla cereal with fancy names and colorful food dyes in order to sell seasonal boxes. Still, I had to try it with milk to be sure. (It is a cereal after all.)

Normally, I think milk takes a lot of flavoring away from cereal. Take Cinnamon Toast Crunch for example. I NEVER EVER eat that stuff as actual cereal with milk, I always eat it dry, straight out of the box. Why? The milk soaks up all that delicious cinnamon sugar coating! I much prefer eating it dry as a snack because all that delicious sugary goodness stays intact. (I know a lot of people love the cinnamon sugar milk it leaves behind, but it's just not worth it to me.) I may not like milk with all of my cereals, but this time it actually made the sugar cookie flavoring feel more authentic. I am a cookie dunker, I have to have milk on hand when I am eating my cookies, so when I ate my cereal with some cold milk, it actually tasted a lot more sugar cookie-like. Sure, it was still artificial, and it tasted more like those thick soft sugar cookies with a ton of icing you can buy at Walmart or Target (The ones that are always the same, but the icing changes to match the holidays or the seasons) than homemade, but I did feel like the "cookie" flavoring was more apparent and authentic with the added milk. 

This seasonal cereal is okay, but I feel like it tastes a lot like other vanilla-based Pebble's cereals. I don't think the sugar cookie flavoring is very apparent, unless eaten with milk, and even then I wouldn't say this was a mind-blowing cereal experience. If you didn't get the chance to scoop this box up on clearance, you're not missing out on much. (I wouldn't re-buy it, but I'll easily finish off this box.)
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