Snack Bar, Vol. 8: Pumpkin Spice Gone Wild

Welcome to The Snack Bar, TQE's very own concession stand stocked with the latest sweet and savory treats on the market. Our editors gather for unbiased taste tests and share their honest thoughts every time, so we can help you navigate which buzzy snacks are worth the purchase.

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I'm not above a fair amount of holiday kitsch. Decorative gourds for Thanksgiving? I've got 'em. Peppermint mochas in December? A tradition. But I've never gotten behind the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and not (only) because I'm a hater. In fact the spice blend itself, traditionally made with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, is one of my favorites, and truly unbeatable in a homemade pumpkin pie. The infamous drink, however, is syrupy and saccharine, more cloying than cozy in my humble opinion.

But there's no denying its impact: the deluge of pumpkin spice products that flood our shelves come every October 1st. So for this month's Snack Bar, I decided to face down the onslaught and find the diamonds in the rough, the snacks that used those spices to their fullest potential. Because of the flavor profile, they all skew sweet this month, but the best ones balance the sugar with layered, well-rounded flavors.

So get your apple-picking boots on and bundle up for an adventure. The road to pumpkin spice perfection is full of ups and downs.

THIS MONTH'S SNACKS 

34 Degrees

Pumpkin Spice Crisps

$12/3-pack
$12/3-pack
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Credit: @34degrees_

Billed as "sweet like a cookie, crisp like a cracker," 34 Degrees makes a snack that's so paper-thin you can practically see through it. For my money, that's a bit more impressive than it is delicious, though the flavor here is perfectly fine and inoffensive. The pumpkin spices are married with honey for a nice warming effect, but the texture takes the coziness out of the equation and starts to eat a little dry. The best way to enjoy them is with a steaming hot beverage in hand; munching on them solo leaves something to be desired.

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Sheila G's

Pumpkin Spice Brownie Brittle

$17.89/2-pack
$17.89/2-pack
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There's a lot of concept going on here: it's brownie brittle (already a novel product) but make it pumpkin spice, and add in cream cheese chips for good measure. Surprisingly, though… it kind of slaps. The crisp brown sugar base makes these crazy addictive, like a Biscoff or speculoos cookie but crumblier. There's no question this is a very sweet snack, and tastes a bit more like toffee or caramel than pure pumpkin spice, but crumbling this over vanilla ice cream was a 10/10 experience. (Hot tip: you can pass on the Caramel Apple Brittle flavor, these are lightyears better.)

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Magic Spoon

Pumpkin Spice Cereal

$9.75
$9.75
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Magic Spoon has legions of fans for their grain-free cereal, especially in the keto community (thanks to their helpfully low 3 gram count of net carbs). Their products also boast 13 grams of protein per serving, which intrigued me as someone who's always behind on that macro. The usual flavor sins of sugar-free products reared their heads again here, though: the sweetener blend of allulose and monkfruit just tastes way too synthetic. With none of the spices listed by name in the ingredients — presumably falling under the vague umbrella of "natural flavors" — it's hard to endorse even for the pumpkin spice keto-heads. But if you're already a Magic Spoon fan, and faux sweeteners are worth the net carb assist for you, then by all means give this one a try.

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SkinnyDipped

Pumpkin Spice Almonds

$26.99/5-pack
$26.99/5-pack
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Chocolate-coated almonds are usually just a chocolate truffle with a light serving of almond, but SkinnyDipped's thin-dipped yogurt almonds strike a pretty great balance. They're indulgent enough to feel like a treat, but barely coated so you still feel like you're eating nuts. The pumpkin spice flavor is fab, especially thanks to the addition of one of my favorite spices, cardamom, plus the hint of sea salt that offsets some sweetness. Even with that salt, however, they were a little too sweet for me to snack on obsessively… but in some ways, that's not a bad thing.

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Olivieri 1882

Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate Panettone

$75
$75
Code:
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Though the flavors here might scream fall, panettone is as Christmas as it gets. It's the holiday treat found in nearly every Italian household, a cousin of fruitcake with a fluffy, eggy consistency ala brioche. At $75, I hesitated to recommend this uber-bougie offering from Olivieri 1882, especially because mine arrived a tad misshapen from shipping… but then I had my first bite and all other panettoni ceased to exist. This is, by far, the best I've ever had, no small thanks to the brand's 48-hour double fermentation sourdough process. The ingredients here are top-of-the-line, like the flecks of Madagascar bourbon vanilla dotted throughout, and though that's reflected in the price it's also in the flavor. Whether or not you consider yourself a panettone fan, this is so good it could make a convert out of anybody (and it comes in 20+ flavors).

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Dalci

Pumpkin Spice Blondies

$60/16-pack
$60/16-pack
Code:
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Despite how tough I was on Magic Spoon above, I'm very much here for better-for-you snacking. Dalci is an example of a brand that's doing it right, using whole ingredients instead of synthetic substitutes. Their brownies and blondies are gut-friendly, using a combination of almond flour, unrefined coconut sugar and avocado oil to avoid the usual digestive triggers of processed foods. And blessedly, the flavor is still on point. When I reviewed the brand last year I ranked all four of their flagship flavors, but these Pumpkin Spice Blondies have moved to the top of my list. They're moist, well-spiced, and somehow taste freshly baked.

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Chamberlain Coffee

Pumpkin Spice Blend

$16
$16
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Social media doyenne Emma Chamberlain has thrown her hat in the beverage ring, but she stands apart from the sea of celeb-created wine and mocktails out there. I have to admit, it's a bold but impressive move to go into the coffee space, but the branding is done with finesse and the product is fantastic. She makes no attempt to replicate a classic PSL here, instead infusing a roasty, bitter coffee blend with notes of cinnamon and cocoa. The result is a strong cup that's subtly perfumed with pumpkin spice, for those of us that want to lean into fall without drinking nutmeg syrup. A cult favorite from last year's seasonal drop, this coffee is worth grabbing before the limited window passes.

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Sweet Loren's

Pre-Cut Pumpkin Spice Cookie Dough

$6.49
$6.49
Code:
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Pre-made cookie dough is one of my love languages, so I was curious to see how Sweet Loren's plant-based, gluten-free cookies measured up. While I'll admit I wasn't a massive fan of how they ate raw (the alternative flour blend of oat, tapioca and potato starch had too prominent a taste), the baked cookies have a lovely taste and surprisingly great texture for GF baking. I brought these around to a gluten- and dairy-free friend's house and she absolutely loved them. IMO, they're a solid purchase for anyone with those dietary restrictions, but less of a must if you don't. But if you'll allow me to veer off-topic, the real knockout is their Fudgy Brownie Cookie Dough. Those are some of the fudgiest, most addictive cookies I've had in a minute, allergen-free or otherwise. 

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Sanders

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Caramels

$7.99
$7.99
Code:
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Last and sadly least, Sanders' Pumpkin Spice Caramels completely missed the mark for me. While the preparation checks all the right boxes — real cream and butter, no artificial colors or preservatives, and a small-batch, slow kettle-cooking process — there was an unpleasant aftertaste here that verged on synthetic-tasting. My guess is it's the "natural pumpkin flavor," since their OG caramels didn't bother me as much, but the pumpkin is mostly overshadowed here and doesn't bring much to the table. If you love your sweetness levels off the chart, this may be a match for you, but even as a dessert fiend I could barely finish one.  

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34 Degrees
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Sheila G's
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Magic Spoon
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SkinnyDipped
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Olivieri 1882
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Dalci
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Chamberlain Coffee
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Sweet Loren's
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Sanders
34 Degrees
$12/3-pack
$12/3-pack
Code:
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Sheila G's
$17.89/2-pack
$17.89/2-pack
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Magic Spoon
$9.75
$9.75
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SkinnyDipped
$26.99/5-pack
$26.99/5-pack
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Dalci
$60/16-pack
$60/16-pack
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Chamberlain Coffee
$16
$16
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Sweet Loren's
$6.49
$6.49
Code:
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THIS MONTH'S WINNER IS…

Olivieri 1882 Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate Panettone. Yes it's a splurge, but you know we wouldn't push it if it wasn't worth it. The depth of flavor is so strong here, and the texture so close to freshly-baked, that even my panettone-skeptical partner couldn't get enough. It's a great holiday gift for the PSL lover in your life, or one you can bring to an autumn house party if you're tasked with dessert. While panettone is normally a highly seasonal item, as mentioned above, this one is so fantastic I'd eat it all year round.

That's it for this month's installment, but we're already hungry for November. Join us next month as we tuck in for a roundup of the best pastas and sauces on the market.

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34 Degrees
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Sheila G's
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Magic Spoon
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SkinnyDipped
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Olivieri 1882
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Dalci
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Chamberlain Coffee
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Sweet Loren's
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Sanders

Additional Reading

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Snack Bar, Vol. 14: Road Trip Bites