5 old-school snacks you completely forgot existed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sure, today's snacks are good, but they aren't nearly as rich in nostalgia. (iStock)
It’s hard to look back on the foods of our youth without getting a little sentimental. While you can always fix yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts cut off just like mom used to make, there are plenty of snacks that simply don’t exist anymore, including some that we bet you completely forgot existed.
Nostalgia for the foods of the 1990s is at an all-time high right now, as millennials look back and remember those heady pre-9/11 days when 401(k)s were just a glint in their eye — but all generations feel a nostalgia for their youth to some extent. Even if you grew up in the ‘60s and don’t feel any nostalgia for, say, Mixed Vegetable Jell-O for Salads, you might still be able to conjure up the taste of the long-vanished Nestle Triple Decker Bar in your mind.
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That’s why we took a deep dive into long-vanished sweet and savory snacks from the 60s through the 90s and tracked down ones that had loyal followings in their time but have been all but forgotten.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Even though you may not be able to find these products on grocery and candy store shelves any more, it doesn’t mean that they don’t still exist in our memories, like …
Oreo Big Stuf
The Big Stuf Oreo was an absolute beast, to put it bluntly. Introduced in 1984 and sold individually or in boxes of 10, each one was about 10 times the size of a regular Oreo, or seemed that way at least. Each one contained 316 calories and 13 grams of fat, and was way too big for a kid to eat in one sitting (or to dunk into a glass of milk). It never really found its footing, and was discontinued in 1991.
Butterfinger BB's
In 1992, Butterfinger rocked every kid’s sweet tooth with the introduction of Butterfinger BB’s, which were basically entire Butterfinger bars shrunk down into a little ball format. The low melting point of the chocolate meant that each time you’d reach into the bag, your hands would come out covered in chocolate, but no one seemed to care. They were discontinued in 2006, but three years later, the remarkable similar Butterfinger Bites were introduced to fill the BB-sized hole in fans' hearts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cheetos Paws
For a brief, shining moment from 1990 to 1993, there existed a magical food known as Cheetos Paws. Sure, they were just Cheetos in the shape of a paw, but there was something about the design that seemingly made them super-cheesy, and therefore a must-have.
Jell-O 1-2-3
Between 1969 and 1993, Jell-O sold a product that was truly Space Age: one packet of powder that, when mixed with water and chilled, resulted in a dessert with three distinct layers — Jell-O on the bottom, mousse in the middle, and creamy topping on top. While it’s no longer available, Kraft posted the recipe for a reasonable facsimile online.
Keebler Fudge Magic Middles
These things were awesome. Shortbread cookie on the outside, fudgy chocolate on the inside. We don’t even know how they were made, but they turned out delicious. While their popularity hit its peak in the late 1980s, these were still going strong among kids in the '90s, and were quite possibly the greatest type of cookie to dunk into milk. (Seriously, how did they get the chocolate in there?) They met a quiet end, but the Facebook page dedicated to bringing them back has nearly 1,500 likes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For 14 more delicious snacks lost to time, keep reading The Daily Meal's original article: "Old-School Snacks We Bet You Completely Forgot Existed."