Little Debbie Peppermint Swiss Rolls

Once again that fawn-eyed temptress Little Debbie is coyly looking at me from the corner of my box of Peppermint Swiss Rolls, with a gaze that whispers: "C'mon, you know you want to taste my delicious creamy center!" I tell you, that Little Debbie can be quite beguiling.

Little Debbie's regular Swiss Rolls have been a best seller for the company since pretty much the dawn of time. In fact, if you look closely at pictures of dinosaurs, you might even see one or two snacking on some. That's not to say our little minx Debbie is afraid to try anything new, however. This year she is offering a new variation with peppermint added to the classic roll.



The rolls are sold in boxes of six, and are individually wrapped.



They are the same size as the classic roll. They also have a thin chocolate-like covering. The coating is fairly flaky, which I actually like. It's on the waxy side, true, but it does taste fairly close to chocolate...but that doesn't matter, because as soon as you take even the smallest bite, the peppermint immediately makes itself known.



The chocolate sponge cake is both on the dry and moist sides at the same time. I know that sounds like a contradiction -- and probably not a very pleasant one at that -- and on a freshly baked cake, it certainly would be unpleasant. But I think in commercial snack products, that's actually the perfect medium. If it were less dry, it would probably be greasy -- yet at the same time it's moist enough that it doesn't send you running for a drink to wash it down.

The creme: Honestly, it's hard to say much about snack cake filling that hasn't already been said. I will hand it to Little Debbie in that the creme filling in these rolls seems to be lighter and more whipped than most such cremes. And in terms of texture, I really liked that. It doesn't seem to have much flavor of its own -- but let's be fair; how often does a commercial creme snack filling?



As for the peppermint, as far as I could tell -- having actually dissected a roll and eaten it layer by layer -- purely for the sake of a thorough review and NOT because that is how I actually like to eat Swiss Rolls. No, dear readers, I do these things just for you. So where was I? Meandering somewhere within a run-on sentence that just lost its way? Oh, yes...

The peppermint, as far as I could tell, seems to live in the chocolatey top layer. It is a very strong peppermint. But it is quite sweet, and it does not burn or taste like medicine. Because it's so potent I suspect that these rolls will be more popular with adults than with kids -- unless they are weird kids, as I was (I always liked my mint bold).

All in all, I really liked this as a snack cake. Personally, I could have lived without the mockolate outer coating...but as stated, it is flaky and easy enough to just brush away if you don't really want it. For this review, I am knocking a couple points off the rating for the use of mockolate over real chocolate. I believe a real chocolate coating would have taken these from merely good to truly great. Meanwhile, the mint flavor is bold, and I love the texture of the cake. Definitely worth a try!



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

PRICE:
MSRP $1.79 for a box of six rolls.

CALORIES:
210 calories per roll

ADDITONAL INFO:
Contains wheat, eggs, soy, and milk. Peanuts and tree nuts may also be present.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
littledebbie.com