Nine. From esotericism and enneagrams to The Beatles, it’s a number of power, a symbol of completion. But can nine ingredients alone complete an ambitious, expensive cereal?

Seriously, here are a couple other foreboding nines with an upside-down one in front: $6.99 for a box of LäraBar Cereal. I’m sure you, like me, are now thinking in your most Napoleon Dynamite-like inner voice, “that’s almost a dollar an ingredient!” When news first dropped about three LäraBar Cereals—Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Cashew Cookie, and Apple Pie here—I did not deem them worth driving off and paying for, especially since the similar-sounding and same-priced KIND Bar Cereals debuted to damning reviews.

But General Mills sent me a sampler of their early 2021 new releases, and it included today’s LäraBar Cereal flavor, so I might as well take it for a spoon. I am grateful, after all, even if the other two flavors sound more like my sugared bread & cocoa butter review fare.

Apple Pie LäraBar Cereal does indeed have only nine ingredients listed: whole grain oats, honey, rice, sunflower seeds, dried apples, almonds, coconut oil, sea salt, and cinnamon. Turns out, one of these ingredients ends up dominating 90% of Apple Pie LäraBar Cereal’s entire flavor profile. Can you guess which?

Mmm, playground wood chips!

It’s that meddlesome coconut oil. There’s like a glossy dollop of it plopped on each flake!

Kidding, of course: it’s the honey. I mean, this LäraBar Cereal genuinely has more really real honey flavor than any other cereal I’ve ever eaten. Beyond the light syrupiness of Honeycomb or toasted glaze of Honey Nut Cheerios, Apple Pie LäraBar Cereal is like chewing on actual honeycombs. Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just so far from what I’d expect out of a cereal called Apple Pie, especially since the dried apples and cinnamon are very tough to taste behind honey’s gilded wall.

In fact, this bee-powered palate smack is honestly a bit overwhelming when eating Apple Pie Larabar Cereal dry. When you combine super-crunchy flakes and floral sweetness with apple and cinnamon’s subtle, sour/spiced bite, it all starts swirling into a potent sensory vortex. That’s why I recommend adding a tenth ingredient:

Cow honey, or as some like to call it, milk! Milk dilutes the heavily concentrated honey, brings out a bit more cinnamon–apple, and leaves behind some really nice endmilk. Since I use almond milk, the end result reminds me of my beloved Honey Almond Breeze, which I can’t seem to find anywhere despite it (apparently) still existing.

As the flakes—which, eaten dry, are painfully crunchy—soften up in milk, I start sensing the mouthfeel of eating a crispy, well caramelized apple pie. Granted, it’s still an apple pie infused with honey at the deepest, cellular level, so Apple Pie LäraBar Cereal doesn’t get full marks for authenticity, but the in-milk experience is still all-around enjoyable. But is it $6.99 worth it? Personally, I don’t think so, but Apple Pie LäraBar Cereal isn’t as boring as it looks, meaning Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Cashew Cookie might be worth trying after all.

Solid try though, Lära. Maybe you should’ve just been honest and named this cereal for what it is. The name “Honey Crisp” is right there!

The Bowl: Apple Pie LäraBar Cereal

The Breakdown: Don’t expect much nuttiness or sea saltiness, or even apple and cinnamon, for that matter. This is an intensely honey-forward cereal that needs milk to justify its existence, and a touch more balance to justify its price tag.

The Bottom Line: 6 ±.99 golden honey stars out of 10 (depending on your budget)