Archer Farms Cranberry Caramel Corn Clusters

"You had one job!" yelled the packaging engineering specialist to the sticker-putter-onner guy. You can see in the pic there that the label is a bit goofed. Maybe that's why we got these holiday treats on special. I don't remember how much they were, but the price was under $3, marked down from about $4.

Which was a pretty good bargain, because they're actually quite tasty. I've never been a huge caramel corn person, but I think the addition of cranberries is all I needed to really get into it. Any other dried fruit would work, for that matter. The tartness of the berries really balances out the sweetness of the caramel, and it blends way better than I ever thought it would.

Just add cranberries to anything to make it more Christmassy. I'm not sure who came up with that rule, but I'm pretty sure it's a thing now. Exhibit A. Not convinced? Exhibit B. Still not convinced? Whatever, just take my word for it.

My main complaint about this product is that there simply aren't enough cranberries. I found myself wanting at least one cranberry in every bite, so I'd seek them out the way a kid might seek out the marshmallows in a Lucky Charms-esque cereal. This method works wonderfully until you're left with a bunch of caramel corn and no cranberries—or a bunch of weirdly-shaped oat things and no marshmallows, whichever the case may be.

But other than that, I really can't think of a reason not to check this stuff out. It's pretty good quality caramel corn. If anything, it's better than that gigantic tin drum of caramel corn Aunt Edna gives you every Christmas time. Plus the alliteration in the name is fun to say: "cranberry caramel corn clusters." Try it.

I think I'll go with 7 out of 10 on this one.

Archer Farms Pumpkin Streusel Breakfast Bread

I guess pumpkin season is over already. But I never got around to reviewing this tasty bread. Better late than never, right?

But wait a minute...is pumpkin season over already?? I mean, pumpkin pie is legit for Christmas as well as Thanksgiving, so it would logically follow that all pumpkin and pumpkin spice items are fair game at least up until Christmas Day. Furthermore, if we define pumpkin as a "fall flavor," then technically we have until Tuesday, December 22 at 4:48 Coordinated Universal Time to enjoy it. Either way, we still have a couple of weeks. Anyway, I'm gonna do this post regardless of whether it's still "pumpkin season" or not. And nuts to all you pumpkin haters.

Because, as I mentioned before, this is some tasty bread...if you like pumpkin-flavored stuff. And I do, for the most part. I know it's not super masculine to get all excited about pumpkin products, but who cares?

This stuff is very similar to the delicious Blueberry Streusel Bread we reviewed back in August. The pumpkin level is just about what I was hoping it would be. There's some actual pumpkin puree as well as traditional pumpkin spices like cinnamon and brown sugar, and you can taste them just fine, but they won't overwhelm your tongue or take anything away from the sweet bread part of the product.

This bread definitely wants to be toasted and tastes great when served with a little butter on top. All things considered, I liked the blueberry flavor a little more, but for a seasonal treat, this streusel is nothing to complain about. Another sweet, successful, autumnal goody from Archer Farms.

I give this product 8 out of 10 stars.