In this review, I rank and review all of the Legendary Foods’ Sweet Roll Protein Pastries, including Caramel Sticky Bun, Cinnamon, Wild Berry, and Chocolate.
Having roots dating back to 2009, Legendary Foods has a detailed history with releases mimicking Pop-Tarts, donuts, and other sweet treats. They’ve become a viral sensation, with people clamoring to try their new and creative releases.
Review
As is, without microwaving or anything, these are all pretty dense and on the dryer side, almost having a tough-like texture. Some may even find that these resemble some type of stiff “staleness” to them, or rolls that had their moisture sucked out. Despite this, they’re still not bad, especially if you’ve had other protein treats, and despite being dry-ish, they aren’t crumbly; they’re simply just drier than you might expect.
They all do have roughly the same amount of sweetness as many of the regular protein bars you find in stores, and equally so, have a smidge of artificialness both in terms of texture and the taste itself. It really feels like they molded together dough and protein. Not bad, not great, they’re definitely different and unique.
Getting to the review: Overall, aside from the Cinnamon one, the other three were a bit less sweet, especially the Wild Berry roll. Notably, the Chocolate had a chocolate donut-like frosting, which reminded me of a chocolate donut you’d find at a donut shop. If only it were more moist and softer, though–it would be so much better! Similarly, the Caramel Sticky Bun consisted of a very light caramel frosted top that was more or less the same as the Chocolate, but with a different flavor. Not a weird or artificial caramel either, just mild tasting. Lastly, the most boring one: Wild Berry. This stood out as the worst one due to the lack of flavor and sweetness. There was hardly a berry flavor; in fact, it tasted mostly like the roll itself!
The big takeaway and secret is to microwave these. It makes them feel much more like actual sweet rolls. Granted, heating it doesn’t fix everything; it’s still a bit dry, though it does soften, and not to mention, still contains a lingering (albeit less) artificial protein taste. Nonetheless, they are much better. In fact, it changes my review completely, so here is the second part of just that…
What I found is that my absolute favorite was the Cinnamon. When heated, the cinnamon roll really comes alive: it’s softer, and the flavors are much more pronounced, sporting a much more authentic, actual sweet cinnamon and sugar mix, almost buttery roll taste. I also really enjoyed the sweet glaze on top, which mimicked a cinnamon roll icing nicely, as well as the inner cinnamon and sugar swirls, which contributed so much when you bit in. For a protein roll, I was taken aback by how nearly authentic to a “real” cinnamon roll this came out to be!
Chocolate and Caramel Sticky Bun were similar to one another, and I’d rank both of them equally at the same level, right after Cinnamon. I didn’t feel their flavors were as pronounced because they don’t have the inner fillings like the Cinnamon does. However, their frostings seemed thicker, so when I threw them in the microwave, I noticed that the glaze started to melt through, making for an enjoyable gloop of sugary goodness and providing a pleasurable mouthfeel.
Like when it wasn’t heated, the Chocolate, again, still tastes more or less like a thick chocolate-glazed donut, but even more so this time around, and it’s especially nice that the bun gets softer, which, while still not a donut, does a decent enough job if you pretend hard enough. Similarly, the Caramel Sticky Bun has noticeably thick caramel frosting with some addition of pieces of nuts on top, providing a touch of contrast to the glaze. The caramel isn’t overly powerful by any means; frankly, for a caramel, it could use some more sweetness. Notably, though, the caramel glaze doesn’t come across as too artificial or off-putting, which is something I often find in other treats and protein-based snacks.
The last flavor, Wild Berry, couldn’t be saved. Both without the microwave and with, its flavor didn’t change. It was still noticeably less sweet than the others, and despite having red berry-looking swirls on the inside, it didn’t contribute much to the flavor. It all tasted like a plain, very mild artificial berry, and for the most part, the doughy bun part’s flavor took over, making this roll too dull and boring. This was the worst of the four despite looking like it had the most potential.
To sum it up, microwave these and stick to the Cinnamon flavor if you want to give one of these a go. I think if the other rolls incorporated filling like the Cinnamon did and spruced up their sweetness, they would be so much better! And of course, while these were all decent enough without being heated, the texture could absolutely use some additional help in the moisture department to help improve their composition and texture.