Mrs. Freshley's

Convenience store or vending machine baked goods.  I can't say I generally seek them out, even though I certainly eat plenty of desserts.  Even as a kid, I didn't grow up with these sorts of items in the snack drawer, or packed in my school lunches, as my mom was an avid baker, and I always had fresh homemade items.  On the rare occasion that we got a box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars, it was actually a treat in my mind.  I still remember those (and oatmeal creme pies!) fondly.

Maybe because they have only been around since 1994, or maybe due to my general lack of knowledge in this industry, but Mrs. Freshley's was entirely unknown to me until this past summer, when I tried one of their products, quite randomly while in New Hampshire.  I then noticed them at nearly every gas station around town, basically, the same products as my Little Debbie (yes, they have "Buddy Bars" and all!), but also a few more unique ones.

I wish I had been able to try more items, but alas, I returned to the Bay Area, and haven't seen them here.  I'll be on the lookout next time on the east coast though ...

Reese's Deluxe Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes: Shockingly good!

These were the first, totally random product I tried from Mrs. Freshley's, on a total whim.  I couldn't believe how delicious they were.

Cream Filled Cakes

"Theres something special inside these Mrs. Freshley's cakes and you can taste it in every bite - delicious creme. We've got creme-cakes for every sweet tooth - from our icing-topped Chocolate Cupcakes to our special Swiss Rolls and Red Velvet Creme Cakes, a Southern specialty. After one taste, you'll agree that Mrs. Freshley's creme-filled cakes can't be beat! "

The cream filled cakes lineup contains Mrs. Freshley's spin on all the classic packaged snack cakes: Swiss rolls, "Dreamies" that look very much like Twinkies (and come in several flavors, besides just classic vanilla, there is a raspberry one), Snow Balls, and the chocolate cupcakes have the same hard chocolate topping and white drizzle as another well known snack cake ... 

But Mrs. Freshley's also has some unique items, a large cupcake lineup ranging from orange, vanilla, peanut butter, and red velvet to even *banana pudding cupcakes*, the last of which I'd love to try - it has banana pudding filling and is made with vanilla wafers!

But it was one signature item I couldn't pass up as my first dive in Mrs. Freshley's products: yes, they have a regular peanut butter cupcake, but they also have Reese's co-branded ones, part of the Deluxe lineup.  The Deluxe lineup also has other co-branded items with Hershey's, so, chocolate lovers, be on the lookout!  They aren't exactly hard to find, found at Walmart and gas stations everywhere.

Reese's Co-Branded Deluxe Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes: Twin Pack.

"Reese's Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes are made with Reese's peanut butter."

The Reese's line bears packaging that makes it easily recognizable.  A version is available with Reese's Pieces on top, or, as I went for, orange/yellow/brown sprinkles, and a drizzle.

How is this different than the standard, non-deluxe, peanut butter cupcake?  The regular peanut butter cupcake is a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling too, but lacks the extravagant topping, settling for a simple swirl like the chocolate ones.  The Reese's ones are higher calorie, but the ingredient list is shorter, fewer chemical sounding ingredients ...

Deluxe Reese's Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcake.

I had zero expectations for this packaged product, and ... well, I was blown away.  I *really* liked it.  Granted, I had been on a chocolate and peanut butter kick, but, wow.  I *really* liked it.  As much as any fancy bakery baked good, or even my mom's homemade desserts.

Ok, starting on top ...

The peanut butter icing was fantastic.  Hard style, crusted on, thick, and loaded with peanut butter flavor.  Loved it.  Loved the sprinkles.  Sweet - check.  Peanut butter - check.

Deluxe Reese's Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcake.

Ok, how about what lie under the icing?

A chocolate cupcake, actually pretty good.  Not dried out.  It didn't taste stale, it didn't taste generic, it didn't taste fake.  Better than most grocery store cakes, better than box mix cakes/cupcakes.  It wasn't amazing or anything, don't get me wrong, but it was light, fluffy, moist, chocolatey.  Far better than any other packaged snack cake I've had, and blew away my expectations.

And then, the filling.  Peanut butter cream.  More excellent peanut butter flavor.  Filling amount was decent, well distributed.

A bite of all elements - fluffy cake, creamy peanut butter filling, and sweet toppings - was really fantastic.  The peanut butter flavor was really quite strong, and it all combined together fairly magically.

I was thrilled to just eat this, as is.  I didn't need to pair it with ice cream, warm it up, or anything.  It is rare for me to be satisfied with something so "simple" but, this was a winner.  I'd get it again.

I was glad they were fairly small size, but a bit stunned at the nutrition stats, but I guess it was loaded with sugar, is highly processed, and does have peanut butter ...

****+.

Snowballs.

"Mrs. Freshley's Pink Snowballs are deliciously created with a moist chocolate devil's food cake with a yummy creme filling. This sweet creation is covered in a thick layer of marshmallow and then dipped in a pink coconut."

After the success of the  Deluxe Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes I decided I wanted to try more products from Mrs. Freshley's, so when I was at a gas station, and saw a huge display of Mrs. Freshley's goods ... I definitely impulse shopped, randomly grabbing the fluffy pink snowballs.

Spoiler: I didn't care for them AT ALL!

The pink coconut outer layer was pretty I guess, but just kinda dry.  The "thick layer of marshmallow" really seemed more like a very odd sponge cake, I really truly hated the texture, and would never identify it as marshmallow.

Snowballs: Inside.

Inside, the "moist chocolate devil's food cake" also did not live up. The cake was extremely mild in chocolate flavor, and I wouldn't call it "moist", but it wasn't too tried out.

And the "yummy creme filling"?  CRAZY sweet, tasting basically of corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup and probably some palm oil too, you know, what it is actually made of.

So yes, these were a fail for me on every dimension, honestly, more of what I'd expect from a package snack cake, after all. 

*+.