REVIEW: Little G X MdoughW Peanut Butter Fudge

May 26, 2017May 26, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

It’s well chronicled and goes without needing any explanation that peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Peanut butter is one of the few flavors that can stand up to the big bad bully that can be chocolate, and the richness of the two compliment each other exceptionally in almost all forms of dessert. For the Little G X MdoughW entry into the PB books the two combined peanut butter ice cream with triple chocolate fudge doughies and a chocolate fudge swirl.

This my friends, this is why we Little G. The peanut butter ice cream has a beautiful balance of sweet and salty with a robust peanut flavor that is true to the nut. I’m not sure if it’s the sweetness of the other components but I’m getting a bit more saltiness from the base than I’m used to from Little G and I absolutely love it. It may sound odd, but in the past I felt like Grace’s PB base tasted like Skippy, and this one reminds me more of Jif, with a dash more salt. Lovely.

The triple chocolate fudge MdoughW doughies have a dense brownie-like texture filled with semisweet chocolate chips that give multiple layers to the flavor and added depth to the chew. The chocolate isn’t quite dark but not milky either, it’s just simply deep. Once again the MdoughW is a stellar match for mixing into ice cream, and when combined with the fantastic fudge swirl creates a brownie batter sensation that is beautiful.
Speaking of the swirl, it is thick and dark and goddamn is it good. It’s always a good thing when the clear Little G container has giant black globs along the side of it and this pint is testament to that truth. Fortunately for me, the fudge wasn’t just on the side but I got a beautiful pool towards the middle of the pint as well. As the ice cream melts and the fudge integrates itself into the base, the experience becomes just like eating a peanut butter brownie sundae with every taste and texture accounted for, aka, ice cream bliss.

This is the kind of flavor I want to hoard and never have disappear. It’s incredibly rich and decadent and all the elements are strong enough to stand on their own but work in pitch perfect harmony when eaten as a whole. Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw with small batch hand-packed pints, and for me this one was absolutely spot on. Tasty rich ribbons of fudge and a sturdy amount of MdoughW’s, but the ideal amount of what I’ll call “base breathability”, to get spoonfuls of purely creamy rich peanut butter ice cream perfection.

Rating: 10/10
Found at: http://www.goldbely.com (use code seanpancake0 for $25 off of your first order!)

REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Key Lime Chocolate Milano

May 25, 2017May 24, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

While Nabisco are busy cranking out endless amounts of low key shock value flavored Oreo like Peeps and Waffles & Syrup, Pepperidge Farm are quietly releasing refined, slightly altered versions of their classic Mialno cookie, the latest of which is a re-release of last years Key Lime Chocolate.

Staying true to their adult-leaning brand, this cookie takes the Milano’s firm layer of dark chocolate in between two oblong cookies and adds a limey punch to the equation. Much like their other citrus-twisted releases Orange and Lemon, this spring time treat really works. The cookies are soft yet crunchy with a crumbly texture that isn’t overly sweet or buttery. The chocolate on the inside is dark and creamy with a slight sweetness that cuts through the more bland cookie exterior.

The lime flavor is just right. Not too aggressively tart or acidic it has just enough presence to add a citrusy flair and heighten the sweetness of the bitter-leaning chocolate. One of the complaints about Milano’s is that they can be kind of dry, and even though the lime layer isn’t particularly creamy, it makes the cookie feel more moist and attractive to my general sugar-focused palate when I’m crunching into a cookie.

I’m a big fan of chocolate and citrus together and think it is greatly underutilized in the realm of sweet treats. While chocolate oranges can be easily found during the holidays, and as part of Pepperidge Farm’s regular lineup, using lemon or lime without the presence of white chocolate or graham is kind of rare. It’s tricky to pull off key lime and dark chocolate together, and yet both flavors come through strong without wiping each other out, and Pepperidge Farm managed to soothe my sweet tooth and my citrus tooth in one small bite.

Rating: 8/10
Found at: Target ($2.99)

REVIEW: Limited Edition Firework Oreo

May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

I’m no stranger to the junk food industry and our consumer-based society in general launching my tastebuds and wallet well into the future when it comes to holidays. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing Valentine’s candy and cards pop up the day after Christmas, pumpkin-on-my-everything starting in August, and Christmas beginning on November 1st, but the latest Oreo release had me asking myself, “is it summer already?”. The packaging, adorned with explosions and patriotic colors, stirred up memories of poorly lit bottle rockets, cheap beer, and the sweet scent of charcoal, aka, the Fourth of July. Since we’ve only had six weeks of spring, the middle of summer seemed like a stretch, but then I realized, I’m a dummy, and for once, the cookie-peddlers have gotten their timing right – Memorial Day is May 29! Just in time to pay our respects to the men and women serving our country, Nabisco have released Limited Edition Firework Oreo, which add explosive popping candy to the iconic chocolate creme sandwich.

Opening the package reveals the slightly bittersweet and creamy smell you know and love from Oreo, with cookies that fit the smell-bill and look identical to the original except for little red and blue dots in the creme. Biting in is exactly what you would expect – crunch, squish, and chocolate, but then right as the creme hits my tongue the party begins – POP. The popping candy starts to sizzle via saliva activation, and I’ve gotta be honest it’s pretty damn fun. The more you chew the more they dance, with continual bacon-in-a-skillet sound effects even after I swallow.

The popping candy doesn’t change the flavor at all. There is no strawberry or blueberry flavor added to the rocks, and the effect here is purely an experience rather than a taste. It’s kind of impressive that they were able to present a product that looks and feels different but has the exact same flavor profile as the cookie that has been leading the pack for over 100 years. While an additional candy flavor would have been fun, I suspect it might have come off as cloying, although I wouldn’t mind if they added a crazy flavor like grape to really funk the experience up.

I’m kind of stumped how to rate this cookie. The firework-spin doesn’t take away from the original Oreo at all, and in some ways even enhances it – just not with taste. It also doesn’t really add anything particularly ground breaking that makes me feel like people HAVE to try this, but it’s got a serious fun factor that I can’t deny. Since Oreo are my favorite grocery cookie of all time and they nailed the execution, I’ve gotta give them the benefit of a doubt with a solid thumbs up. While I think I would still take the Double Stuf over these for general munching, I wouldn’t mind seeing them pop up every Memorial Day for a fun-filled snack attack.

Rating: 8.5/10
Found at: Safeway ($2.99)

REVIEW: Blue Bunny Mint Cookie Crunch

May 12, 2017May 11, 2017 / seansskillet / 1 Comment

Blue Bunny have expanded their line of ice cream flavors, and I hope that means they’re expanding their distribution too. While they have distro-deals in place with major retailers like Walmart, for whatever reason, in the Bay Area with our lack of Wally World’s, Blue Bunny is kind of hard to find. Many grocery stores carry the novelty items like the mini cones, but quarts and pints of the Bunny are hard to come across. Growing up in Nebraska where Blue Bunny was much more common, I was super stoked to find a fresh new flavor at a local discount grocery store. Mint Cookie Crunch combines mint ice cream with fudge swirls and mint chocolate cookie chunks.

The mint base is light and creamy with a refreshing minty-ness that steers clear of any dominant peppermint flavor. It’s a pleasant and genuine base that isn’t too sweet or too powerful in any way. The fudge swirl has a very distinct Hershey’s chocolate syrup kind of flavor with just a bit more thickness than the stuff that pours from the brown bottle. It’s a little light milk chocolatey for what I would commonly associate with fudge, but it seems fitting for a swirl swimming in glowing green cream.

The cookie “chunks” pop up in the form of little balls that have a big satisfying crunch and haven’t lost any of their bold cookie texture. This crunchy-preservation is achieved by coating the balls in chocolate so the actual cookie never makes contact with the melty dairy. It’s a clever move very similar to the cookies in Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Peppermint Crunch (RIP) and they work just as well here as they did in that more chocolate heavy pint. It’s a very different experience than a mint cookies and cream, and I appreciate the crunch factor that adds extra depth and excitement to the ice cream. The flavor isn’t as mint-forward as the heralded Girl Scouts Thin Mint, but the cookies definitely have a minty-ness that let’s me know it isn’t just a chocolate cookie.

When you get all of the components together in one bite they work together seamlessly with a lovely balance of mint, chocolate, and smooth dairy. Blue Bunny have put together a really solid product that isn’t as intense or fatty as a super premium ice cream but tastes of significantly higher quality and less gum-filler-y than Dreyers or Breyers. A fantastic middle-of-the-road scoop that’s a great bang for your buck.

Rating: 8/10
Found at: Grocery Outlet ($2.99)

REVIEW: Limited Edition Cookies & Creme Oreo Cookies

April 17, 2017April 16, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Would you like some cheese and tomato flavored pizza? How about a beef and bread flavored hamburger? No? Well…what about an Oreo flavored Oreo? Yes, these “new” Walmart exclusive Cookies & Creme Oreo’s are indeed cookies flavored like themselves. I’m going to keep this one brief because if you’re on this site chances are you know what an Oreo is, what it tastes like, and that it has been the grocery cookie champion for over 100 years.

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The good news is these taste pretty much exactly like an original Oreo, and Oreo’s taste fantastic, so you won’t be losing much if you spend $3 on a package of these. The bad news is, the only small difference here is not really an improvement, but potentially a downgrade, depending on your flavor preference.

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What makes this version of Nabisco’s classic afternoon treat different from the one released in 1912 is the presence of cookie bits within the creme. The pieces of wafer cookie crushed up into the creme takes away a bit of the bright sugary pop that usually comes from the white stuff, and as a result the ultimate balance achieved by the OG is disturbed. It makes the overall experience more bitter chocolate-forward, and kind of eats like a cross between a regular (vanilla-y) and chocolate Oreo without either flavor being too dominant.

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While this limited edition is about as silly as a snowball in May, I don’t hate it, and if I was craving an Oreo and this was put in front of me it would satisfy that urge. It isn’t a big enough of a departure to be a letdown for someone seeking some classic cookie crunch, but it is most certainly a sorry excuse for a promotional release. Luckily we’ve got Jelly Donut, Mocha, Fireworks (pop rocks creme), Apple Pie, and Waffles with Syrup Oreo all to look forward to later this year.

Rating: 8/10
Found at: Walmart

REVIEW: Trader Joe’s Mocha Joe Joe’s

April 6, 2017April 9, 2017 / seansskillet / 5 Comments

The world has never seen a coffee Oreo…until later this year. That’s right, in 2017, thanks to a collaboration with Dunkin Donuts, Nabisco will finally release a coffee flavored Oreo. Bad news for them, Trader Joe’s has beaten them to the punch via the release of the brand new for this year Mocha Joe Joe’s. With two chocolate wafer cookies sandwiching a vanilla creme studded with ground coffee, Oreo has some heavy competition on their hands.

Coffee is one of my most cherished and nostalgic smells, and busting into these Joe Joe’s is like unearthing a fresh bag of whole bean espresso. There’s a full, dark, dominant coffee aroma that will be no stranger to anyone who grinds coffee beans at home, and is a surprising coming so intensely from a $3 box of cookies. The creme filling is smooth, soft, and almost runny with a much softer texture than its Oreo idol. The creme is studded with coffee bean bits that add a little extra crunch but primarily bring a bold coffee flavor that is sharp, bitter, and genuine. The taste is very similar to that of chocolate covered espresso beans and that’s a huge boost over a lot of coffee flavored products I’ve had before.

As powerful as the coffee flavor is, the cookies do still overall register sweet, with the wafer cookie being a little less dark and bitter than the standard Oreo. There’s enough sugary sweetness in the melty creme and wafer to balance the coffee intensity and I think this cookie will be loved not only by caffeine junkies, but those who appreciate the other element of a mocha – good chocolate. The finish is sweet and smooth enough to accompany a good cup of coffee, tea, or espresso, but dynamic enough that it isn’t just another average tasting Oreo copy cat.

This is the most excited I’ve been by a cookie so far this year, and it caught me by total surprise. I love drinking coffee daily but am not as hyped on coffee flavored treats, and these cookies may have converted me. I’ve always thought Joe Joe’s were of high quality but with this Mocha flavor Trader Joe’s have taken them to another level, achieving the perfect snack-able balance of coffee, chocolate, and delicious that has me excited for other new limited releases in the future.

Rating: 9/10
Found at: Trader Joe’s
Quick Nutrition: 2 cookies – 7g fat – 95mg sodium – 23g carbs – 14g sugar – 1g protein

REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Banana Chocolate Milano

February 16, 2017February 15, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Things I don’t associate with when thinking about winter: beach balls, Corona Light, blockbuster films, daylight until 9 PM, and…banana flavored cookies. Despite the super odd January release date, Pepperidge Farm have chosen the middle of the hypothetical icy tundra to unleash their limited edition Banana Chocolate Milano, so you can get a taste of the tropics while shivering in your mittens.

Opening up the signature tall paper bag I am immediately smacked in the face with that unmistakable artificial banana aroma that will have yellow Runts and Laffy Taffy fans squirming with joy in their long johns. Just barely coming through beneath the banana is the classic Milano semi-sweet chocolate that rounds out the smell of this tropical treat.

The bite mimics the smell in that it starts with a strong banana candy flavor that smooths out and finishes with clean semi-sweet dark chocolate. The crumbly pale cookie is a lovely middle ground between soft and hard, with no notable sugar or shortbread taste. The Milano in general is fairly dry, but the inclusion of banana makes it feel a bit more moist and bright. I’ve gotta give Pepperidge Farm credit for putting out a different flavor than what is expected, and overall the flavors deliver on what the description promises. While the banana flavor is definitely rooted in candy, the cookie as a whole isn’t too sweet and shouldn’t be a turn off unless you hate banana flavor, which I’m sure many people do.

My issue with these cookies is the same one I’ve always had with standard Milano – there simply isn’t enough filling. While the regular Milk Chocolate Milano is fine but pretty basic, the Double Chocolate version is awesome, with extra snap and deep cocoa flavor that allows the outer cookie to be plain but successful. The other flavored Milano I’ve had – orange, mint, and raspberry, are better than the milk chocolate because of the added layer of flavor, and these are no exception, but I still wanted more. Perhaps 25% more banana or a touch more chocolate could have taken these to the next level, but as it stands they still need a little more pop to compete with the best.

Rating: 7.5/10

REVIEW: Limited Edition Girl Scouts Thin Mints Cereal

February 10, 2017February 9, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

It’s true. In a time when chicken has become a taco shell and Twinkies have been turned into ice cream, it’s only fitting that Girl Scout cookies are now breakfast cereal. As if we couldn’t get enough overpriced factory cookies into our diets in the first quarter of the year, we now have an excuse to start our day with this indulgence as well. General Mills have teamed up with the little hustle-Scouts to unleash Limited Editon Thin Mints sweetened whole grain corn cereal.

Opening the box the smell immediately screams Thin Mint, with a chocolate and mint aroma that favors the mint slightly more than the chocolate. The taste of the dry cereal builds on that smell but pushes the chocolate a little more to the foreground, with a minty, distinctly spearmint tingle rounding out the bite. General Mills seem to have achieved the right balance between the two flavors, with the mint definitely present but not lingering with any toothpaste-y consequences. The finish is classic corn cereal, with that sweet vegetal crunch that tastes oddly like a hybrid between a Girl Scout cookie and a Cheeto; which isn’t as weird as it sounds considering how awesome I think Sweetos are.

When combined with milk, the chocolate smell intensifies and gives my nose signals that I’ve just opened a fresh sleeve of Thin Mint cookies. Unfortunately, that intensified smell doesn’t translate to the flavor, as the notes that were prominent on the dry tasting all dull significantly and become much less unique. The cereal holds its crunch well, but the perfectly balanced mint takes a backseat to not only the flavor of the corn and chocolate but the milk as well. After crunching along through the bowl with mixed feelings I was pleasantly surprised to have a mellow but noticeable minty-ness in my mouth when I was done eating.

A breakfast cereal, even a sweet one like this, will never truly be able to emulate a cookie (think: Cookie Crisp), but this is a pretty decent attempt at putting an American snack time classic into our milky bowls for the morning. I have never seen mint used like this before and I’ve got to give General Mills credit for taking that risk and doing a good job of getting the balance down to give honor to the cookie as well as making a tasty new product. I don’t think I would rush out to buy this again but would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Thin Mints; plus, it’ll go great on top of some ice cream (which I have done, and can confirm its greatness).

Rating: 7/10

REVIEW: Girl Scouts S’mores Sandwich Cookies

February 7, 2017February 6, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

New year, new cookie. It is officially Girl Scouts season, where we will be charmed and delighted at the sight of tables outside of grocery stores throughout February and then dodging them making excuses in March. Fortunately, at the 2017 price of $6 per box, the Girl Scouts are making the excuses for us, but with with the introduction of the brand new S’mores sandwich cookie I allowed myself to get Scout-swindled once more to entertain my own intrigue. The sandwich combines a graham cracker cookie with both chocolate and marshmallow creme, much like Oreo did two years ago in May of 2015; but we’ll let the delay in innovation slide since these are being hustled by 8 year old girls in funny outfits.

The smell is all honey and chocolate, combining for a lovely sweet s’mores perfume. The graham flavor in the cookie is light but present with a golden and slightly salty finish that crumbles nicely and surprisingly dominates over both of the cremes inside. The chocolate is more pronounced than the marshmallow, which seems to do more to tame the cocoa flavor than actually provide any vanilla-y marshmallow flair. To be fair, marshmallow is more of a textural play than it is a highly identifiable flavor, and the sweet ‘mallowy-ness is there in tandem with the chocolate.

The chocolate itself is on the milk side, with no deep bitter or cocoa flavor – much like the classic Hershey’s bar commonly used to make s’mores around the camp fire (or in your microwave if you’re me, stoned at 1 am). The creme is incredibly smooth, not too sweet, and very pleasant.

The cookies have a variety of fun Scouty designs printed on the back

As with most sandwich cookies I find the flavors to be more interesting and enjoyable when they’re broken in half, and these s’mores are no exception. When you eat the cookie side on its own the graham comes much more to life, and the creme side reveals a really well balanced milk chocolate flavor. Eaten as a whole the cookie is still good, and conveys the flavors of the classic combo, but the specific notes are much harder to pinpoint.

Quality-wise I think this cookie ranks up there with the Girl Scouts’ best in Do-si-dos, Tagalongs, Samoas, and Thin Mints. They don’t dethrone any of those from being a potential new champion, but they bring a solid effort and new crunch to the seasonal Scout lineup, especially since the S’mores Oreo are currently RIP.

Rating: 8/10

Note: the s’mores cookie roll out has another version depending on your location and designated bakery, which is a graham cracker with layer of marshmallow covered in chocolate.

REVIEW: Green Tea IT’S-IT Ice Cream Sandwich

January 25, 2017January 24, 2017 / seansskillet / 5 Comments

When thinking of the Bay Area many things come to mind. The Grateful Dead, Metallica, giant stuffed burritos, fortune cookies, whimsical rainbow flags…but what about ice cream sandwiches? For me, one of the greatest pieces of San Francisco history is the invention of the ice cream sando as we know it, thanks to George Whitney and his brilliant IT’S-IT, circa 1928. For those unfamiliar with the creamy concoction, it combines a scoop of ice cream (originally vanilla), in between two oatmeal cookies dunked in chocolate, aka, it’s pure awesome-ness. August 2016 saw the first new IT’S-IT in years with the debut of their seventh flavor – Green Tea. It took me a little while to track one down but I made a visit to their factory in Burlingame and walked away a richer man.

Green tea ice cream falls into one of two camps – awesome and true to the flavor of beautifully steeped tea, or, weird and overly sweet with a strange maple flavor. Fortunately for IT’S-IT and all of us consuming their killer cream sandwiches, this matcha-based goodness falls into the first category and is a pure step back Steph Curry swish off the dribble. It’s velvety smooth and fluffy with lovely natural grassy notes throughout – it really tastes just like a cup of perfectly steeped tea smooched with milk and sugar. Like most IT’S-IT ice cream flavors it’s not very sweet, which leaves room for the cookies and chocolate coating to do their job driving the sweetness.

The cookies are soft and cinnamon-y with that lovely oatmeal texture that compliments the thin layer of dark chocolate perfectly. One of the only problems with IT’S-IT’s is depending on how frozen they are or how long they’ve been sitting the cookies can sometimes get hard – not the case from this factory-fresh one at all. Since most of the sweetness is coming from the cookies their spicy undertones and buttery cookie texture really pop against the subtle flavor of the green tea. For those raisin haters out there that haven’t had an IT’S-IT before, have no fear, ain’t no dried grapes here.

My favorite IT’S-IT flavors are the ones that provide the most contrast – vanilla, strawberry, and mint, and the green tea one falls right into that same category of a base flavor that stands on its own but blends seamlessly with the sandwich elements. It’s a great addition to an already fantastic lineup of bay area classics that should be delicious to tea lovers and doubters alike.

Rating: 9/10

Sean's Skillet

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