Yoplait and Oui by Yoplait

Update Review, 2026

Whips

"Discover the reduced fat yogurt mousse snack that’s high in light and fluffy deliciousness with at least 1/3 less fat than our regular yogurt mousse. "

When I've liked Yoplait in the past, it has always been the Whips.  They are sometimes really hard to find.  

Key Lime Whips.

"Yoplait Whips! Key Lime Pie Flavored Reduced Fat Yogurt Mousse is a creamy key lime pie flavored with other natural flavor yogurt mousse with an incredibly light and airy texture. The balance of refreshing key lime pie taste and reduced fat recipe helps you satisfy sweet cravings without all of the guilt."

This really is decent.  Light and fluffy.  Sweet but not cloying.  Slight tanginess from the key lime flavor.  No artificial or bad aftertaste.  Add some fresh fruit and something crunchy, and it works as a nice healthy quasi-treat. 4/5.

Chocolate.

"Yoplait Whips! Chocolate Flavored Yogurt Mousse is so light and airy, your taste buds will be on cloud nine. This creamy, delicious naturally and artificially flavored chocolate yogurt mousse has a superbly light and fluffy texture with a smooth finish. The indulgent chocolatey taste is a great way to satisfy sweet cravings."

I really do like this.  It is light, fluffy, and basically a slightly tangy chocolate mousse.  If I add fruit + nibs/choc chips/nuts + whip I really don't mind it as a dessert, but its good for breakfast too when I'm in the sweet mood.  4/5.

Oui

Within the Oui range, there are 3 styles: fruit on the bottom, blended, and creamy.  I've never seen the creamy ones before, but they have some fascinating flavors like creamy mocha & chocolate or creamy raspberry & chocolate.  I'm not quite sure what is different about these compared to the blended line?

As I have mentioned in previous reviews (below), I've tried Oui by Yoplait yogurts before, and found them fine, but not something I'd seek out or purchase myself.  But I was recently staying at a hotel that had them at breakfast, and so, captive audience I was, I tried more flavors.

Oui Strawberry
(Fruit on the Bottom).

"Enjoy the moment with every spoonful of Oui by Yoplait French Style Strawberry Whole Milk Yogurt. Pleasure is at the heart of this French style yogurt. It begins with simple ingredients like whole milk and real strawberries, poured into individual glass pots and left to set for eight hours."

First up, strawberry, part of the fruit on the bottom lineup.

I really do like the experience of eating these yogurts from the glass jars.  It does feel more premium than plastic.  Plus, then I get a great little jar to repurpose!  The yogurt itself is about what I remembered: thick, rich, creamy, somewhere in-between tart and sweet, perhaps actually plain?  I like it, but I like other brands more, but this is better than most American yogurt, and I appreciate how thick it is, and how it isn't overly sweetened.  3.5/5 yogurt.

Vanilla.
(Blended)

"There's delight in every spoonful of Oui by Yoplait French Style Vanilla Whole Milk Yogurt. Pleasure is at the heart of this French style yogurt. It begins with simple ingredients like whole milk, live cultures and real vanilla extract, poured into individual glass pots and left to set for eight hours. "

I also tried the vanilla flavor, which is a blended flavor.  This one I didn't care for.  It was sweet, and vanilla flavored, in a kinda artificial way.  Just not the style of yogurt I enjoy.  I like tartness. 2/5.

Update review: I tried it again.  Yeah, nice creaminess, but this is a sweet vaguely vanilla yogurt, and that is not my thing at all.  Do not like.

Dairy Free Vanilla
(Blended).

"Meet the Oui that's dairy free with Oui by Yoplait Vanilla Dairy Free Yogurt Alternative. Just like traditional French yogurt, this recipe begins with simple ingredients like real vanilla extract and cane sugar, poured into individual glass pots. Instead of milk, Oui dairy free yogurt alternative is made from coconut for creaminess."

Yoplait also makes the Oui line available dairy free, with 4 flavors: vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, and mango.  All use a coconut milk base.  I tried the vanilla.

It was very coconut forward.  If you are in the mood for coconut, this delivers.  If you wanted just vanilla though, this is not it.  I found the taste slightly plastic-y, and really a bit of an unpleasant mouth feel that really coated my mouth (which is how I kinda often feel with coconut milk based products).  I suspect the mango flavor would be the best, as it would be like mango sticky rice sorta with the coconut cream sauce ... 

Anyway, this wasn't for me, but I think it was a fine very coconut yogurt. 2/5.

Update Review, 2022

I've tried Oui by Yoplait yogurts before, and found them ok, but not worth really getting again (as you saw in my original review).  I recently had the "opportunity" to try the brand again when I ordered a different yogurt on Door Dash, but, my Dasher decided to sub in Yoplait instead.  I use things like as a a impetus to try new things, and try not to be too annoyed ...

Pumpkin Caramel.

"Inspired by our traditional French recipe, Oui by Yoplait pumpkin caramel yogurt creates a moment of pure enjoyment in every spoonful."

Although this isn't what I ordered, I was actually fairly interested in what my Dasher has randomly picked for me.  Pumpkin and caramel?  I like those things!  Although I had to lol slightly as the "fruit on the bottom" labelling, as, well, caramel and pumpkin ... not fruits.

The yogurt itself was about as I remembered - nicely thick, slightly tart, not too thick.  Fairly decent full fat yogurt, for US based yogurt.

The "fruit on the bottom" however is where this got interesting.  I reached my spoon in to get a bit of it, and, WOW, that was sweet.  Yup, there was caramel in the base of my yogurt.  No denying that.  I didn't really taste any pumpkin, so no pumpkin pie vibes here, but, yes, caramel for sure.  I like caramel, I liked this caramel, but, my brain wasn't quite sure what to do with it in my breakfast yogurt.  I like sweets in the morning, but this was just ... not doing it for me.  I put it back in the fridge, and decided I'd try it later for a mid-afternoon snack perhaps.  In the "worst case", I could also just use the plain yogurt, and the caramel, separately.

I later enjoyed it with some fresh figs and granola.  I often do yogurt + figs + granola + honey, and in this case, the caramel just took the place of the honey I usually drizzle over, and made it a bit more decadent.  It was a lovely combination, and I'd do it again if I wound up with another of these randomly in my grocery order.

***+.

Original Review, 2021

If you have ever browsed the yogurt aisle at a grocery store in the US, you know that there is, um, *plenty* of selection.   The amount of real estate devoted to yogurt in many stores confuses me - do people really buy that much yogurt, and in such variety of flavors, styles, fat contents, etc?  It amazes me.  Perhaps that is just because I'm not exactly excited by yogurt, at least, not by most grocery store yogurt. Legit yogurt, real, rich, full fat, super creamy, luxe Greek yogurt?  Now that I like.  Some labne comes close too.  But in the US, grocery store yogurt is just ... ugh, not for me.  A slight exception for Noosa, although I have liked that less in recent years too.  I *loath* Chobani, I think it ruined Greek yogurt for this country, although I do sometimes like the mix-ins in their Flip products.  I think basically all Dannon yogurt tastes like fake sweetness.

When I travel outside the US though, I'm always stunned by the yogurt.  Particularly in Australia.  Much like the milk there, it is a higher fat percentage, and just dramatically tastier, creamier.

I still continue to try yogurt products, all the ones boasting to be full fat, richer, creamier.  It rarely pleases me though.  And sometimes, sometimes I try things just because they sound unique.  And almost dessert-like.  As someone who eats way too much dessert (as in, after every meal, every day), I do try to find some healthier options.

Yoplait

Which brings me to Yoplait.  Yoplait nominates the yogurt aisle, offering up just about every style of yogurt imaginable: original, light, lactose-free, greek ... unique limited edition collabs wtih other companies like Starburst or Gushers, kid-friendly small cups or squeezeable "Go-Gurt", smoothies, ones with fruit mix-ins, etc, etc.  Most do not interest me at all, although the curious part of me wonders about the ridiculous Gushers flavors.

One product line however called out ...

Whips!

"A light and fluffy yogurt mousse that melts in your mouth."

Yogurt mousse.  This sounded promising as a plausible dessert-like item?  Branded as Whips!  Yes, excitement is in the name.

Whips! are available in a slew of flavors, all dessert inspired: Key Lime Pie, Cherry Cheesecake, Sea Salt Caramel, etc, etc.  I had hope.

These are low fat yogurt, still pretty light items, all <200 calories each, 5 grams of fat or less, and not *that* much sugar.  5g protein.

I'll admit, I was impressed when I tried the first one.  The texture is incredibly fascinating.  It really, truly was light and fluffy.  Like air.  But it was yogurt.  It had tang.  Yogurt-air.  Crazy.  I quickly bought more varieties.

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Chocolate.

Does it surprise you that the first flavor I tried was the chocolate one?

This was the first chocolate yogurt I've ever had, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was hoping it would be like a slightly tangy chocolate mousse, a chocolate pudding almost.

It certainly didn't trick me into thinking it was a real dessert.  The texture, amazing, and it was slightly chocolately, but it was also still clearly yogurt.  It tasted like yogurt.  I was still fascinated by it, and stirred in some cacao nibs, and enjoyed it, but, it wasn't a dessert.  They do suggest freezing it too, which I could imagine working well, like, well, frozen yogurt?

Cherry Cheesecake.

Cherry cheesecake was the second flavor I tried, going as dessert focused as I could.

I was again blown away by how light and fluffy it was.  Magic.  I have no idea how they do it.  It really was a mousse!

I expected to taste, um, cheesecake though, a cream cheese flavor, some tang, and some cherry of course.  It did have cherry puree in it, but I didn't taste much cherry flavor.  I didn't taste much at all.

Great texture, but tasted like ... nothing.  I passed it off to my niece. 

Orange Crème.

A number of flavors of the Whips! are "crèmes", including vanilla crème and coconut crème, but I wasn't ever able to find those.  I finally settled on the orange crème.

Like the others, the texture was awesome.  Light, fluffy, airy, remarkable really.  And this one finally delivered on the flavor department.  Orange, cream, and yogurt seem to go great together.

It reminded me of a Creamsicle.  Or a Orange Julius.  But, as a fluffy yogurt mousse.  I actually pulled it out for a lazy breakfast one day, and after taking a bite, decided that I'd save it for a dessert actually.  It was sweet, and, well, it was tasty.

My favorite that I tried, I'd love to get my hands on a few more flavors to see if I can find another winner.

Oui by Yoplait

Oui by Yoplait is an entirely separate line of products.  While they do have the Yoplait name on them in very fine print, they are marketed as Oui, and are, well, entirely different.

"A thick and creamy, subtly sweet, fresh tasting yogurt made with non-GMO ingredients and poured and set in its own glass pot."

Oui tries to appeal to an upscale yogurt eater, each Oui product comes in an individual glass jar.  They are priced accordingly.

"The French approach to living and eating revolves around pleasure. That’s how our holistic approach to French style yogurt was born. It starts with simple, non-GMO ingredients, poured and set in individual glass pots for eight hours. This creates a satisfyingly thick, subtly sweet, fresh tasting yogurt. And that creates a moment of pure enjoyment in every spoonful."

Oh, and they are *French* style of yogurt.  

Unlike the Yoplait yogurt line, or most brands of yogurt, they do not offer low-fat or non-fat varieties.  All are full fat.  They make a wide range of flavors, but, all just classic, full fat, yogurt (and a few non-dairy ones).

And then ... there are the desserts.  Legit desserts.  Not yogurt-pretending-to-be-dessert.  Real dessert.  Two product lines, Crème Desserts and Layered Desserts.  The former I've never managed to find, but when my local store got a few varieties of the new Layered Desserts, I immediately grabbed one. 

Yogurt

I did start with yogurt, offered in 15 varieties, mostly fruity ones, with the fruit layer on the bottom, and plain yogurt, although the raspberry and blackberry feature flavored yogurts, and they also make a honey flavor.  All full fat, french style.  Four dairy free options also exist, which I did not try.

Yogurt Pot.

The yogurts all come in the attractive glass jars, per the brand standards, with foil lids, and, the branded cursive "oui".

Lemon: Top.

"Inspired by our traditional French recipe and made with simple ingredients like whole milk and real fruit, our Lemon flavor has a deliciously thick texture and subtly sweet, fresh taste that offers the perfect balance of flavors."

Inside the lid is a french saying.  They really play up the French branding.

The yogurt itself is not flavored in the lemon variety, so I was able to try the pure, classic, French style yogurt.  Whole milk, cultures, and maybe a touch of sugar? That is all.  

It is good yogurt.  Quite thick, the style I like.  Rich, as you'd expect from whole milk.  Not particularly tangy, certainly not very sweet, I'm not sure if the yogurt itself is sweetened.

Definitely a good yogurt, if you like the thick, rich style, and want full fat.  It still does not compare to any of my favorite yogurts found internationally, but, it is quite good.

Lemon:Side View.

The lemon, like most of the fruity flavors, comes in the bottom, a thin layer to dig for and mix-in as you please.

Nothing artificial here, just lemon pulp, lemon puree, and sugar (ok, plus turmeric, for color). The jar formation does make it a bit hard to dig for, and try on its own, but I was pleased with what I found - not a lemon curd (I dislike!) but just a light, tart, lemon puree with a touch of texture. I liked it, but was glad to be able to mix in just a little as I pleased.

Black Cherry.

"Inspired by our traditional French recipe and made with simple ingredients like whole milk and real fruit, our Black Cherry flavor has a deliciously thick texture and subtly sweet, fresh taste that offers the perfect balance of flavors."

I have no idea why I picked black cherry.  it sounded good in some strange way.  But, um, i don't really like fruity yogurt?  I think I was expecting plain yogurt, and ... cherry pie in the bottom?  I don't know.

Anyway, the yogurt was thick, and rich, but ... fruity.  Most of the fruit was concentrated on the bottom, but there was still plenty of light cherry flavor to it all.

So, sadly, not my thing.

**+.

Layered Desserts

"Inspired by our authentic French recipe, Oui Layered Desserts are made with Crème Fraîche, which is traditionally used in French desserts and cooking. 

Each Oui Layered Dessert includes a rich crème fraiche base and a crispy graham cracker crust. Cherry Cheesecake and Caramel Cheesecake also include a subtly sweet topping. All you need is a spoon.

Enjoy a decadent dessert that transports you to your favorite restaurant from the comfort of your home. "

Layered Desserts are the newest product line, not made from yogurt at all.  Instead, the base is crème fraiche.  Available in only 3 flavors right now:  Cherry Cheesecake, Caramel Cheesecake and Key Lime Pie.

Layered Desserts: Packaging.

All come as two-packs, and yes, in glass jars like all Oui products.

They looked slightly fancy, I'll give them that.  The cursive definitely adds flair as well, heh.

Caramel Cheesecake.

"Caramel Cheesecake Oui Layered Desserts are made with a French-inspired crème fraiche base, crispy graham cracker crust and subtly sweet caramel topping. "

I opted for the caramel cheesecake, because I wanted the most decadent one, and the cherry topping actually just didn't look that great.

As promised, this was a layered dessert, the layers all quite clear.  The pot is fairly small though, which made getting to the base layer rather difficult.  I wanted to try each component separately first!

The easy layer to try first, clearly, was the top one: the caramel topping.  I was excited for it, as I do like caramel.  The consistency was great, smooth, not runny but not too thick, but ... I really disliked the flavor.  I'm not quite sure how they made a caramel not taste great to be honest.  But, it just wasn't ... good.  

I dug deeper, reaching the "cheesecake" layer, which turned out to be, literally, just créme fraîche.  Wait, what?  Yes, no real cheesecake element at all.  It wasn't blended with anything.  Just créme fraîche.  Now, I like créme fraîche, but ... it somehow wasn't really tasty either.  Sigh.

It took work to get to the base, but I was determined to get a nice big spoonful of it to evaluate.  Once I did, I was pleased.  I did like that base, which is amusing, as I always find graham cracker crusts on cheesecake "throwaway" elements, usually dry, cardboard-like, and uninteresting.  I get grumpy at cheesecake with graham cracker crusts usually, but this was gritty in a nice way, crispy, and sweetened, blended with molasses and honey for sweetness, coconut oil, peanut oil, and palm oil to make it more firm, and strangely, cocoa?  I didn't taste the cocoa.  It was actually quite good, not just compared to the other elements.

I hoped that getting spoonfuls with all the layers would help round it out, and make the elements I didn't care for somehow come together in harmony.  It didn't work.  I just ... didn't like it, except that base.

The little jar was also really quite a small serving, if I had liked it, it wouldn't really be nearly enough to satisfy me, but it is a 300 cal / 20g fat item, so having both of the twin pack in one sitting might not be the best idea for most.

Definitely not a winning product for me, and when I looked into the other layered desserts and discovered that they are exactly the same, I opted not to try any more.

Read More...

MUSH Overnight Oats

Update Review, August 2025

A few years ago, I tried a product from Mush, and wasn't very into it.  I've seen their products in stores many time since, but even though the flavors look decent, the prices are kinda high, and I've just never gone for it.  But I was recently attending an event where they were giving them out, so of course I tried again.  Still, meh.

Peanut Butter.

"Just when you thought peanut butter was at its peak, we leveled it up. MUSH Protein Peanut Butter Overnight Oats is stacked with nutrient-rich oats, real peanuts, creamy oat milk, dates, and a hint of sea salt. Now with 15g of protein, it’s fuel that takes your day to new heights."

I really wanted to like this.  I like overnight oats.  I like oat milk.  I adore peanut butter.  I was certainly happy to see 15g of protein.  I hoped I wouldn't mind the dates (the only ingredient for sweetness). 

But ... wow, this product really lived up to its name.  It was just mush.  The dark chocolate almond milk based overnight oats I had previously tried were a touch creamier and runnier, this was just thick mush.  I stirred it up, and did find the soft oats within, but, still, just thick mush.  There was nothing about the texture of this that I liked - and again, I do like overnight oats usually!

The flavor was ... ok.  I didn't actually taste the oat milk base which surprised me as oat milk is usually pretty dominant, and I also didn't really taste the dates (yay!), and I did taste peanut butter.  But it was sorta just muted peanut butter.  Mushy, muted peanut butter.  No real sweetness.

I probably could have salvaged this by thinning it out perhaps and maybe warming it up to treat it like regular oatmeal or something, but I gave up.  2/5.

Original Review, 2024

The concept of overnight oats turns off a lot of people.  Simple concept: take oats, add milk of your choice (sometimes yogurt), soak overnight, eat chilled from the fridge.  "Mushy old oatmeal?", I remember my mom saying when I tried to explain them to her.  "Who wants cold congealed oatmeal?", etc.  But for those familiar with bircher style muesli, the concept makes more sense, although they see overnight oats as super basic and lacking ... just milk base?  What about the citrus you should soak it with?

While I embraced overnight oats during a healthy phase I went through 15 or so years ago, I didn't really expect the general American public to, but, they did.  Just like instant oatmeal, you can buy overnight oats packets that you just add milk to and mix up the night before and place in your fridge.  No measuring required, and they often come with flavorings and mix-ins.  And now, ready-made refrigerated overnight oats exist in the cooler section at supermarkets, side by side with the plethora of yogurts.  Several leading brands have emerged, but MUSH seems to be pretty dominant.

Packaging.

"Ready-to-eat oats are different than traditional oatmeal in that they are never cooked. At MUSH, we soak old fashioned oats in almond, coconut, or oat milk. The resulting product is just as easy to digest as traditional oatmeal but is more nutrient dense. We haven't cooked off the vitamins and minerals. No need to heat, just eat!"

Mush makes a variety of flavors, and one thing I found frustrating is that you can't tell from the variety name which type of milk base it uses without reading the ingredients panel.  All use alternative milks, and all are gluten-free.  Flavors range from the basic vanilla bean or maple cinnamon, to fruity strawberry/blueberry/apple cinnamon, to decadent dark chocolate, peanut butter, peanut butter chocolate, or pb&j (yes, they went all in on the peanut butter varieties!).  Some use coconut milk, others almond milk, and others oat.  All use fairly minimal ingredients.

They suggest eating them chilled, but do mention that you can heat them if you wish, transferring to different packaging of course.

Dark Chocolate.

"It only tastes indulgent. MUSH Dark Chocolate Overnight Oats is a blissful blend of real cocoa powder, dates, nutrient-rich oats and silky smooth almond milk for a treat that’s hard to resist but easy to feel good about. Breakfast, dessert, or a 2pm snack…clean ingredients and 7g of protein make it the anytime treat that still keeps you firing on all cylinders."

I really wanted to love these.  But ... I didn't.  The texture of the oats is fine, soft, overnight oats after all.  Although they look creamy, the almond milk really isn't that creamy, I wanted more richness.  The almond milk flavor is fine, but more dominant is the dates.  Chocolate is there, but dominated by the dates too.

So ... reasonable texture oats, not creamy enough, ok flavors, but too much date and not enough chocolate.  I added fresh berries, cocoa nibs, and eventually whipped cream, but I wouldn't get these again.  **.

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Wetzel's Pretzels

Update Review, April 2025 Visits

Another year, another National Pretzel Day, which means, free pretzels at Wetzels!

Original, Buttered, No Salt. $7.39.

I waited in a fairly long line for my free pretzel, only to have the person before me claim the last salted pretzel.  The worker unapologetically told me they didn't even have another batch baking, so plain (buttered) was all he could offer (which, confuses me, they salt them after baking and usually just pluck the plain ones from the display, dose them in more butter, and dunk in salt ...).  But anyway, original, buttered, no salt it was.

The pretzel was fairly average and as expected.  Warm but not super fresh.  Covered in butter.  Baked well, no under baked nor burnt bits.  Standard US style fairly plain base flavor (e.g. not malty like European ones).  I had a little of it then, and took the rest home to re-warm up and use as a dessert with more toppings and sauces.  Low ***.

Original, Buttered, With Salt. $7.39.

The one I got fresh, fresh, fresh out of the oven (as in, I had to wait 2 min for it to finish baking).  Amusingly, it was actually a bit darker than it should be, so they really *should* have pulled it out sooner.  Anyway, classic original pretzel, buttered, and buttered again and salted.  Well formed, piping hot, nice salt level.  I definitely liked having a flavorful mustard I brought with me to dunk it in.  *** due to freshness, but there isn't actually anything particularly remarkable about these pretzels.

Update Review, April 2024 Visit

Yes, another visit to Wetzel's Pretzels for a free pretzel on National Pretzel Day.

Original (no salt).  $5.99.

I got this hot and fresh.  It was already glistening with butter, from the bath they give the pretzels as they take the out of the oven.  I opted for no salt, so I could use it in either savory or sweet dips.  If you do get salt, it gets brushed another time with fresh butter, to help the salt stick.

The pretzel was pretty massive, and not particularly well formed, more like intersecting rings than a proper pretzel shape.  It was buttery, moist, not burnt, but not particularly good.  I tried both savory and sweet dipping sauces and glazes with it, which helped, but the base pretzel just didn't have much flavor.  Auntie Anne's, located in the same mall, and also doing free pretzels was considerably better (in both taste and shape).  Eh.  **.

Update Review, June 2023 Visit

Almond Crunch. $6.49.

Meh.

The pretzel just didn't taste very fresh.  It was taken from the display case and dunked in copious almond crunch coating (which I definitely appreciated, although much of it fell off), but I suspect it had been sitting in the case quite a while.  It also seemed sightly over-baked, was fairly dry, not dough and fluffy, and was pretty dark in one area.  It wasn't very buttery.  Solidly, meh.  

The almond crunch coating was good, sweet, crunchy, but, overall, not a good showing by Wetzel's. **+.

Update Review, April 2023 Visit

Another year, another National Pretzel Day!  Of course I went to celebrate with my favorite (free) pretzel at nearby Wetzel's.  I was thrilled that there was essentially no line, and staff seemed friendly despite the "holiday" that they likely weren't especially excited to be taking part of.

Original w/ Butter & Salt.

"Hand rolled, baked fresh, and lightly buttered & salted. Also available in non-buttered."

I managed to score one fresh out of the oven, then promptly freshly dunked in copious amounts of butter and coated in salt to order.  It was basically as good as a generic soft pretzel of this style is going to get.  It was soft and puffy, the base pretzel had a reasonable flavor (American style soft pretzel of course though, not the malty nature of a German pretzel), and the butter was glorious.  Salt made it all pop.

When you get one of these fresh, it really is quite good.  ***+.

Update Review, May 2022 Visit

National Pretzel Day.  Always a fun day for me, as I enjoy making a journey out of claiming my free pretzel at various vendors, which this year included both Auntie Anne's and Wetzel's, co-located in the same mall, just moments away from each other.  I used this opportunity to try something totally different at Wetzel's, and went to Auntie Anne's, my preferred vendor, for my sweet pretzel (which I reviewed last week).  But at Wetzel's, I kept it simple.  Very simple.

Original Pretzel. No Butter, No Salt.

Have you ever had a plain pretzel?  Like, truly plain?  No butter, no salt, just, pretzel?

I ordered one on a day I was mildly curious what Wetzel base pretzels taste like, and when I saw the display pretzels were all really sad looking ... they looked old and dried out.  And, obviously, like their pretzels normally are, buttered.  So I did the "trick" some people do to get fresh fries at McDonald's by ordering without salt, and asked for an original pretzel, no butter.  I was told there would be a slight wait, which I anticipated, and had no problem with.

It was nice to get a pretzel hot and fresh out of the oven.  It was warm, doughy, and far less crispy/dried out as they can be from sitting under the heat lamps.  It was also, um, very boring.  I knew butter added goodness to it, but, wow, I didn't realize just how plain the base is without it.  No malty, wheaty taste, no ... anything really.  Just some warm, fluffy dough.  It needed far more than mustard to make it interesting.

I actually just brought it home, reheated it up (I know, defeating the purpose of having it fresh!), and dunked half in cheese sauce (yum!) and did the other half covered in cinnamon roll glaze I had left over, and the non-buttered base made it a perfect vehicle for both sweet and savory toppings.  If you plan to bring your pretzel home to use for something else, I recommend this no butter approach, but if you want something to enjoy on the spot, unless you are getting interesting dip, go for the buttery goodness.  Butter is a good thing.

**+.

Update Review, November/December 2021 Visits

Nearly two years in to the pandemic, and my regular mall soft pretzel place, Auntie Anne's, was still closed.  So even though I didn't love Wetzel's Pretzel's my first visit, I decided to try a few more times, this time getting more decadent coated options.

The good news is that I found one I do like, but, I like to have whipped cream to dunk it in, and I like it warm ... and Wetzel's never seem particularly warm nor fresh.

Sinful Cinnamon. $5.79.

"A whole pretzel baked fresh and tossed with cinnamon sugar. Sweet!"

Since the regular pretzel I had last time was a bit boring, I decided to go for a sweet, dessert-like pretzel.  My choices were cinnamon sugar or almond crunch.  I opted for the former, sorta craving a churro at the time.  I went for a full size pretzel, known as the "Sinful Cinammon".  When served in smaller bite form, the cinnamon sugar bites are known as "Cin-A-Bitz".

My pretzel was tossed in cinnamon sugar to order, but the pretzel itself was a plain buttered pretzel plucked from the display.  It was lukewarm, kinda hard, and I don't think was particularly fresh.  

When I tried the Original pretzel, I found it didn't have much base flavor, so this was an improvement over that, in that the sugar and cinnamon coating was generous, and it did add flavor and sweetness.  I found myself still wanting something to dunk in it, or icing, or just ... something.

So overall kinda lackluster, and at $5.79, it just felt expensive for a mediocre item (cinnamon sugar is $0.50 more than plain pretzel).

**+.   It was much better when I brought it home, heated it up, and dunked into whipped cream.  ***.

Almond Crunch. $5.79.

"Make it nutty! A fresh baked Wetzel's Pretzel topped with our sweet and salty almond crunch."

I still have yet to find a Wetzel's pretzel that makes me as happy as I want it to, so for my next selection, I went for the most decadent of the sweet options, the almond crunch.  Much like the Soulful Cinnamon, it was coated in the crunch coat to order, but was otherwise was a plain buttered pretzel plucked from the display.

This was the best pretzel I had so far, but, it still let me down.  The pretzel was both hard and soft, was lukewarm, and clearly was not fresh.  Sigh.  The base flavor was again fairly boring, although it was heavily buttered.

The coating was good though, and very generously applied.  I was impressed with how well the coating stuck to the exterior.  That said, it in no way tasted like almond, and there were no bits of almond identifiable.  "Sugary crunch" seemed more accurate than "almond crunch".

This pretzel was sweet enough, and decadent enough, to be close to a dessert, which is what I was looking for, but it really still needed either caramel to dip into, or whipped cream, or something.  Although, at 596 calories, it didn't "need" it from that aspect ...

Like the Sinful Cinnamon, this pretzel was $0.50 more for the coating.

*** as served, but again, once I brought the other half home, heated it up, and dunked into whipped cream, it took it up a notch, ***+.

Almond Crunch. $5.79.

"Make it nutty! A fresh baked Wetzel's Pretzel topped with our sweet and salty almond crunch."

I had a free pretzel coupon to use a few months later, and since the almond crunch was the best I had so far, I went for it again.  It came out looking like a pretzel from a totally different place, way less coating on it.  I also was able to watch it being made, and saw a regular, unsalted pretzel was plucked from the case, dunked into liquid hot butter, and then put into the crunch coating.  I wonder if you can ask for one salted, or one without butter?

Anyway, this version actually had larger bits of crunch coating, and seemed crunchier than the previous one, even though that one had so much more coating on it.  I think I liked it a bit more, but I also knew what to expect at this point - warm dough, not what I think of as a pretzel, very buttery, slightly sweet coating.  It still needs a caramel or icing dip, or whipped cream and ice cream, or something to complete it for me.

*** as served, ***+ once I added my own ice cream this time.

Jalaroni Twist. $6.29.

"Fresh baked cheese pretzel topped with pepperoni slices and big, juicy slices of jalapeño."

And finally, I went savory.  And rather all out, if you are thinking of a stop at a pretzel place as a "snack".

I'm not really sure this should be considered a pretzel at this point.  Yes, I think it is the same base dough that Wetzel's uses for all their pretzels, and yes it was vaguely pretzel shaped, but ... it really didn't remind me of a pretzel in any way.

But let me back up.  In the savory, cheesy department, Wetzel's has several offerings, all dubbed "Twists", starting with the simple "Cheese Meltdown", which, the best I can tell is just cheesy bread (using their 3 cheese blend), then they have jalapeño or pepperoni versions, and this, the "Jalaroni" which has both.  All are cheesy, and, although they look like pizza, none have pizza sauce (although you can purchase marinara dip separately).  Hence, my evaluation of basically cheesy bread vaguely shaped like a pretzel, more like what you find at a pizza place, just, shaped like pretzels instead of breadsticks.

So how was it?  Well, like all my pretzels from Wetzels, not exactly hot and fresh.  Lukewarm.  Sigh.  Auntie Anne's really does a much better job with freshness.  The base dough used by Wetzels never strikes me as very pretzel-y, not like Bavarian style soft pretzels, which drives me crazy when having a plain pretzel, but works better here.  The very generic dough makes a decent enough base for cheesy bread, but, besides the shape, I wouldn't say it was any different than very generic pizza place cheesy breadsticks.  The jalapeño did add little pops of spice, and the pepperoni made it kinda taste like pizza in a traditional sense, and made it a bit greasier, but still ... just pretzel shaped cheesy bread.  

I think with marinara sauce dip it likely could serve as a pizza replacement, but, at 600 calories per pretzel, uh, why not just get real pizza?  It really isn't a "snack" like this.

Overall, glad to try it, but, eh.

**+.

Original Review, May 2021

Mmm, soft pretzels.  Such classic mall food court food.  Or, well, I suppose the classic setting is sporting events or street vendors selling reheated Superpretzels (which, don't get me wrong, can be quite tasty!), but I'm talking about fresh soft pretzels, usually made right there in front of you, the aroma irresistible, with a bunch of fun dips to pick from.  Like my usual goto, Auntie Anne's.  

Wetzel's has been around since 1994, but I don't think I ever saw them before ... 2015 or so?  Not the common brand where I grew up, and a late comer compared to Auntie Anne's.  They have franchises all over the US, and a few internationally.

Much like Auntie Anne's, pretzels come in "original" (salted with butter), "soulful cinnamon" (cinnamon & sugar), sour cream & onion, and sweet almond crunch.

They also make a slew of pretzels with cheese baked in (some with pepperoni, jalapeno, etc too), smaller "bitz" - nope, not "bites", "bitz", and of course, crowd favorites, pretzel dogs (in several varieties).  Standard soft pretzel shop dips are offered (savory options like cheese or pizza sauce, sweet ones like caramel or icing glaze), and a few fountain drinks like classic lemonade.

Wetzel's Stand at the mall.

Whenever I've walked by Wetzel's, I've seen it as "the other" pretzel place in the mall.  Auntie Anne's was always my goto for a soft pretzel, and they had a "real" storefront, whereas Wetzel's just has a little kiosk in the middle of the hall.  Plus, Auntie Anne's was open for years before Wetzel's joined the lineup.

But Auntie Anne's closed during COVID, and didn't reopen.  Wetzel's did.  Plus, really, how do you resist the aroma of a fresh baked pretzel?  Even with my mask on, I couldn't resist the smell.

Pretzel Making.

Since the kiosk has no separate kitchen, all prep is done right in front of customers.  I felt a bit bad watching with such fascination, much like watching a pizza dough being tossed, but it was really amazing to watch the pretzel dough be rolled out, shaped into a pretzel with the flick of a wrist, and laid out.  The next one was done before I could blink.

Another staff member took the formed pretzels, dipped them in a solution, and put on baking tray.

From there, they went into the oven, where they baked until timer went off, then were rotated 180*, baked again until timer went off, then were moved down to a different rack, and a new batch put in.  One more baking, one more rotation, and they were done.

Clearly a *very* well controlled baking experience.

Bag.

I had to laugh at the message on the bag: "Moderation has a time and place. This isn't it".

<3.

Original with Butter & Salt. $4.89.

"Hand rolled, baked fresh, and lightly buttered & salted. Also available in non-buttered."

For my first pretzel from Wetzel's, I went simple: original.  But yes, of course I got butter and salt.

My pretzel was hot and fresh.  As fresh as can be, literally, we had to wait for them to come out of the oven.  And then to cool a little before they'd hand over.

I was given the option of salted or not, and clearly went for salted, the salt was applied to order, along with being dipped in fresh butter.

It was hot.  It was fresh.  It was glistening with butter.  Salted just enough to really have salt in every bite, but not excessive.  Fairly evenly applied.  All great things.

The pretzel had a lovely chew to it, a bit chewy on the outside, but very soft inside.  Really, just perfectly cooked.

But I'm not raving about it.  Every aspect of the execution was spot on.  It just didn't ... taste like much?  Butter and salt, sure.  But the base pretzel was really lacking in any depth.

I had a packet of mustard in my bag, so I dunked some in there, and it worked, but this really screamed out for something more like warm cheese dip, or even an icing.  Maybe cinnamon/sugar?

So, execution wise?  ****+, but actual satisfaction?  **+.  Overall ... ***.

The $4.89 price seemed high for a pretzel too.

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88 Acres

I live a fairly active lifestyle, so having a quick bar to grab for a snack or breakfast (particularly when traveling) comes in very handy.  But of course I am very opinionated, and I love to try new things, so I've tried a ton of different styles of bars over the years.

Which leads me to 88 Acres.  88 Acres is a very ... seed forward company (yes, I sorta made that term up, but, seeds are at the forefront of their products).  They have 4 main product lines: Seed + Oat Bars, Protein Bars, Seed Butters, and Seed'nola/Edge'nola, all of which focus on seeds as the base.  The later two product lines are newer, and I haven't had a chance to try them yet.  Everything is gluten-free and vegan. 

I enjoy their products, and will continue to purchase them.

Seed & Oat Bars

"Our nutritious gluten free whole-grain oats are an excellent source of high-quality protein and contain manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper – all necessary for healthy functioning bodies, young, old or somewhere in between. 

Our bars are crafted from familiar kitchen staples, combining oats, sunflower, pumpkin, flax seeds, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, and a variety of tasty additions like chocolate chips, vanilla, cinnamon, berry blends, and Australian sea salt."

Seed & Oat bars I believe were the first product line offered by 88 Acres.  They come in 2 styles, thin or regular, both in many flavors.  All use a trifecta of seeds (pumpkin, flax, chia) as the base. 

Thins

The first bar I ever had from 88 Acres was actually one of the thins, which come in fewer flavors.  I think I slightly prefer them to the regular size bars.

Cinnamon Maple Thin.

"Soft-baked for a chewy texture. Made with gluten-free oats and organic cinnamon swirled together for that comforting taste of fall every day of the year."

I find it interesting that they call these "soft-baked" and "chewy", as I find them harder than most granola style bars, almost crunchy.  I actually really like the crunch factor, but it is notable that it isn't how they are advertised.  I've had many of these bars at this point, and they are always this crispier style - you can snap them, not bend them.

Anyway, I really like these.  The signature mix of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, flax) makes it very crunchy, the oats round it out, and the brown rice and maple syrups give it a great sweetness level.  Nicely spiced with cinnamon and sea salt.  Pretty simple ingredients actually, but, well crafted.

I don't do this with any other granola/seed/oat bars, but I really like to dunk these in a bit of greek yogurt or labane (or I spread a layer on top).  Bonus points for also sprinkling on cacao nibs.  I'm not sure why I like them that way, but, the tang and creaminess compliment the bars perfectly.

I'll continue to get these, and would love to try other flavors.  ****.

Cinnamon Maple Thin.

I've had many many of these at this point, and always really quite enjoy them.  Just great form factor, crunch, and cinnamon spicing.  I still always feel compelled to dunk in yogurt though, which I truly cannot explain.  ****.

Regular

The thicker, regular bars come in 7 flavors: 3 featuring chocolate (dark chocolate sea salt, oatmeal chocolate chip, double dark chocolate), 3 with fruit (blueberry lemon, triple berry crumble, apple ginger crisp), and cinnamon maple.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt.

"Soft-baked for a chewy texture. Perfectly balanced with chocolate chips and sprinkled with large flakes of sea salt for that taste of homemade chocolate chip cookies."

This was my first regular bar, not a thin like the others.  It is just over twice the size (45g rather than 22g), mostly just thicker.

The base is the same as the previous flavor: lots of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, flax) and oats, along with brown rice and maple syrups to sweeten, and sea salt to make the flavors pop.  It swaps in bits of dark chocolate in place of cinnamon.

I was let down a bit at first, as I expected more visible and substantial dark chocolate elements.  Without reading the description I assumed it would have a chocolate coating, but even once I realized it didn't have that, I thought there would be big hunks of chocolate.  There were not.  It was still a very seed forward bar, healthy tasting but somehow enjoyable.  Great crunch.  Just, very minimal chocolate.

I think I do like the thin form factor more, and slightly preferred having the stronger cinnamon spicing, but I enjoyed this and would gladly have another.  Lower ****.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

"Soft-baked for a chewy texture, just like a cookie. With creamy chocolate chips and a hint of sea salt, it's the bar you'd make if you had the time!"

So, um, this was the same ingredients as the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, except it also had cinnamon and vanilla extract.  But otherwise, exact same ingredients, in the exact same order, and identical nutrition stats, except that the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt had 5 mg more sodium.  It did however look slightly different, with chocolate limited to the little chips.

This one reminded me a bit of kid's granola bars, or at least, my memory of them, although a thicker, more firm, less gooey version.  It still had the hints of being a healthier choice with the seeds in it that added a touch of bitterness, but the chocolate chips made it certainly sweeter than many of the others.  It was a fine granola bar, but didn't feel particularly unique nor special.  ***.

Apple Ginger Crisp.

"Packed with nutritious ingredients like oats, dried apple, crystallized ginger and maple syrup to recreate that nostalgic apple pie flavor in a chewy snack bar."

This is probably the least interesting, at least to me, flavor I tried.  Just the standard base of oats, pumpkin, flax, and sunflower seeds, brown rice syrup and maple syrup, along with raisins, bits of dried apples and ginger, and some warming spices (cinnamon/cloves/ginger).  It did not remind me of an apple pie as promised.  I actually wouldn't have known it had bits of apple in it, as I never really detected them.  I also didn't really taste the ginger in the way I'd expect from the crystalized pieces in it.

The bar was one of the more bitter flavors I tried, with so little to mask the flax and sunflower seeds in particular, it trended too bitter, and too healthy tasting for me.  The raisins did add a touch of sweetness and softness, but they too make it just taste healthy.  The texture was good, soft with a nice chew.  

Overall, a boring bar for me, and better enjoyed when I dunked it in yogurt to mask the bitterness a bit.  ***.

Protein Bars

"Myth: Protein bars are exclusively for people trying to bulk up.

Fact: Protein bars are good for everyone, especially those looking for healthier snacking options that satisfy the temporary hunger pangs when mealtimes are still far away!"

The protein bars still use seeds (only pumpkin rather than the trio) but have 12 g of protein, compared to the only 7 grams in the regular bars.  They come in only 3 flavors.

Banana Bread.

"Soft-baked for a chewy (never chalky) texture. Made with 12 grams of protein from pumpkin seeds, plus banana paste and a dash of cinnamon for that fresh-from-the-oven banana bread bite."

Hmm. I'm not quite sure how I felt about this.  

Given the description of "soft baked" and my own brain's interpretation of banana bread, I expected this to be a softer bar.  It wasn't entirely crispy, not as crisp as the regular bars, but it was a chewy style, and certainly quite firm.  It did have some banana bread flavors from the banana, cinnamon, and maple syrup, and crunch from pumpkin seeds, but that is all there is to it.  Very seed-forward, slight banana bread flavor.  Not too sweet.

I was more in the mood for something softer with stronger banana bread vibes however, so this wasn't quite right for me.  **+.

Chocolate Brownie.

"Soft-baked for a chewy (never chalky) texture. Made with 12 grams of protein from pumpkin seeds, plus large flakes of sea salt and chocolate for an indulgent boost."

Another soft-baked thick hefty protein bar.  This one was middle-of-the-road for me.  It was a fairly pleasant soft and chewy form factor, with lots of crunch from the plethora of seeds that make up the base.  There were hints of fudgey brownie, but the seeds did dominate.  The bar literally is made of just pumpkin seeds, maple and brown rice syrups for sweetness, dark chocolate and cocoa powder, and sea salt.  So, it tastes like exactly what it is, no more, no less.

***.  Finished it, but likely wouldn't buy another.

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Rule Breaker Snacks

Not by choice, my little niece recently became both gluten-free and dairy free.  For a child, this has been a hard adjustment not being able to eat the snacks everyone else around is eating, and in attempts to give her special things, my mom is slowly working her way through all the products on the market.  I of course have used this opportunity to try things out myself.

Which leads us to Rule Breaker snacks.

Allergen Free.

Rule Breaker is free from the top 11 allergens, so they easily encompass everything my niece needs to avoid, and then some.  Kosher and halal on top of that.  AND, they also aim to be healthier, lower sugar, etc.

The product line is all cookie-adjacent, with single serve normal size cookies, smaller cookies called Juniors, and mini Bites.  The Bites are what I tried.  Most come in a few flavors, including seasonal special like pumpkin spice in the fall, and mint chocolate in the winter.  I tried 3 of the core flavors.

Strawberry Shortcake.

"Rule Breaker Snacks Strawberry Shortcake Bites feature creamy white chocolate chips, a delectable soft-baked texture and of course sweet strawberry flavor. Our little “patch” of Strawberry Shortcake are great for snacking on-the-go, ideal for school and just perfect for picnics in the sunshine."

The first flavor I tried was the most unique: strawberry shortcake.  I love white chocolate, so these called out most to me.  

I did not like these.

They were soft, as promised.  But they tasted more like a nutrition bar than a cookie.  Chewy like one of those bars too.  They tasted healthy.  Not particularly fruity, or at least, not strawberry forward.  This is no real surprise though, particularly once I looked at the ingredients, as chickpeas are the first ingredient, and they are sweetened with date paste and brown rice syrup.  The pink color comes from beets.  Yup, these are far to healthy for me.  Did not even want to finish a single bite.  *.

Chocolate Brownie.

"It doesn't get more chocolately than these rich, fudgy hunks of heaven. We took the same great recipe for our full-size Chocolate Brownies and shrunk them down to just the right size to pop into your mouth.  Rule Breaker Chocolate Brownie Bites may be little, but they're studded with LOTS of chocolate chips. They're so delicious you'd never know that the first ingredient is chickpeas (yes, chickpeas!) and at just 100 calories per serving, they make the perfect snack."

Next up, we tried the most decadent sounding, chocolate brownie.  They were a bit better, but still not very good.  Another soft baked base, sorta between a cookie and brownie.  They did taste a bit chocolately.  But they also had a strange aftertaste, and certainly ate more like a protein bar than an actual treat.  Did not want a second one. *+.

Chocolate Chip.

"If you love chewy, soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, these are the treats for you.  We took the same great recipe for our full-size Chocolate Chip Blondies and shrunk them down to just the right size to pop into your mouth.  They may be little, but they're studded with LOTS of chocolate chips. They're so delicious you'd never know that the first ingredient is chickpeas (yes, chickpeas!) and at just 100 calories per serving, they make the perfect snack."

Finally, although I certainly had no expectations that they would be enjoyable, it was time for chocolate chip.  I was confused when I opened the box as they didn't look anything like the images on the box, nor like, well, chocolate chip cookies.  The base cookie was not blonde, it was just slightly lighter color brown than the chocolate brownie ones.  And the taste?  Yeah, about the same.  Soft cookie-bar bites that seem like a protein bar and not an actual dessert.  Did not want a second bite. *+.

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