Review & Release History of Cumberland Farms Ghost Pepper Chips, Halo Top Mix-Ins & More

Review

Chocolate & Vanilla: These are just like how they taste. They are lightly coated with cocoa, and the flavor has both that and some mild vanilla. In a way, it reminds me of a super light cookies and cream flavor. The sweetness is super mild but just enough to allow you to taste both of the represented flavors. However, to note, it’s not fully authentic cocoa or vanilla—it feels like an artificial or off-brand one—not bad, but not as bold or pronounced as the real thing.

Orange & Vanilla Cream Pop: Eating these without reading the bag, I thought these were the most mildly sweet vanilla-tasting popcorn I’ve ever had. Then, realizing there was supposed to be an orange flavor, I think I noticed the slightest hint of orange after eating a bunch at once, but really, it’s way too light to even notice.

Basically, a super mildly sweet, regular-tasting, vanilla-ish popcorn. It’s really generic, honestly. It needs more flavor, perhaps an actual drizzle to add more texture and flavor. Out of the three, these are the most plain-tasting.

Everything Bagel & Cream Cheese: If you gave me these blindfolded, I’d say they are coated with some warm mix of garlic, onion, and other spices. It’s not quite as exact or bold as regular everything bagel seasoning, but you do get a good chunk of it. And just to note, it feels “warm,” almost like it’s a little artificial or they used some off-brand seasoning. Lastly, it works well with the popcorn taste.

Still, I think if you like everything bagels, you might enjoy this enough. It’s not the best seasoning around, and the texture could be crunchier, but it’s decent enough.

Release Date

While I can’t find an exact release date, some of these date back to at least February 2022, according to reviews. Found at Ocean State Job Lot mid-August 2025.

Review

Some noticeably gooey swirls, about your typical regular ice cream, but I’d still prefer more! Still, it’s appreciable. It definitely reminds me of their regular, non-Mix-Ins caramel ice cream; however, this is absolutely an upgraded version in every aspect. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t huge changes, but there are enough small ones to make a big impact.

This is thicker than its counterpart and most other traditional ice creams. I don’t know if it’s the addition of caramel, but each bite feels thick, and the composition of it all feels like they mixed together ice cream and marshmallow—it has a noticeable pull-apart-like texture if that makes sense. Basically, it’s very thick!

The taste is clearly caramel with a few hints of dark bitter chocolate from the few embedded crunchy chips. It gives it a nice contrast to the caramel and texture—it’s actually surprising how much they contribute since there aren’t many of them. And before I forget—yes, this has even more of a caramel taste than their non-Mix-Ins brother.

This can almost rival premium brands like Ben & Jerry’s, though this does have fewer treats in the ice cream. However, the texture is noticeably premium, and the overall flavor is contrasty enough to give your taste buds a run for their money.

Release Date

Released in January 2025 alongside seven other Mix-Ins flavors. Found at Stop & Shop in July 2025.

Review

As advertised, this is more or less identical to a regular Snickers except with a white chocolate shell. This shell isn’t as sweet as I’d thought it’d be. Instead, it offers a good amount of creaminess, though it’s still reasonably sugary at the same time. I especially like how it doesn’t taste artificial or off, and it definitely, for better or worse, doesn’t hit you as hard in the sweetness category as some other white chocolate-based treats.

All of the flavors work just as well as its chocolate-based twin. It’s lightly nutty and is thick and chewy.

This is a good alternative to regular Snickers. Honestly, I can’t pick a favorite!

Release Date

Once a limited edition, it is now a permanent addition as of January 2020. Found at Cumberland Farms in mid-August 2025.

Review

I’ve never had an M&M like this before—it genuinely tastes like a sweet cookies and cream that leans towards its milk chocolate M&M side. You absolutely get that creamy part, though, as I said, it’s lighter than its milk chocolate flavor. There also seems to be an essence of cookie that I wish were stronger.

Overall, these are semi-crunchy, extra-creamy milk chocolate M&Ms. The center is filled with a white, lightly crunchy solid, which I guess is supposed to give you that creamy part? I’m not sure. Either way, in many ways, they resemble your traditional M&M’s with just a small adjustment towards a more creamy, cookie-like flavor profile.

Release Date

Some have reported this was released at a previous point, while several other sources state this is a new release as of late July / early August. It appears to be an exclusive for Albertsons-owned stores and is a limited run. Found at Shaw’s mid-August 2025.

Review

These are mostly their regular caramel creams with a small addition of an artificial sugary pumpkin pie. Really, if you blindfolded me, I would have certainly only guessed the flavors of a super sweet sugar and an equally artificial sweet caramel. It’s only when I look for a pumpkin pie that I notice some essence of it.

As per usual, these are thick and chewy and have a soft, creamy filling. They’re pretty good and definitely on the sweet side, though it’s a letdown that the pumpkin pie flavoring isn’t all that strong, as it needs to be to really stick out.

Release Date

Released in August 2024, likely first exclusive to Dollar Tree. Found at Shaw’s mid-August 2025.

Review

These are very refreshing, perhaps too much so. The lemon here is not at all punchy and falls more so on something that’s a little bit above mildly sweet. It really feels like they took any potential boldness right out of it in order to appeal to more people. Also, unfortunately, the wafer itself is rather flavorless—the flavor comes from the thin layer of cream sandwiched between the wafer layers. If you want something more bold, you’ll have to look elsewhere!

Texture-wise, it’s your plain wafer. Airy, semi-crunchy, with thin layers of cream. It doesn’t at all feel as premium as a Whole Foods brand ought to be, but it doesn’t feel like Dollar Tree wafers either.

Basically, I expected more, both in terms of its composition and flavor. Either make these sweeter or punchier, or potentially make the wafers have a better mouthfeel by making them thicker or having more cream. Until then, these are fairly average.

Release Date

While I can’t find a release date, they were mentioned as early as October 2023. Found at Whole Foods in mid-August 2025.

Review

For wavy chips, these are thinner than most; they feel cheap and not as crunchy as they should be. That aside, the flavor is supposed to be a standout, but it really isn’t.

They’re somewhat spicy, and I think for beginners of spicy-based chips, they might think these are quite powerful. However, I’ve had quite a lot more chips that were substantially spicier than those marketed as much lower spicy peppers on the totem pole. These are not at all close to being ghost pepper levels of heat, not even a little!

What also bothers me is that, like the cheap texture, these don’t feel like they have a lot of seasoning. It’s mostly just spiciness with salt; that’s really it. Just kind of boring and cheap-feeling overall.

Release Date

While I can’t find a release date, an early review dates back to September 2023. Found at Cumberland Farms in mid-August 2025.

Review

To me, this tastes mostly like their regular milk chocolate truffles. The only difference here is the essence of pumpkin-like spice flavor. It’s very light, and unfortunately, you may not have even guessed it was pumpkin pie spice if you didn’t read it on the package. I really had to try hard to find it—frankly, I barely even noticed!

Other than the flavor, these are extraordinarily creamy and fairly sweet, having a soft-solid texture just like all of their other truffles.

Please, Lindt, these could have been so much better!

Release Date

Released in August 2016. Found at Shaw’s mid-August 2025.

Review

It’s a caramel apple, alright, but I was taken aback by how sugary sweet it is. It’s like a candy rendition of the real thing, made with artificial caramel and apple combined in equal parts. It’s definitely tastefully sweet, but if you’re expecting to taste something genuine or a close rendition of a more subtle dipped caramel apple, you won’t find it here. Notably, on top of this (literally, it’s the shell!), the milk chocolate is very light yet still works with it nicely.

Lastly, the shape of these is so awesome and detailed looking! A pumpkin on a pumpkin—cool! The shell has a snappy crunch, and the center is ooey gooey; it has a great mouth and bite feel when you munch through.

Release Date

While I can’t find a release date, the earliest review I can find dates back to August 2022, although it was in the form of their regular squares, not Jack O’ Lanterns. Found at Shaw’s mid-August 2025.