Gingerbread Kit-Kats - Quickie Review

While I work on my destash video, let's keep the posts a' coming. 

Today I have a quickie, Gingerbread Kit-Kats. 

Cookie-bucha - Health-ade Holiday Cheers

Happy Almost New Year! I'm back! 

After my last post, I tested positive for COVID, and the symptoms hit me hard and fast. Much worse than when I had it before. Luckily, I had bought my cats a heating pad on Black Friday, because it came in clutch for the body aches. By day three, I lost my sense of smell and taste. (Which took all the fun out of my scented candle advent calendar.) 

It took five days for my sense of smell to return, but it was pretty weak, and my taste was definitely off. Garlic, something I cook with and eat all the time, tasted unnaturally sweet, almost like a caramel. And in every form! I tried powdered seasoning, fresh garlic, and some garlic infused olive oil just to make sure something didn't expire on me, but it was me. ("I'm the problem, it's me.") It took two and a half weeks for my body to bounce back.

So, I'm here to celebrate with some seasonal kombucha! 

When I spotted this, the gold and white made me think this was a New Years' item. So, I assumed this was like, champagne-themed or something. But, if I had bothered to read the label, this is vanilla, allspice, and cacao flavored? So, cookies? Cookie-bucha? I don't know about that...

Sweet & Salty Clusters...of lies!

Chocolate covered potato chips are sweet and salty, with the added bonus of a crispy texture, what's not to love? 

Well, unlike most consumers, I have been spoiled. Aunt Charlottes, a confectionary located in Merchantville, NJ, makes the best chocolate covered potato chips of all time. 

It's true! I have tried big-brand chocolate potato chip products, and even made some attempts at my own, but none of them compare to Aunt Charlotte's. 

The chocolate used for their chips is incredibly smooth and sweet, more like European style chocolate than when we're used to in the states, and the flavor blows brands like Hershey's out of the water. (Which is basically chocolate flavored wax at this point.) Their good-quality chocolate has a lovely mouth-feel, and somehow, even after dipping, the chip stays crisp and crunchy. It is the best of the best....that said, how do these "clusters" compare? 

Clearance Cookie Candy - Sugar Cookie m&m's

I pride myself on pretty good foodie-judgement, and I hate wasting money. If I think something sounds gross, or hyped, or scammy, I'll just skip it.

Like Swedish Fish Oreos. 

I like Swedish Fish, I like Oreos, I even like chocolate covered Swedish Fish, but when Oreo released a Swedish Fish flavor I skipped it. Knowing how they executed fruity flavors in the past...I just didn't think it would be a good time. Meanwhile other people bought them and tore them to shreds. Which is fun, because making jokes gets views, but sometimes I just rather not feed into the gross food-waste machine. Unless they go on sale. 

If these were full price, I never would have bothered with them, but post-holiday clearance? I'll allow myself a dud or two. So, sugar cookie m&m's: actually worth snacking on? Or just hyped up crispy-m&m gimmick? 

Still In The Festive Spirit? - Merry Mash-Up Mtn Dew

Merry Mash-Up Mtn Dew - Walmart

Can we take a moment to appreciate Mtn Dew, their marketing team, and their limited edition products? 

2020 Cookie Tray and Recipes

2020 Cookie Trays

For nearly a decade, I have hosted a holiday cookie swap, and every year was themed around a movie title. Like year three was Return of the Crumb (LOTR: Return of the King), or The New Batch (Gremlins 2: The New Batch), but due to...everything, that didn't get to happen this year and I'm pretty bummed out about it. As someone who is usually a Grinch during the holidays, I am having an extra hard time getting into a happy festive mood this year, but one things that helps is baking. I didn't put up a tree, or decorate the house, but I did bake a butt-load of cookies. (And fudge!) 

So here's everything I made, links to all the recipes, and what I think about it or would change next time.

Limited Edition Stars and Stripes Cranberry Ginger Ale -

Cranberry Ginger Ale - Dollar Tree

I was at Dollar Tree grabbing holiday giftbags, (because if you're paying more than a dollar for a giftbag, you're insane,), and I spotted giant bottles of soda. They're like 2.5 Liters and only a dollar, so you know it's not the best quality, but they'll do in a pinch when you're having cheap at-home birthday party in the 90's. Anyway, I was going to walk right by them, when I noticed a limited edition flavor.

Since when has that been a thing? I was intrigued, and it was only a dollar, so let's see if it's any good! (At the very least it should make for a fun season-appropriate post.)

Sugar Cookie Shakedown - Hershey Sugar Cookie Kisses

Hershey's Sugar Cookie Kisses - CVS

I don't get the appeal of all this "Sugar cookie" flavored stuff. With a few exceptions, like Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch or Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts, I think most sugar cookie products are a sham. Especially when it comes to chocolates and candy bars. Brands just make a vanilla version of their product, throw some colorful sprinkles on it, and call it a day. 

Will these Kisses be the exception to the rule? 

Last Minute (Non-Edible) Food Gifts: Foodie Flair Edition

Last Minute (non-edible) Food Related Gift Ideas - Foodie Flair Edition 

Pins, patches, and keychains...OH MY! Battle jackets and vests (jackets covered in patches and pins) have been a staple for fans in the music scene for ages, but artists are branching out! Now even foodies like me can cover themselves head-to-toe in various foodie flair to show my passion for all things edible. Here are a few of my favorites that will make AWESOME stocking stuffers this year. 

It's a feast for the eyes, & there's something for everyone!  

Chocolate Meringue & Almond Creme Cookies - Aldi

Specially Selected Cookies (Chocolate Meringue & Almond Creme) - Aldi

Three Aldi reviews in a row? Repetitive, I know, but I'm about to buy a house, so the food blog budget is tight! I swear I have something non-Aldi lined up next, but be prepared to see a lot more budget food in the following months as I hopefully finish the home buying process and get settled.

Winter is right around the corner here in New Jersey, and that means it's cookie season!
I just wrapped up my 6th annual cookie swap, and even through my kitchen is filled to the brim with homemade cookies, I just couldn't resist some fancy Specially Selected seasonal offerings.

Choceur Peppermint Meltaways - Aldi

Choceur Peppermint Meltaways - Aldi

Bah, Humbug. I may be a Scrooge-y old Grinch when it comes to the winter holidays, but even I can't resist the allure of yummy chocolate mints.

I picked these up on a recent trip to Aldi and thought it'd be a good idea to hurry up and review them while they're relevant, plus once photographed, I can share them at my annual cookie swap. This is my 6th year hosting a swap, and each time I model the party's theme after a movie franchise with that year's number of sequels. This year?

I went with the cinematic classic, Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood. I'm a big fan of bad horror franchises like Leprechaun, Puppet Master and Demonic Toys, so it's my way of working a little Halloween into the Holiday spirit.

Honestly, I'm starting to run out of ideas, so if any of you have some fun bad movie theme suggestions for next year, be sure to leave them down below. If I can't think of something I might just have to "reboot" next year's theme.

Okay, enough about future party planning, time to stuff my face with some chocolate!

Wild Ophelia Chocolate Bars (TBT Holiday 2016) - Target

Wild Ophelia Chocolate Bars (Holiday 2016) - Target

Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl since the holidays.

Christmas goodies went on clearance back in January and I took advantage of some awesome sales to stock up on these Wild Ophelia chocolate bars. I'm no stranger to this brand, back in 2013 I reviewed two flavors, and I really enjoyed them but, due to food blogging, I rarely find the time to repurchase products for my own consumption. Even if I really like them. Since 2013 this company has made quite a few changes, so I'm happy for this excuse to revisit them and see what they've been up to. (Plus they were on clearance, which is always awesome.) 

Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints - Target? (I think...)

Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints - Target? (I think...)

One more day until the weekend. Just one more day. We can do this...I can do this.

It's been another really intense week with my day job and side-work, for a closer look at all the stuff I do besides food blogging check out my personal/art blog HERE, but for now, let's dig into my giant food-stash for a minty, Christmas-y, #tbt review!

Handcrafted Luxury Chocolates - Aldi

Handcrafted Luxury Chocolates - Aldi

Valentine's Day has come and gone, and clearance candy has (already) disappeared from the shelves. These stores move so quickly! You have maybe 2 days after the holiday occurs to score anything on clearance before it all disappears into some kind of magical season-appropriate black hole. I thought they used to ship it off to the discount stores or something, but it seems like it's short lived on the shelves there as well. What happens to all of this out of season candy? 

Thankfully, Aldi is amazing as always, and they hang on to seasonal stuff and mark it down until it's all sold out. (I love you Aldi, never change.) I grabbed this fancy looking box of "luxury" chocolates to treat myself after the holiday season.

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive)

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive) 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2016 is off to an amazing start! Sorry for the hiatus, if you follow my Twitter (that I'm trying to use more) you'll know that my car was involved in an accident right before the holidays and that my life has been pretty hectic getting all of that straightened out. I was able to buy a new used car a few days later to get back to work, and the second I got back into my old routine...I got sick. Really sick. My voice sounds oh so sexy right now, but I'm not going to let that stop me! The show blog must go on!

These Hot Cocoa m&m's were a Walmart exclusive, and they were the seasonal counterpart to the Target Exclusive Café Mocha m&m's. (Which I was a big fan of and reviewed HERE.) I was originally going to skip this seasonal sweet because, well...I thought it was a gimmick and nothing more. I mean, m&m's are already chocolate flavored, and hot cocoa is just a drinkable milk chocolate, so how are these going to taste any different than the normal candy? After talking to Cybele and seeing The Impulsive Buy's photos showing the layered candy inside, my curiosity got the best of me, and I grabbed a bag for myself.

Jelly Belly Bubbly, Champagne Jelly Beans - Target

Jelly Belly Bubbly, Champagne Jelly Beans - Target

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams... but in jelly bean form, and without the caviar. So really, just champagne jelly beans. That's still kind of fancy, right? Who would want caviar flavored jellybeans anyway? (The answer is Jelly Belly.) 

When I was in New York for the Summer Fancy Food Show I got to try (literally) one of these jelly beans, and from what I remembered, this flavor was really tasty and far better than the Jelly Belly Draft beans which I reviewed HERE. 

Since I liked them, I wanted to find more to review, but these shimmery little beans were nowhere to be found! I could only find the equally shimmery Draft Beer beans, and we all know I wasn't a fan of those. Completely at random, this tiny champagne bottle shaped container popped up in Target's Christmas candy aisle, so even though I have a massive hoarded pile of food on my hands, I bought this anyway. (Which is how hoarding works people! It's a slippery slope!) 

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Holidrizzle Popcorn - Target

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Holidrizzle Popcorn - Target

On our most recent episode of Candyology 101, Cybele and I noticed that a lot of candy companies were releasing peppermint themed sweets this year, which is a bit of a throwback to a wintery classic, but there were also a bunch of new Hot Cocoa themed products. For me, hot cocoa flavored sweets are in the same realm as the Red Velvet Cake ones. It's a novelty. I mean, what is hot cocoa? It's chocolate, melted into milk, with marshmallows. How can you recreate that into a snack without it just tasting like normal milk chocolate?

Even though I was skeptical, I just couldn't pass this product by.

Christmas Gingerbread Soft Cookies - Walmart

Christmas Gingerbread Soft Cookies - Walmart

Normally I hate all of those processed grocery store snack cakes, but Little Debbie completely impressed me with their pumpkin soft cookies. Even though they looked like something out of the Mario Brothers movie, they were way tastier than they had any right to be, and they might be my favorite pumpkin product of 2015. 

I loved the pumpkin version so much, that I knew I had to try the winter gingerbread version. Admittedly, I'm a gingerbread snob. I make my own gingerbread from scratch every winter, and like most bakers, I think mine is the best. Still, I wonder if Little Debbie's soft cookies will live up to my snooty standards.

Project 7 Red Velvet Cupcake Gum - Target

Project 7 Red Velvet Cupcake Gum - Target

Do any of you watch Orange is The New Black? If you do, you might remember THIS scene where prison guard, and fad-dieter, O'Neill goes on a tirade about the popularity of Red Velvet Cake and how he personally feels like it's a scam.

You tell 'em O'Neill! I grew up watching cooking shows, so even though I know that Red Velvet Cake is indeed a real thing, and a Southern tradition, I can't help but agree with him. The sudden surge of products and popularity we are seeing is a total scam coasting on tons of food dye and all of the food companies out there are getting in on it. We have Oreos, yogurts, m&m's, and now? Chewing gum. Even Project 7 isn't immune to the trendiness of this red-hued wannabe. I love this company and their concept, but I hate the trendiness of all this red velvet cake nonsense, so let's see if trying this gum will make any difference in my velvet-y stance.

Limited Edition Holiday Dum-Dums - YouTube Review

Move over Jelly Belly, Dum-Dums have seasonal flavors too!