A few months ago, commenting on Nabisco's new Snackwell's Brownie Bites, Mr. Tidbit voiced surprise that -- given the Nabisco folks' penchant for using the word "Oreo" on darned near anything they please (Golden Oreos, for example) -- the little goodies weren't being called Oreo Brownie Bites. He should have known there was a reason: Introducing Oreo Brownies -- individually wrapped rectangular bars of chewy brownie-type stuff, with a white filling. From the illustration, Mr. Tidbit assumed that the Oreo brownie would be a differently shaped Oreo Cakester. No; Oreo Brownies are chewier than Cakesters, and they have less filling.
Mr. Tidbit learned, from reading the ingredients list, a fact revealed nowhere else on the box: The first ingredient in the brownie-type stuff in Oreo Brownies is "Oreo chocolate sandwich cookie pieces." So there is actual justification for calling them Oreo Brownies. Nonetheless, Mr. Tidbit did not detect any residual crunchiness.
For the brownie-intense individual, the new Oreo items are much bigger -- and much cheaper -- than the Snackwell's Brownie Bites. Where he bought them, a 15-ounce box (10 11/2-ounce Oreo Brownies) was $3.29 (21.9 cents an ounce). The 6.9-ounce box of five little bags of Snackwell's Brownie Bites was $3.39 (49.1 cents an ounce).
Sizing down the Ritz Nabisco now has a second Munchables item under its Ritz cracker brand. (Munchables are not small Ritz crackers; that's Ritz Bits, in many varieties.) The first Ritz Munchables were Pretzel Crisps. Now there's Ritz Munchables Buttery Thins. These look like little versions of regular Ritz crackers, a little larger than Ritz Bits, but thinner -- almost wafer-like -- and with a texture that leans toward shortbread.
Where Mr. Tidbit bought them, the inverted-pyramid 12.25-ounce box of Munchables Buttery Thins was $3.59 (29.3 cents an ounce), and the 16-ounce box of regular Ritz crackers was ...
Wait a minute; that box is now 15.1 ounces! OK, that's one hidden price increase too many to treat as isolated incidents. Mr. Tidbit doesn't care what else you've heard; there is general inflation in grocery prices.
Anyway, regular Ritzes were $3.59; that's 23.8 cents an ounce.
AL SICHERMAN
