Category Archives: News

News: Caramel Corn Pops

 

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Welp, another one to cross off the “how have they not done this yet?” list. Here’s hoping PB&J Reese’s Puffs, Fluffernutter Reese’s Puffs, and White Chocolate Reese’s Puffs are next.

I…I really like peanut butter combos.

Yes, Caramel Corn Pops seems like an incredibly obvious cereal idea. And yes, it has technically been done before. When Kellogg’s introduced their Jumbo Snax line of supersized snacking cereal pouches last year, there was a caramel-flavored Corn Pops variety—except they bafflingly used puffs (the shape of Canadian Corn Pops) instead of the chewy half-popped lumps we’re used to from the brand.

But now those glorious, squeaky gobs of toasted maize have been caramelized too. With its baseball aesthetic, we can probably surmise that Caramel Corn Pops will hit shelves near or before April 1, the MLB’s 2021 opening day.

Do I think they’ll be good? Hard to say, since Corn Pops has a very scant track record of flavored variants. Besides the Jumbo Snax, I’ve only ever reviewed Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops on this site. And they were only okay. If anything, caramel will probably be a more natural fit.

Now if we’re talking seasonally specific cereal themes, how might we go about getting those PB&J Reese’s Puffs by back-to-school season?

News: Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts Return

New Lemon Groove Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts Box

Pink lemonade is the oddest concept to me—you’re saying most of the stuff just adds red food coloring to normal lemonade? And that it’s mostly just homemade versions that actually add strawberry, because most commercial versions just call it, you know, Strawberry Lemonade? Talk about disappointing. The best thing pink lemonade ever got me was a Princess Peach tip card cut from the back of a Pink Lemonade Hi-C juice box. This one, to be specific:

Hi-C Peach Tip Card

And now Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts are returning to reignite my pink lemonade delusions. Yes, Pink Lemonade Pop-Tarts first came out in 2016. And they were pretty good, albeit a little weird. A sour Pop-Tart is a bit unconventional—and it’s a concept that can be done extremely poorly—but PL Pop-Tarts strike a fun balance of puckering and sweetening.

So while I have mixed feelings about pink lemonade as a concept, I’ll be glad to see these on shelves again, even if I am a bit sad Kellogg’s pivoted away from the vibrant pink frosting in favor of the “Printed Fun” designs that have become more common lately. Not that these are bad, but sometimes they can be printed on the pastry cruddily, making the whole thing look like a discount brand paper towel.

Oh well: whatever it takes to bring a little summer warmth to my cold Midwest winter. You can check for Pink Lemonade Pop-Tart availability near you on Walmart.com.

News: Pebbles Cake Mix, Pebbles Crisps, & Chocolate Honeycomb

Duncan Hines Fruity Pebbles Cake Kit

It’s simple geology: you make Pebbles rain, I’m going to call it a rockslide.

Seriously, the deluge of new products Post is releasing to commemorate Pebbles’ 50th anniversary this year is nothing short of meteoric. Coffee creamer. Candy bars. Bunnies. Even a Birthday Cake Pebbles variety, which is a perfect segue into the Flintstone-fronted cereal’s latest announcement.

Despite its EPIC branding, this cake mix seems far simpler in execution. It’s actually just confetti cake mix with frosting and some Fruity Pebbles cereal to adorn your creation. Since I have a personal vendetta against confetti cakes, I can’t say I’m all that excited for this one, but if you need a quick and tasty way to bring color to your next birthday party, why not celebrate with Pebbles? Continue reading

Spooned & Spotted: Waffle Crisp Returns to the U.S.

Jeez, what a drama queen.

…is what I said to myself upon hearing the news that Waffle Crisp, discontinued in 2018, was returning to American shelves. Less than a week ago, I penned an overdramatic elegy for Waffle Crisp, believing I may have just taste tested one of the last produced boxes of the stuff in Mexico—where it seemingly never really got discontinued in the first place.

Honestly, it was a cathartic exercise of closure, and Post had to go ruin the moment’s beauty by pulling a deus ex machina, bagging up a bunch of Waffle Crisp, and shipping it out. I’m kidding, of course: I’m genuinely very excited that Waffle Crisp will have wide availability again. These bags have already been spotted at Walmart, and you can check their site for availability near you.

However, I will warn you that this newly returned Waffle Crisp appears to be the same as the Mexican edition—in fact, those didn’t even have Spanish boxes. Just stickers over the English text. What that means is, it’s probably gonna taste a bit different from what you remember. In my experience, this strain of Waffle Crisp emphasizes the buttery and toasted elements of a waffle more so than the maple bits. This is still good, mind you, but if your nostalgia trip feels a little off, that’s probably why.

My thanks to Cereal Life and Michael for the photographic evidence.

News: Cereal-Flavored Carnation Breakfast Essentials

New Carnation Breakfast Essentials Cereal Flavors

To paraphrase Smash Mouth, “well, the year’s new cereals keep comin’, and they don’t stop comin’.” And with a flood that great, it’s no surprise we’re getting some more liquefied cereal delicacies to pair with, you know, the traditional solid kind.

In addition to Coffee Mate Cinnamon Toast Crunch creamer, Nestle is enlisting three more cereal cornerstoners to join their line of Carnation Breakfast Essentials nutritional drinks. That said, it’s honestly pretty baffling to see General Mills and Kellogg’s cereals joining forces here—I love you, Golden Grahams, but you’re hopelessly outnumbered if the Kellogg’s pair turns on you.

Yes, between Froot Loops, Golden Grahams, and Krave Carnation Breakfast Essentials, that’s some pretty impressive coverage of cereal’s three core flavor categories: fruity, honey, and chocolate. You know what? I bet these’ll all taste pretty swell, too. As your resident spindly cereal blogger, I don’t drink a lot of Carnation or other fortified beverages, but the ones I have strike a nice balance of taste and nutrition. Nothing too crazy—I bet these’ll just be like slightly thicker cereal milk. About two steps down in thickness from Kefir.

Let me know if you’ve tried any of these in the comments. I have a feeling I won’t review all of them, but I might give the Krave a try unless someone* recommends against it.

*Someone who isn’t genetically biased against Krave. Y’all know who you are.

News: Salted Caramel Pretzel Pop-Tarts

Kellogg's New Salted Caramel Pretzel Pop-Tarts Box

Salted Caramel Pretzel Pop-Tarts. Has a nice ring to it.

No, seriously: I think it’s Trochaic Tetrameter—assuming you pronounce it “car-mel,” which I realize is a reckless assumption.

Let’s make one thing clear: Pretzel Pop-Tarts are pretty darn good. Like Gone Nutty Pop-Tarts before them, they shake up the crust game instead of just the flavor. Both of the line’s debut flavors, Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar, were sweet & salty & scrumptious, so I have little doubt that Salted Caramel Pretzel Pop-Tarts will be up to the same standards. These have already been spotted on Meijer’s site—thanks to Candy Hunting for the initial tip—so they’ll probably hit shelves within a month or two.

Now that Pretzel Pop-Tarts have crossed another reasonable, if not a little uncommon, pretzel flavor pairing off their pastry to-bake list, I wonder where they’ll go next. Here’s hoping we get Peanut Butter Pretzel Pop-Tarts before Whole-Grain Mustard.

News: Crayola Jazzberry Cereal

New Crayola Jazzberry Cereal Box

Crayon eaters rejoice!

No longer need you get up early to prepare a full meal of scrambled marigolds and sizzling tickled pinks, served with a side of burnt sienna toast. Kellogg’s & Crayola are making it easier than ever to consume crayons for breakfast with an upcoming cereal flavored like Jazzberries. What does a Jazzberry taste like, you might ask? Well, I think they grow on vines that spring from the decomposed fibers of discarded Jazz solo cups. You know the ones.

As the fruit born of such a distinguished plant species, Jazzberries therefore have much expected of them. When I astral project the aesthetic of Jazz solo cups onto my taste buds, they taste like half-melted blue raspberry ICEEs and grape Kool-Aid. Perhaps this is a bit too puckering of a flavor profile to expect of a licensed cereal, so in reality Crayola Jazzberry cereal will probably taste like Caticorn cereal or Llama Loops. Which is to say, bad.

While that is a pretty grim prognosis for Jazzberry cereal’s potential, it’s also pretty realistic. Who knows, though: Crayola made a smart move with Jazzberry cereal’s color-able box—not just because of the fun value, but also the box design’s intense contrast of white to sharp saturation. This will no-doubt catch the eyes of many children in the cereal aisle, upping Jazzberry’s impulse buy appeal.

Pretty tricky, but at least it’s original. Whether or not the flavor will hold up to the same avant garde scrutiny is another story. Crayola Jazzberry cereal is already listed on Walmart and Meijer’s websites, and while they don’t have details or availability yet, they’re likely to drop within a month or so.

What’s your favorite crayon, by the way? I’m a sucker for good ol’ blue-green.

News: Golden Grahams & Cinnamon Toast Crunch Protein Bars

General Mills New Golden Grahams Protein Bar

It seems 2021 will be the year of, in addition to many other things, buff cereal products. First Pebbles drops protein powder, now General Mills is getting into the protein bar game. What’s next, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran energy gel?

To be fair, General Mills’ Golden Grahams and Cinnamon Toast Crunch protein bars look pretty appetizing, and 20 grams of protein feels pretty standard for the likes of Power Bars or Quest Bars. I’m glad they committed to making a muscle-building munchie instead of a weird, sugary Clif Bar type of hybrid. They can save that idea for Lucky Charms.

You can already find the bars listed on General Mills’ Foodservice and Convenience website, so if you’re trying to track down these cereal protein bars, it seems like gas stations or school cafeterias would be your best bet. Whichever’s easiest.

What do you think? Cereal protein bars: yes or no? Personally, I’ll be defeating the Golden Graham bar’s purpose with a jar of marshmallow fluff.