Cheetos Sweetos Caramel Puffs

I always love when traditionally savory brands get into the holiday-themed snack game, but man, Cheetos, why did you have to puss out and go sweet on me? I know Frito-Lay has the dark magic ability to make meat-flavored snacks. Couldn’t we go ham, as it were? That’s an Easter classic!

Okay, sorry to start this review out with a rant. While I didn’t get the odd blessing/curse of ham-flavored Cheetos, I did at least get these Cheetos Sweetos. Last year around Easter, Cheetos introduced their first Sweetos flavor, Cinnamon Sugar. Now they’re adding Caramel to the line.

Unlike the bag of Cinnamon Sugar Puffs, Cheetos has erased all trace of connections with Easter. Chester is still as maniacally enthusiastic as ever, but gone are the rabbit ears. Now he’s crazy for what appears to just be an entire bowl of melted caramel. Cool your heels, bro. That amount of caramel is strictly for making caramel apples for Halloween.

Despite the Easter-scrubbing, for some reason Cheetos decided to keep the Puffs egg-shaped, which seems an odd choice given the lack of bunnies on the package. But at least it makes for a structurally sound Puff.

Upon opening the bag of Sweetos, I was struck by the unmistakable smell of Brach’s caramel squares. Points to Cheetos for authenticity on that one!

…And, after tasting them, points immediately taken away. Well, let me expound: the Puffs were absolutely true to the smell. Cheetos Sweetos Caramel Puffs have a super authentic caramel taste, and therein lies the problem.

The Cinnamon Sugar Puffs kind of worked because they were evocative of churros, but these just taste like sweet caramel on top of savory corn puff. It’s highly disconcerting to both the taste buds and the mouthfeel, because something that tastes exactly like caramel should not have this kind of crunchy and airy texture.

I really thought Cheetos Sweetos Caramel Puffs would just be a sort of “meh” experience, but my mouth has been deeply offended. In fact, now I wish waaaay more that Cheetos had come out with some ham-flavored egg-shaped Puffs. That would be infinitely better than these things. Nailing the caramel flavor turned out to be the actual problem.

Blech, I’m going to go drink some milk now to cleanse my palate. These things stick with you, too.

Oh, and unlike the Cinnamon Sugar Puffs variety, there’s no indication on the bag that these are limited edition. So you can not enjoy these all year-round!

Limited Time Cheetos Sweetos Caramel Puffs

  • Score: 0.5 out of 5 Easter Bunny Chester Cheetahs
  • Price: $1.39
  • Size: 2.6 oz. bag
  • Purchased at: Target
  • Nutritional Quirk: Contains no actual caramel – just “caramel seasoning” – which makes the authentic taste even more mysterious and, in some ways, insulting?

11 thoughts on “Cheetos Sweetos Caramel Puffs”

    1. Just wishful thinking that they’d made ham-flavored Cheetos instead of these things. But the future holds infinite possibilities!

  1. I really love the Cheetos Sweetie, I found them at Wal-Mart and I can’t find them any more. Why is this????
    I have even looked at other stores and no luck. Why make a product if you only are going to put it on store shelves, get people to love- like them then pull them off . I don’t understand, why even make the product. I only like a few kinds of your product’s. This was one kind I loved . if you’re not going to have them on store shelves. Wal-Mart is the place I shop at for the most part. So even if you can get them back on their shelves I would be happy. Or you can just send me a case for free for my inconvenience and gas looking for them.
    Why don’t you take more of hot spiecy & crunchy kinds of snacks off the shelves so you can have room for Sweetos.?????? Much appreciated if you can put them back on the stores shelves

    1. I totally agree!!! I have looked everywhere for them!!! I bought every single bag the Dollar Store carried. It was the only place I could find them. PLEASE bring them back!!!

    2. its called limited time for a reason, if u notice they are shaped like easter eggs which means they will be back around easter again.

  2. I love the caramel puffs!! I find them extremely addicting and have been eating way too much of them, which is my only complaint. The cinnamon sugar ones are ok, but the caramel are the bomb!

  3. Wanting to know if I can order the sweetos caramel puffs online? My health keeps me from getting to the store in order to buy them. They’re delicious! Would appreciate it!
    Thank you

  4. Hi,
    I just bought a bag of the caramel sweets puffs last week locally and they are great as were the cinnamon sugar variety.
    Now I can’t find them anywhere and all the online tries indicate currently unavailable.
    What gives.
    Wal-Mart has far more space than our local grocer or Dollar store, but they can put up a cardboard display with product like every other maker
    John P.

  5. I contacted the Frito-Lay Company to inquire why they got us hooked on Sweetos then they couldn’t be found. They said that these are a seasonal item (Easter, Spring) and that is the only time they will be available. When I asked why they said there is only so much room available to them on the store shelves and these don’t make the cut.
    I also love the caramel ones!

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