Chessmen cookies
There are about 10 rectangle-shaped cookies in each 100 calorie pack of Pepperidge Farms Chessmen Chocolate Cookies. That’s not nearly enough for a chess match, but enough for a quick treat. They smelled better than they tasted, which was just “OK.” But that could be personal preference, so if you need a chocolate fix you could do worse than these little guys. The name did make me think of the notorious kidnapper, Caryl Chessman, which was not very appetizing.
100 calorie oatmeal raisin cookies
These teeny tiny versions of Pepperidge Farm’s Soft Baked Oatmeal Raisin cookies come just a few to a pack, but they live up to the promise of softness. The raisins are moist as well. On the down side, there are fewer than a dozen nickel-sized cookies in each pack, but at least you know you’re getting your 25 calories’ worth.
Mini Cakesters
When I first heard about Oreo Cakesters it was to hear several friends raving about how tasty they are. The raving was invariably followed by regret at the high calorie count. Nabisco must have been listening, because now Cakesters have been packaged in 100 Calorie Packs for those of us who lack self-control when it comes to portion control. There are three cakes in each pack. Cakesters consist of two fluffy outer layers with a cake-like texture but an Oreo taste (Cakesters also come in original Oreo flavor.) It becomes a sandwich cake thanks to Oreo cream filling in between. I split a pack of Golden Oreo Mini Cakesters with my kid and the tiny (.81 ounce total) cakes were gone too fast, but I’ll definitely be returning to the cookie aisle for these golden treats, and their chocolatey cousins.
Crispy, light and tasty, these oatmeal chocolate cookies are some of most healthful pre-packaged 100 calorie snacks on the market today. Leave it to Trader Joe’s to come through with a snack that packs a lot of flavor in just a few calories. If you prefer buttery cookies, you might find these a little dry. But these tiny cookies are pretty filling, and definitely a recommend.
These animal crackers confused me like a carnival trick. Nabisco makes a 100 calorie pack of Barnum’s animal crackers. And yet, here’s what must amount to two or three more creatures (say, a bear, a hippo and a broken giraffe) and they make a whole new package that’s distinctively labeled 120 calories. Far be it from me to get inside the heads of the marketing geniuses at Nabisco. All I know is, their animal crackers are tasty whether it’s a few in a 100 calorie pack, a handful in a 120 calorie pack or the specially formulated chocolate animal crackers 100 calorie packs (not as buttery or flaky), which incidentally are on clearance for $1.70 at my Target right now.
Here’s a late-’80s flashback for you: Snackwells. They were really hard to get, ladies chased delivery trucks and so on. And still I remember thinking they weren’t all that good. Well, today you can eat two Nabisco Devil’s Food for 100 calories, but they still don’t taste all that good. The texture is a little dry, and the taste is just kind of “off,” artificial, even chemical tasting. I noticed they have a new flavor, a Black Forest variety of cookie cake, but I’m not sure I want to take the chance. Like hair bands and leg warmers, many things about the ’80s are best forgotten.