Nosh Or Nah: Animals And Minions And BTS, Oh My

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Welcome back to Nosh or Nah, a column where The Takeout staff reviews the best, worst, and weirdest new snacks and drinks hitting store shelves near you.

The three limited-edition grocery store items that came into our crosshairs for Nosh or Nah this week are all represented by cute mascots: Nerds, Minions, and ... the world-dominating, unimaginably popular K-Pop band BTS. Does the sight of something cute make you just want to gobble it up? Then this selection of products is for you (PSA: please do not try to eat BTS — the BTS Army wouldn't take kindly to that).

First, Michael Palan sees if the sweet and tangy taste of Nerds can elevate a basic frosted animal cracker and turn it into something crave-worthy. Next, he finds if being turned green (inspired by the Minions antagonist Goomi) changes the flavor of classic French's mustard. Finally, Dennis Lee taste-tests BTS Oreos inspired by the flavor of a classic Korean dessert (we hope, for his safety, he finds them Nosh-worthy). 

If you were ever wondering what Mother's Frosted Cookies would taste like if you swapped out the sprinkles for a different rainbow candy, wonder no more. Welcome to the world, Mother's x Nerds Sweet & Tangy Frosted Cookies, which are being sold exclusively at Walmart this June in 9-ounce bags that retail for $3.74.

From the get-go, Mother's x Nerds Sweet & Tangy Frosted Cookies have solved one problem: loose Nerds falling out of your hands and getting everywhere. The candies are firmly secured in the cookies' icing. In a bag, which contains about 63 cookies, there are indeed familiar circus animal shapes, as well as cookies shaped like the rounded Nerds mascot ... although they actually kind of look like bunnies. A first bite of this combo produces an odd sensation for the mouth to comprehend. The creamy smoothness of Mother's Frosted Cookies is ever-present, but it is punctuated by both the crunch and tangy-sweet attributes of Nerds. The more cookies I chomp down on, the more the pairing works for me, and I suspect it will for you too. Nosh away on this one my brainy friends.

Ever since the eye-catching, eye-popping yellow creatures known as Minions made their debut in the 2010 film "Despicable Me," they have been a box office draw and merchandising machine. To gear up for their third standalone film — "Minions & Monsters" — the tie-ins are invading the food world, including a Banana Frosty from Wendy's and tasty King's Hawaiian Shake 'Em Bananaaa! Bites. We're also getting two Minion-themed kinds of French's Mustard: a yellow Minions one and a green one in honor of new character Goomi.

The green mustard reminds me of when Heinz sold both purple and green ketchups under the moniker EZ Squirt. Fans have been clamoring for their return, and the closest we've gotten is this French's Goomi's Green Mustard. I don't know much about Goomi, but he seems like a lovely fellow just by looking at his squishy face. His bottle is a bright shade of lime green. However, taste-wise, this is exactly like French's yellow mustard.

For completeness, I head to 7-Eleven to take advantage of its amazing $3 meal deal and dress a Big Bite hot dog with the green mustard. Free of the bottle, it certainly has an off-putting appearance, like mushy pea soup in a more congealed form, or perhaps a wasabi mayo. If you can get past the color, which comes from spirulina extract, it feels less like eating Soylent Green and more just like a standard dog covered in mustard. The color adds some childish fun to the already-good taste of French's. Play with your food, color it green, and Nosh it up. Both the Minions Yellow and the Goomi Green Mustards are limited-time-offerings available in 8-ounce bottles sold at retail stores and online shops for $5.48.

K-Pop sensation BTS recently released a collaboration cookie with Oreo based on a tasty Korean snack called hotteok. Hotteok is a hot chewy pancake filled with brown sugar syrup that oozes out as you eat it, and it's a nostalgic childhood food for many Koreans (including myself). These purple BTS Oreos are filled with a brown sugar creme that has sugar crystals in it, and they certainly hit on that brown sugar flavor, reminiscent of caramel.

The cookies themselves are extra-crunchy, and superfans will likely be delighted that they come embossed with 13 different designs per package, just to give them some added personality. But are they Nosh-worthy? It's a resounding yes — I promised myself I'd take it easy on the cookies, but within two minutes I'd scarfed down three (and I currently want some more). The cookies are available from a variety of retailers for prices in the $5-10 range — they're a little over $7 at CVS.