For my birthday my wife got me one of the greatest presents a woman can get a man. Oreos. Not just a bag of Oreos from the grocery store mind you, but an Oreo subscription service. That’s right, a special box of Oreos delivered to my door every month. The Oreo Cookie Club provides you a special blue box with an Oreo cookie design on the top that’s a little more than a foot wide, almost nine inches deep, and not quite six inches high. It’s a sizable delivery and is full of more than just cookies.
My wife got me a three month subscription. From January through March I’ve got special Oreos on my doorstep, including Chocolate Hazelnut, Hot & Spicy Cinnamon Creme, a special Team USA Winter Olympic variety, Oreo Thin Bites Fudge Dipped, and this month some Peeps flavored cookies. You’ll remember my adventure with Peeps Oreos last year, but I’ve gotta tell ya I think they’re not as bad this year. The creme is more marshmallowy, less sugar coated this time around. Or at least it seems that way.
The Hot & Spicy Oreos were really great! They were my favorite of this little experiment. Remember those little crunchy, hard cinnamon heart candies you had in school? That’s essentially what the creme tastes like. It actually has a little bit of bite to it, plus you get a solid cinnamon flavor and it’s all wrapped up in Oreo goodness. The Chocolate Hazelnut was also pretty good. Think Nutella smashed between vanilla Oreo cookies. In both cases the flavors were great dipped in milk.
I’ve had to hide these boxes in my closet to keep my kids from finding them. Since they’re pretty noticeable, I’ve had to throw a t-shirt on top of them. My wife and I will get in bed after the kids are asleep and she’ll give me a nudge and a wink, “Hey… Oreos?” I’ll trek into my closet and dig out the hidden box of edible goodies.
The best part is, the box isn’t just full of cookies, most of which you can find at the grocery store or Target. I also got a gigantic Oreo Big Crunch Bar which was the size of my four year old’s arm. It was pretty good, if a little overwhelming. There were also special hot chocolate mixes that utilize the Oreos included for the month, and since you always have milk handy when eating Oreos, it’s easy to warm it up, add in the mix and make some super tasty special dessert.
The best part of the Oreo Cookie Club though are the extra non-edible items. I’ve received Oreo socks, or “dress socks” as I’ve come to call them. I also got an pair of Oreo sunglasses, with a sweet carrying case which will likely end up as my Austin City Limits Music Festival sunglasses. Without a doubt though the creme de la cookie of the Oreo box loot was the Oreo branded VR headset. It’s not an Oculus Rift or anything, it’s more like a Google Cardboard, but made of nice plastic, rubber, glass, and Oreo themed. Not bad, huh? Eat some cookies, watch cool VR videos. That’s a pretty damn good combo if you ask me.
There has been plenty of criticism of the Oreo Cookie Club, mostly that it’s too expensive. Most of the cookies you get in the box sets are available at retailers, although sometimes they can be quite difficult to find. In the end, many people say, you’re paying for the cool extras and the convenience of the delivery to your doorstep on a regular basis. To a certain extent, they’re right. As a big fan of Oreos (I’ve said for a long time that they’re the best cookies you can buy in your grocery aisle), it’s great to be able to get all these wacky flavors I don’t have the time or ability to go chasing across town to find.
The cool extras like the socks, VR headset, sunglasses and hot chocolate mix are nice additions for sure, but at nearly $60 for a three month subscription it is definitely pricy. Now, I got mine as a one time present, so I’m not going to complain, in fact I’m quite thankful for the experience. But would I suggest you go out and subscribe yourself? Probably not. Should you buy it for your loved one for a special occasion if they’re a huge Oreo fan? Absolutely.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to put my Oreo dress socks on, rock my Oreo sunglasses, grab a Peep Oreo for the road and head out to an appointment. Yeah, that might look a little funny but so what.
