Childhood treats: Now in Cereal Form. My Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie Cereal Review

Review

Final Verdict

My memories of Little Debbie snacks go back to the days of riding our bikes to the local 7-Eleven and grabbing four for a dollar. Being small, young, and active, my metabolism could easily handle an oatmeal creme pie, a pair of swiss rolls, a brownie, and a nutty wafer bar in an afternoon. The sugar high and calorie count provided all the energy I needed.

Fast forward to my summers in between semesters of college. I was working landscaping and during our morning break, we hit the gas station on the corner. Prices had doubled to fifty cents! But, I would still go my two favorites: swiss rolls and oatmeal creme pies. Even thinking of them, now, brings be back to those summer days riding bikes and cutting lawns.

Fast forward too many years, and I have not had any Little Debbies in what seems like several score. My advancing years and slowing metabolism balanced with my desire to be semi-fit has kept me away from them. For better or for worse.

Now, imagine walking down the cereal isle and seeing a box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie Cereal sitting eye level on the shelf. The front of the box teasing me with a tag line of "Crispy oatmeal puffs with creme coating." On Sale. And only one box left. The 8 year old inside hopped on his bike and started riding around in circles. I had to purchase it.

And I did.

Could it live up to expectations? Read on and find out:

I got home and opened the cereal with no real gauge to measure the taste to, other than my decades old memories. Regardless, I popped some in my mouth. Whether it be the nostalgia or my faded memories of what they actually tasted like, I could have sworn this was the exact pre-packaged, soft and chewy, creme filled replica in cereal form. They were toddler approved as well.

Easy to say I was satisfied with my purchase. They are crunchy, and hold up decent in milk.

Definitely on the sweet side, but there is a hint of cinnamon or something that I could not really put my finger on. My second thought - with the first being these are perfect cereal representations of my childhood - was that it tastes just like another specialized cereal from a while ago. For the life of me, I could not figure out what it tasted like. Other than a oatmeal creme pie.

Would I recommend the cereal? Yes. As an every day cereal for anyone over the age of 10? No. A perfect snack? Yes. Does it taste like an actual Creme Pie? Unknown...

Until I went out and bought one.

I mean how can you truly compare without comparing? So, here I sit on a Saturday night (like I said, I'm old) about to have an oatmeal creme pie for the first time since my low to mid twenties. And.... They don't taste anything alike. The cereal has a stronger sweetness to it (surprisingly). The oatmeal creme pie is just as soft as I remember. Most of the flavor comes from the creme, at first. Then the "oatmeal" cookie ends bring in some heartier flavor.

Overall, they are contrastingly different. And, I don't know how to feel. I'm not sure which one I would even prefer. They are completely different in one being a crunchy, sweet cereal and the other being a soft, oversized cookie. I am leaning toward the cereal being the victor. That might just be because I ate half the box before I got anything to compare it to.

I still could not put my finger on what the cereal reminds me of. The closest I am coming to is the soft oatmeal cookies with some frosting on top. They came prepackaged with like 30 or so in a pack. But, it will drive me crazy not putting it together what the cereal truly reminds me of.

Final verdict: There is no loser. While the cereal does not taste anything like the classic treat, it is still good in its own right. If you enjoy a sugary cereal that is. Unlike my last cereal review, which was a heavily disappointing Ghostbusters cereal, this one gets a toddler and dad thumbs up.

Bonus points for "making" me get an actual Oatmeal Creme Pie to compare it to.