Oreo Puffs

Name: Oreo Puffs
Variation: Oreo O's
Manufacturer: Post

Review: I feel a bit foolish buying this cereal, when it's really just Mega Stuf Oreo O's, but in the form of puffs instead of loops. But I guess that's the job I signed up for with this blog. Surprisingly, it has considerably less sugar (almost 5g per cup, if my math is right) than Mega Stuff Oreo O's; proving Kellogg's error - that a sphere has less surface area (e.g., for sugary frosting) than a torus (i.e., loop or donut shape). In fact, it has less sugar even than plain Oreo O's without marshmallows! (And given that Oreos are a cream-filled sandwich cookie, I think this cereal deserves to have marshmallows).

That's good, from a health standpoint - it makes the cereal less egregiously unhealthy. You know I can't abide a cereal that doesn't even try to be sweet, but on the other hand, I think it's stupid to go to the other extreme, and max out levels of unhealthiness just... for what? To be edgy? But does the reduction in sweetness ruin this cereal? Honestly, I think it's as good as any Oreo cereal I've had so far. The chocolate cookie flavor reminds me, faintly, of Wednesday cereal - which I get the feeling wasn't very popular, but I actually liked. I daresay this ought to be considered the definitive Oreo cereal from here on out. And it avoids that awkard apostrophe that Oreo O's has!

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Cookies 'n' creamy!

S'mores LOADED

Name: S'mores LOADED
Variation: LOADED
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Along with Chocolate Strawberry LOADED, this cereal joins the new additions to General Mills' LOADED lineup this year, as well as the small but distinguished company of s'mores-inspired cereals that occasionally grace the shelves. If the filling is chocolate "creme", and the biscuits are graham cracker-flavored, I don't know where they're hiding the marshmallow - but it tastes suitably s'morey. As with the rest of these cereals, each bite delivers a satisfying crunch, releasing a creamy pocket of flavor into your mouth. I'm not going to say that I prefer this to my standby s'mores cereal - Honey Maid S'mores - but I do like it. I think the LOADED line has only improved since it has branched out from hijacking existing cereal brands (and introduced chocolate over vanilla creme). But I'd still like to see a fruit-filled version to replicate the Hidden Treasures of my youth.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Mild hints of s'morey flavor.

Glazed Donut Holes - Apple Cinnamon

Name: Glazed Donut Holes - Apple Cinnamon
Variation: Glazed Donut Holes, Apple Jacks
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Although it's probably just because Kellogg's has Apple Jacks sitting around, I really like the idea of doing an apple cinnamon version of their new Glazed Donut Holes lineup this year. You've got Glazed Original and Glazed Chocolate - which are pretty standard flavors - and then Apple Cinnamon comes in as the wild card, to mix things up. It's like having an apple fritter for breakfast! Although I'm not sure if it tastes more like apple fritter, or Apple Jacks Puffs. Regardless, it's pretty good. I would not have predicted that I would like it better than chocolate, but I think this is my favorite flavor of the Glazed Donut Holes cereals in the end.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Mildly sweetened with apple and cinnamon.

Glazed Donut Holes - Chocolate

Name: Glazed Donut Holes - Chocolate
Variation: Glazed Donut Holes, Krave
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: This year, Kellogg's is putting Glazed Donut Holes in your cereal bowl! If it made good sense to release the Glazed Original flavor under the Frosted Flakes banner, then it's a no-brainer to put Krave in charge of the Glazed Chocolate variety. And my opinions from trying the original flavor bear out once more - this cereal accomplishes the glazed donut impression, but it's hampered by too much corn flavor. The only difference is that this time, it's chocolate!

Which, as you know, is one of my favorite flavors. However, if I were to judge it primarily as a chocolate cereal, it wouldn't be able to compete with the staples (Cocoa Puffs has nothing to fear, for example). But the donut hole concept is a great novelty. I'm having fun trying them. I'm just not sure they're good enough to come back for seconds. With some novelties, I hate the fact that they're only a limited edition. I don't think I'll miss this one after it's gone. After all, real donut holes aren't going anywhere anytime soon!

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: It doesn't even turn the milk chocolate? For shame!

Glazed Donut Holes - Original

Name: Glazed Donut Holes - Original
Variation: Glazed Donut Holes, Frosted Flakes
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: This year, Kellogg's responds to General Mills' strategy for marketing novelty cereals - employed with the LOADED cereals last year, and the Minis before that - with its own promotion featuring some of its flagship cereals transformed into a new lineup. And the form they're taking is... Glazed Donut Holes! Gotta say, I'm excited to try 'em. It's interesting that they've chosen donut holes instead of loops. The box says they "did the math" to "deliver more glaze" ("max glaze = max flavor"), but I suspect that they just copy-pasted a couple of formulas from a geometry textbook, because in actuality, a sphere has a lower surface-area-to-volume ratio than a torus (i.e., donut shape)...

Regardless, we'll start with the Glazed Original flavor, reasonably released under the Frosted Flakes banner, since Frosted Flakes is just corn flakes with a layer of frosting. They're crispy - not soft like actual donut holes - but do have that glazed donut flavor. On the other hand, I don't know if it's because it dissolves the glaze, but after adding milk, the taste of the corn flour base begins to impede the "donut-y" impression. Altogether, this cereal is pretty plain. It's okay to eat, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to buy it again. However, I'm still looking forward to trying the other two flavors.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Lightly sweetened.