Bachelor on the Cheap

By Mike Thayer

I love Cheeze-It crackers!  Drawn by that intense cheddar flavor, Cheeze-it crackers are often found in my pantry.

So when shopping in Walmart the other day and seeing a display of the "New!" Cheeze-It Puff'd, I 'had' to have some...  Yes, the marketing display worked on me...

Described as cheesy, airy & puffy, I was looking forward to trying these.  I like Cheez-it crackers a lot, I like cheese puffs, so this combination intrigued me.

Cheez-It has packaged these into three varieties, Double Cheese, Scorchin' Hot Cheddar and White Cheddar.  Checking over the display, I went with the double cheese.

These are not worthy of a repeat buy.  They are cheese puff-like in texture, kind of shaped to resemble the classic cracker yet airy and puffy (a true meaning in empty calories but I don't care, it's a snack), but they lack the same intense cheddar flavor as the original Cheeze-It cracker.  The product looses some of that robust cheddar cheesy goodness morphing into the puff form I guess, and I bought the "Double Cheese" variety!  Given the puff texture, the 'chip' lacks a real crunch, it's more of a light crisp at the beginning of each snack bite.  But you know how Cheetos Cheese Puffs kind of melt away in your mouth, almost like cotton candy but in a very good cheesy way?  Not so much with these...  And depending on your cheese puff outlook and if you like finger licking good, these don't leave behind near as much of a neon orange residue that a Cheetos Cheese Puff does. 

Costing me $3.18 at Walmart for a 5.75 ounce bag, they are reasonably priced - perhaps an introductory price - but lacking the same robust cheddar flavor as the original cracker, Cheez-It Puff'd are NOT worthy of a repeat buy.  I'm giving them 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  At six servings per bag, that breaks down to 53¢ per serving, not bad, but not good enough to buy again, it's an "eh" chip snack and I'm not going to bother sampling the other flavors.  I'd much rather have the original cracker and if I'm going to go for puffs, it's Cheetos Cheese Puffs.