Hostess Scary Cakes

Two days ago, I talked about the return of Orange S'Cream Twinkies and the return of Hostess Halloween products.  Well, with those beautifully filled sponge cakes comes another spooky legend - Scary Cakes!!  Now, we've talked about these Halloween-themed cupcakes in the past, but long before we ever thought they'd disappear.  In 2012, I reviewed Scary Cakes and compared them to what they used to be.  Sure, the cupcake itself has stayed relatively the same, but the box art and package design has changed almost every single year.  Then, I talked about the old-school Munster Pack and change to Monster Cakes.  Those were monumental times in my life because I was literally drawn in by these works of art and inspired to illustrate, animate, color and design myself.  There were something about those pieces that infatuated me and filled my heart with Halloween spirit.  To this day, I can remember where I was and who I was with whenever those boxes were bought, put on the table, or opened.  It was a happy time, now a nostalgic period, and I payed homage to that in 2012.  Then, as I mentioned two-days ago, Hostess closed up shop and Scary Cakes were gone... forever?  So it seemed, but in 2014, Scary Cakes are back!!  This time, I'm not comparing them to the past.  I'm just happy they're once again a part of the present.

Bewitching Blend Tic-Tac

A busy day means a quick post, but that doesn't make today's any less special.  Throughout the Halloween season, there are so many products released that some get lost in the shuffle or don't make my radar.  Usually, the smaller the product, the less I notice it.  I guess that makes sense, but it's important to give all Halloween products their due diligence so that we continue to receive such a vast variety from so many different companies.  Sure, they may not all lead to 1,000 words, but not everything has to.  There's only so much I can say in today's review, but Halloween Tic-Tac's deserve to be featured!

These Bewitching Blend Tic-Tac's aren't new for 2014, but I never gave them the respect they deserve in the past.  Tic-Tac's aren't something I normally by.  This is the type of product you hope somebody else has when you're in need of a mint.  But when you see that a company has changed things up in celebration of your favorite season, ya gotta reward that with a few pennies.  What's so special about this?  The way it look!  Orange and Apple flavored Tic-Tac's aren't especially intriguing, but together they make Halloween art.  Combine that with a purple sticker, a pretty witch, and her Bewitching Blend logo and we officially have Halloween in our pockets!

This Witch is impressed.  I don't know if she enjoys the flavor or is green with envy after seeing a non-green, non-scarred, Bewitching Witch on the Tic-Tac sticker.  I feel for her, as do most women who look at the People Magazine covers, but she has nothing to worry about.  Personally, I prefer my Witches green and gross.  Frankenstein would probably wife this Witch up!  But maybe I'm totally off-base.  Maybe she is impressed with the flavor!  After all, they're not bad at all!  The Green Apple Tic-Tac's are delicious, but the Orange taste like medicine.  Believe it or not, I actually like that because there's nostalgia attached to it.  I guess I'm weird like that, but I enjoy Orange Tic-Tac's and certainly don't eat them for fresh breath.  If you're looking for something minty and refreshing, you gotta go the traditional route.  These are for your fruity taste buds and they're worth the few cents.  Just think of how cool you're going to be once you whip these out from your pocket and offer them to your friends.  Oh snap, look at you!

8 / 10

Make Your Own Ecto-Cooler II

Boys and ghouls, pull out your Proton Packs because today is National Ghostbusters Day!  Yep, believe it or not, 2014 marks Ghostbusters' 30th Anniversary and I'm here to celebrate with one of my favorite drinks of all-time... Ecto-Cooler!!  If you're a fan of The Holidaze, you may remember when I first concocted my own version of Hi-C Ecto-Cooler using the Ghosbusters Chicago recipe.  It was difficult finding all the necessary ingredients, but worked out wonderfully and got me through the dark times of Hurricane Sandy.  Ecto-Cooler, known for creating so many childhood memories, provided me with another in adulthood as my family and I sat in pitch black darkness drinking the batch of Ecto-Cooler I had put together before Hurricane Sandy knocked our power out and left us cut-off from the outside world.  For so many reasons, it's special and means something different to each of us who remember when Slimer was prominent in our lunch boxes.

Today, to honor one of my favorite films or all-time and it's 30th Anniversary, I wanted to do something that truly stood out and, in the process, would bridge the gap between Summer and Fall as the re-release of Ghostbusters will do tomorrow night in theaters.  Although I've made my own Ecto-Cooler in the past and it was featured on the official Ghostbusters Facebook page, I wanted to do it again in an easier fashion.  Plus, unlike last time, having a refrigerator keep it cold without losing energy would make for a more enjoyable week of green slime.

The key to creating Ecto-Cooler in today's day and age is finding a way of taking Orange and Tangerine flavors and mixing them to perfectly recreate the taste and flavor we all know and love.  Last time, that wasn't easy.  I had to order Tangerine Kool-Aid on Ebay and hunt down a slew of products that I could only hope would bring out the Ecto-Cooler flavor or, at least, come close to the classic.  But now, thanks to Juicy Juice Orange Tangerine, all the hard work is already done for us!  All wee need to do is pour in a little green food coloring and..boom.. Ecto-Cooler!

But before we get mixing, Juicy Juice isn't the only brand offering us Orange Tangerine flavoring.  Market Pantry, which is Target's orginal brand, now has an Orange Tangerine liquid water enhancer.  I'm a big fan of these juicy drops, from Kool-Aid to Crush flavors, and was pumped to find Orange Tangerine on the same day.  Plus, the flavor's name is colored green.  Hmm.. Coincidence?  If I were a Market Pantry executive, I'd probably go with an orange color scheme.  Unless, of course, I'm looking to invite fans of Ecto-Cooler to give my product a whirl.  Regarless of the case, they lured me in and we now have two Orange Tangerine options.  Until Hi-C wakes up and brings back Ecto-Cooler, I'll go with the competition.

 

Orange Tangerine Juicy Juice goes from an ordinary, everyday, drink to Ecto-Cooler in a mere matter of 8 drops.  Once the green food coloring is mixed...

Ahhhh... Now how's that for a beautiful green color?  If you remember my first go-around with an Ecto-Cooler recipe, the flavor was on-point but the color was disgusting.  It was more of a sewer brown than a Slimer green, but it was all we had and it did the trick.  But this time, because we have less ingredients and the Juicy Juice is more diluted, the green food coloring shines through and pops much more significantly than we had before.  It's a gorgeous color and much closer to what I remember as a kid.  You can play around with the impact by dropping more or less food coloring into the juice, but I'm happy with this shade.  It's not only perfect for a refreshing Halloween drink, but does Ghostbusters and Hi-C Ecto-Cooler justice.

Sure, on a 90 degree day, you'd think this hits the spot, but all it did was attract bees and wasps that attempted to attack me, once again, as I photographed the custom Ecto-Cooler.  If Halloween wasn't enough reason for Fall to make an early arrival, these nasty bugs leaving for 6 months surely is!  As I ran away, screaming more than any man ever should, I successfully pulled of 6 new Karate moves you've never seen before.  It was embarrassingly impressive, but I'm much more of a Ghostbuster than I am a Bugbuster. Those flying pests quickly chased my inside where I finished mixing my Ecto-Cooler.  But don't focus on my inability to handle creatures the size of my finger nails and put that attention on the gorgeous green color of this Ecto-Cooler.  That's much more important than my defeat.

I had a small hope in the back of my mind that this Orange Tangerine mix was going to be green.  That colored text had me thinking that maybe, just maybe, Market Pantry truly was attempting to make their own version of Ecto-Cooler.  I knew it was a long shot, but I can't deny that the thought was present and quickly eliminated once I snapped open the cap.  It's obviously orange and, of course, that makes sense.  Once mixed with the water, the scent was much stronger than that of Juicy Juice.  Based on aroma alone, this seemed to resemble Ecto-Cooler much more than Orange Tangerine Juicy Juice, so I was excited to drop in some food coloring and give this a taste test.

On the left, we have the dyed Juicy Juice while, on the right, we have the dyed Market Pantry Orange Tangerine.  Obviously, the liquid enhancer gives us more of that sewer color than the Juicy Juice, but the flavor is much stronger.  Believe it or not, the Market Pantry enhancer is the closest thing I've had to Ecto-Cooler since I first put together the Ghostbusters Chicago recipe.  What's cool about the water enhancer is that you control how much, or how little, you actually want in your bottle.  I added a lot and I think that makes a big difference.  On one hand, you're losing that bright green color but, on the other, you're adding more flavor.  If you remember Ecto-Cooler, it was tasty, it was sugary, and it was delicious.  While Juicy Juice looks great and is certainly verrrrry close to the original, Market Pantry Orange Tangerine comes even closer.  But, the best news?  Regardless of which one you choose, you're getting Ecto-Cooler.  There's no doubt in my mind that slimy green memories will instantly start flooding back!

It's been 30 years since Ghostbusters first graced the big screen!  In 1984, I wasn't even born yet, but my Parents exposed me to the animated series where Slimer really blew up in popularity.  From there, they let me watch the movie and I remember being terrified by Gozer.  I was probably between 4-5 years-old and I don't think I slept for days.  But, as I grew older, I came to appreciate the film, the series, and the characters.  Today, they're a huge part of my nostalgic life and I love going back to relive and enjoy the franchise in as many was as possible.  Whether it's through cinema, animation, video games, merchandise, or drinks like Ecto-Cooler, I love the fact that Ghostbusters is still alive and well in the minds and hearts of those who lived through the time and those who are living it for the first time!

If you want to make your own Ecto-Cooler, these are the easiest ways of pulling off the recipe and enjoying the legendary Hi-C drink.  If you're anything like me, you'll be pouring this into a bottle and sneaking it into theaters to watch the first Ghostbusters film as it flies back into theaters for a limited-time only.  Enjoy!

Who ya gonna call?

Bat Dots

I've seen these pictured before, but I've never seen them in stores.  But finally, while looking through Michael's Craft Store, I saw these, along with a few other Halloween-themed candy, on my way out.  As soon as I did, I knew I had to have them.  The box art was perfectly designed for Halloween and apparently, somehow, these black Bat Dots were going to taste like something other than licorice.  Hm..

This packaging screams "Halloween."  The bats and colors just drew me right in and I'm sure they've done the same to many others.  But as I said, the most interesting component to this product is the fact that these black Bat Dots are being advertised as something other than licorice.  I absolutely hate licorice and everything that tastes like it.  I even hate the smell of it and I don't know how anything remotely related to licorice sells at all.  But, I was going to take a chance on these black Bat Dots anyway.  Tootise has led me to believe that they're "Blood Orange Flavored Gumdrops" and I just had to see what that meant.

Despite what the box says, I would have bet my Frankenberry that these gumdrops would have tasted, at least somewhat, like licorice.  Have you ever eaten anything black that didn't?  I haven't.  Black jellybeans, black Twizzlers and black Dots have all tasted like licorice.  So, I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst.  At the very least, I'd have an adorably happy bat to look at as I spit his brothers out into the trash.

Well, to my surprise, these things actually taste nothing like licorice.  They taste like orange.  I don't know what "blood orange" is supposed to taste like or if that is just a clever pun, but they're orange and their delicious. 

However, they're not black, at least not entirely.  For the most part, these Dots are blue.  They're a dark, deep, navy blue and the dye has a tendency to run.  But, who cares?  We get to eat something bluer than Boo Berry and have it taste like orange.  That's the magic of Halloween, baby!  However, it still holds true -- I've never tasted anything black that didn't taste like licorice...and I never will.