The 2015 Holidaze Halloween Countdown Begins!

Ladies and gentlemen, boils and ghouls, there is a foreboding spirit among us.  There is a presence that has not been felt in quite some time which has returned to revel in the ominous atmosphere of October.  On this day, a ghoulish phantom resurrects in celebration of the most fantastic season of all.  Yes, my friends, the time has finally come.  Welcome, foolish mortals, to the 2015 Holidaze Halloween Countdown!

Halloween Oreo 2012

Halloween Oreo Cookies have been a staple of the Halloween Season for years now.  It's one of the things I always look forward to most around this time of year.  There's just something about orange creme that makes everything spookier.  The flavor doesn't change, but it doesn't need to.  The fact that it's in a Halloween costume, inside and out, makes it that much better and, every year, I appreciate the fact that Nabisco goes all out.  Of course, this year, they topped themselves with the Candy Corn Cookies.  I thought that might have been this year's "Halloween Edition" and while that would have been a suitable replacement, I am proud to tell you that the classics are alive and kickin'!  They're back again and, this time, they're in brand new bag!

They didn't use the new bag that the popular Candy Corn Oreo Cookies received, but with graphics like this, you don't need to put these cookies in anything else.  This is amazing.  Nabisco  never lets me down with their designs, but every year, they seem to make the previous edition look like it was done by a 5-year-old.  I was thrilled with the carved pumpkin design in 2011, but now that I've seen the 2012 edition, I can't help but get all giddy over what 2013 may bring!  

We have these eerie witches mixing an orange concoction in their enormous cauldron.  What I love most about it is we now know where that orange creme filling comes from.  These witches, who I've named Melinda, Belinda, and Pearl, are responsible for the Halloween recipe.  Every year, Nabisco gives them a call, puts in their order, and they get to work.  It's obviously not easy.  Who knows what types of ingredients go into the Boorific shapes every season.  That's a pretty big book Belinda is reading from.  No matter how many times they bake these cookies, I have to believe it's a strenuous task each year.  

So, besides having amazing graphics to appreciate, let's also give a round of applause for the terrifying trio who do our bidding every Halloween.  If not for them, we'd probably be stuck with the boring, old, white filling. 

I love opening the bag this way because, like last year, it creates a face.  If you use your imagination and look close enough, you're bound to see something staring back at you.  Last year, I saw a monster.  It didn't take much creativity.  I saw some teeth, a nose, and a place for a nose.  He actually popped into my head without much thought at all.  I guess that's because my mind works in ways that probably aren't normal.  I don't have the best math skills (I hate mental math), but ask me to create a monster from a box of Oreo cookies and I'm good to go.  Priorities?  What's that all about?  Hey, I have a calculator.. What do I need to think for when I can create?

So, what was going to fly into my head this year?  Well, seeing as how we have a school of witches on the front of the bag, it was pretty obvious that whatever came flying in, would probably be on a broom.  Take a look!

Isn't she beautiful?  I mean that in the worst way possible which, for Halloween, is the BEST way possible!  She's your traditional witch!  She's green, with a big nose, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, and, of course, the wart on her nose!  This is my favorite incarnation of the witch.  I know, if witches were real (which they apparently are) that they would be human just like everybody else, but I don't want them to be.  I want them to be alien colored, deformed, hideous, and scary beyond belief. That's what this Oreo Beast is!  She and the blue demon from last year would form one "Hell" of a Tag-Team!

What do you see when you look at the Oreo Bag?  I'd love to see it, too!  @HolidazeBlog on Twitter!

The back of the Oreo bag has new designs as well, but the BOOrific shapes never change.  I understand why they don't change them, but I'd like to see something new.  Maybe Dracula, or a Mummy, or some type of Zombie.  It would be really cool, but Nabisco has done enough already.  I'm sold, they don't need to do any more for me this Halloween to put me in a 'daze!  I'm good!

But, because the shapes are exactly the same, I'm not going to review them again.  I'm simply going to direct you to the 2011 Halloween Oreo Cookies Review if you're interested.  That's where you'll get to hear all about the Ghost, the Pumpkin, the Black Cat, the Witch, and the Bats!

But, if I'm going to review these cookies again, I have to come up with something new.  I have to figure out something different to do with these cookies in order to spice things up.  Nobody wants to read about these cookies over and over again every year.  There's only so many things I can say about a new bag and awesome graphics.  So.. what will I come up with this year? Hmm...

Ahh Got it!  While walking through the aisles of Target, I glanced at the Ice Cream.  First, I thought "Man, why did they get rid of the Soda flavored Ice Pops?"  Then, I thought, "Hmm..Cookies and Cream.. I wonder why they don't do that with The Halloween Oreo cookies?"  Wouldn't that be cool?  The flavor wouldn't change, but we'd have those tiny hints of orange creme throughout the vanilla ice cream and that would be amazing.  You could even do it with chocolate Ice cream!  It would be great!

Well, I'm a big fan of doing things myself to make what I want.  If the big companies won't capitalize on it, I can use the ingredients I have to capitalize on it myself.  It wouldn't be hard.  I already have the cookies, so all I have to do is pick up Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream and get busy!

My girlfriend scooped out the Ice Cream, and I chopped up the Halloween Oreo Cookies by putting 8 in a plastic bag and crunching the hell out of them.  That was actually a lot of fun.  I wasn't angry, but I'd imagine that's a great coping mechanism for anybody who is.  

In my case, the problem was that the Orange cream got stuck to the sides of the bag.  So after I poured out all of the cookie pieces, we had to use additional cookies for their Orange creme.  We took each tiny circle whole and mixed it into the ice cream.  The results?

Halloween Oreo Ice Cream!!  Look at that!  It's just a small amount, but it screams Halloween!  It kinda looks like Butterfinger Ice Cream, but rest assured, this is pure evil!  This is everything Halloween represents.  It's fun, it tastes great, it's creative, it's black and orange, and it's homemade.  That's the best part of this season.  It's all about doing things on your own, making the most of very little, and making memories on an otherwise unimportant night in September.  At the end of the day, I'll never forget the night my girlfriend and I made Halloween Oreo Ice Cream.  No matter how good or bad it might have come out, it was an experience I'll cherish for Halloween's to come.  Embrace that during your Holidaze!!

I'll admit, the pictures don't truly do this Ice Cream justice.  It looks like a big mush of classic and Halloween Oreo Cookies, but I'm tellin' ya, this is some good stuff!  This has the exact same flavor as the traditional Breyers' Cookies and Cream Ice Cream and, because I wanted this to be different, I changed it to Cookies and Scream.  Creative?  Eh, it was fairly obvious, but enough to make me smile.

To enhance things even further, we put this batch into my Skull Cup.  We're still over a month away from Halloween, and I'm already satisfied with everything I've found and have yet to cover.  This has been a good season and we're far from through!

Breyer's Halloween Cookies and Scream Oreo Cookie Ice Cream is a product that would be very easy to produce, and one that would probably sell like hot cakes around this time of year.  I really believe this would lead to great profits and I would certainly be in line to buy a carton.  Just on attention to detail alone, I'd stock my freezer with whatever type of Halloween Ice Cream were to be released.  It's awesome and, really, I hope to see this carton staring back at me through the frozen glass next year.  I made this one, but I'd be happy to see anything!  Make it happen, Breyers!

Candy Corn Oreo Cookies

Here they are!! Finally, I found the Candy Corn Oreo Cookies!  I've never seen a cookie get so much attention in my life.  It was first brought to my attention on Twitter by @mcel33, then I saw it was trending, then I saw it on the news.  I couldn't believe an Oreo cookie was getting this much coverage, but it was great to see that many people in a pure "Holidaze."  See, when I talk about the "Holidaze," this is what I mean.  Millions of people getting caught up in the season and the hype of Candy Corn flavored Oreo Cookies!  Are they important? No.  Can we live without them? Yes.  But, do we want to?  No freakin' way!  We're in a 'daze and it's all thanks to Candy Corn Oreo Cookies.  Let's get into it!

The graphics on the bag are awesome.  First off, I love that the bag is yellow.  That's pretty custom with Golden Oreo Cookies, so it's not all that out of the ordinary, but I love the fact that this limited edition isn't blue and completely wraps these cookies in the spirit of Fall.  

Next, we have the Candy Corn pieces, big and small, randomly splashed across the front!  It's like a big smack in the face!  And that's fitting because Candy Corn flavored cookies are so unexpected.  This came so far out from left field that I feel like I've been sucker punched with excessive amounts of sugar!  But is there any better type of surprise you'd want around Halloween?  I don't think so!

I'm pretty sure Nabisco knew this Candy Corn edition was going to be huge because of the type of bag the cookies come in.  I've never seen a double-sided Oreo bag that you could reseal after you've opened it!  This is the real deal.  Nabisco went all out and I love it.  Whenever a company makes changes to their products, branding, or labels, I get pumped.  I love art and graphic design so much that I truly appreciate the creativity.  This bag means that someone, somewhere, took attention to detail.  Give that guy or girl a raise!  They struck white, orange, and gold with this one!

Before I get into the taste, let's talk about the best part about this limited edition.  The first thing that hits you, as soon as you open the bag, is the smell!  Whoa.. This may explain why the bag was made the way it is.  I think it was designed to trap in as much of the aroma as possible because the scent comes flying out from the bag so strong that you feel like you're in Willy Wonka's Haunted Chocolate Factory.  It's amazing.  If it's still warm where you live, or if you've yet to embrace the Fall, I can bet that all changes as soon as you open this bag.  All of a sudden, an 80 degree day feels like 60 and those green leaves seem a bit more brown.  It may be in my head, but I blame it on the Oreo Impact.

After you smell the cookies, take a look at them.  They're basically the Golden Oreo Cookies, but with Candy Corn flavored orange and yellow creme.  Looking at my photo, you might think they're tiny cheese sandwiches or mini Ritz Crackers, but nope, those are Candy Corn Oreo Cookies!  Can you believe it?

Ahhhh.. So awesome!  Everything about it screams Fall, Halloween, cold weather and, of course, Candy Corn.  Now, on to the flavor..

I actually like Candy Corn, so I was expecting to enjoy these either way.  I know a lot of people don't enjoy the texture of Candy Corn pieces.  They're kind of chewy, feel a little bit like plastic, and I get that.  I'm one of the pickiest eaters on Earth so I understand where people are coming from.  But, while it may be a rarity, I have no problem with Candy Corn, but would never eat them outside of the Fall months.  If you're eating Candy Corn in July, then you might have a problem.

So how are these Candy Corn Oreo Cookies??  They're...Amazing!!  I'll admit, they don't really taste like Candy Corn, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  They taste a lot like the Golden Oreo's, with just a slight hint of Candy Corn.  It's just enough to make Candy Corn lovers and haters come together and agree that this is the perfect cookie for Fall.  Actually, this IS Fall's cookie.  I can't see any other company topping this one.  Nabisco hit a home run in every aspect of this product.  They promoted it well, they got it trending, the PR got it on national news, they have an exclusive deal with Target, the graphics are perfect, and it tastes great.  

Kraft, Nabisco, Oreo.. whoever.. they knocked this one right out of the park!  BUT, if there was anything else I could add just to make the creme look more like Candy Corn, I'd include a white strip down the middle.  It doesn't need it, but I wanted to show you what it would look like, anyway.

These cookies weren't easy to find, so if you're looking for them, you might have to travel outside of your area.  Because they're a Target exclusive, this won't be easy for everybody, especially with all the hype.  But they're definitely worth looking for! 

Halloween Oreo Cookies

Nabisco has already impressed me once this Halloween season with their black and orange Chips Ahoy cookie bag.  Now, they've done it again with their Halloween Oreo's!  Really, Nabisco simply knows how to do it right.  They understand the importance of packaging during the Holiday seasons and how much attention must be paid to detail.  I don't have any statistics to back up my claims, but it has to lead to a sales increase.  I just wish more companies and distributors would get on board and release special edition products.  Kelloggs used to do it all the time with their lines of cereal and it always made me happy.  I know the economy is bad, but is it really affecting package art?  Can we seriously not afford an extra 20 marshmallows a box?  I don't know why we're seeing less and less Holiday edition products, but thank God we have Nabisco!

What I love most about special edition Oreo Cookies is that Nabisco always goes the extra mile to change their packaging, the Oreo's and the center Oreo creme.  They know they could get away with just throwing a few pumpkins on the bag, but they're obviously aiming to impress us with the trifecta.  Nabisco simply isn't messing around and is out to prove a point and make a profit.  They've accomplished both.

Unlike most Oreo lovers, I'm not as much of a fan of the creme as I am the Oreo cookie.  I'm most likely in the minority, but like my girlfriend suggested today, Nabisco should really think about releasing the cookies alone and forgetting the creme for a change.  They can advertise with the theme that "something went wrong in the lab."  Everybody can say "Oh no, the creme is gone," yada yada.. Ya know, something like Cap'n Crunch's All Berries Cereal.  Sure, I still twist the top from the bottom and play games with my Oreo, but I usually save the best for last.  And what's cool about this Halloween edition is that there are 5 "Boo-Rific Shapes" to choose from.  Perfect.

If you can't tell from the picture above, these are the five Halloween shapes -- Bats, Pumpkin, Cat, Ghost and Witch.  They're really designs, not shapes, but who am I to get technical?  I couldn't care less about what they're called, I'm just happy to see something different.  But, if they want to impress me even more next year, actual shapes would be amazing.  Too bad nobody ever reads this to steal my idea.  I'll have to tweet Nabisco.

While the packaging designs and cookie "shapes" are great, the true selling power of this product comes from the creme filling.  Oreo is world-renowned for their center and we all know just how classic the white creme truly is.  Well, for Halloween, they've changed the creme from white to orange to make Oreo cookies extra spooky.  Now, not only are you eating tasty cookies on Halloween, but you're eating cookies decked out in Halloween colors.  Again, Nabisco, you just do it right..

Just look at that Halloween paradise.  When you first pull down that easy-open-tab, you're instantly reminded of what purpose these Oreo's serve.  You know exactly why they've been released.  You're not thinking Christmas, you're not thinking St. Patrick's Day and you're definitely not thinking 4th of July.  No, this is Halloween and everything about these cookies screams it out loud.

In fact, if you look closely at the photo above, you might even be able to make out a demon of sorts.  Do you see the creature's teeth?  I think I see some type of monster opening his mouth wide enough to devour my entire bag of Oreo's.  Yep, I'm sure of it.. see?

Way to go, Nabisco.  Now I'm seeing Monsters...Amazing