PANCAKE MADNESS
my ONE HUNDREDTH & FIFTY THIRD newsletter
My snacks are an acquired taste, if you don’t like them, acquire some taste!!!
In last week’s poll I asked you all what your favorite fall flavor was?? I thought there would be a clear winner but I was WRONG. We were evenly split between Maple, Pumpkin and Apple. Wow!! Shocking!! I thought pumpkin would just OUTRIGHT win.
Anyway we have a Maple snack this week. I tried to find a new pumpkin flavored thing but they don’t really exist. Companies have either gotten lazy this year or we’ve oversaturated the market and there’s nothing new that can be made. I’m sure it’s the latter but who is really to say! Again, I’m not consulted in any of these decisions (mistake).
So if you’ve been following me for awhile you know about my relationship with pancakes. Many moons ago I made my money by slinging pancakes in suburbia. That’s right, I worked at the INTERNATIONAL house of pancakes. Then I didn’t eat pancakes for like 10 years until I was forced to (long story) and now we’re so back. I love them. I can’t live without them.
Every time I review pancakes or a pancake flavored thing I link out to a very special episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (featuring Melissa Joan Hart). My sentiment still stands that it is the best episode of the series and one of my all time favorite episodes of TV. It’s just so funny, she gets addicted to pancakes. The acting is A+. Here’s a preview but you can also watch the full episode on paramount+ ;).
The funny thing about my love of pancakes is that I famously hate the taste of maple. Like loathe.
I don’t know what it is but these maple flavored things famously suck. Like they’re too sweet and too artificial and too DISGUSTING. So yes that means I saw something “maple pancake” flavored and bought it without hesitation. Shush, shush child it makes sense in my brain, I promise!!
The picture on the front makes them appear really big but I can confirm they are nilla wafer shaped small. See photo below.
Tiny! Thin! Nilla Wafer shaped! How meta, you can see me writing the newsletter in the background of the photo. This is how the magic happens people. Gotta word vomit my feelings out in real time so you get all the FACTS and FIGURES.
I take a big whiff of the box and am immediately transported to 2009. I’m in a blue apron, sticky, sweaty, tired but not able to leave yet. I have to do my side work. I must refill the syrups on the tables. Old fashioned..butter pecan…strawberry and blueberry. Each more disgusting than the last. Each stickier, sweeter and alarmingly more menacing as you work to fill the plastic pourers. The red dye #40 of the strawberry syrup stains everything it can get it’s sticky little molecules on. I still wake up in a cold sweat sometimes with that sweet smell in my nose.
I’m snapped out of my memories when a rogue firetruck siren goes by. I remember it’s 2024 and the syrup can’t hurt me anymore. Wanso stares at me like she can read my mind and knows what happened. Thanks for seeing me little baby.
I shove the snap into my mouth with low expectations. I’m relieved to say they’re delicious. They have the same low key crumbly texture of a nilla wafer. They have a nice snap (shoutout paul hollywood, my MAN) and the maple flavor is actually quite subtle. It doesn’t taste like a candle (read: artificial) but it doesn’t taste like it was doused in syrup (read: sweet) either. It’s just a teeny, tiny taste of maple on top of what feels like a regular sugar cookie. Perhaps with a bit of almond flavoring in it??? It’s delicious. It feels warm. It would be amazing with vanilla ice cream or crumbled on top of some sort of pie. I’m shocked that I like this so much. I’m shocked that I have nothing bad to say about them. Truly! Not a one bad thing to say. They’re a good snacking cookie. Not too sweet, tiny shape and definitely have the “poppable” quality that you need in a cookie.
I highly recommend. I also highly recommend adding them to more desserts. It feels like that’s where it will thrive. I will get a pint of Caffee Panna this week and report back.
🥞🥞🥞🥞🥞🥞🥞/10
Wanso’s World
Wansey had a big week this week (doesn’t she always)?? We had the book club over on Tuesday and she was loving the attention. Then we went to Brooklyn on Saturday where she made even more friends. On Sunday we asked very nicely to the NYC poll workers to let us vote together and they all remarked how good a girl she was. Vote early! No line! Took me 10 minutes total and most of that was just trying to figure out how the room was set up (not well).
What I Ate In New York This Week
Not as much as usual!! I ordered dominos in an emergency cheesey bread situation last weekend. I had a mediocre wrap but delicious cupcakes at the Viacom cafe. I had a good cup of matzo ball soup from juniors (FYI I don’t like cheesecake). I did invent a new dessert. I got the pumpkin madelines from tjs and put the chai espresso caffee panna on top and oh god it was good.
I attended the Liberty Victory Parade downtown on Thursday!!! Had half of an bacon egg and cheese from Rigor Hill Market (divine). Then I ate some chicken fingers at the Amsterdam Ale House (also divine). This weekend I ate mostly things I had lying around the house but I did order my fav cheesesteak wrap from Grey Dog on Sunday. I don’t even want to tell you how much it cost. Delivery food $$$ have gotten out of control. It is simply a treat every once in awhile now.
Polls, polls a magical fruit
LOVE YA, MEAN IT!!!
TL