Easter Peeps Party with Little Debbie and Sweetarts.

Note: Today's update received its finishing touches after one of the strangest days I've experienced in quite some time. A close family member had a spell that at first seemed like it may have been a seizure though it turned out to be a far less threatening feinting spell. After their time at the hospital getting checked over, we stayed up late into the wee hours of morning watching old DVDs of MacGyver alongside our sick dog. Now on to the article proper.

Hipity Hopity, Easter's on its way! That holy day when we celebrate a zombified hippie with symbols of fertility. Ok so it's a bit of a complicated holiday but at least it has candy and that give me the chance to fix an oversight on my part. I haven't done a snack blog in... god lord how long has it been? It's not from a lack of material, far from it. Usually the problem is I move on from one treat to the next so quickly that it all gets lost in the shuffle. Not this time, no sir. For us non-religious types Easter is a celebration of gluttony. Double that if it falls on the same week as multiple appointments, trips out of town, and a short but failed attempt at gaining public office. This is the sort of week that begs for overindulgence, and I intend to deliver.

Little Debbie Carrot Cake Creme Rolls

It's no secret that the crème roll is the shining star of Little Debbie's line-up. Be they classic chocolate, Banana, Boston, pumpkin, or the sadly out of production blueberry, they're all the food equivalent of a comfy blanket on a cold day. Whenever things go belly-up, just pop one of these sugary torpedoes down your gullet and suddenly life is just a little more bearable. That being said there is an enormous pressure for a new variety to live up to its predecessors and somehow Carrot Cake not only lives up to those expectations it spits on em for good measure.

I can already hear the naysayers out there saying “but I don't like carrot cake” to which I call shenanigans. This is one of those cases where the imitation dodges the originals issues.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here, even without trying every new product out there, I feel confident that there's are the best snack of the holiday season. The only problem is being a limited edition means it will go away soon only to leave a sugary hole in my heart.

Tube shaped cakes aren't the only reason to be excited right now. As always there is an avalanche of Peeps flavors for fans to try out. I know not everyone is a fan, within my own family there is only one other person who gets down on these marshmallow chickadees with the same passion as myself. So once again my nephew joined me in a two-man peep party as we worked our way through 4 new flavors in a row.

To the best of my knowledge Pancakes & Syrup Peeps are a Kroger exclusive which, is understandable. Both maple candy and Peeps can be a tough sell for some folks, and combining them only exacerbates that issue. As a man whose love for maple knows no bounds even I was skeptical about what these had to offer. Still; I'm not one to pass by a new Peep no matter my initial worries.

Opening the package let loose an outrageous fragrance as if someone had recently lit a cheap pancake house candle. Still; we pushed past the stink and dug in to find a pretty decent stunt food. It's mellow enough that it doesn't overwhelm yet there's just enough of a spike in maple flavor to keep things interesting.

For anyone who doesn't like maple (you savages) these won't change your mind. Peeps fans who've been weary to try these should pick up a pack. They're a far cry from the best variety out there but they're enjoyable enough.

One down and the party was off to a decent start. Next up was something a little different as Peeps brought back their mystery flavors for a new round. I'd heard from Internet ramblings that all three of them had a soda/cola motif this year so I was mildly prepared though still lacking a proper idea of what we were getting ourselves into.

Mystery Flavor #1 was solved as soon as we ripped into the packaging. The smell made it quite obvious these were Root Beer Peeps. Both the nephew & I are full-blown Root Beer junkies so this was like receiving mana from heaven. They taste like a lighter Root Beer Barrel candy in marshmallow form. There's little else to elaborate on. If you like Root Beer, barrel candy, or peeps these should satisfy in one way or another.

Diving into another package we found a more subtle scent. Mystery #2 wasn't something so easily identifiable though it seemed sensible that if they were doing soda themes then this could be a citrus flavor. Taking a bite resulted in a very smooth and, by Peeps standards, reserved profile. It is clearly an attempt at Sprite or 7-Up.

Though we'd enjoyed every flavor thus far, I would lean towards this as the clear favorite. The other two were tasty but it would be easy to have your fill of them after one or two pieces. This is the sort of flavor where you could mow down half the package and still be alright. That's a rare luxury in a world full of overpowered snacks.

We moved on to the final mystery flavor with some trepidation as we weren't quite sure what was coming our way. #3's initial scent didn't help much either, something almost sour and crude. Once we gathered the courage to take a bit it still wasn't clear though I believe this is supposed to be Cherry Cola but if that's so I can't say as they pulled it off. The whole thing has an almost sour quality to it and whatever agent is used to simulate the cola element makes your spit almost fuzzy. Out of the entire mystery trio this one is the closest to merely being a novelty. It's an interesting way to spend a couple minutes but not a good snack.

Last up on our festive tour are these Sweet Tarts Bunny Gummies. Not sure if these are new, old, or some kind of store exclusive. It's something that totally slipped under my radar until we stumbled upon a package at Target.

After eating a couple I felt confident in writing them off as being like any other sour gummy. You know whether you're a fan of this sort of candy and these certainly won't change your mind. A little later in the night I reached in and started to mix the different colors at random which had an unexpected side-effect. The mixed flavors triggered my sense of nostalgia, reminding me of a well-liked fruit snack from my youth. Problem is I can't think of which one. One second I was thinking Fruit-by-the-Foot, another instant it was Gushers only without the goo. The whole experience would have driven me mad had I not been so tired.

On the one hand I can only recommend these to a certain group of people as some people simply dislike sour gummies. At the same time I want all of you to try mixing these and reporting your findings back to me.

As you can see in the last picture, we've got a few movies lined-up for a lazy Easter Sunday though I'm a little more excited for my Saturday Night horror viewing as it allows me to include flicks pertaining to not one but two holidays. For anyone in need of a spooky Easter fix there's always Night of the Lepus, a tale of vicious giant bunny rabbits. For a little egg-based terror you could check out Critters 2. I'm much more stoked to bust out the April Fools flicks however and nothing fits that bill better than Slaughter High. By no means is it a quality film but it brings a smile to my face as I remember viewing it in the old Monstervision days. Plus it gets me in the mood to go out and do my own pranks.

Gotta go for now, friends. Only one day left to prepare my April Fools Pranks and Easter recipes. This week was really bizarre, so I'm hoping this weekend provides a nice cool-down from all the stress and weirdness. Hope everybody has a good weekend and some decent candy.