Spookylicious Pop-Tarts are Back!

Finally, Target has begun rolling out their Halloween aisles and the spooky season is well underway in retail.  While searching the aisles for new and unique products, I was happy to find an old friend return in 2014.  After last year's unexplained absence, Kellogg's has brought back their Spookylicious Halloween Pop-Tarts!  In a time where we're always looking for the latest and greatest, it's nice to see traditional treats given the respect the deserve!

"Gone Nutty" Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts

When it comes to peanut butter, I'm the type of guy who likes it on its own.  I love peanut butter sandwiches, especially my triple deckers, and can eat them all week.  When I'm looking for protein, I'll eat tablespoons worth of peanut butter right out from the jar just to get a few grams.  I love it with jelly, particularly when it's Goober!  But when it comes to peanut butter flavored things, that's where I get a little picky.  Reese Peanut Butter Cups?  Hell yeah!  Peanut butter flavored cookies?  Eh, that really depends.  There is no one answer from me when it comes to what I like and what I don't like.

That brings us to these brand new Pop-Tarts!

As soon as I walked into Wal-Mart, I saw the "Gone Nutty" Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts sitting on the shelf.  The box immediately caught my eye because, as you can tell, it's completely different!  It's orange with a yellow glow.  It's like the Sun is illuminating these Pop-Tarts to add a little extra shine on these new varieties.  What you can't tell from the pictures, is that these boxes are embossed to create a 3-D appearance.  Kellogg's really went all out on these boxes and, ya gotta believe, it's because PB is so damn popular.  Luckily, after I picked up the 12-pack of Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts, I found two smaller 6-packs of both the Peanut Butter and Frosted Chocolate Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts.  Now that the tongue twister is over, we can review both editions!

First thing's first, look at the glorious foiled wrappers!  If you've ever had a Pop-Tart, you know what to expect when you open the box.  You're going to get those 2nd place silver wrappers and feel like you haven't won anything.  But, in this case, you're a champion.  

As soon as you open the box, you feel like Charlie himself and you're on your way to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.  It's probably the closest I'll ever to get to winning any type of Golden Ticket, so I'm going to savor the moment and run with the emotion.  In all seriousness, I love the gold wrapper and appreciate the extra effort.  The only other time I remember seeing these was last year during the 2012 Summer Olympics.  Kellogg's released a Red White and Berry edition of Pop-Tarts and included the gold foil to represent the gold medal.  I believe the Pop-Tarts have been re-released this year, but don't know about the gold foil.  Perhaps that's been reserved for Peanut Butter; Kellogg's favorite child.

Judging by texture alone, I can already tell you that I'm going to like the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor better.  The regular PB is chalky.  It's dusty.  Without the frosting, it's plain and boring.  The Chocolate PB is much thicker, has that big slab of chocolate frosting, and smells better than the original.  

But I'm not going to go by look and feel, alone.  I have to pop these into the toaster and give them both a fair chance to wow me and knock me Nutty!

 As expected, the Chocolate Peanut Butter is really good!  It reminds me a lot of a warm Reeses Peanut Butter cup and that's certainly not a bad thing!  These are tasty!  I wasn't sure where'd they'd rank amongst my top 10 Pop-Tart flavors, but I'd put them in the top 5.  My favorite are the Halloween Pop-Tarts, and that may just be because I love Halloween, but these have a similar flavor thanks to the chocolate.  These were, as expected, the better of the two.

The regular Gone Nutty Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts are okay and a bit better than expected when heated, but they're way too dry and flaky.  I'm not the biggest fan.  If I wanted to eat PB, I'd put it on a sandwich before I'd eat this Pop-Tart.  I needed a drink after one bite because it was overwhelming.  And, it's funny, because, like most Pop-Tarts, the filling is so thin that it's barely even noticeable.  I blame the poor review on the "crust" more than the PB.  Too dry for my liking.

Now, I still saw potential in the new Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts.  I knew the wouldn't be released in such an awesome package without the belief that they were going to be a huge success.  Obviously a Kellogg's employee tasted these and said "Oh yeah, I just created Pop-Tart Heaven!  3-D this box, ya'll."  He's from Texas, I don't know why.

So I thought long and hard.  It took me a good 7 seconds to figure out what to do next.  Since I knew my problem with these Pop-Tarts was that they're too dry, I had to solve it by moistening them up.  Well nothing goes better with peanut butter than his best friend, Jelly!  That's right, chocolate!  You're PB's second bestie.  You guys only hang out when Jelly's unavailable.  That's right, chocolate...PB and J will always go together like, well, PB and J.  Yeah, who's jelly now, chocolate?

Much better!  Warm up the Gone Nutty Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts and throw some Jelly on there are you're going to be much happier with the result.  Then you can go and tell your best friend that you two go together like GNPBPT & J.  That'll be the end of that relationship.

Blame it on The 'Daze :)

Spookylicious Pop-Tarts Return

If you've been a fan of The Holidaze long enough, that logo above is nothing new to you.  We've discussed these Spookylicious Halloween Pop-Tarts before.  But the amount of effort that Kellogg's puts into these Pop-Tarts every year makes them a must-buy and, in this case, a must-cover.  In my opinion, these are in the top tier of Halloween treats that come out throughout this season.  The order in which they fall is up to you, but there's not doubt that they belong in the upper class.  Everything, from the box to the pastries themselves, screams Halloween and represents the purity of the holiday.  Really, they do.  Trust me, I talked about them last year!

So, is there anything different about this year's box compared to last year's?  Actually, yes! Last year, the box design was a bit lackluster.  It featured a spider web, a spider, and a full moon.  It was nice and definitely surpassed much of what I've seen from other products.  But the 2012 box design features bats and spooky trees with their eyes on the prize.  They're obviously checking out those beautifully orange Pop-Tarts while hoping to get to them before the ghost does.  Speaking of that ghost, take a look at him.  He's in complete shock.  Some might like to think he's just being his ghoulish self, but I think he's just surprised to see that Target actually stocked the Halloween aisle for a change.  Zing!

Every year, Kellogg's Spookylicious Pop-Tarts feature a Halloween recipe to go along with the new season.  They may not change the Pop-Tarts themselves, but you don't fix what aint broke!  They have a good thing going and throwing in a new recipe every year is more than they have to do to get me to buy a box.  

Last year, I didn't even take a picture of whatever the recipe was.  The Holidaze was only a month old and I didn't think anybody would want to see it.  But this year, I'd be surprised if anybody is even reading an almost identical entry so I had to change it up.  This year, I took a picture of the back of the box and the Fudgy, Spooky, Spider.  I didn't make one myself, because I like to wait until October before I get crafty in the kitchen.  But in case you want to dive right in, here's the recipe!  They look good!

If you make any, let me know how they came out and snap a few pics.  Send them to @HolidazeBlog on Twitter! Maybe you can get a bit creative and add a little something to the mix.  Go wild!  It's Halloween!

One thing about writing on The Holidaze for over a year now, is the fact that I've gotten better at taking pictures and editing them to make them look more appetizing.  Believe it or not, you'd be able to see my entire kitchen in the background of that photo had I not cropped it out.  Who wants to see a stranger's house when they're looking at Halloween Treats?  Not this guy!  For that reason, I'm trying to make everything look better and I'm confident that the photo above topped last year's.  It's all about progress on The Holidaze!

I said it before, and I'll say it again, these Pop-Tarts are amazing to look at.  Forget about taste for a second, just stare at them for a moment.  Visually, the orange and brown contrast, mixed with the dark brown, white, and yellow sprinkles, makes for Halloween magic!  If these wouldn't go bad, I'd decorate with them!  I have to figure out how to preserve and hang them from my ceiling.  I'd get weird looks, much like the one you're giving your computer screen, but it'd be worth it to illuminate a room in this orange glow!

In terms of taste, I mentioned last year how chocolatey these things are.  That hasn't changed and, personally, I have no complaints.  I actually think these are the best Pop-Tarts to come out all-year-long.  However, I also mentioned that I rarely microwave or toast my Pop-Tarts and usually eat them right out of the box.  Well, again, in order to change things up for The Holidaze, I had to toast these babies up and give 'em a chocolate whirl!

What was I thinking?  Why in the world did I not toast these last year?  Why didn't any of you shake me, wake me up, and tell me what type of mistake I was making?  Spookylicious Pop-Tarts, toasted, go from great to "OMG."  I never say "OMG" and I feel like a 13-year-old girl when I do, but there's no other way to put it.  These are that good and it's sad that I actually get excited over the fact that I still have a full box left.  Unlike last year, I won't be eating these in moderation.  I've become addicted to the chocolate overload and I'll be storming through these boxes like a twister.  What have I done? ;)

To conclude this Spookylicious 2012 entry, I'm going to recycle a photo I used last year.  Seeing as how these Pop-Tarts have pulled me into their darkness, it's only fitting that these little monsters return :)

Football Treats

This isn't Halloween related, but the kick-off of Football season is obviously a Fall tradition and, this year, there are a few treats in stores that had to be written about during the Halloween Holidaze!  Whether your a football fan or not (I'm a casual Giants fan, but not big enough to call myself a die-hard) you'll definitely enjoy these football-themed touchdowns!

First, we have Little Debbie Football Brownies.  I'm very pleased with everything Little Debbie Snacks have been doing during the Fall season.  First, we saw the Fall Party Treats.  Then, we saw the Bat Brownies.  Now?  Football Brownies!  And in my opinion, these are actually a lot cooler than the Bat Brownies because of the two white strips on each brownie.  See, they could have easily etched out a line to represent the two, much like they did with the football seams, but they didn't.  They went the extra mile and made these brownies actually look like footballs!  I love that stuff.  I love the sports fonts, pennant, and field in the background.  The only thing they could have changed?  Well, I know it's taboo to mess with a corporate logo, but how about putting Little Debbie in a football helmet?  How awesome would that have been?  

These pictures don't do the brownies justice, but you can tell they're exactly as depicted on the box.  Although, they are bit smaller than I expected.  That's okay, I'll just eat the whole box, anyway.  The bottom picture doesn't look as smooth as the top, but I'm pretending those indentations are supposed to be the grooves on a football.  That makes everything much more realistic and proves that I care about this brownie much more than any 25-year-old ever should!

Had I just found one football-themed snack, I probably would have skipped this edition all together.  But, I found two! And that was enough to make me interrupt the Halloween celebration and bring in a little extra something.  Here we have Football Oreo cookies and they're just amazing, man!  Nabisco has been releasing so many different varieties of Oreo Cookies over the past 8 months or so that I haven't been able to keep up.  They've been on fire!!  They're taking notice of the seasons and paying attention to every little detail.  They're celebrating The Holidaze just as much as we are and that's a major plus for Nabisco and Oreo Cookies!

I've seen Oreo Cookies come in different flavors and colors, but I don't think I've ever seen them come in different shapes.  The traditional circle is so classic that I thought changing that up would be even more taboo than adding a helmet to Little Debbie!  But with this Limited Edition, Oreo Cookies come in the shape of footballs!!  And Nabisco could have stopped there, went out while they were ahead, and called it a day.  But no, they added 5 Football Designs to their cookies to complete the 2-point conversion!

The Football Oreo Cookies are bigger than the traditional Oreo Cookies so they only require two rows.  I was surprised to only see two when I opened the bag because I honestly expected them to be much smaller than the originals.  But the fact that they're bigger is pretty cool.  I like them better that way because I feel that better represents the game of football.  Big, strong, and perfect for dipping into a cup of milk.  Well, 2 outta 3 aint bad!

Take a close look at the 5 Football Designs.  I'm sure you can see, otherwise you wouldn't be online, but I'll go over them with you just to make this post feel longer.  First, we have the Oreo Football Helmet, followed by the Goal Post, "Touchdown," a Football Player, and "Lick the Competition."  They're all perfect for the recently kicked-off NFL season, but Oreo are actually the "Official Cookies of NCAA."  I don't know what that actually means in terms of what Oreo does for the NCAA, but there's something else I didn't know until now.  I just feel, if you really want to represent the NCAA, why not add some team logos to the cookies?  That would be awesome.  That would also be a great segue into..

Overtime!

 I haven't seen these in any stores in my area, but apparently Pop-Tarts have released 5 NCAA University Edition Pop-Tarts.  I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be for sale by now, but honestly, I haven't looked because I didn't attend either of these Universities and, based on the box art, I'm really not impressed.  If you haven't seen them yet, take a look!

Not too bad, but I feel there is so much more they could have done with this type of license.  Why is every flavor the same?  Why not incorporate more of what each University stands for and represents their school/area.  It's probably due to cost-cutting, but luckily we don't have to worry about that here on The Holidaze.  Let's take a look at what I would have done had I been in charge of each box.

I changed the colors, the flavors, and the names.  I hope you like them!  My personal favorite is the University of Florida's Gatorange!  Have their ever been orange flavored Pop-Tarts?  I don't think I've ever seen them before, but that would probably be something I'd like to try.  In fact, that would be a great Halloween edition!!  

Ahh, see how I brought it all back to Halloween?  Pretty slick, right?

Spookylicious Pop-Tarts

The best part about writing this Holidaze blog is that I now make more of an effort to discover new things.  Last year, I knew that Halloween Pop-Tars existed, but I never made any attempt to find them.  In fact, had I walked right past them, I probably wouldn't have even noticed.  But now, with my focus geared toward creating an unforgettable Halloween season, I'm finding everything I never did before.  This has certainly enhanced the season and made this one of my best October's in years.  What's better?  We're not even halfway through!

It's upsetting that I didn't pick these up last year because they're obviously worth it.  I haven't had many kind words for Kellogg's this season, as I feel they can do more to create better Halloween products, yet they're still very much a large part of the season.  They've given us Rice Krispies Treats and provided the number one ingredient to our Pumpkin Spice Krispies Treats.  I hate to knock them for those reasons, but I feel like I have to in order for them to become better.  I'm like a disgruntled parent who sees that their child has an ability they're not putting to good use.  Spookylicious Pop-Tarts prove that!

If Kellogg's can do this much for a box of Pop-Tarts, why can't they do the same for their cereal boxes?  Here we have a ghost, a spider spinning his web, a full moon and the perfect amount of orange.  Not to mention the decorative tarts covered in Halloween-themed sprinkles.  They basically took their fancy box and translated that into 12 toaster pastries.  See son, you can be the best!

The Spookylicious Pop-Tarts are chocolate flavored.  To be specific, they're "Frosted Chocolate Fudge."  Either way, you're only going to like these treats if you're a fan of chocolate because the filling is rich and overwhelming.  For me, that's a good thing.  I love chocolate, but even I have to break these treats down into increments.  However, that's another good thing.  That means they'll last me straight through to Halloween without having to purchase another box just to say I had one on Halloween.

I'm not sure how the masses commonly eat their Pop-Tarts, but I usually eat them right out from the box.  On occasion, I'll microwave or toast them, but it's rare that I do.  I know that they taste better that way, but I'm just too lazy to heat them.  I've yet to try doing so with these treats, but I should have to give the people who don't read this a better review.  In the time it took me to write for nobody, I could have already finished one and had more to write about.  Oh well, I'm sure they're just as good heated as they are unwrapped.

Finally, here is a close-up on one of the Spookylicious Pop-Tarts.  Obviously it looks nothing like the ones pictured on the box, but I've yet to see a product that ever does.  However, you still get to see those ghosts, spiders and moons.  For whatever reason, they all seem to cluster down at the bottom, leaving the outcasts up top.  That's mean.  Now I'm writing as if these sprinkles have thoughts and emotions.  That's ridiculous... or is it?

Eater beware! Bwahaha!