Cupcake Cereal and Nostalgia

Mmmmmmmm  Cupcake Pebbles!

Although this post isn’t exactly about a cereal from the 1940′s, it IS about a cereal from the 1960′s…or at least a “spin”on it.

Fruity Pebbles….NO…Cupcake Pebbles!

 Let me start by saying: I am a very adventurous gal when it comes to trying new foods.

 I especially enjoy the oriental section of our Wegman’s supermarket where I can peruse the isle and completely lose track of time . Suddenly I realize that it’s quarter to three I am 20 minutes from my home and my daughter gets off the bus at exactly 3 pm.

I  have made a mad dash out of the supermarket doors on more than one occasion, leaving people to wonder if my house is burning down…thanks to that same adventurous shopping spirit.

There is just something so intriguing to me about separately wrapped dainty candies that look more like toys than  gummy drops. And then there’s those chocolate-dipped cookie sticks.  PLUS almost every package has pink on it somewhere, and anyone who really knows me, knows that I am unabashedly addicted to anything cute and pink.  The scarier part of this whole thing is that I can drop serious cash for these things that I don’t need, weren’t on my list and may never even make it out of their packages ( just because it’s pretty to LOOK at).  I hope I am not alone here. Anyone?…….hello?   (crickets).

In any case, on this particular day I was in the cereal isle ( which in and of itself is mind boggling- I mean; do we REALLY need ONE more cereal with “crunchy oat clusters” or high fiber flakes?  ).

I want to know what happened to the simplicity of ” Toasty-O’s”, ” Wheatabix” and “Quaker Oatmeal”?  I think in some ways, I am more stressed out by choosing cereal than how to integrate five social media platforms. But not on THIS particular day!  While walking down the cereal isle with blinders on  ( just get the pecan-date stuff and get out-a here for goodness sake!) something “NEW” caught my eye. Let’s just say there was pink on the box and leave it at that for now.  I stopped, read ,and laughed…WHAT? you have GOT to be kidding (I chided to myself) It was not Fruity Pebbles, but a “spin” on Fruity Pebbles called ” Cupcake Pebbles”.

I must admit, at first I was both grossed -out and simultaneously disgusted at this blatant  capitalization on this whole “Cucpake Craze” that is sweeping our country. Should I REALLY be so shocked though? I mean Katy Perry made a cupcake bra for heaven’s sake!  

I guess it was just a matter of time before someone in “Cereal Central” climbed aboard the train to cupcakeville!

I was picturing the meeting that spurred the idea for the cupcake cereal;  Corporate complaining that since everyone and their brother had created freeze-dried strawberry cereals in every possible combination,that they had to come up with something cutting edge, fresh, and innovative .  Meanwhile there was “Phil” at the end of the conference table munching away on his Magnolia Bakery Cupcake, taking NO notice of the discussion whatsoever. Suddenly, everyone turns to see who the person is who brought the furrowed brow and impatient look to the face of the CEO, and whom brought the meeting  to an abrupt standstill. Seconds go by…complete silence, except for PHIL who was delicately licking the pastel sprinkles off of his  creamy, vanilla frosted cupcake.  At first the rest of the marketing team seems aggravated and smug as they watch him devour the cupcake, but then their faces soften, and every person in the room wishes they WERE Phil…. looking so happy and oblivious to the fact that sales were down by 11% and the Company would go belly-up unless they came up with something and came up with it quick.  The CEO notices that everyone in the room was transfixed on Phil (or phil’s cupcake) , and ALSO notices how oblivious they all were to the task at hand.  The CEO thought: “how could something so small and seemingly insignificant as a cupcake bring a whole room to a standstill?”  The lightbulb went on and he blurted out ” CUPCAKE FLAVORED CEREAL…That’s It!” .

Okay,maybe that’s not how it went down, but that’s what ran through my head in that split second. Even though cupcake flavored cereal WAS a blatant marketing tactic ,I was falling for it.  The box had pastel -colored , sprinkled “krispies” on top of a pink frosted cupcake, so REALLY, how could I resist? It didn’t hurt that my childhhod friends Pebbles and Bam-Bam looked so cute eating the frositng off the cupcake. childhood nostalgia took over and I was taken in by it’s ultra hip and trendy packaging.  I grew up with “Frankenberry”, “Count Chocula” “Boo-Berry” and “Fruity Pebbles”-  so the cereal had THAT going for it too! so when I saw THIS box of “Pebbles” I wanted to shout:” Yabba Dabba Dooooo!” ( What DID that mean anyway?…it seemed perfectly understandable to me as a kid)

Honestly? I couldn’t WAIT to get it home so that I could mock it.  I proudly showed the cereal box to my nine year old daughter as if I had discovered the word “cool” or “Phat”.  She was unresponsive and gave me “that look”.( the one that she gives me every time I get suckered into buying yet ONE MORE piece of Cupcake paraphernalia.) I ignored her look and said: ” Let’s try it!  I bet it’s really GROSS!”. She agreed and we got out two bowls and our organic 2% milk. As I opened the package I got a waft of a  sweet, cake-mix -like vanilla smell, somewhat like the smell of cream soda. So far so good.   I poured the cereal out and was surprised that it looked exactly like it did on the box; blonde krispies coated in white and pastel flecked sprinkle-DOM.  It reminded me of the confetti cake ice cream at our local ice cream parlor. We poured the milk over it and briefly listened  to the snap- crackle- pop. “Bombs-Away” I said and we dug in.  At first I wasn’t tasting much, mostly the krisped rice flavor going on, but things changed very quickly, and I could taste a vanilla-cream flavor…my daughter’s eyes bugged out and she exclaimed : ” Mmmmmm ,Mommy, this is REALLY yummy!”…and I have to say, I concurred. It REALLY tasted like a buttercream frosted cupcake! but what do I know, I have only been baking cupcakes proessionally for 23 years PLUS.  I liked them SO much in fact, that I had a second bowl….and so did my daughter.  Even though I did eventually get a somewhat chemical taste in  my mouth after the fact, I still think it’s completely worthy of its name. 

So…If you are looking for a quick cupcake fix but you aren’t lucky enough to have a Magnolia Bakery, or  Sprinkles ® near you, and you don’t have the time to break open a “Jiffy Mix”, go to the cereal isle and grab a box.  If you were born around the 1960′s the whole experience will transport you back to the “Cocoa-Krispy”, “”Corn-Pop” “Lucky-Charm” fantasyland of sweet cereal surprises! While you’re at it, rent some “Little Rascals”, “Bewitched” and “Munsters” re-runs and THEN pour yourself a nice cupcake!…it gives a whole new meaning to “a cupcake and milk”!.

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