Heigh-Ho Brookie-O

Brookie-O Oreos - Target

Oreo has dropped three "new" flavors, Java Chip and Chocolate Hazelnut, which are permanent additions to the line-up, and this limited edition Brookie-O.

Good News: We already have three new flavors of Oreos for 2021. 

Bad News: They're mostly repeats/rebrands, AND Pistachio Oreo Thins are discontinued! (Apparently they were discontinued in 2020, another strike against a terrible year.)  

Java chip is a coffee and chocolate mashup, similar to the previously released Dunkin Donuts Mocha, or Tiramisu, or Oreo Thins' Latte, and Chocolate Hazelnut is a re-release of the 2018 Chocolate Hazelnut, but the golden cookie was swapped out for classic chocolate. This could be the start of a trend, where limited edition flavors could have the potential for permanency, but I think "permanent" is too strong a word. Similar to most of the Lay's Do Us a Flavor contestants, I give it a year or two before they fade into oblivion. (Honestly, I don't know why Carrot Cake or Red Velvet have lasted as long as they have, especially when flavors like Reese's were so. damn. good. )

Then we have these Brookie-O's, which are the only limited edition flavor of the bunch. They are a mashup of classic Oreos, 2014's Cookie Dough Oreos, and 2015's Brownie Batter Oreo. While the combination of all three at once is new, each of these flavors has been done before. Are they worth the buy? 

Cadbury Creme Egg Cookies - Target

Cadbury Creme Egg Cookies - Target

Hippity Hoppity Easter....was a month ago,. Whoops. So happy #tbt to you all! 

Last year these limited edition cookies were plastered all over social media and they were driving all of us American food bloggers crazy because we didn't get them. (Although we get plenty of stuff other countries don't, it's just that "grass is always greener" thing we all experience from time to time in the heat of an awesome foodie moment.) This year Cadbury got the memo and realized they could make even more money selling these limited edition cookies overseas, so this Easter they were being sold at Target along with a couple other Cadbury products. I may have gone a little overboard because I grabbed two packages the moment I saw them. I mean, they're Cadbury Eggs in COOKIE form! How could that go wrong? 

Smarties 'n Creme - Five Below

Smarties 'n Creme - Five Below

Smarties are made right here in New Jersey! Why isn't that something we celebrate or talk about? I mean, we Jersey dwellers go on and on about our tomatoes, why not our candy? I didn't even know they were created here until Cybele told me!

Also, did you know that each color is actually a different flavor? As a kid I hated the white ones, which are orange and creme flavored, and I would always make my mom eat them, but back then all the adults I talked to thought I was crazy! They swore that they all tasted the same, but they aren't! (For the record the flavors are: white is orange cream, yellow is pineapple, pink is cherry, green is strawberry, purple is grape, and orange is orange.) The Smarties line has expanded quite a bit since I was a kid, and now we have a whole line of creme-flavored candies! Will I like them more than I did when I was a kid? Let's find out!

Banana Twinkies - Walmart

Banana Twinkies - Walmart

I'm on the hunt for those Ghostbusters themed Key Lime Twinkies, but so far no luck. After checking my third Walmart I didn't want to leave empty handed, because it's not like a have a massive food backlog sitting at home waiting to be photographed and reviewed or anything... *cough**cough*, so why not grab a box of banana Twinkies while I was there? 

Twinkies are this huge pop culture phenomenon, being referenced in movies like Ghostbusters and Zombieland, but I've never been a fan. However, I do love banana (and Ghostbusters) so maybe I just haven't tried the right flavor yet. This could be the Twinkie to finally win me over to the processed snack cake side!

Filled Cupcake Oreos - Walmart

Filled Cupcake Oreos - Walmart 

These new Oreo flavors are fun to track down, but I'm starting to get a little burned out. I reviewed the Peppermint ones in January, and since then we've already had the Cinnamon Bun Oreos (review coming soon), a re-release of Red Velvet, and now Filled Cupcake? We're only 39 days into the new year! Oreo is really cranking these things out!

When this flavor was first teased months ago, I really wasn't interested. I figured it was the normal chocolate filling, or maybe the Brownie Batter Oreo filling, with a touch of the traditional white sandwich cookie creme in the center. So it's chocolate, chocolate cookies, and creme. Sounds pretty normal to me. How is this different from Oreo products we've already had? I guess I"ll find out!

Cookies & Creme Cookie Butter - Trader Joe's

 Cookies & Creme Cookie Butter - Trader Joe's 

From this point on, reviews are back on schedule! (Hooray for consistency!) 

How are you surviving this winter weather? I live on the East Coast in America, and where I live I've been pretty lucky. We got about a foot and a half of snow over the weekend, but the weather has warmed up quite a bit and everything is (thankfully) melting away quickly. I was snowed in away from home, which meant being away from my desktop computer, so I didn't get to work on the blog, but if you follow me on Instagram you got to see a few of the things I munched on while hiding out indoors and avoiding shoveling. To prevent that from happening again, I'm looking into laptops so that I can more easily work on the blog when I'm on the go. I've always preferred desktops and I've never had a laptop computer before, so do any of you have laptop recommendations? (Right now I'm kind of looking at this one, so I can run the Adobe suite, blog, and do graphic design work on the go. Any advice? or opinions?)

Okay, on to today's review, cookie butter!

Mike & Ike Sweet Paradise (Limited Edition) - Shop Rite: Berlin, NJ

Mike & Ike Sweet Paradise (Limited Edition)  - Shop Rite: Berlin, NJ

This Shop Rite seems to be trapped in a magical time warp of some kind. I found limited edition products well after their release dates, like this Jelly Bean chewing gum, and I've also seen products that I've never heard any other food blogger mention. Like these "Special Limited Edition" Sweet Paradise Mike and Ikes. I haven't seen this special edition flavor listed or reviewed on any other food sites. Is this new? Is it super old? I guess I'll open the box and find out.

Akira- March Restaurant Week : Collingswood, NJ

Akira- March Restaurant Week : Collingswood, NJ 

Just in case you missed my last post, it’s restaurant week! If any of you are New Jersey locals, you should already know about Collingswood and it’s restaurants. For restaurant week, participating locations make a special menu for the event (usually 3-4 courses) and list it at a pretty reasonable price. This is something I look forward to every year, and tonight my boyfriend and I ate at Akira.

Strawberry Creme Limited Edition Peeps - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

Strawberry Creme Limited Edition Peeps - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

That's right, even MORE limited edition Peeps. 

I was really impressed when the Just Born company decided to stray from their traditional vanilla and chocolate marshmallows, but by releasing all of these new flavors so closely together, the novelty it loses some of it's allure. I mean it's only March, and I have already seen Chocolate dipped Strawberry, Sour Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, Orange and Creme and these Strawberry Creme Peeps. Are these Peeps our American equivalent to the crazy Kit-Kats in Japan?