Snack Review: Maple Grove Farms Maple Cream Cookies

This was tough. What with all the excitement over the election - I never thought I’d live to see people celebrating an election in the streets like a sports win - I was feeling unusually patriotic.

So, comparing these Vermont-made cookies to the Canadian Dare maple cookies, I wanted them to be better. I expected them to be better. They were prettier, for one thing. And larger. And had a nice rustic effect with different amounts of cream in each one, not so factory-made looking. And, Vermont. What could be a more maple-y, all-American place?

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Snack Review: Divvies Molasses Ginger Cookies

Last week, as I was cleaning my apartment (a rare enough occurrence), I came across a box which seemed out of place. Intrigued, I opened it up to discover a small treasure of snacks from the folks over at Divvies. Words I won’t repeat here suddenly erupted forth as I realized that this box had been sitting around for a few weeks and the review was sorely overdue.

As I looked through the contents I realized someone else would probably be a better fit to do the review, as I don’t really like ginger in any form. So, I figured I would just pack the box back up and send it on its way to one of the other writers. That’s when a little voice told me to look at the expiration date on the cookies. D’oh! They’d never make it before their date expired. Panicked, I searched my brain for someone close by who could review them. This is when I realized that a) I really need to get more friends and b) my employer loves baked goods! I trotted over with the box and settled in to record her opinion.

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Snack Review: Dare Maple Leaf Creme Cookies

Maple! It’s not just for breakfast anymore.

I like chocolate and vanilla and fruit flavors as much as the next guy, but is that all there is? Sometimes it seems that way.

But how about maple. Those fiendishly clever Canadians. Why didn’t we think of that? I am always despairing that America is losing the international race for deliciousness to other countries. And partly it is that those other countries have wonderful flavors like green tea, black sesame, coconut… that we don’t use enough of.

I know, it’s not reasonable to expect, say, green tea flavored Twinkies. But, maple. I used to live in Massachusetts, I know we make maple in this country. What’s our excuse?

Well, until we catch up in the cookie-flavor arms race, if you see these, give them a try. They are not crazy sweet like eating maple syrup, but mild and nicely fragrant. You won’t eat many packaged cookies that smell this good. The texture of the cookie is good, not too hard, just crumbly enough. They are good dunked or not. They are also pretty, in the shape of maple leaves with nicely embossed veins. All terribly civilized, in the best possible way.

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Top 10 Places to Find Free Snacks

Snacks: we eat them all the time… sometimes until no room remains for actual meals. But the term “snack” means different things to different people. While most of us agree that a snack is smaller and less filling than a meal, some would consider a Starbucks Frappuccino a snack, while others might opt for a pack of edamame or a half-order of buffalo wings. No matter what brings us individual snacking pleasure, there’s one other thing most people tend to agree on: snacks are even tastier when they’re free.

As a former poor college student, and a cheapskate in general, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in finding free food. Some of what I’ve found over the years has been atrocious, but I’ve found a fair amount of four-and-five star snacking destinations also. Below, I’ve compiled a list of my top ten places to find free snacks. My rankings are based on several factors including free snack variety, quality, and ubiquity of locations. May your taste buds be satisfied, and your stomach - and wallet - never empty!

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Top 10 Cinematic Snack Moments

Snacks and movies go hand-in-hand. If I’m watching a movie and my lap isn’t covered in popcorn grease, then something is seriously amiss.

And this got me thinking. Since snacks are such an integral part of the cinematic experience, there must be movies that actually feature them, right? Right!

So, Snackerrific readers, after a few hours of haphazard research, I give to you: The Top 10 Cinematic Snack Moments!

Check them out after the jump.

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