Cotton Candy Balls

Whenever I make a trip to Target, I usually take the time to search the aisles for products that may be new, limited, or special edition.  I usually look for items that can be purchased for fun and review on The Holidaze.  However, yesterday was not one of those days.  I had just gotten out of work, was tired, and had to run in for just a few essentials.  I didn't plan on buying any junk food, but my something caught my girlfriend's eye... blue cheese balls!  At first, I was intrigued.  No matter how tired I may have been, things like that will wake me right up.  How could you go wrong with blue cheese balls?  They're tiny cheese puffs, put into a ball, and dyed blue!  Um.. yes, please!

But when we picked up the giant tub of blue cheese balls, things changed..

Okay.. Cotton Candy Balls?  Have the good people at Herr's gone nuts?  This was far from what I expected and the first thing I said was "ew, these are going to be gross."  In turn, that scared away a couple who were obviously interested in making the purchase.  They stopped, looked at the tub, then at each other, before leaving after I let my opinion drop.  I'm sorry if that killed their vibe, or the sale for Target, but who in their right mind would buy these?  Of all the flavors Herr's could have released, why an overly sugary circus treat?  Don't get me wrong, Cotton Candy is great, but I just didn't see how it could successfully translate over to corn puffs.

Regardless of my preconceived notions, my girlfriend convinced me that this would be a good pick-up.  We'd get to try such an odd snack and, for The Holidaze, it would make for an interesting review.  For the $6 they cost, it was well worth the risk.  After all, I seem to be in the minority when it comes to liking limited edition Oreos, so why would this be any different?  Similarly, how could I knock Herr's and praise Nabisco for going the extra mile?  No matter what I think, before or after the taste test, I am happy to see such a unique product on the market.

As Leonardo gazed and salivated in hunger, I took a good whiff of these blue balls (pause for immature laughter) and.. wow, they really do smell like Cotton Candy.  I didn't expect them to be so potent, but this was the real deal.  Even more intrigued than before, we chomped down on one of the Cotton Candy Balls.

The flavor?  Bland.. It's an almost flavorless corn puff, but that's only at first.  After a second or two, there's an after taste that actually does remind me of Cotton Candy.  It's not very strong, and tastes much more like Cap'n Crunch Berries than anything else, but even that is a bit weak.  They taste as if they took all the sugar out of our favorite cereals and left us with nothing more than a scent and puffs.

With that said, I'm actually not knocking these Cotton Candy Balls.  I think the fact that they're more bland than expected is actually a good thing.  Had they been overwhelmingly sweet or tastes too much like Cotton Candy, I don't think these would have worked out at all.  Fan of Cotton Candy or not, I just don't think that's a flavor that does very well outside of it's incarnation.  Bubblicious Bubble Gum does a decent job of relaying the flavor, but even that gets old after a while.  So, this way, the way Herr's did it, works well.  I'm not going to buy them again, nor will I be finishing off the tub, but I'm happy we bought them.  They're something worth trying and, as a fan of weird products like this, I had to lend my financial support to the companies that go the extra mile.  Because I do so, I wouldn't be surprised if Nabisco released a Cotton Candy Oreo next.  I'd probably be writing the same review, but at least the packing would be cool.

Since it's Ninja Turtles month around here, I decided to let Leo eat as much as he wants.  Nobody notice that he's missing an arm, okay?