You ever try to turn a great idea you’ve had into a real drawing, only for it to fall flat? Or maybe you’ve tried telling someone about a vivid dream, only for the magic to get lost in translation? Or heck, maybe you’ve simply seen any live-action adaptation of an animated series?

What I’m saying is, that’s basically how I feel about cerealized versions of existing desserts. Given the breakfast medium’s inherent constraints on acceptable delectability (though some really push the limits), we’re just never going to get a cereal that’s as dense, fudgy, ooey nor gooey as its namesake cake, pie, or cookie. And I think people understand that, but it’s nevertheless a little disappointing when something like Kellogg’s Cosmic Brownies Cereal comes out, and it tastes nothing like the raw euphoric indulgence we’ve come to expect from Deb the Dextrose Temptress.

On the other hand, sometimes you get the likes of Kellogg’s Oatmeal Creme Pies Cereal, and while it may still be a far cry from the real thing, the cereal at least takes its own creative spin on the source material and manages to be pleasant enough in its own right.

So with Kellogg’s third attempt at breakfastifying a classic convenience store snarf-em-up, it’s hard to know what to expect from Nutty Buddy Cereal. Guess I’ll have to just shut up, nut up, and fess up.

Let’s just get it out of the way: yes, this stuff looks like dog treats. But while the big piece shapes are kind of awkward when it comes to stacking them on a spoon, I ended up liking how they tumbled and clunked around in my mouth like powdered LEGOs.

More than anything, I was most worried that Nutty Buddy Cereal would just be a cheap Reese’s Puffs knockoff. And I’m proud to share that that is not the case at all. Nutty Buddy Cereal is still a puffed chocolate and peanut butter cereal, sure, but it takes a whole different spin on the “genre” that’s actually quite unique.

Most importantly, unlike Reese’s Puffs, Nutty Buddy Cereal contains no corn ingredients (it uses a blend of wheat, oat, and rice flour), so the choco–PB flavor is never competing against that *ahem* particularly obtrusive base grain. Likewise, each sizable piece retains a dignified crunch and a soft, pillowy mouthfeel.

It took me a good few bites to articulate Nutty Buddy Cereal’s familiar flavor. Then it hit me like a Simpsonian slingshot: this cereal doesn’t taste exactly like a Nutty Buddy, but rather a Butterfingers candy bar. Yes, the two confections are similar in concept, but Butterfingers (and by extension Nutty Buddy Cereal) have a more toasted, peanut brittle-y flavor to me.

However, much like an actual Nutty Buddy, this cereal is pretty peanut-butter forward. If Reese’s Puffs strikes a 50:50 balance between choco and PB, Nutty Buddy Cereal’s more like a 70:30. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course—in fact, Nutty Buddy’s refreshing take on PB makes it a worthy addition to the nut-buttered breakfast canon, and what cocoa flavor that is there to supplement the PB also tastes toasty and cozy.

However, it’s not perfect. The biggest issue I notice with Nutty Buddy Cereal is its flavor longevity. When taking a bite, it immediately wallops you with goodness. But by the time you’ve chewed it like, twice, that flash-in-the-pan Nutty flavor gets nipped in the Bud-dy, leaving behind a chewy, blander waferish mass. Which, hey, is at least still true to its progenitor, in a textural sense.

I don’t know if I’d say milk makes Nutty Buddy Cereal objectively better, but it does make it a bit more authentically Nutty Buddish. By washing away the more nuanced, smoky patina of chocolate, the in-milk experience is even more “peanut butter wafer” focused, and for the first time my taste buds’ specific memory of the last time I actually ate a Nutty Buddy (I wanna say….2013) was nostalgically expressed, and suddenly I felt both a decade younger and blissfully disinterested in anything other than, like, the Wii U.

At the end of the day, Nutty Buddy Cereal isn’t going to se the world on fire, but it might set off a couple bottle rockets in your kitchen. It’s the best Little Debbie Cereal so far, in my opinion, and choco-PB lovers will enjoy this fresh take on the familiar. Though I will say, with the recent success of Peanut Butter Plentifull and my re-introduction to Kashi GO Peanut Butter, I think if you’re looking for a straight up sweet peanutty cereal, there are other, more immersive ways to get your nut and butt’ on.

The Bowl: Nutty Buddy Cereal

The Breakdown: With an interesting, smoky, woodsy, and Butterfingery palate, Nutty Buddy Cereal singes expectations without igniting them entirely. I wouldn’t say I’ll buy this regularly, but I might buy it exactly twice.

The Bottom Line: 8 Milk Bones stares out of 10