[Experiments] Cinnamon Toast Crunch Strawberry Applesauce and Peanut Butter Apple

Description: Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been throwing so many flavors at us lately, it's hard not to want to mix some of them together. When Apple came out, it wasn't a far cry, knowing that Strawberry and Peanut Butter were both still on the shelves, for me to imagine them each together with this newest version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Strawberry and apple together in a cinnamon cereal? That's a perfect formula for strawberry applesauce! So, how is it? The flavors are complementary. The buttery flavor of Cinnamon Toast Crunch kind of precludes it from giving you the full impression of eating applesauce, and I'm not sure it's enough of an improvement over each flavor alone to justify the effort of mixing them together. But it sure was fun to try!

Rating: 🥣🥣

Description: Now, Peanut Butter and Apple is more of a stretch for me - I put peanut butter on my bananas, not my apples. But in honor of Stephen Colbert, whose award-winning late night show was canceled this year under political pressure from a fascist federal administration, I wanted to give it a try.

The toasties don't distinguish themselves as much from each other, yet the flavors don't blend as well as strawberry and apple. The sweetness of the apple is subdued, and there's that impression of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, but without the full flavor of peanut butter. It's an odd combination. I feel that these flavors detract from each other more than reinforce one another. I'm not crazy about it. Sorry, Stephen...

Rating: 🥣

Addendum: On a whim, I tried mixing equal parts of Apple, Strawberry, and Peanut Butter all together in one bowl (because of course I did). And it was really good! The sweetness of the fruit flavors stood out, and there was still that occasional savory peanut butter flavor. Maybe I just needed to tweak the ratio (2:1) in favor of the fruit all this time!

[Experiment] Cinnamon Toast Crunch PB&J

Description: As a full-grown adult who keeps a blog dedicated to breakfast cereals, I have somewhat juvenile tastes (notwithstanding my appreciation for dark chocolate). So as soon as I thought of mixing Cinnamon Toast Crunch Strawberry and Peanut Butter to imitate peanut butter & jelly, I had to rush out to the store so I could try it. It doesn't really taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The flavors are there, but they're not as vibrant as you might hope. The peanut butter is mostly an aftertaste, and you don't really get bites of super sweet jelly. I don't feel like the "toast" flavor is receding into the background as much as it does with a real peanut butter & jelly sandwich. That said, it's still good. Both of these cereals are good on their own, and they taste good together. I think I set my sights a little high, but I definitely wouldn't say that this experiment was a failure.

Rating: 🥣🥣

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Peanut Butter

Name: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Peanut Butter
Variation: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I like peanut butter, so I was pretty excited when I spotted this new version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It's not something I would have expected to see, but Cinnamon Toast Crunch seems to be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks lately. Some of their varieties have been hits, and some have been misses. But this one holds promise.

If the combination sounds weird to you, I can tell you that I have had peanut butter on French toast (also: waffles), and it's quite good. As is this cereal. You take a bite, and then that rich, peanut buttery taste kicks in. It's not super sweet, and by the end of the bowl it gets kinda dry - like you've just had a mouthful of peanut butter. But I like it a lot. I think it would be great mixed with something sweet and fruity like Cinnamon Toast Crunch Strawberry. I better get myself to the store before it's discontinued!

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Swirled with peanut butter & cinnadust.

Dark Chocolate Reese's Puffs

Name: Dark Chocolate Reese's Puffs
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Two words: instant fave. I could end the review there, but then I wouldn't get to talk about how great this cereal is. Not only is it a brilliant idea, it's entirely up my alley. I'm ashamed I didn't think of it first. And as a night owl, I dig the "after dark" box design. All that, before I've even poured my first bowl! But I'm confident that I'm gonna love it, because there's no way they could mess this one up. Sometimes, you just know.

I want to say that the chocolate puffs are a little darker than usual, but I'd have to compare them side-by-side with regular Reese's Puffs to say for sure. I think they've done a good job of capturing that dark chocolate flavor - slightly bitter, and less sweet. Dark chocolate can be a bit of an acquired taste, and one that is sometimes misunderstood. It has a more intense chocolate flavor, but some people are surprised that it's not as sweet as the chocolate they're used to.

You see, chocolate isn't intrinsically sweet. It does taste better sweetened (some people eat 100% cacao for bragging rights, but I think that's silly); dark chocolate just doesn't go as hard with the sweetness, so the actual chocolate flavor can shine. It's a more mature, more sophisticated, more "adult" version of chocolate - like chocolate after dark, which is perfectly encapsulated by the midnight aesthetic of the cereal box.

"Midnight is technically morning."

Also, sometimes people ask, is dark chocolate better than milk chocolate? In my mind, it's not an either/or situation. They're two different kinds of chocolate, but they're both chocolate, and they're both good. It's not like you'll graduate to dark chocolate and then stop liking milk chocolate. But if you do acquire a taste for it, dark chocolate can be a rewarding indulgence - something a little bit extra, without just piling on more sugar. There's definitely a bit of a mystique to it, and this cereal captures that well.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Not as heavily flavored as I'd like, but that's standard for Reese's Puffs.

[Experiment] Oreo Reese's Puffs

Description: I was bored with that abysmally plain confetti cake cereal, so I decided to perform a mad science experiment. As hedonistic as it might sound to combine Reese's Puffs with Oreo Puffs (I know, we're living in a society XD), I was inspired by the recent combination of just those two brands for a rare collaboration between Reese's and Oreos.

What's your pleasure, sir?

So, how do they taste together? The flavors don't really coalesce. Some bites favor chocolate and peanut butter, others cookies and creme. That said, they're both good flavors, so you can't really go wrong joining them together. Keeping my own preference in mind for peanut butter over "creme", I think the Reese's Puffs improve the Oreo Puffs, but I'd rather have my Reese's Puffs unadulterated. Which tracks with my opinion on the recent candy chimeras - an Oreo tastes better with peanut butter filling than a Reese's cup does with cookies and creme. Still, it was a lot of fun to try.

Rating: 🥣🥣

Kelce Mix

Name: Kelce Mix
Variation: Reese's Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I have no idea who "Kelce" is, or why he's important enough to have a cereal named after him. Frankly, I don't care. The less said about those two ugly mugs staring back at me from the front of the box, the better. Now, the cereal - this is a truly intriguing mix of three cereals I like, with very different flavors: cinnamon, marshmallow, and peanut butter & chocolate. The instant I saw it in the store, I wanted to see how it all tastes together. Notwithstanding my recent Monster Combos, I haven't had a good cereal mix since Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX! So let's dig in.

Right out of the box, this cereal presents a visual cohesion that belies the varied nature of its components. It's all shades of tan and light brown, with the marshmallows providing a nice pop of color. It's a surreal phenomenon, but I can identify the flavors of each of the individual cereals if I focus on them. Together, the taste is not unpleasant - though I feel like it could use more marshmallows. It's not as good as any of the cereals individually (I don't think it would satisfy a craving for any particular one), but the sheer audacity of combining them all together makes you feel like a bit of a maverick for eating it. I'm not going to say I love it, but I definitely like it. This has certainly been one of the more memorable cereal experiments I've tried this year.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Carries hints of the various flavors, but altogether relatively plain.

Reese's Puffs Peanut Butter Lovers

Name: Reese's Puffs Peanut Butter Lovers
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I always love it when the big companies take my suggestions for new novelty cereals. I just wish they would pay me for it. Or at least give me some credit. :-p

Welcome to Peanut Butter Town!

This cereal is pretty self-explanatory - it's Reese's Puffs but with nothing but peanut butter puffs. That's right, no chocolate. Visually, it's very reminiscent of Peanut Butter Crunch, but with a softer, maybe even a little bit richer bite. Both are excellent peanut butter cereals, but I think PB Crunch might have some competition if this cereal sticks around. As you would predict, it also tastes great with fresh banana cut up into it. Even though Reese's is known for their peanut butter, and a chocolate cereal would compete with General Mills' own Cocoa Puffs, I would still love to see a Chocolate Lovers version of Reese's Puffs in the future. Imagine mixing them together! XD

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Only mildly peanut buttery.

Reese's Puffs

I was excited to see Goku appear on boxes of Reese's Puffs recently (is anime mainstream now or what?); it's a perfect union of color schemes (and on the subject of popular anime characters who wear orange, I would not be opposed to seeing Naruto on boxes in the future, either). It's not truly a novelty cereal, just a new box design - and of many I've seen from the brand, the first one I actually like. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to review OG Reese's Puffs.

Name: Reese's Puffs
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: If pressed, I would say that my favorite candy (and my favorite thing to eat on both Halloween and Easter) is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, so it's no surprise that I love Reese's Puffs cereal. Chocolate and peanut butter is probably my favorite combination in the world (either that or jalapeño and cheddar). And this is one of those cereals that I tend to shovel into my mouth, and can never get enough of. My only real complaint is that the milk is too plain. Upon further consideration, I think the milk is actually a little bit peanut butter-y, which is kind of novel - I guess I'm just expecting a level of chocolatiness to rival the likes of Cocoa Puffs, Cocoa Pebbles, Chocolate Frosted Flakes, or even Chocolate Cheerios. But even in spite of that, this is one of my all-time favorite cereals to eat.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: A little bit peanut butter-y, after all.

Pick your fighter!

Update: As of mid-March, I've seen the DBZ designs available in Family Size boxes, and the side panel reveals all 7 fighters you can collect!

[Flashback] Reese's Puffs Hearts

Notice: Flashback reviews have been written from memory, without having the cereal in front of me. I started taking pictures of notable cereal varieties several years before I decided to start a blog reviewing them. As such, details beyond whether I simply liked the cereal or not may be hazy, especially regarding the quality of the leftover milk. Whenever possible, I have made an effort to procure another box of the cereal for a proper review (even the ones I didn't like), but due to the ephemeral nature of many of these novelty cereals, this is not always possible.

Name: Reese's Puffs Hearts
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: When I started this blog almost two and a half years ago, there were three seasonal varieties of Reese's Puffs I'd had previously, that I was hoping to find again. Thankfully, Bunnies and Bats have proven to be somewhat resilient. But this is the third year in a row that I've looked high and low for the Valentine's Day version of Reese's Puffs (last spotted in early 2019), in vain. Which is why I'm finally resorting to writing a flashback review. It's not a difficult task, however - just a disappointing one. Like the other holiday specials, this is just Reese's Puffs with a slightly different shape. And like every purely cosmetic variation of Reese's Puffs I've had so far, I love it! Could there be a more perfect pair than chocolate and peanut butter?

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣

[Experiment] Fluffernutter Crunch

Description: For this experiment, I added generic cereal marshmallows to Peanut Butter Crunch to imitate the flavor of "fluffernutter" - a combination of peanut butter and marshmallow. I'm surprised I haven't seen this done before; cereals with marshmallows are ubiquitous. Then again, peanut butter isn't the most obvious choice for a base flavor, and peanut butter cereals themselves are not all that common (Peanut Butter Crunch may be the only one you can really count on). Come to think of it, I've never seen a variation of Cap'n Crunch that had marshmallows, so maybe Quaker Oats just doesn't like putting marshmallows in their cereal.

Anyway, it's a good combination. The marshmallows are soft and sweet and add a counterbalance to the crunchy peanut butter flavor. Sourcing the marshmallows (from a different cereal) was a chore, so making it yourself is not that easy, but I think it's a great idea. Cereal manufacturers take note!

Rating: 🥣🥣

[Experiment] Peanut Butter & Jelly Crunch

Description: Here's a fun idea that was hiding in plain sight - adding Crunch Berries to Peanut Butter Crunch... to make Peanut Butter & Jelly Crunch! I picked out the red and purple berries specifically, to represent strawberry and grape jam. Unfortunately, all the berries have the same flavor (I believe the consensus is strawberry); so there is room for improvement. Quaker Oats, are you listening? My instinct was to match the Peanut Butter and Crunch Berries 1:1, but surprisingly, the peanut butter flavor overpowered the Crunch Berries, so I think it's best to bias the mix toward the Crunch Berries. It's good! It can't replace the heartwarming feeling of biting into an actual PB&J sandwich, but it was a fun experiment to try!

Available in strawberry or grape! (Although not really...)

Rating: 🥣🥣

Reese's Puffs Bats

Name: Reese's Puffs Bats
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I went through a lot of trouble to get this box - but I really wanted to do a proper review of this cereal for my blog. I saw evidence online that it had been re-released - with a new box design! - though I never saw it in stores, despite actively looking for it. So I resorted to ordering a box over the internet (for the first time ever!) last year. I was prepared to eat it stale if necessary, but the expiration date revealed that it had been manufactured just that year. And then - you'll never guess what happened next.

Literally, two days after I had a box shipped from Bolingbrook, IL, I was at Walmart looking at Halloween costumes, and I spotted the cereal tucked away on a bottom shelf in the Halloween candy aisle, on the opposite side of the store from the groceries! I was fully prepared to give General Mills my money, and even looked specifically for this product in vain, only for them to pull this stunt. Why can't they keep the cereal in the cereal aisle? I was torn between sending them an angry letter, and throwing my money at them anyway. I did the latter, because we're all hapless slaves to late stage capitalism.

September 2018

Anyway, notwithstanding all that drama, the cereal rocks. It's Reese's Puffs like you know it, but in the shape of bats. And the new box design looks great! It's a decided improvement over the old design. Reese's Puffs may be overly indulgent for some, but I think it's delicious. Whenever I eat a bowl, I can't seem to gobble it up fast enough. I just wish the milk tasted more strongly of peanut butter and chocolate.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Not as rich as the cereal itself.

[Experiment] Peanut Butter Waffle Crisp

Description: As far as waffle cereals go, I actually like Eggo Homestyle better, but I thought "Peanut Butter Waffle Crisp" had a better ring to it. I was introduced to peanut butter waffles the first time I ate at a Waffle House, on a road trip. They sprinkle peanut butter chips (like chocolate chips, but made with peanut butter) over hot waffles. It's delicious! Since then, I've gotten into the habit of spreading peanut butter directly on my waffles at home (on the rare occasion that I do eat waffles). So I thought this would be a fun idea for a cereal experiment. It's good, and the peanut butter adds a little variety to an otherwise kind of one-note cereal. Give it a try sometime!

Rating: 🥣🥣

Reese's Puffs Minis (& Big Puffs)

Name: Reese's Puffs Minis/Big Puffs
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: This weekend I'm reviewing this year's new "Minis" cereals - mini versions of three of your favorites from the General Mills lineup. We'll start with Reese's Puffs Minis, since Reese's Puffs is one of my favorites. To start off, the mini puffs are adorable. The flavor is just what you would expect from the regular cereal, so no surprises there. Smaller puffs means you can shovel more of them into your mouth. However, I don't think the crunch is as satisfying, and you may have to slow yourself down to avoid swallowing them whole...

January 2020

A few years ago, General Mills released an over-sized version of Reese's Puffs, called Big Puffs. It was a fun novelty, but I felt the overly large puffs were a bit awkward to eat. Now, having tried both Big Puffs and Minis, I can say with confidence that the regular-sized puffs are the Goldilocks standard. That said, I enjoy mixing things up every now and then. Stay tuned for my review of Cinnamon Toast Crunch & Trix Minis tomorrow!

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: A little bit of PB&C.

Peanut Butter Crunch

Name: Peanut Butter Crunch
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: Although I featured this cereal already for my Chocolatey Peanut Butter Crunch experiment, I felt like it deserved a proper entry. I wish I could do the same for Chocolatey Crunch, but amazingly, it seems to have been discontinued. Though there are plenty of other chocolate cereals on the market. Peanut butter cereals are (surprisingly) few and far between - this is one you can usually count on finding at the store. It's a great idea for a variation on Cap'n Crunch, and it has a great peanut butter flavor. It also has lots of potential as a peanut butter mix-in for other cereal experiments, as we've already seen, and as we're going to see more of in the future. I love it!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Peanut buttery.

Nutty Buddy

Name: Nutty Buddy
Variation: Little Debbie
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: So, I wasn't totally thrilled with the other two versions of Little Debbie cereals I tried last year, but if ever there were a Little Debbie snack I'd want in the form of a cereal, Nutty Buddy bars would be it. Lo and behold! I was very excited when I found this cereal, and could hardly wait to try it. Chocolate and peanut butter? How can it go wrong? Well, let's put Little Debbie in the kitchen and see what happens. Remember how her Cosmic Brownies turned out?

You know how some foods have an aftertaste? Well, this cereal has a weird "beforetaste". I'm not even sure how I would describe it (it's kind of a smoky, almost coffee-like flavor), but it's off-putting. On the plus side, the nuggets are large and brick-like, but soft to chew with a satisfying texture. Ultimately, I wouldn't buy this cereal over Reese's Puffs, but the chocolate peanut butter flavor does keep me coming back. I just wish I didn't have to endure that weird "Little Debbie" flavor to enjoy it.

I gave Oatmeal Creme Pies a two bowl rating, so I couldn't in good conscience rate this cereal any lower, but that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed with it. Before I tried this cereal, I was looking forward to seeing what other snacks Little Debbie will bring to the breakfast table in the future. But now I'm feeling a little more reserved.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: I was doubtful, but there is some chocolate peanut butter flavor.

[Flashback] Chocolatey Peanut Butter Crunch

Notice: Flashback reviews have been written from memory, without having the cereal in front of me. I started taking pictures of notable cereal varieties several years before I decided to start a blog reviewing them. As such, details beyond whether I simply liked the cereal or not may be hazy, especially regarding the quality of the leftover milk. Whenever possible, I have made an effort to procure another box of the cereal for a proper review (even the ones I didn't like), but due to the ephemeral nature of many of these novelty cereals, this is not always possible.

Name: Chocolatey/Peanut Butter Crunch
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: I wanted to do something special for the one year anniversary of this blog, so I'm taking a look back at the very first cereal I ever photographed following the renaissance of my interest in breakfast cereals. Not only does this photo document two different varieties of Cap'n Crunch, but represents a homebrew experiment involving mixing different cereal ingredients together in one bowl - something I'd like to document more of on this blog if the onslaught of new novelty cereals ever lets up. I've also still got a handful of flashbacks to post featuring cereals I've taken pictures of from before I started this blog. But I'm quickly learning that novelty cereals are a surprisingly lucrative industry (no doubt thanks to suckers like me, who'll buy anything just because it says "new" or "limited edition" on the box); I'm struggling to keep up!

This flashback takes us back ten years(!), to the end of 2012. Back then, I was taking matters into my own hands, mixing Chocolatey and Peanut Butter versions of Cap'n Crunch together. Although Reese's Puffs is one of my favorite cereals, it has a particular taste and texture, and this is more of a distinct mixture than a homogeneous combination of the two flavors. I haven't seen Chocolatey Crunch around for a while (though Chocolate Caramel Crunch has been making the rounds of late), and there is a dearth of peanut butter cereals on the market. I was disappointed when Cheerios recalled their Peanut Butter flavor due to peanut allergy concerns (although it buttered me up for the later release of their Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor), leaving a conspicuous vacuum of good cereals in which to cut up bananas - something I hardly ever do anymore. But this is a winning combination; I'm surprised I've never seen these two cereals marketed together in the same box, considering that the chocolatey crunch pieces and the peanut butter puffs complement each other as perfectly as Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios

Name: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I first spotted this cereal on the shelves back in late 2017. The first bowl I had, I was expecting something indulgent like Reese's Puffs. Naturally, being a type of Cheerios, the flavor I got was a lot blander. But here's the thing. I kept eating it (even when I pull a box I end up not liking, I still try to soldier through and finish it, so as not to be wasteful), and it really grew on me. Knowing what to expect (and what not to expect), this has actually become one of my favorite cereals. I'm glad it appears to be sticking around, especially since you can't find Peanut Butter Cheerios anymore.

December 2017

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Retains the subtle, but not unpleasant flavor of the cereal itself.

Reese's Puffs Cluster Crunch

Name: Reese's Puffs Cluster Crunch
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: So far, my experience with novelty editions of Reese's Puffs have mostly been holiday exclusives, in which the change is merely cosmetic. I guess there's not a lot you can do to change the flavor without subverting people's expectations of what they're getting when it says "Reese's" on the box. Then again, there are a surprising number of different types of Reese's candy out there, with a mixture of shapes and textures and balance of ingredients. Maybe there's some untapped potential after all. At the very least, they could do a limited run of Chocolate Lovers and Peanut Butter Lovers varieties. Or add in actual clusters of chocolate and peanuts, like what Cheerios is doing these days.

I was kind of hoping that's what I would be getting here, so I was a little disappointed when it turned out to be another mostly cosmetic variation. The clusters are larger and flatter than the usual spherical puffs, and they do indeed pack a bit of a crunch. I don't think they're going to render the puffs obsolete, but it's nice to have a little variety on occasion. And they've still got that Reese's Puffs flavor you'd expect. But just because I already love this cereal doesn't mean I want Reese's to rest on their laurels and not keep experimenting. Show me what else you can come up with, Reese's!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Kind of mild for a cereal that's based on an indulgent chocolate and peanut butter candy...

Reese's Puffs Bunnies

Name: Reese's Puffs Bunnies
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I was really hoping to find some of Reese's Puffs' holiday editions this year to review for my blog. I was discouraged when Hearts didn't show up around Valentine's Day (here's to hoping that Bats will appear come fall), but it made me all the more excited when I saw Bunnies on shelves in time for Easter!

Out of all of Reese's Puffs' holiday editions, this is the one I've seen most often - three times, to be exact, the last two being in 2017 and 2019.

These editions are a lot like Cap'n Crunch's holiday editions, in that they taste just like the regular cereal, the change is only cosmetic; but, as with Cap'n Crunch, this is a cereal I already like, so I don't view that as a negative. Plus, the holiday flair is fun; it's always a great excuse to pick up a box. And nothing says Easter like Reese's peanut butter and chocolate bunnies!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Plainer than I'd like...

Update: New box design spotted in 2024!