Hurts, Don't-it? - Strawberry Frosted Donut Oreos

Strawberry Frosted Donut Oreos - Gift

Another Oreo I was going to skip, because I was pretty sure this was more gimmick than anything else, but a friend bought these and demanded I try them, so here we are. Was my assumption correct? Or will these blow my mind?

My biggest apprehension with this flavor in particular is that it's a strawberry donut. Strawberry is something Oreo has done many times before, and I figured this was a rehashing of that mixed with some edible glitter. But, in it's defense, there are two different layers of crème here. The pink "strawberry" layer, and the tan "donut" flavored one. The "donut"-layer is far more intriguing to me, because you need to ask yourself, what makes something taste like a donut? And, what does a donut actually taste like? 

Judging by the artwork on the package, I think Oreo is aiming for Dunkin Donuts territory. Which I kind of see as the McDonald's of donuts and coffee. It's fast, it gets the job done, but I think all of Dunkin's products taste the same, with slight variations of icings and fillings. Their donuts are fluffy, but not in a bakery-fresh way, more like a semi-deflated balloon kind of way. Like, I am sure this was probably once really light and fluffy and fresh, but it's sat in the display case for a few hours. I think their donuts taste like that even when you get there first thing in the morning. Unlike a Krispy Kreme donut, which is still fast food but are made through out the day and will melt in your mouth when fresh, Dunkin always tasted a little sad, but not as sad as pre-packaged grocery store donuts. 

My ranking would be: 

Mom & Pop/Bakery Donuts > Fresh Krispy Kreme> Dunkin> Grocery Store Donuts 

So all that ranting lead me to the thought that Oreo is probably looking to recreate the slightly Nesquik-y, a little past their prime, strawberry donuts you'd find at Dunkin. Sweet, with a hint of a strawberry milk, and a yeasty donut base. So that is what I am looking for in this Oreo. Let's open 'er up and see how spot-on they are.  

When opened, the cookies inside smell like typical Golden Oreos, with a hint of strawberry Nesquik and some caramel. The caramel is something I hadn't expected. It's a creamy kind of scent, similar to Cow Tales. 

I'm going to be trying the cremes on their own first. 

Tan (Donut) - Huh, you know what? This is more successful than I thought it would be. It smells like caramel, but it also tastes a lot like the glazed donut Krispy Kreme Jelly Belly beans that I reviewed a year or two ago. It's a sweet, Sugar Baby-like flavoring that is more donut-y than I expected, but still tastes a LOT like Sugar Babies. It's definitely not going to make me think it's donut-flavored without a heavy amount of suggestion, BUT it is rather yummy and better than I expected. 

Pink (strawberry Icing)  - First up, the glitter is all about looks, it adds no texture, and I am wondering why they didn't just use sprinkles like actual donuts. Would that mess with their extrusion process? The pink portion tastes like I took strawberry Nesquick, a butt-load of extra confectioners sugar, and vegetable shortening and mixed them together. If I were a decade younger I would probably be super into it, but fake strawberry just doesn't appeal to me like it used to. Worth noting, I do think it's a fairly accurate depiction of Dunkin's strawberry icing, so there is a fair amount of authenticity there.  

Combined, the crème fillings without the cookie taste like an ultra sweet strawberry-milk caramel. It's fairly accurate to a fast food strawberry iced donut, but when eaten with the cookie, the golden biscuits overpower a lot of the subtleties.   

In this end, my mind definitely isn't blown, but I was more cynical about this flavor than it deserved. Maybe I'm like the foodie-Grinch, I need my heart to grow a few more sizes and  learn to have fun with my food again. These were more successful than I expected, combined, the two flavored cremes do have a certain fast food strawberry iced donut flavoring, and for what they are trying to mimic, they're pretty good. I don't think they're worth going out of your way to get, but they didn't deserve me "dunking" on them like I did. I won't miss these when they're gone, but it's nice to see that Oreo is still out there trying and being more successful than I give them credit for. 

What's your favorite fast food donut? (Maybe it's just the Dunkin Donuts here on the east coast that suck and they're actually good other places?) 

 
Fans of these would also like: Aldi's Donut Sticks, Jelly Donut Gumballs, Pumpkin Donut Laffy Taffy, Jelly Donut Oreos, or Krispy Kreme Donut Jelly Beans

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