Monday Munchies - Newtons Fruit Thins Blueberry Brown Sugar

I was never really one for cookies when I was a kid.  Ma Serpico would make a mean oatmeal cookie, but I found myself generally indifferent to chocolate chip cookies unless they had another component (PECAN chocolate chip cookies.)

I found store bought cookies to be equally flat. The novelty of Oreos wore off rather quickly even Pepperidge Farm varieties did little to generate any interest in my young palate.

That said, I think Fig Newtons get a bad rap.  Though it maybe because I came up in the 1980's so I know that a Fig Newton is actually fruit and cake, not a cookie.

Naturally when I head that the brand was actually getting into the cookie business with Newtons Fruit Thins, my interest was piqued.




While there were other varieties at the store I opted for Blueberry Brown Sugar, because a) I've always been a fan of brown sugar and b) I've got no beef with blueberries.

Have you ever noticed that when something is being reviewed and the reviewer didn't like it, often times the reviewer will draw things out and write about things only tangentially related to the product?

The package that the cookies come in is pretty nifty.  It's one of those roll up and fold over things and it works very well.  The package is both very vibrant and true to the Fig Newtons brand.  As for the actual cookie...

It's really sort of a disappointment.

It's tough to know where to begin, so I'll just go in.   The cookies are truly thin, think cracker thin. Never before has a product so lived up to it's name.

But they're also crazy dry.  They're dry enough to actually make you parched as you eat them.  They seem to actually leech the moisture out of you, which makes them sort of difficult to enjoy.

Flavor wise they're tolerable.  There is clearly blueberry present and you can also detect the hint of brown sugar.  There's also the flavor the "Newton" cake that surrounds the fig, which is the only thing indicating why it should bear the Newton name.  Seriously, if it wasn't for that flavor, it could just as easily be labeled as Nabisco's (dry ass) Fruit Thins.

It's difficult to understand where Nabisco is coming from and who they are marketing towards.  This isn't a particularly healthful cookie nor does it have any other attributes that seem to set it apart from other cookies on the shelf, apart from the notion that it uses real fruit.  The entire cookie is confounding.

If you're adventurous feel free to try out these cookies and perhaps you'll have a different experience with your encounter.  Otherwise, this is one snack you'd do well to steer clear of as you head down the cookie aisle.