u/Doughboy88_18

Shores of Lake Michigan

OREO Dream Extreme Cheesecake: The Cheesecake Factory’s cheesecakes are one of my favorite desserts. I’ve tried most of the flavors that I intend to, as a few just don’t appeal to me (mostly the fruity ones, yuck!). It’s a slow process since I like returning to my favorites rather than risk trying a new one every time I go. Plus, they offer over 30 varieties. Being a big fan of a cookies and cream, this is an old favorite of mine. Although the cleverly named OREO Dream Extreme (ODE) is a caloric nightmare (1,500) its mouthwatering description still lured me in. ODE is made with creamy cheesecake layered with OREO cookies, topped with OREO cookie mousse and chocolate icing. If that’s not enough to get you excited there’s also a giant OREO wafer decorating it. This behemoth was a chocolate and sugar overload, but I mean that in a good way. My favorite parts were the creamy OREO mousse and the crunchy chocolate pieces decorating the posterior portion of the slice. The only potential negative is there’s just so much going on with this piece that the chocolate flavors overpower the cookies and cream concept in my opinion. Even if it loses some of the "cream" aspect, there's enough OREO cookies layered in to add a satisfying crunch to the texture that contrasts nicely with the soft cake. Since they foolishly discontinued my beloved 30th Anniversary Cheesecake, ODE is about as close of a substitute as I can get (along with the Hershey). Doughboy Approved! 😋

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My Favorite Cheesecakes:
1.Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple 
2.Salted Caramel Cheesecake 
3.Cinnabon Swirl Cheesecake 
4.30th Anniversary Cheesecake (bring it back!!!) 
5.OREO Dream Extreme

Lake Michigan in the background

New York Cheesecake Doughnut: Krispy Kreme (KK) has a fantastic origin story. Allegedly, founder Vernon Rudolph bought the recipe for his original doughnuts from a New Orleans barge chef. I just think it’s neat that the KK doughnut recipe might have some ties to beignets or other French cuisine. Wherever the recipe came from, there’s truly something special about their original glazed doughnuts that transcends the genre. In November of 2025 KK revamped its menu to include different “permanent” flavors. This was a blessing and a curse as it allowed me to finally try the New York Cheesecake Doughnut (which has not been available at my location before), but also saw the departure of my personal favorite, cake batter. The New York Cheesecake Filled Doughnut is an unglazed doughnut dipped in smooth white icing, topped with golden graham-flavored crunch, and filled with rich cheesecake Kreme. KK says the doughnut is inspired by the Big Apple’s iconic cheesecake and I think this one hits its mark. Its surface is teeming with the graham flavored crunch, and the icing is sufficiently sweet. There’s nothing wrong with the flavor of the graham, but its primary contribution is the crunchy texture as its flavor is eclipsed by the rich cheesecake Kreme (which my doughnut had plenty of). The Kreme is tangy like cheesecake, so if that’s not your thing, then you might not like this one. For me, it was tangy enough to evoke cheesecake, but it didn’t cross the line into disgustingly tangy like some other cheesecake doughnuts I’ve had (Grebe’s here in MKE). Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and now this cheesecake doughnut is too, Doughboy approved 😋

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My KK favorites:

1. Hypno-Henry, The Cake Batter Monster
2. Oreo Cookies & Kreme
   3.Peanut Butter Kreme Filled Doughnut Topped With M&M’s
3. Mississippi Mud Pie
4. Banana Pudding

The Big Pink: Thanks to the enormous statue of their mascot, Lard Lad, Lard Lad Donuts is a conspicuous donut shop located in Springfield. It's part of the town's infamous Fast-Food Boulevard. Although I believe it has never been confirmed, Lard Lad is likely a parody of Bob's Big Boy and Randy's Donuts & Bakery. When Universal Studios opened their version of Springfield, U.S.A., Lard Lad Donuts went from fiction to reality and Simpsons fans like me could finally indulge in an actual Lard Lad Donut. Before someone jumps on me, I will point out that the doughnuts are actually made by Donut King in Minneola, FL (at least for the Orlando park's location). Although a few different options are available, I went with the "Big Pink" modeled after the pink sprinkle doughnut often seen being consumed by Homer on the show. The beguiling bemouth is about as big as my face but is relatively light at approximately 266g. It's a yeast/raised doughnut covered in pink vanilla flavored icing with a plethora of colorful sprinkles. Even though it was light in weight, the doughnut was relatively thick. Like pizza, it's hard to find a bad doughnut, there's just different degrees of deliciousness. Disappointingly, this is towards the lower end on that scale. I don't know if my particular doughnut was stale or not (the boxes are not dated), but it was a little tough and didn't seem the freshest. Other than the size, it really isn't anything special. Factoring in the $12 cost does not help it either. It should be noted that you can get 3-4 decent sized portions out of the doughnut, which might help justify it (unless you want to emulate Homer and like me, eat it all yourself). Lastly, it did make for a great photo op and as a Simpsons fan, it was worth doing once. If you're a fellow Simpsons enthusiast, then go for it. For everyone else, I would say Voodoo Donut in City Walk is the better option as The Big Pink is just okay 😐.

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The Big Pink: Thanks to the enormous statue of their mascot, Lard Lad, Lard Lad Donuts is a conspicuous donut shop located in Springfield. It's part of the town's infamous Fast-Food Boulevard. Although I believe it has never been confirmed, Lard Lad is likely a parody of Bob's Big Boy and Randy's Donuts & Bakery. When Universal Studios opened their version of Springfield, U.S.A., Lard Lad Donuts went from fiction to reality and Simpsons fans like me could finally indulge in an actual Lard Lad Donut. Before someone jumps on me, I will point out that the doughnuts are actually made by Donut King in Minneola, FL (at least for the Orlando park's location). Although a few different options are available, I went with the "Big Pink" modeled after the pink sprinkle doughnut often seen being consumed by Homer on the show. The beguiling bemouth is about as big as my face but is relatively light at approximately 266g. It's a yeast/raised doughnut covered in pink vanilla flavored icing with a plethora of colorful sprinkles. Even though it was light in weight, the doughnut was relatively thick. Like pizza, it's hard to find a bad doughnut, there's just different degrees of deliciousness. Disappointingly, this is towards the lower end on that scale. I don't know if my particular doughnut was stale or not (the boxes are not dated), but it was a little tough and didn't seem the freshest. Other than the size, it really isn't anything special. Factoring in the $12 cost does not help it either. It should be noted that you can get 3-4 decent sized portions out of the doughnut, which might help justify it (unless you want to emulate Homer and like me, eat it all yourself). Lastly, it did make for a great photo op and as a Simpsons fan, it was worth doing once. If you're a fellow Simpsons enthusiast, then go for it. For everyone else, I would say Voodoo Donut in City Walk is the better option as The Big Pink is just okay 😐

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Kreme Delight Donut: Dunkin’ Donuts originated in Massachusetts in 1950. Fast forward almost 70 years to 2019, the company dropped the Donuts and now goes by just Dunkin’. This was part of a rebranding initiative as the chain became more beverage focused (and it shows with the quality of what they call donuts). Overall, Dunkin' has been more miss than hit for me with their breakfast dessert options. In recent years I have managed to discover a minuscule variety of acceptable flavors from Dunkin'. The Kreme Delight Donut is not one of those flavors as it continues Dunkin's trend of subpar doughnuts. Starting with the good, it was adequately filled with "Kreme". Additionally, the "Kreme" is more akin to buttercream frosting than a custard, which is a plus in my book. As for the bad, the body of the doughnut/dough is bland as usual, tough (giving the impression of not being very fresh), and the chocolate icing while nicely flavored is not applied thickly enough (another Dunkin' trend). With so many better doughnuts in the world, this is just okay at best 😐.

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My top Doughnuts from Dunkin’:

1. Glazed Blueberry
2. Coffee Roll
3. Glazed

Trix: General Mills produces this cereal, and it has a long history dating back to its release in 1954. At the time it was meant as a sugary companion cereal to Kix. My earliest memories of the cereal always involve the version with fruit shaped pieces, but the fruit shapes were not released until 1991. Prior to that the cereal was in spherical form similar to Kix. In 2007 General Mills made the egregious error of changing the fruit shapes back into the mundane and uniform spherical shape. By late 2018 they realized the error of their ways and the cereal was once again made up of six unique fruit shapes. All of the pieces have the same fruity flavor (or nearly the same, I can't detect a difference), but the different shapes of the pieces include Orangey Orange, Lemony Yellow (looks like a banana to me), Watermelon, Grapity Purple, Raspberry Red, and Wild Berry Blue. The cereal's mascot is a white rabbit known as The Trix Rabbit and many of you are probably familiar with the cereal's catch phrase “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids". I'm not the biggest fan of fruity cereals and if I was trying tit for the first time today, it would be just okay. The nostalgia factor lifts Trix up just enough to be Doughboy approved 😋 though. 

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My Favorite Sugary Cereals:

1. Cinnamon Toast Crunch (as well as Sugar Cookie and Tres Leches Toast Crunch)
2. Waffle Crisp
3. Frosted Flakes
4. OREO O’s/Puffs
5. Cap’n Crunch

*As a postscript, I want to address General Mills eliminating some of the more attractive colors as they contain dyes. I'm a levelheaded individual with two university level degrees, both in health sciences. Everything we do in medicine is based on what is called evidence-based practice. At this time, the amount of evidence from scientifically conducted studies that food dyes cause human harm is limited and non-substantial. While I'm open to changing my mind if the evidence supports it, at this time I'm not happy with the changes being made to some snacks and this is what happens when an unqualified nut is gifted a position in government they do not deserve. How backwards is it that we don’t ban cigarettes/tobacco/vaping that have been scientifically proven to cause harm, but we can’t get a box of cereal? As always, I support the concept of a balanced diet centered around whole foods with plenty of vegetables and lean protein sources. The desserts and junk food I review should be enjoyed in moderation.

Crumbl Cookies Blue Monster Cookie ft. CHIPS AHOY!: Crumbl rotates their flavors on a weekly basis but depending on the flavor some are absolutely amazing. Crumbl's official description is that this is a brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie covered in a creamy blue vanilla flavored frosting decorated with CHIPS AHOHY! cookie pieces as well as a mini–CHIPS AHOY Cookie. The only thing scary about the Blue Monster is how addicting it is. That blue frosting is incredibly thick, creamy, and monstrously sweet. I found the cookie itself had a buttery flavor and hints of chocolate from the chips, which helped to set it apart from some of their more generic (but tasty) frosted cookies. It was slightly crunchy at the periphery and soft and chewy (yay!) towards the middle. Unfortunately, the CHIPS AHOY! pieces are too small to really detect and with the mini being gone in a single bite, it's more for decoration (it made me feel like I was eating two generations of a CHIPS AHOY family though).   
Doughboy approved 😋

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My Top Crumbl Cookies:

1. Caramel Popcorn 
2. Salted Caramel Cheesecake 
3. Blue Monster
4. Cake Batter/Birthday Cake
5. Mallow Sandwich ft. OREO

Birthday Cake Pop: I'm definitely in the minority of Millennials that do not frequent Starbucks on a regular basis. Not that some of their drinks are not delicious, I just like playing barista at home (as well as saving some dough). I enjoy Starbucks enough that there was no way I was going to turn down a free cup and dessert (co-worker was treating). Cake pops were invented in 2007 to the credit of Angie Dudley, but exploded in popularity during the 2010s thanks to Lerida Mojica, the creator of New York Cake Pops. 2011 would see Starbucks adding them to the menu and here we are. Starbucks describes their Birthday Cake version as "bite-sized vanilla cake mixed with vanilla buttercream, dipped in pink chocolaty icing and topped with white sprinkles". Birthday cake is one of my favorite desserts, but I confess that I've never had a cake pop. That said, this treat was phenomenal and is the best bakery item I've ever had from Starbucks. I can't believe I've slept on this for so long! Both the icing shell and cakey inside are supper soft. The cake itself is incredibly buttery, moist, and sweet. It's literally like cake batter on a stick. Don't let the pink fool you as there's no fruity flavor, but instead a fantastically done vanilla buttercream cake flavor. Single drawback is that I could only get 3-4 small bites out of it and I'm sure some people engulf these in just one or two. It's so tasty that a full-size cake would be dangerous, Doughboy approved 😋

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Almond Kringle: A Kringle is a large circular Danish pastry with flaky dough, covered in icing, & filled with fruit, nut, or other more unique flavors. After doing a little research, I’ve learned that sadly, Kringles are not widely spread throughout the U.S. Did you know Kringle is the official state pastry of my home, Wisconsin? It turns out that Racine, WI is actually the epicenter for Kringles. Racine's O&H Danish Bakery opened in 1949 and has been family owned for four generations. The almond kringle is one of their more traditional/basic flavors, but it is still impressively delicious. I was pleased with the amount of filling O&H crams into the pastry. It's got a nutty flavor that is so sweet, it almost seems fruity. Texturally, the filling has a creamy aspect to it, but it's also rather dense. The body of the kringle has hints of butter and like the filling, is thick and dense. Additionally, it has a flaky and pleasantly chewy texture. Lastly, the kringle is topped with a thick layer of icing. Usually O&H is pretty consistent, but as you can see from the pics, some portions of the kringle had a really thin amount of icing compared to others. Regardless, it was still another superb Kringle from O&H. Doughboy approved 😋

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Only minor complaint is the size/price as I wished they also offered a smaller version of their Kringles or half kringles or even individual slices. 

My Top Kringles: 
1. Pumpkin Caramel (limited time from O&H Bakery)
2. Eggnog (limited time from O&H Bakery) 
3. Cheesecake (Racine Danish Kringles) 
4. Sea Salt & Caramel (Racine Danish Kringles) 
5. Sea Salt Caramel Pecan (Uncle Mike’s) 

Thin Mints: I’m the weirdo that doesn’t get overly excited about Girl Scout Cookies. There's a number of reasons for that as I’m just not a big cookie guy (really selective in the kinds I do like), out of spite as I was a Boy Scout and we never sold anything that was super popular, or they’re just simply overrated. Speaking of super popular, Thin Mints are the bestselling variety of Girl Scout Cookies. Thin Mints are produced by both ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers, supposedly with some minor variations in shape and flavor. Some sources say they were first introduced in 1939 under the name Cooky-Mints, while others site 1951 and the name Chocolate Mints. Thin Mints would become the proper terminology in 1959. Each cookie is covered in a waxy mint chocolate coating, with a crisp and crumbly interior portion. These are a hard sell to me as I generally do not enjoy minty desserts (other than mint chocolate chip ice cream). That being said, these were decent. Placing them in the fridge or freezer also improved them slightly in my opinion. It's easy to see why some people live for these during Girl Scout Cookie season, but for me, I can take them or leave them. Just okay 😐.

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My Top Girl Scout Cookies

1. S’more (ABC Bakers)
2. Thanks-a-Lot (shortbread with fudge bottom)
3. Caramel DeLites/Samoas
4. Shortbread
5. Exploremores (Rocky Road)

*Thanks to Deborah for the Thin Mints

Ayinger Weizenbock: Ayinger Brewery has been making their beers since 1877 and is located in Aying, Bavaria, Germany. I’m by no means a teetotaler, but I’m much less of a beer enthusiast than I was in my college days. Embarrassingly enough, I wasn't even sure what a Weizenbock was exactly. If you're like me, fear not as I'll briefly explain. It's a strong German wheat beer that mixes the rich, fruity, and spicy notes of a Hefeweizen (traditional wheat beer) with the robust maltiness of a Bock, creating a full-bodied, flavorful ale with a higher alcohol content (7.1% ABV in this specific case) and a signature fluffy head. Their flavor typically features bready, toasty, and fruity (banana, clove) aromas and flavors, with darker versions adding caramel and deeper malt notes. According to the bottle, Ayinger's brew is advertised as a pale, robust, spicy wheat ale. The spicy description turned me off, but while I could detect a hint of it, it was not overly so. Pouring the bottle into my glass revealed a hazy, pale golden color. It was a bit dry, boozy, but extremely drinkable and smooth. Coming from a guy that doesn't like many beers, this was a good one. Not very bitter and sweet (for a beer) from the hints of fruit. Doughboy approved 😋

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Dilly Bar: The first Dairy Queen (DQ) opened in 1940, but it wasn't until 1955 that their iconic Dilly Bars were introduced. Each bar is made using vanilla soft serve encased in a crisp coating on a popsicle stick. I have the chocolate coated version, but cherry and butterscotch are also routinely available. My first job in high school was at DQ and one of my duties was making Dilly Bars. Back then we made them in shop for both individual orders and to sell in packs. I don't know if that is still the case today as this bar came in a sealed plastic bag. Confirming my suspicions, the bag identifies it was packaged by Unified Supply Chain in Minneapolis, MN. Although it wasn't fresh from the restaurant, the vanilla soft serve was still superior to most grocery store freezer ice cream. It might not be the thickest coating, but plenty of milk chocolate flavor still comes with the thin, but sturdy coating. Being on a popsicle stick, it's easy enough to eat on the go (I still prefer cups/dishes to cones/sticks from some unfortunate experiences as a kid). Blizzards remain my favorite DQ treats, with the Dilly Bar being too basic for my tastes. Just okay 😐

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Caramel Tres Leches Cake: Ethiopia is where wild coffee plants originated on our planet, but Yemen is where coffee was first harvested, roasted, and brewed back in the 15th century. Coffee is now ubiquitous with daily life in America, which brings me to Qamaria Coffee. Hatem and Munif are two Yemeni entrepreneurs with a passion for Yemeni Coffee and the joint goal of wanting to share it with the world. They founded Qamaria Coffee in 2019 to accomplish this task and in January 2024, they opened a location near Milwaukee in Greenfield, WI. 
Qamaria offers a variety of dessert options, including a Chocolate Tres Leches, Pistachio Tres Leches, and Caramel Tres Leches cakes. I went with the caramel version, which is described by the cafe as "A decadent caramel treat inspired by tres leches cake, creamy, sweet, and irresistibly smooth". If you've never had Tres Leches Cake, it’s a light sponge cake soaked in three types of milk (evaporated, condensed, and whole) that’s popular in Latin America. The cake originated in Nicaragua during the 19th century, so on first glance it's not exactly a Yemeni dessert.  Doing some research, Middle Eastern variations exist that feature cardamom or rose water and some Qamaria locations do have a Rose Tres Leches. It's fine that the Greenfield location did not have that variety as I honestly would have got the caramel version anyway. My slice was perfectly moist as there was plenty of milk soaked in, but not so much that it made a mess or compromised the structure of the cake. The bottom layer was soft and Tiramisu-like in texture, while the cream on top was rich and thick. Personally, I found the caramel flavor to be mild, but delicious. As it is served chilled, it paired nicely with a hot cup of coffee (which they have a plethora of options to choose from). Doughboy approved  😋

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Banana Pudding Bundt Cake made with Nilla: Nothing Bundt Cakes (NBC) Banana Pudding Bundt Cake was first introduced in 2025, but its limited run from 2/16-4/12/26 was my first tasting. Opening the container, the cake itself had a yellow/golden color and a mild vanilla aroma. The official description is "a delectably comforting banana cake, baked with real banana puree, made with real Mini Nilla Wafers and drizzled with vanilla pudding" (and of course their delicious, sweet cream cheese frosting). As usual, the texture is superb, with one of the best aspects of their cakes being the exceptional moistness of them. In this case, I think the pudding and possibly banana puree contributes to the moistness factor as this seemed moister than usual (in a good way). This is where things get a little perplexing. The name "Banana Pudding" makes me think that the pudding would be banana flavored, but according to the description, the pudding is vanilla and the batter is what's made with bananas. My taste buds only got a vanilla flavor from both the pudding and the cake though (zero banana). There was a fair amount of vanilla pudding in the center, but both the pudding drizzled on the exterior and in the center is difficult to see with the naked eye. The Nilla Wafers were crisp, but soft. I can’t really hold this against NBC because unless eaten immediately after prep it’s almost impossible to keep them crisp. It’s also important to note that the wafers were baked throughout the cake and not just the conspicuous one decorating the summit. Unfortunately, the Nilla Wafers do not really contribute anything as the overall flavor is already vanilla and the soft texture gets lost within the moistness of the cake. This one is tough because it was a phenomenal vanilla pudding bundt cake, but it's a terrible banana cake. They really should be calling it Vanilla Pudding Bundt Cake made with Nilla. 

Doughboy approved 😋 as a vanilla pudding cake, avoid 🤮 if you're hoping for bananas.

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My top bundt cakes:

1. OREO

2. Biscoff Cookie Butter

3. Confetti

4. Churro Dulce de Leche

5. S’mores made with Hershey’s

Banana Pudding Doughnut: Krispy Kreme (KK) has a fantastic origin story. Allegedly, founder Vernon Rudolph bought the recipe for his original doughnuts from a New Orleans barge chef. I just think it's neat that the KK doughnut recipe might have some ties to beignets or other French cuisine. Wherever the recipe came from, there's truly something special about their original glazed doughnuts that transcends the genre. As part of their 2026 Spring Collection, KK has revived one of my favorites (yes, it was introduced in 2020 and I have a picture to prove it), the Banana Pudding Doughnut. The official description from KK is "An unglazed shell doughnut filled with banana pudding Kreme, dipped in vanilla flavored icing, and topped with crushed wafer cookies and buttercreme flavored dollop." My doughnut was a bright yellow color teeming with crushed wafer cookies (at least on half of it). This is my first minor complaint. The doughnut looked more visually appealing in 2020 with the 2026 version instead opting for a "Two-Face" look. Most of the flavor comes from the vanilla icing, except for the couple of bites that contain the sweet banana Kreme (my second complaint, there could have been a little more Kreme). I've had issues with missing or incorrectly flavored filling from KK, but when they do it right, it's divine. The banana and vanilla paired nicely and reminded me of why KK is my favorite doughnut chain when things go smoothly. Although it's an artificial banana flavor, it is well done and is not overly candy-like. The only other banana filled doughnut I've encountered has been at Voodoo Doughnut and KK's version is a worthy competitor for those unable to access Voodoo. It's on like Donkey Kong, Doughboy approved 😋. 

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My KK favorites:

1. Hypno-Henry, The Cake Batter Monster

2. Oreo Cookies & Kreme

 

3.Peanut Butter Kreme Filled Doughnut Topped With M&M's

4. Mississippi Mud Pie

5. Banana Pudding

6. Butterfinger Original Filled 

7. Biscoff Cookie Butter Cheesecake