The Junkie: OREO CHURROS! Are they worth eating?

The Oreo folks certainly have a loyal following…indeed in many consumers’ minds, slapping the name of ‘Oreo’ on your product is the Midas touch of food…instantly turning your sweet treat into culinary gold. Now I’m a devout Oreo follower and a serious sucker for any new product they introduce. I’m not going to lie…when I walk down that cookie isle and quickly scan the numerous layers of Oreos available, my heart always stands still for just a second in hopes that there will be a new flavor I’ve yet to try. It’s a little pathetic…I know.
To my surprise, on a recent trip to the grocery store, my beloved Oreo brand popped up in an unusual location…the freezer isle. Indeed I was stopped dead in my tracks…paralyzed by the product sitting in front of me. OREO CHURROS?!?!?!? It was as if the angels above descended from on high and personally delivered their food gift to that Walmart just for me. I don’t even remember grabbing one out of the freezer case…I’m pretty sure a box picked itself off of the shelf and floated into my basket. Resistance was futile…I was going home with Oreo Churros that day.
I sped home and quickly scanned the directions on the back of the churro box for cooking instructions. Three options: bake, toaster oven, or fry. This was not even a question for me…churros need frying, and quickly I was heating up a pot of oil.

They cook fairly quickly in hot oil…around a minute. However, because of their dark color, it’s a little difficult to tell visually when they’ve finished frying (I burned the first batch by leaving them in the oil about 30 seconds too long). The box also contains a packet of Oreo crumb and sugar mixture in which you roll your just fried churros around in after they’ve come out of the oil. At this point you’re saying, “How on earth could this go wrong?”
Sadly, these Oreo Churros were a real bummer. The outer chocolate dough was nearly tasteless and was barely recognizable as an Oreo product. The inner white filling was, oddly, barely noticeable. Perhaps there was too little filling, and what was there was overwhelmed by a flavorless outer shell. And the coating of crumb and sugar didn’t do much to help the sad situation improve.
I still adore you, Oreo, but I doubt I’ll be buying another package of these rather disappointing churros. I will give you props for the recently introduce “Cinnamon Roll Oreos”…they’re absolutely delicious. And despite this recent churro misstep, you and I both know that as soon as you slap another new product on the shelves, it will be in my face that very same day.