Archer Farms Pumpkin Cheesecake Creme Sandwich Cookies

I'm not tasting anything as specific as pumpkin cheesecake here. These are crispy cookies with a vaguely pumpkin-spice-esque creme filling. They taste as much like gingersnap sandwich cookies as they do pumpkin cheesecake cookies to me. Fortunately, I'm down with gingersnaps.

There's an odd tang to the creme. It's super sweet, but also a little tart. It leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.

There seems to be a hint of pumpkin spice in both the cookies and the creme, but as I've already hinted at, the cookies seem to flaunt ginger spice more than anything else. Looks like there is some actual "pumpkin powder" in the mix, but I assure you there's no detectable squash flavor in these cookies.

Real cream cheese was used, but it doesn't taste like it in my humble opinion. Also, I'm curious as to how they can make real cream cheese shelf stable at room temperature. I guess the secret is all the "spices," most of which aren't even listed in the ingredients.

I wish these cookies were chewy rather than crispy. I wish the creme actually tasted like what it is: cream cheese. I wish there were no aftertaste, and I wish I could taste cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.

On a positive note, the gingery, crispy cookies aren't bad for what they are. If you like crispy cookies, you'll probably like these okay.

My wife loves pumpkin and pumpkin spice products this time of year. She was thoroughly impressed with these. I, personally, don't think they taste all that much like pumpkin spice or pumpkin cheesecake, but they're a big thumbs up in her book.

I would have naturally leaned toward a score of 6 or so, but since she loves them so much, I'll give 'em a little bump just in case there are others out there like her. $3.69 for about 18 cookies.

7 out of 10 stars it is.

Archer Farms Rustic Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix

Holy autumnal Archer Farms snacks, Batman! This is about as fall-ish as it gets, and I'm surprised they had this stuff in stock at Target. In years past, they were always sold out of most of their fall foods. Perhaps it's because the pumpkin spice craze is slowing down, or perhaps it's because we just arrived to the store on re-stocking day. I'm not sure, but we got our hands on this Rustic Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix, so let's dig in.

Pumpkin spice peanuts?? You mean they have a candy coating that tastes like pumpkin spice? Nope. They're just peanuts with a pumpkin spice flavored powder on them—similar to those spicy peanuts that simply have a dusting of chili powder. Interesting, I guess. Not my favorite. They're a little too dusty if you ask me. It's almost like they crushed up some autumn potpourri and then rolled peanuts in it. Makes me want to cough when I eat them.

Next up: cinnamon pretzel balls. We've seen those before. See this review of Maple Trail Mix from last fall. They work pretty well in this mix, too.

Yogurt-covered raisins. Self-explanatory. They function as the sweetest elements in the mix. I just wish there were more of them. Also, I'm not sure if yogurt-covered raisins can ever be called "rustic." 

"Pumpkin seed kernels." So...basically just pumpkin seeds, AKA pepitas. They're salty and crunchy and they congregate on the bottom of the bag. They might want to consider a "shake well" warning on the label, because as is, the second half of the bag will be significantly seedier and saltier than the first half. No biggie.

It's hard to get all of the constituent ingredients in one bite. When you do, it's definitely cinnamony, salty, and sweet—and vaguely pumpkin spice-esque. It's not bad, but it's not really one of my favorites, either. If we ever buy it again it'll be because the wife wants another bag next fall. 

The ingredients list for this product is a doozy. Here's a link in case you want read that or the nutrition info.

I give this trail mix 7 out of 10 stars.