Little Debbie Cookies & Creme Brownies are Sweet, Full-Flavored Treats

Are you a fan of brownies? Do you enjoy eating Cookies and Cream-flavored desserts? You might want to try the new Cookies and Creme-flavored brownie that the Little Debbie snack cake company introduced fairly recently.

When I first saw the Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownies at a local corner market in Hartford two weeks ago, I was impressed with the appearance of the packaging. Half of the brown and white brownie is visible, with the blue and white label offset by the red and white Little Debbie logo. When I look at the package, the colors remind me of a Winter snowstorm.

As soon as I tasted the Little Debbie Cookies & Creme Brownie, I realized that this chocolate treat really packs a sugary punch. Between the chocolatey brownie part and the white, creme-flavored hard frosting, there's a whole bunch of sweetness rocking this snack cake.

Size

The single-serving Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownie weighs-in at four ounces, and it measures roughly 5.5" x 2.5". Because of its large size and rich sweetness, I find that eating one-half of one of these brownies is pretty satisfying.

Price

At Amigo's Market, I think I paid $2 for one of the Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownies. Several online websites sell these single-serving brownies, and the price averages around $2.50 each.

Nutritional Facts

One single serving size Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownie contains about 510 calories. Each brownie contains 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 25 grams total carbohydrates and 3 grams of protein. With 42 grams of sugar, this brownie is definitely a sweet treat.

Taste/Flavor

When I tried the Little Debbie Cookies & Creme Brownie for the first time, the initial couple of bites I took tasted quite good. Pretty quickly, however, I noticed that this treat was very rich. Due to the rich, sweet flavor and dense consistency, I've eaten only one-half of these brownies on each of the two times I've tried the item.

It seems as though these brownies would really shine when paired with a frosty glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee.

Packaging

The single-serving size Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownie is packaged in cellophane, with the top half being clear, and the lower half is dark blue with white writing.

Overall Rating

If you like eating very-sweet brownies and/or Cookies & Cream-flavored desserts, there's a good chance you'd enjoy eating a Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownie.

Personally, I'd prefer to eat brownies that are less sweet in flavor. For myself, one-half of one of these brownies is enough to satisfy my sweet cravings. If you're looking for a large snack treat that's pretty reasonably priced, the Little Debbie Cookies & Creme brownie may be just the right treat for you.

Outdated Potato Crisps at the Gas Station Mini-Mart

Pringles are everywhere these days. Whether it be at a large supermarket, small bodega, gas station, pharmacy or online retailer, there's a pretty good chance you'll find these canned potato products there.

For approximately two years now, I've been purchasing different varieties of Pringles from a range of different businesses. After years of buying ridged Utz potato crisps from the bodega around the corner from my apartment, I didn't appreciate the way the price of their chips doubled there a couple of years ago.

When I was a kid, my Family would often have State Line potato chips on hand, and they still make some very good chips, but they can be hard to find. Munchos are also pretty awesome, but they're usually even harder to find.

Even though they can sometimes taste a little greasy, the different varieties of Pringles are pretty consistent in size and flavor. Most of the time, they're also unbroken chips.

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped at a local gas station/mini food mart in my neighborhood to buy lottery tickets and a can of pizza-flavored Pringles. Keep in mind that this is one of the largest and most well-known gas station brands, with locations everywhere.

A small rack containing two shelves of various Pringles varieties was situated in the mini-mart section. On the top shelf were small, half-size cans of the potato crisps, and on the bottom shelf, approximately 25 full-sized cans of different Pringles varieties were displayed.

For decades now, I've been checking the expiration dates on most of the food items I purchase. When I looked at the bottom of one of the cans of Pizza-flavored Pringles from the shelf, I thought I was seeing things.

The expiration date on the bottom of the can read October 2022. After looking at the date several times, to confirm what I saw, I put the can back on the shelf, and picked up another one. The second can also had an expiration date of October 2022.

By that point, I was pretty freaked-out at discovering the two pizza-flavored cans of Pringles having expiration dates that were more than a
year out of date. Just for ha-ha's, I checked the expiration date on a can of Pringles BBQ-flavored chips, and it was in early-2023.

After discovering that the three regular-sized cans of Pringles were almost 1.5 years past the expiration date, I decided to check the freshness of the half-sized cans of Pringles on the top shelf of the rack.

All three of the half-sized cans that I checked had early-2025 expiration dates. Go figure.

So far, I haven't had a chance to mention the prehistoric Pringles to the staff members at the gas station/mini mart, but I hope to do so soon.

The employees at the gas station seem pretty honest and ethical (I hope), and my guess is that they don't even know about the outdated potato crisps. Maybe, when the chip vendor brings their products in for re-stocking, nobody is regularly checking expiration dates and/or rotating stock.

Whatever the reason may be, it's always unacceptable to sell outdated food items.

Is it worth the effort to check the expiration dates on food products?

Definitely, yes.

ZZ Top: The Little Ole' Band from Texas that Chugs and Rolls Like no Others..RIP Dusty Hill.

 

Since the 1970s, ZZ Top has been one of my favorite bands, and I heard about Dusty Hill passing away a while after it occurred. This painting is a tribute to Dusty and ZZ Top, and I had to include their Mexican Blackbird. Rock on!

Kid Rock - Only God Knows Why [Official Music Video]

A Kid Rock Masterpiece

In Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York, there are geographical locations named Podunk. The very popular Bluegrass Festival was founded in East Hartford, CT, in the mid-1990s, and now takes place every year in Goshen, Connecticut.

Recently, I was turned-on to the one and only Kid Rock's musical definition of "Podunk," and it is one wild place! As time has gone on, I've increasingly grown to appreciate Kid Rock's music, and the subtle humor his songs often contain.

The band playing on the porch is too cool, especially the single snare drum. Check it out!

The one song that I instantly think of when Kid Rock is referenced is "Only God Knows Why" from 1998. It's the first KR song I heard, and it's still my favorite. 

Hank Williams Jr - If You Don't Like Hank Williams

Sometimes, this fast-paced, challenging world can bum people out. There are times when an upbeat country song by Bocephus can help anyone to have a positive attitude adjustment.

The CVS Store on Farmington Avenue in Hartford was Once a Thriving, Community-Oriented Business. Now, it's Just a Memory

 On May 1, 2023, the CVS Pharmacy at the intersection of Farmington Avenue and Whitney Street in Hartford, CT, permanently closed its doors.

While the West End CVS store may  have appeared to be just another one of the thousands of cookie-cutter stores the chain operates, it represented much more to those of us who live in the neighborhood.

In a food desert such as the West End, the Farmington Avenue CVS served as a grocery store of-sorts for many people of all ages. 

Even though pharmacy hours had recently been reduced, local residents of all ages have been able to get their prescriptions filled there seven days a week. In conversations with the pharmacists at that CVS, I was informed more than once that well over 1,000 prescriptions were filled there every week.

In the past few years, security guards were stationed in the front of the store, and an increasing number of items were being kept under lock and key at the West End CVS. Whether you were seeking air freshener, toothpaste, an anti-perspirant/deodorant, cologe/perfume, allergy pills or a host of other items, you would have to ask an employee if someone could open the locked display case.

Many times, employees of our neighborhood CVS told me about people coming in the store, grabbing multiple items, then walking out the door, seemingly oblivious to activated alarm systems. Staff members at the store also told me that the shoplifting issue there was a factor in the store's closing.

If you discovered that you needed a ruler, Sharpie marker or notebook, you knew that CVS would probably have something to fit the bill. When some thumbtacks, packaging tape, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, children's toys and games, greeting cards, stuffed animals, over-the-counter medicines, beauty and grooming products and even small hand tools were needed, CVS was often the place where these items could be purchased.

For years, I purchased at least two 2-liter bottles of A & W Zero Sugar root beer every week at the Farmington/South Whitney CVS store. Even though I could get most of the items at supermarkets or other CVS stores, the convenience of being able to walk across the street to get some ice cream or a loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread will be sorely missed.

The former CVS property is situated diagonally across from the apartment complex where I've lived for more than 20 years. That store was a  regular destination-point for people of all ages, and in my opinion, brought a sense of positive action and stability to an area that can definitely use both attributes.

If you take a look at Farmington Avenue between South Whitney Street and Sisson Avenue now, in May 2023, you will see a lot of empty storefronts. The clothing store next to Amigo's Market, at least two businesses in the building that houses West End Pizza, the bar and store next door at Farmington and Sisson, the former Cinerama/Braza property and now, CVS are all empty.

Hopefully, a small grocery store, dollar store or restaurant will occupy the former CVS property before too long. The South Whitney location would be ideal for a Dollar Tree, C-Town or 7-11 outpost, or as a new location for the Family Dollar that now sits at the intersection of Farmington Avenue and Sigourney Street.

As with other West End residents, I grew to value the importance of a business like CVS in an urban environment, and I got to meet lots of employees who were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.