Cookie Pop Popcorn

"Combining cookies and popcorn for a delicious sweet and savory combo!"

Cookie Pop is a product line of cookie + popcorn mash-ups, featuring well known cookies like Oreos and Chips Ahoy!  I could care less about the cookie aspect of this, particularly those cookies, but I'm always up for trying munchy snacks, and in particular, a new popcorn.  They also make a "Candy Pop" line with mash-ups including Butterfinger, Snickers, Twix, M&Ms, and others.

I only tried one flavor, but I didn't find it all that compelling.

Chips Ahoy!

"Two of America’s favorite snacks are teaming up to take on your taste buds as we deliver the delicious taste of Chips Ahoy Cookies in a light, crunchy popcorn package! It’s an incredibly satisfying combo that’s big on flavor, low in calories, and guaranteed to surprise and delight snackers of all ages."

"Popcorn made with chips Ahoy! Cookie pieces and drizzled with chocolate."

I approached this bag with apprehension, as I truly do not like Chips Ahoy.  I see zero place in this world for Chips Ahoy.  Why on earth would I ever pick a Chips Ahoy cookie when there are so many better products on the market?  Even packaged, mass produced, snack/dessert items.  You can do so much better than highly processes, chemical tasting, hard cookies.  Anyway.  I hoped this would mostly be chocolate drizzle corn, and it was ... sorta.

Let's just say, if you went into this excited for the pieces of Chips Ahoy! lurking within, you'd be very disappointed.  I've had several bags of this, and they all just have a few tiny little pebbles at the bottom of the bag.  Yes, technically there are cookie bits, but they are so small, and so few, that it barely counts.  And yet ... it still has a fairly uncanny taste of Chips Ahoy.  In that chemical, not fresh, sense.

The popcorn itself is not particularly great either. Decently popped, average sized pieces (I like bigger and fluffier!), not particularly fresh tasting.  It is drizzled fairly well with the mild milk chocolate.  But ... that Chips Ahoy! flavor really does somehow permeate, and that kicks this down many notches.

Very low *** for novelty, but little other merit besides the chocolate drizzle.

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Manghis' Bread

During one of my recent visits to see my family in New Hampshire, I learned about a local-ish wholesale bakery, Manghis' Bread, in Montpelier Vermont.  They do not have a storefront of their own, but their products are sold in a few stores near my parent's house.  They've been making bread in the area for 35 years, but this was the first time I had seen them.  

Their distribution model is fascinating: nearly all their deliveries to retail stores are done by volunteers, who are paid in loaves of bread.  This is likely why they aren't found in more places where my parent's live, as it is an hour drive away.  

"Manghis’ Bread uses only high-quality ingredients in our breads. We source ingredients locally whenever possible."

For those local to the area, you'll recognize the names of their sources: King Arthur for flour, Cabot for butter, McLure's for honey, etc.  As a lover of baked goods, I obviously had to try the products I could get my hands on.

Savory Loaves

The majority of their products are savory loaves, classic sandwich style breads (basic white, wheat, honey bran, oatmeal, rye, cinnamon raisin, etc), along with assorted dinner rolls and a few rustic styles.  They also sell pizza dough.

Poppy Challah (Large). $9.99.

"A traditional Jewish braided bread, rich with egg and honey. Makes delicious French toast (assuming you have any left a few days later)."

I couldn't resist picking up this loaf of challah, even though I had never heard of the bakery.  I'm in love with Irving's challah in San Francisco (which I get from Oren's Hummus on Fridays when they have it), and I was really excited to see a locally made challah in New Hampshire/Vermont.   Manghis' Bread makes both a poppy or a sesame version of this, I went for the poppy seed.  Available in a medium or large loaf, this was the large.

I didn't really like this.  It looked great, nicely braided, good luster to the crust.  But it wasn't as enriched at challah really should be, it really just tasted like white bread.  It was fairly dry.  The sprinkle of seeds was nice for crunch.  No one in the family was really into this.  **.

(Sorry for the poor photo, I wasn't planning to review this bakery when I got the challah, but after I got another item a few days later from Manghis' Bread, I felt compelled to review, and this was the only photo I had of the challah!).

Sweet Treats

Manghis also makes several kinds of sweet breads, which of course is what I was more interested in: twists with lemon cream cheese (or raspberry jam AND the cream cheese), cinnamon rolls (with icing of course), or, very Vermont appropriate, maple buns.  I was very tempted by the cinnamon rolls, but opted for the less exciting looking maple buns, as they seemed far more unique.  They also make holiday breads such as Panettone at Easter and Christmas, German Stollen at Christmas, and Hot Cross Buns for Easter.

Maple Buns.  $11.39.

"Real Vermont maple sugar makes these crumbly, crispy, gooey buns extra delicious."

The buns weren't quite what I was expecting.  I thought they'd be considerably more decadent and dessert-like than they were.  I couldn't see a ton of maple icing or glaze, but thought perhaps it was on the bottom (like sticky buns when you bake, and then flip).  The sweetness of these was really pretty minimal, just a bit of maple and cream cheese filling between the swirls.  The maple flavor was nice, but, there just wasn't all that much of it.

The buns themselves were fairly standard lightly sweet yeasted buns.  Nicely puffy, although a bit dry.  They had a homemade appearance, which made them fairly charming.  There was also a tiny bit of a maple crumb topping on top, but it was even more minimal than the maple-cheese filling.

Warmed up and served with fresh fruit and ice cream I did enjoy my bun, but, I really would prefer more of a maple glaze or icing on top, and didn't really want a second bun.  ***.

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Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn

Yes, I kinda have a snacking problem, and yes coated popcorns are my ultimate vice.  Which of course means I take every opportunity to try new brands that I can find.

"Inspired by the iconic cultural crossroads of Sweetzer Avenue, Hollywood, Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn takes you on a cinematic flavor journey where every bite tells a story."

Sweetzer is a gourmet popcorn manufacturer based in the Los Angeles area.  They sorta leaned into that Hollywood branding, as great movie watching snacks (which, is how they started, the owner was into making great popcorn for movie night). 

"Each and every bag of Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn is non-GMO and painstakingly hand-crafted and air-popped in small batches using real ingredients for authentic first-of-its-kind flavors you won't find anywhere else."

As a gourmet popcorn, they don't use HFCS, and do everything in small batches, yadda yadda.  The flavor lineup is full of great sounding options, on the cheesy side there is everything white cheddar, honey mustard cheddar, jalapeño cheddar, New York pizza, and more, and then on the sweet side, the cookie butter, Irish whiskey caramel (made with Jameson), vanilla butter, spiced rum caramel (Captain Morgan), and even the chocolate jalapeño sounded great.

"Joy - Our popcorn is intended to evoke a powerful, positive emotional response. We believe that eating popcorn can be an experience and that the reaction to our uniquely delicious flavors should always be “Wow!”"

I only tried one flavor, as they aren't distributed many places outside of LA, but I really did enjoy mine, and yes, kinda did say, "wow"!  I'd love to try more flavors. 

Churro Crunch.

"A cinnamon based caramel corn with cinnamon toast crunch cereal sprinkled throughout. Deee-licious!"

"Savor the sweet and cinnamon-rich taste of our churro-infused caramel popcorn, made with actual cinnamon toast cereal pieces."

The flavor I got my hands on was Churro Crunch, which I'll admit wasn't my top choice of flavor, but, I really did enjoy it.  

The popcorn pieces were large kernels, all perfectly popped.  They were very well coated in caramel, making them wonderfully crispy and sweet.  The caramel had a nice depth of flavor to it, and wasn't a cloying sweet style, even though the pieces were extremely coated.  There was a cinnamon taste to it, but it wasn't as strong as I expected (which was fine really).

And then, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces.  They really did just use Cinnamon Toast Crunch, not a fancier off-brand, or even attempt to make their own.  The real deal, no apologies.  The mix was probably 25% or less Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which definitely enough, as I'm not a Cinnamon Toast Crunch lover.  I did like the variety the pieces added though.

So overall, it didn't scream out "churro" to me, but, it was great form factor popcorn, well coated, and a great flavor.  The bag said it was 3 servings but ... yeah.  It was gone in a single night.  ***+

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Buttercup Bake Shop

I didn't know anything about Buttercup Bake Shop, and in fact had never heard of it, before I went to write this review.  But I discovered the bakery when someone had extra cupcakes when I was visiting our New York office, and of course I sought out info afterwards.  I can't ever resist a chance to try new baked goods!

Buttercup Bake Shop was started in 1999, by one of the two founders of Magnolia Bakery.  Yes, *that* Magnolia Bakery (which I've reviweed before), and yes, she left Magnolia to start her own place just a year before Magnolia blew up on Sex in the City.  Anyway, same baker, new place.

The offerings from Buttercup Bake Shop are about what you'd expect from an American bakery: cakes & cupcakes, cookies & bars, cheesecake & pies.  Some are gluten-free.  I tried only the cupcakes, available for $4.25 each.  Cupcakes come in a slew of flavors, with all the expected basics, including some filled or elaborately topped, some honoring snack food favs like Twinkie or Deviled Dog inspired, and some less classic American flavors such as buko pandan or, as I went for, ube.

I found the cupcakes to be much like those from Magnolia: underwhelming.  I think they just aren't my style of cupcake.  When in NY, my heart belongs to Empire Cakes.

Ube.

"Imported purple yam paste from the Philippines gives our unique texture and taste to our delicious Ube cupcake and buttercream."

Ube!  I was so excited to see this flavor offered, as you'd expect given that there is a label dedicated to the ingredient on my blog.  

It was an attractive purple cupcake, with a purple base, purple buttercream, and even purple icing sugar on top.

This cupcake was a mixed success for me.  The cake itself let me down.  It wasn't particularly moist, and the ube flavor was fairly muted.  I would have easily believed it was just vanilla.  ** cake.

But the buttercream?  Now THAT I loved.  It was very sweet, but somehow not cloying.  It was fluffy.  It tasted like ube and vanilla and sugar and butter.  Uh, yes, ube buttercream indeed.  I really enjoyed that buttercream, and it ratio of cake to frosting was good.  **** frosting.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

"Vanilla cake with a chocolate chip cookie inside topped with cookie dough molasses buttercream + cookie dough topping."

Eh.  The description stated there would be a filling of sorts, but there was not.  There were mini chocolate chips studded throughout the cake, but I was expecting something a bit different given the description ... either a cookie baked inside as the description implied, or maybe a cookie dough style filling.  The cake was fairly plain, not particularly moist, average cake.  Distribution of the little chips was good.  

The frosting was ... well, exactly as described, molasses flavor.  Extremely strong molasses flavor.  For me, too strong.  I didn't care for the flavor all that much, and I don't really think of strong molasses in conjunction with chocolate chip cookie dough?  The description also said there would be "cookie dough topping" which seemed to just be a few mini chips.

So overall, well, no filling, no cookie dough topping, boring cake, and too strong molasses buttercream. Not a winner for me.  *+.

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Katz's Deli Private Event Catering

Yes, Katz's Deli.  The one famous for many things, e.g. "I'll have what she's having" and many other movie scenes, along with being around forever (founded in 1888), notorious for looong lines and crazy ticket system, etc, etc.  I'm fairly certain I went there my first ever visit to NY, because, well, I had to right?  I don't particularly recall a ton about that visit though, besides the line, as it was close to 20 years ago and I wasn't much of a foodie then.

Corporate Lunch Option.

But Katz's Deli also does catering and private events.  Their options include a food truck, drop off catering trays, etc, or, as we had at my office, a full carving station.

Carving Station.

The setup was impressive, they even had their own big light up Katz's sign, and a crew of staff members each working a carving station for each type of meat offered.  Everything was sliced to order, just as it is in the deli.

Popup Menu

"Featuring our world famous pastrami, which is so tender it'll make you forget your ex, our classic corned beef so juicy you'll be dripping more than a leaky faucet in your zeidi’s bathroom, the hot brisket is so tender, it'll melt in your mouth like a schmear on a hot bagel, and turkey so succulent it'll make you want to get down on your knees and thank the poultry gods for its existence."

Our lineup featured the main 4 meats Katz's is known for: pastrami (obviously), corned beef, brisket, and turkey.  Rye bread only.  The setup includes Katz's own full sour and half sour pickles, as well as condiments (mustard, Reuben dressing, mayo).  Our hosts also added on potato salad and slaw.

Sliced to order.

The staff pulled out big steaming slabs of meat, sharpened their knives in front of us, and got to carving!

Pastrami on Rye. $28.95.

I was pretty interested in the corned beef, but I felt like if I was getting only one thing, it had to be the pastrami right?  I think at the deli you have choice of bread, but our event had only rye.

The bread was remarkably soft.  Such perfectly fresh bread.  I saw them pull out the (giant, lengthy!) loaves, and, besides the length, it looked like generic bread in plastic wrap, nothing fancy about it, not from a local bakery, etc, but, wow it was soft and fresh.  Slight caraway flavor, just enough.  Great bread, really.  ****.

Pastrami!

Of course, the pastrami inside was the main attraction.  Great crust.  Perfectly rare/mid-rare.  It fell apart easily as you bit in.  There was a fair amount of fat on the far end of the pieces, but you can request lean meat only.

Yes, this is great pastrami (particularly with the bread and condiments).  ****.

A full sandwich sells at the restaurant for $28.95 (our event served half sandwiches).

Sides / Condiments.

To go with our sandwiches, we had two kinds of side salad (potato, slaw), and two kinds of pickles, along with standard condiments.  I was really hoping for the other side salad Katz offers (macaroni), but alas.  

Full Sour & Half Sour Pickles. $11.95/Quart.

"Our famous house-brined pickles are available by the quart! Full sours have a garlicy, tangy crunch."

"If you've ever dined with us before, you know all about our incredible housemade pickles. We offer full sour pickles as well as half sour pickles (also referred to as new pickles!), which are brined for less time and taste more like a snappy, fresh cucumber.  Either way, they're garlicky and crunchy; everything you'd expect a pickle to be. "

I tried both kinds of pickles, and brought some home to share with my family so they could at least experience some part of Katz.  My father, sister, and mother all said they tasted too much like cucumbers.  They are not used to actual deli pickles, clearly.  My 7 year old niece however LOVED them, and demanded all the rest.  I thought they were fine, a decent fresh pickle, nicely sour, but not something I'd rave about nor go out of my way for. ***.

Deli Mustard. $5.50.

"Our handmade mustard adds a bit of zest to any of our classic sandwiches. Add it to anything you'd like to for that matter...hot dogs, knishes, dip your pigs in a blanket in it, you get the point..."

The mustard was good.  Nice zing.  Went perfectly with the meat.  ****.

Reuben (Russian) Dressing. $4.50 / 8 ounce jar.

"Our housemade Reuben dressing is a key ingredient to a classic Reuben, but regulars often ask for it on almost any sandwich!"

The reuben dressing was extremely tangy.  Very sharp.  It did go well with the meat, but the flavor was intense, and I almost felt like it competed with the flavor in the meat itself, almost masking it as it dominated.  Low ***.

Potato Salad. $8.45/16 ounces.

The potato salad ... was ... ok.  Honestly, not great. Very simple.  Just potato in dressing.  It had a lot of bite to it, I think too much vinegar.  It just tasted quite harsh.  Very little seasoning.  I did like the style of big slices of potatoes rather than chunks, and they weren't too mushy, but I wouldn't get this again.  **+.

Coleslaw. $8.45/16 ounces.

The coleslaw was better.  Still very simple (one color of cabbage, a little carrot), but the dressing to this was more balanced with the addition of mustard, and it was more flavorful with the addition of onion and garlic powder.  I think it also had horseradish as it had quite a zing too it, although that was not listed in the ingredients.  I liked the big chunks of crisp cabbage.  ***.

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Cheesecake Factory At Home

Update Review, 2024

As I mentioned when I reviewed the classic Cheesecake Factory mini baguettes from their "At Home" product line, they also transform their signature brown wheat bread into dinner rolls, larger buns, and a sandwich loaf.  Although I didn't love the baguettes before, they were good for bakery bread, so I was curious to try something else.

Bakery Buns.

"Our Bakery Buns have a rich taste and soft texture with a wholesome oat topping that complements whatever recipe inspires you.  They’re sturdy enough to hold generous portions of your favorite flavors at the grill or in the kitchen."

I was really curious about these.  I like their brown bread, but it seems like it would overpower burgers, or pulled pork, or anything I'd normally put into it.    

The buns were about as expected.  Soft.  Moderately fresh.  Slightly sweet and malty taste.  Good scattering of oats on top.  But I really just wasn't sure how to use them. If I was one to eat deli meat turkey sandwiches, or grilled chicken, I could see it going well with either of those.  ***.

Original Review, February 2021

Perhaps you've been lamenting that can't go out to The Cheesecake Factory to enjoy their epic menu of #allTheThings.  Such is the COVID world.  But did you know that you can just go to your local grocery store and, most likely, get a bunch of their branded items?

"We are excited to be introducing The Cheesecake Factory At Home™ - a line of delicious products that can be enjoyed at home. Look for these exciting new products in select retailers near you!"

Is it the same as going to the restaurant with its 250 item long menu?  (Yes, really.). Clearly, no.  Most of these products aren't even replicas of actual things served at the restaurant, but, of course there are cheesecake options (whole cheesecakes, slices, or bites), and, probably the part of a Cheesecake Factory meal more people look forward to than the cheesecake even: the brown bread, along with other breads, ice cream, and, um, puddings.  A very random assortment of items, no actual entrees, nor even appetizers (I would have expected frozen appetizer line!), and, really, I love pudding, but ... that seemed so very random.

Note that this is entirely different from their cheesecake, cakes, and cupcakes available to foodservice distributors, which I've reviewed previously (along with a slew of desserts).

During the summer of 2020, while staying in rural New Hampshire with my family, I got a chance to try out some of these products.  I was pleasantly surprised by a few.

Bread

"The Cheesecake Factory® is the fantastical food experience that is absolutely certain to satisfy. Now you can enjoy our famous “brown bread” and new brioche hamburger buns– at home. Loved around the world, our brown bread baguette is a Cheesecake Factory signature taste – now available to enjoy at home in Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Bread. Our deliciously buttery and sweet gourmet Brioche and Wheat Brioche Hamburger Buns were made exclusively for you to enjoy at home."

Yup, breads.  The famous brown bread is available in 3 forms (dinner rolls, mini baguettes, and sandwich loaf), and they also offer up two styles of burger buns.   I found these in the bakery section of my grocery store, not frozen.

Brown Bread Mini Baguettes.

"The Cheesecake Factory® is the fantastical food experience that is absolutely certain to satisfy. Now you can enjoy our famous “brown bread” – at home. Loved around the world, our brown bread baguette is a Cheesecake Factory signature taste – now available to enjoy at home in Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Bread."

I opted for the mini baguettes as my form factor of choice.

I tried it many different ways, and always liked it, but never loved it, not quite as much as I wanted.

I found that I certainly preferred it slightly warm, not crispy, so I didn't just heat it at 350* for 5 minutes as instructed, but rather, wrapped it in foil so it would warm but not crisp.

It was ok with butter, the slight sweetness of the bread made it a touch interesting, but it didn't wow me.  I used honey butter the next day, and again, it was good, but not great.

It was better dunked in heavier sauces, it went great with Trader Joe's excellent tomato sauce found in the frozen stuffed shells, but in that case, it was just a vessel for the delicious sauce.  I think it could go well with pesto or chimichurri too.

The winner though?  No question, dunking it in anchovy oil, e.g. the oil left behind in a tin of anchovies packed in oil.  I loved that pairing!

This was a good packaged bread product, but, I wouldn't get it again.  Low ***.

Ice Cream

"Cheesecake lovers no longer need to choose between a slice and a scoop; now you can have both in one delicious dessert! Our new Ice Cream line features seven celebratory flavors with real cheesecake ingredients incorporated right into the mix."

While *most* desserts I do believe get tremendously better a la mode, cheesecake is one I've never considered that way really (adding whipped cream, of course).  I did recently discover that I do love carrot cake warmed up and paired with ice cream (even when it has tons of cream cheese frosting, yes!), so maybe ...

Nor have I ever really felt the question of "cheesecake or ice cream", or "slice or scoop" as they put it.  Both are great desserts, but rarely ones that come up as a question like that.  Anyway.  Cheesecake Factory has branched into ice cream, as a retail product, readily found around grocery stores nationwide.

As an ice cream girl, who consumes ice cream at least once per day, of course I needed to check it out.  They currently offer 7 flavors: original, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, cookies & cream, birthday cake, and key lime.  Basically, your basic ice cream flavors (vanilla, choc, strawberry, cookies & cream), the top selling trends (salted caramel, birthday cake), and, one wildcard (key lime).  I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any that were actually inspired by their actual cheesecakes offered at the restaurant ... at least a red velvet?  All feature the same base ice cream featuring cream cheese and sour cream, and mostly vary just by what is swirled in.

Original.

"Premium Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Signature Cream Cheese Blend, Sour Cream and Graham Swirls."

"This one’s a classic! Our Premium Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Signature Cream Cheese Blend, Sour Cream and Graham Swirls is the perfect scoop of creamy cheesecake goodness in a frozen treat you’ve been waiting for!"

I started with the basic "Original" flavor, their signature cheesecake, as an ice cream, with graham swirls.

My first impression was quite positive: it was indeed true to name - it tasted like cheesecake, a very classic, sour cream forward, tangy cheesecake.  It does have both sour cream and cream cheese in it  Would you put it on top of a slice of pecan pie?  Nah, I think it would clash.  But I immediately wanted to throw some on top of a berry crisp.  It was very very rich however.

The texture/consistency was fine, not super creamy, but not bad.  The style that freezes quite hard, and definitely needs to soften before serving.

The graham swirl worried me - I don't really care for graham, but also, so often this kind of element is gritty or mushy and somewhat "ruins" a product for me.  I didn't see much on top, but once I dug in ...

Original: The Swirl.

It was far more than a "swirl".  Huge, huge chunks of the graham cracker substance.

It was rock solid, so nearly impossible to just get a little, once you had a big chunk, you were getting a HUGE chunk.  On the plus side, it was not mushy nor gritty, and did add a nice crunchy texture sorta.  But I don't really like graham that much, so, the flavor wasn't one I really wanted.

Overall, I found myself wanting to like this more than I did.  It was so intense in its cheesecake nature, which would be great, but ... I never seemed to actually *want* cheesecake ice cream.  I need to be in the mood for cheesecake, and use ice cream as a pairing usually, and I just never felt the urge to pull this pint out.  That said, if you really like cheesecake, and like the sound of a cheesecake ice cream, I think it really was quite true to name.  **+.

Decadent Desserts (aka Pudding)

Oh, pudding.  Another of my favorite desserts.  And one so very underrated.  I was pleased to see Cheesecake Factory, fairly randomly, launched a premium pudding line, dubbed "Decadent Desserts" (which, is fairly amusing, because pudding is just not nearly as decadent as their namesake item ...).

I had pretty low expectations thought - why pudding? They don't have pudding on the menu at restaurants, it has nothing to do with cheesecake, it just seemed ... random.  And honestly, most store brand pudding, shelf-stable or refrigerated, ready-to-eat or make at home, etc is just, well, not very good. But the Cheesecake Factory at Home Pudding?  Well, it is remarkably good.  

The puddings are considerably more "real" than those on the shelves next to it, like Snack Pack, Jello, etc, and as such, carry a much higher calorie/fat/sugar content (e.g. 290 calories per cup instead of 100 or less in Snack Pack or only 60 in Jello, with 12 grams of fat instead of 3 g or 1 g, respectively, and a whopping 39 grams of sugar instead of ~10 in Snack Pack or ~15 in Jello.  Or really,  0 as most of theirs are sugar free).  Even the Jello brand "Decadent" line is <100 calories each.  Of course, this is just due to what is in it - whole milk and cream are the first two ingredients in Cheesecake Factory line, instead of water (!) and nonfat milk in a Snack Pack, or skim milk and water in Jello brand.  It really is pudding.  And you can tell.

The puddings come in 4 flavors: Vanilla Fudge Duet (vanilla bean pudding with dark chocolate sauce), Chocolate Black-Out (Belgian chocolate pudding over dark chocolate fudge sauce), Cake Batter Strawberry Royale (cake batter "inspired" pudding with sweet strawberry puree), and Salted Caramel Delight (salted caramel pudding with rich caramel sauce).

They all sounded pretty good to me, besides perhaps the cake batter strawberry (although honestly, I'd try any!), which was fine, as my local Hannaford (the only place that had them) didn't stock that variety anyway.

Salted Caramel Delight Packaging.

The puddings come as 2-packs (rather than 4-6 like other brands), and are found in the refrigerated section.  They must stay refrigerated.  Mine had about a month until the expiration date.

Salted Caramel Delight.

"Creamy salted caramel pudding over rich caramel sauce."

"Delightfully decadent! Our creamy salted caramel pudding with rich caramel sauce is inspired by The Cheesecake Factory’s deliciously decadent desserts."

I started with the salted caramel.  One bite in and I was amazed.  It was *good*.  Very good.

The pudding was very creamy, and, unlike all other brands ... didn't taste anything like chemicals.  It had no fake flavor to it at all.  It didn't taste like salted caramel, but rather, butterscotch, and that did not bother me one bit (I adore butterscotch pudding, probably my favorite flavor).  It tasted homemade, really.  It had a depth to it "like grandmas", honestly.  The pudding layer was fairly wholesome, or at least, not loaded with crazy, just whole milk, cream, sugar, corn starch, salt, "natural and artificial color", and fruit juice (for color?).

It was fabulous as butterscotch pudding, although I wanted some whipped cream to put on top.  I also thought immediately that it would go great perhaps with some caramelized bananas and a shortbread crumble.  But, the pudding alone, or pudding and whip, was plenty satisfying.

I dug down to reach the sauce in the bottom, which was also supposed to be salted caramel.  It indeed tasted more like caramel, although I still tasted no salt, and it was a nice sauce.  The consistency was great - not thin, not too thick, easy to swirl in.  There was plenty of it.  And it was *very* sweet.  Yes, of course I tried just a spoonful of it alone, and that was way too much.  But some swirled in?  Great.  The salted caramel is made from corn syrup, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, nonfat milk, buttermilk, etc, basically, what you'd expect to find in caramel sauce.

I was really quite pleased with my cup, although I found it far better to put into a bigger bowl, so I could add whipped cream (and crumble or shortbread biscuits!), and so I could mix in the caramel sauce.  It was a bit hard to get balanced bites eating out of the cup.  I was curious what it would be like to actually just mix it all up, mixing in all the sauce, sorta like fruit on the bottom yogurt, but, I didn't want to ruin it.  That pudding layer was just too good.

I would get this again in a heartbeat, and I think it truly was as good as homemade.  Shocked, really. ****.

I immediately updated my grocery shopping list to include trying a new flavor.

Chocolate Black-Out.

"Rich Belgian chocolate pudding over dark chocolate fudge sauce."

"A chocolate lover’s dream! Our rich Belgian chocolate pudding with dark chocolate fudge sauce is inspired by The Cheesecake Factory’s deliciously decadent desserts."

Next up, the chocolate chocolate one.  Chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge sauce.

This one was less successful for me.

The pudding was a very dark, very rich looking color, but the flavor wasn't particularly strong.  It was sorta creamy, but a bit grainy.  Now, granted, I had this just a few days after having a fairly mind blowing chocolate mousse, so I had that in mind, but this just wasn't anything special.  It seemed no better, no worse, than any packaged pudding on the market (although, like the salted caramel version, was made with real ingredients - whole milk, sugar, cream, whole eggs, etc).  I didn't really want it.

But the dark chocolate fudge sauce?  That was delicious.  And although technically a "sauce", it was more of a super chocolate pudding-sauce, really creamy, excellent flavor.  I tried mixing some in to the pudding to make the pudding shine more, but really, I just wanted the sauce.

I "salvaged" the second cup by just giving my dad the pudding layer, and keeping the sauce layer, adding whipped cream and brownie bits, and truly loved it.  ** pudding, **** sauce.

I wouldn't get this again obviously, as the chocolate pudding was just meh, but it made me excited to try the Vanilla Fudge Duet, featuring the same fudge sauce layer.

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Harry & David

Update Review

I had a big realization about Moose Munch, the classic Harry & David caramel and chocolate popcorn and nuts mix, which I've reviewed several times before (below).

You know when you were a child, and loved something super sweet, and adults made dramatic statements like, "it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about that"?  I never knew what they meant, and just rolled my eyes dramatically back ... until I had Moose Munch.  The caramel covered pieces in this do literally make my teeth hurt if I have more than a few.  I enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but they are just too much.  This mix really needs some plain pieces mixed in.  *** for those pieces, just, too much.  The dark chocolate coated pieces though I do truly love (****) and same with the very candied nuts (****), but those caramel pieces ... just, too much, even for me.  ***+ overall, brought down by the caramel pieces.

Iced Gingerbread.

"Our Gingerbread Moose Munch follows our classic Caramel Moose Munch, then we had bits of Gingerbread cookie pieces to create this delicious holiday treat. We add a white chocolate drizzle to remind you of the flavor of the royal icing piping."

Danger.  Danger, danger, danger.  *That* is what the warning label on this should read.  Because, zomg, danger.

I would have never sought this flavor out, not being all that excited about gingerbread, but my sister gave it to me for Christmas.  I'm so very glad she did.  But, um, oops.  Danger.

The base is the standard totally addicting and way way way too sweet caramel Moose Munch.  It is the type of caramel corn that even makes your teeth hurt from all the sugar.  And, the kind, that at least I cannot stop eating.  So, super decadent base, but then they drizzle it with sweet and creamy white chocolate, and add in bits of gingerbread cookies.  The cookies provide occasional pops of molasses flavor, the white chocolate makes it even sweeter, and it turns out even more impossible to stop devouring than the original.  I liked the assorted size clusters, some just popcorn, others with all the goodies in them.  Like the original Moose Munch, it has bits of nuts (almonds, cashews) in there too, mostly entirely candied, that make you say, "hey look, I'm being responsible, eating protein too!".

I adored this, and finished the bag, that is supposed to be something like 16 servings, in, let's just say, fewer than 16 servings.  I'd gleefully get it again.

****+.

Update Reviews, Holidays 2020-2021

Since I've reviewed Harry & David many times before, I'll leave you to read my previous reviews for general info about the brand.  This year, while I got to try a few good chocolate products, sadly, no signature Moose Munch was delivered alongside, and I missed my favorite Harry & David treat.

Truffles

Milk Chocolate Truffle.

"When it comes to memorable treats, our rich chocolate truffles represent the top tier of sweet decadence. The silky smooth center of each truffle is cloaked in a layer of chocolate that melts in the mouth with a flavor that is timeless and delicious."

Milk Chocolate
Such a rich truffle!!! A delicious truffle, but so very rich. And so very creamy. And a lovely milk chocolate flavor. Really, this was a nice product. It was almost like a soft fudge, or perhaps a slightly more solid center of a chocolate lava cake.

The shell was not what I anticipated - I expected a snappy chocolate shell, this was soft, and not that distinct from the inside. But all so good.  ****.

Milk Chocolate Mint
The mint one was even better. Same rich base, creamy, luxurious, fudge like, this time with a lovely mint backdrop. The mint was powerful but not overwhelming, and it was truly just delicious. ****+.

Pretzels

"Our premium gourmet pretzels come in an array of flavors including perennial favorites and special, seasonal flavors. Choose from yogurt-covered pretzels, peanut butter pretzels, our own delectable gourmet chocolate pretzels, and more. "

Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzel Twists.

Since these were part of a gift box, I didn't get to pick the variety, so sadly they were the kind I'd probably pick last: milk chocolate. Not that there is anything *wrong* with milk chocolate, but, with options like peanut butter milk chocolate and even dark chocolate, they seem like last place.
They were fine. Crispy pretzels, well coated in decent enough milk chocolate. Nothing particularly notable about them in any way, positive or negative.

I enjoyed them as a little treat, but I'd still like to try the other varieties more. ***.

Update Review: Holiday Season 2018-2019

Another year, more gift boxes from Harry & David (previous reviews here).

This year, along with more and more Moose Munch (yes!), I got to try a few chocolate items, and finally, the signature, famous pears.

The Moose Munch remains my favorite.

Chocolates / Truffles

"Expertly crafted in our own candy kitchen using a proprietary blend of chocolate, our truffles are a chocolate lover’s dream."

Milk Chocolate / Coffee / Cherry Truffles (front row)
Raspberry (back row). 

"There's nothing quite like biting into the creamy center of a premium quality gourmet chocolate truffle. We've been using our signature truffle recipe for over 30 years, and it hasn't changed for a reason. Made in our candy kitchen in Southern Oregon using a proprietary blend of chocolate, these exquisite treats come in an array of flavors, like milk chocolate, white coffee, and dark chocolate cherry. Timeless and delicious, these silky truffles are a chocolate lover's dream."

This box is their Signature Assortment, with one each of milk chocolate, white chocolate coffee, dark chocolate cherry, all dark chocolate, dark chocolate raspberry, and milk chocolate almond.

I tried the "Cherry" first, hoping it was going to have a juicy cherry inside, but alas, it was just a dark chocolate shell, drizzled with red white chocolate, with a mildly cherry flavored dark chocolate ganache inside.

The ganache was smooth, the entire thing was fine, but the cherry flavor wasn't that pronounced, and the dark chocolate shell didn't seem particularly high quality. ***.

Milk Chocolate Almond.

The milk chocolate almond was a lovely piece.

The exterior shell was thick, soft, creamy milk chocolate, with a few bits of almond stuck on.  This was good, but it was the filling that was great.  Such smooth rich ganache, with a slight subtle flavor to it (was it almond accented?) that I found really pleasing.

I really quite enjoyed, and savored, this piece. ***+.

Peppermint Bark: Top View.

"Dark chocolate, white chocolate, and candy canes collide in this legendary peppermint treat."

The peppermint in the peppermint bark comes solely in the form of crushed candy canes, covering the entire top of the confection.  I did not detect any peppermint flavor in either of the chocolate layers, only the topping.

The mint was intense though, but the flavor not any more interesting than your standard candy cane. ***.

Peppermint Bark: Side View.

  "Creamy white chocolate layered over rich dark chocolate and topped with crushed peppermint candy is a delightful old-fashioned sweet indulgence. This will quickly become a favorite among candy gifts."

From the side you can see the other components, the dark and white chocolate.  Both were fine, smooth, creamy.  I wanted to taste more dark chocolate however, I found the amount at the base fairly minimal, and not as ... chocolatey as I wished.

So overall, a fairly boring peppermint bark for me really, the mint just candy canes, the chocolate didn't quite deliver either.  But non-offensive.

Fruit

Royal Riviera™ Pears.

"The pears that started it all. Our founders, Harry and David, called these pears "so big and juicy, you eat them with a spoon®." That was 80 years ago, when the brothers started selling Southern Oregon-grown Royal Riviera® Pears as gourmet gifts. Royal Riviera® Pears are delicate and require warm days and cool nights to grow, making Southern Oregon ideal for cultivating this famous fruit. The sweet flavor, buttery texture, and extreme juiciness of these pears are what make them so delicious. Every one is handpicked and packed to arrive at your door in perfect condition.

It's a time-honored tradition for families to decide who gets to enjoy the gold-wrapped pear when they receive a box of our famous fruit."

I finally got a chance to try the very famous pears, even though, um, pears were not exciting to me in any way.

Every box of Harry & David pears comes with a single pear wrapped in gold foil.  It is their signature thing.  It creates an element of uniqueness of that one pear.  Who gets it?  Of course I did.

Magical Gold Pear?

"Expertly grown and handpicked, these premium pears have a soft, buttery flesh that's so sweet, you might want to save them for dessert."

I unwrapped my gold fruit.  It ... looked like a pear.  It looked just like any other pear.

It tasted ... like a pear.  Like any old pear.  It was a bit beat up, which certainly didn't help make it seem special.  It was a bit mushy.

Sorry, this pear was not magical to me in any way.  I'll stick with the Moose Munch. ***.

Moose Munch

Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - Milk Chocolate (January 2019).

A year later, it was time for another gift basket from Harry & David, and this time, I knew I wanted to snatch up the Moose Munch.  Again we had the same milk chocolate variety as the year before.

I'll just warn you now.  This stuff is dangerous.  While the caramel bits are just *too* sweet to eat by more than one handful at a time, I found it way too easy (as in, oops, it happened) to eat every single piece of chocolate coated popcorn and every single candied nut in a single sitting.  Note that this bag was listed as 7 servings, each fairly indulgent.  Ooops.

But I really love the milk chocolate coated pieces.  The milk chocolate is creamy and smooth, a really good quality chocolate.  And the nuts, while not many in the bag, just kept me hunting for more.  I appreciated that there were almonds and cashews in here, not just standard peanuts.  Some of the nuts were caramelized, some chocolate coated, some on their own, others attached in clusters.  I sought them all out, just like when eating a bag of Chex mix, when you decide you want all of one particular item.  That was me and these nuts, and, the chocolate coated pieces.

The caramel pieces were good to sneak a few of in alongside my coveted items, but, once the other things were gone, I was left with a bag of seriously rich, seriously sweet, seriously indulgent popcorn that was just a bit too much to handle.  ***+.

Original Review, Holidays 2017-2018

Harry & David is a "gourmet gift" producer, whose products are generally sold via mail order or online, although they also have a handful of retail stores.  They mostly sell gift baskets, fruits, and chocolates.  Not exactly things I'm generally in the market for, yet sometime show up on my doorstep.

Their signature item is "Moose Munch" popcorn.  

"Moose Munch® Popcorn is not your average caramel popcorn. We pay attention to every single detail of our secret recipe. Right down to the way the popcorn looks and sticks together. We make over five million pounds a year. "

Now, 5 million pounds of anything is a lot, but particularly of a lightweight item!  Moose Munch® comes in a zillion flavors, like simple milk or dark chocolate, exotic banana coconut and apricot mango, and even some sugar free versions.  A flavor for everyone.

Harry & David leads the gift basket industry, so every year, I get to try various products when others bring in their gift basket discards to the office (one man's trash is ... my treasure!).  I often fail to write them up usually, as the products are usually already open, or I just grab a snack as I run between meetings.

But I finally got to try the coveted "Mouse Munch", thus, a proper review is in order.

Moose Munch

"Inspired by the Pacific Northwest, Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn is the anytime snack that’s almost too good to share. Carefully made in small batches in our own candy kitchen using real butter, creamy caramel, and crunchy nuts, it took over 160 tries to perfect our special recipe. Add our proprietary blend of chocolate to the mix and you have a snack made in heaven. Enjoy handful after handful during an evening in, or take along for an on-the-go boost of energy when you’re out on your next adventure. 

While you’ll want to keep it all for yourself, Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn is a great snack to share with a buddy, and it makes a delicious gift for fans of chocolate-covered popcorn and caramel popcorn alike. And with a wide array of flavors to choose from, there’s plenty to go around. Chocolate-lovers will rejoice over the many milk, dark, and white chocolate-covered varieties, while other snackers will love inventive flavors like peanut butter, orange crème, cherry vanilla, and more. There are even a fat-free and sugar-free versions."

Moose Munch is not just a popcorn.  Harry & David have build an entire product range around it.  Yes, you can get the popcorn in a variety of flavors, you can get it as part of many different gift packs, etc, but they have also turned it into cheesecake, and even flavored coffee, along with assorted Moose Munch branded gear, featuring the signature moose head (his name is Jasper, apparently). 

Interesting ...

Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - Milk Chocolate. (December 2017)

"Our milk chocolate Moose Munch® Gourmet Popcorn is the perfect mix of sweet milk chocolate, buttery caramel, and crunchy nuts."

"Popcorn, almonds, and cashews covered in caramel and milk chocolate."

Given my love for popcorn, and caramel corn in particular, it is no surprise that I was excited to try Harry & David's signature "Moose Munch".  The standard Moose Munch is just caramel corn with candied nuts, but I tried the milk chocolate version, with milk chocolate covered pieces in the mix as well.

It was certainly decadent caramel corn.  No piece was left uncoated, no piece even moderately coated, each and every piece was intensely sweet.  I can't imagine eating just a bag of this caramel corn actually, it was just too much.  Good, but, wow, it needed some less coated pieces in order to temper it.

The milk chocolate pieces were great though.  Good quality chocolate, and again, really well coated.  The chocolate did help counter the sweet caramel pieces.

I found myself seeking out more and more of the chocolate pieces, but there were substantially fewer of them than the caramel ones.

The candied nuts were good for a bit of crunch now and then, but, again, there weren't many of them.

Overall, I enjoyed it along side a cup of bitter coffee, but, I think it would be better with some more plain pieces in the mix. ***+.

Moose Munch® Milk Chocolate Bar (August 2014).

"Moose Munch bars are crafted from a rich, smooth fudgy center, plus their signature snake - fluffy white popcorn, buttery caramel and crisp nuts all dipped in decadent milk chocolate."

"Signature snake"?  I do not know this term, but it is on all of their marketing, so I don't think it is a typo.

Cross section.

This one deserves a peak inside.

Every bite was loaded up with goodies: popcorn, nuts, caramel.  The caramel was sweet and very creamy, it almost tasted like really smooth peanut butter at times.  The nuts added a great crunch, and the popcorn ... was, well, popcorn inside my chocolate, a bit strange, but, it worked better than I expected.  It was much better than popcorn inside of other items, like inside the Circus Cookie from Goody Goodie, although it was still a bit strange to have a soft bite inside the bar.  The milk chocolate was smooth and creamy.

Overall, pretty tasty, a bunch of ingredients you don't necessarily expect together, but, I liked it.  The tasting club didn't get to try this one! ***+.

Other Treats

While Moose Munch is Harry & David's signature item, they carry a vast array of products, ranging from fresh fruit, to cheesecakes, and everything in-between.

Peppermint Tree Shaped Yogurt Pretzels  (January 2019).

"The festive meter instantly rises when this pretzel-packed bounty shows up. Premium, yogurt-covered pretzels in the shapes of Christmas trees abound. Crushed peppermint pieces have been sprinkled on the trees for added effect—and amazing flavor."

I tried these at a time when I was really on a yogurt (or white chocolate) pretzel kick.  I was randomly really loving nearly every coated pretzel I put in my mouth.  Crunchy, salty, creamy, sweet ... just loving them.  I'll admit they were often a morning indulgence alongside a cup of coffee.

So I was eager to try these minty trees when a co-worker gave up their Harry & David bounty.  First thing I grabbed.

However they were ... boring?

The coating was flavorless, slightly sweet, but mostly just waxy.  The pretzels themselves not particularly compelling either - slightly stale tasting, even though this was a fresh bag of snacks, opened right then, not old in any way.  The crushed peppermint was basically the only interesting part.

Sad, I thought I was not discriminating in my coated pretzel love at the time, but, it turns out, these were just too mediocre to be excited about. ***.

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