Sometimes Foodie: Blazin' Hot Cheez Balls

New Blazin' Hot Planters Cheez Balls - Gift

Long time no see...or should I say "type?"

Little life update, I'm sick and awaiting PCR results. My brain is kicking me, making me feel like I shouldn't be wasting all this valuable time at home. I should be writing blog posts, making art, or doing chores. It's like the infamous episode of the Twilight Zone, " there's time now...," but the twist is, I have absolutely no energy.

I wake up, feed all five pets, let the dogs out, eat something, answer a few work emails, and then afterwards I feel so tired that I go right back to bed. Rinse and repeat 3-4 times a day, and that's how the last 5 days have been. Sometimes my eyes burn so badly that I can't even watch a movie while I rest. (I did manage to watch Voyagers on HBO the other day, it's basically Lord of the Flies in space, I do not recommend it.)

Today, day 5 of my isolation, to combat my feelings of useless-ness, I actually made myself a cup of coffee (with leftover eggnog, since my Christmas gathering was canceled I have so much eggnog left) in an attempt to boost my energy levels enough to do something productive. So here we are with today's review!

I got these as part of a gift a while back and never got around to trying them. If you recall, I found the normal Cheez Balls really disappointing, so I was in no rush to try these. Oh how wrong I was...
Visually, these look juts like the original, but with a slightly redder product image and a little "Blazin hot," tagline. Since I am not too familiar with Planters products, I buy them very rarely, I wasn't sure how hot these would actually be.

Upon opening, these are certainly red in color, the go-to indicator for spicy snack foods, but will they actually be flavorful?

First bite: Oh, these aren't spicy at all.

Second-Third bite: Okay, I feel it building up a little.

Fourth-half the can: Oh no, they're addicting.

These are the same, fake, neon-orange "cheese" as the original, but with a semi-healthy dose of peppery hot sauce and that tiny change makes a world of difference. It takes several bites to build up, but when it does it has a dry, peppery, heat that hits the sides of the tongue. It makes me think more of classic hot sauce than buffalo sauce, and I'm into it. If I had to rate it, I'd say it's medium heat level, definitely below Takis. so true heat seekers will likely be unimpressed with the spicy kick these have to offer. But I find it very snackable.

I really like these, and since I was so disappointed in the original it's safe to say I never would have picked this up for myself. That being the case, getting this as a gift really worked out.

The best part? I grabbed what I thought was a heavy seasoned puff-ball, but it turned out to be a solid nugget of seasoning, and it was DELICIOUS. So If you, like me, always seek out the darkest, most heavily seasoned, bits of Chex Mix or other snack foods, these will not disappoint.

I would definitely buy these again and recommend them to anyone who grew up eating bags of Hot Fries in your high school cafeteria. If you give these a try, let me know what you think in the comments below. Stay healthy and safe!