What happened to Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies? That’s the question one creator answered for those of us wondering why the sweet treats don’t taste the way we remember.
Companies change recipes all the time. Americans of a certain age—millennials and older—complain that these changes seem to have affected most of our favorite items. Judging by online discourse, few are fans of the changes.
Of course, that perception could just be nostalgia. It could also be because the foods and drinks are actually worse than they used to be.
A common perception holds that companies change how things are made for one reason and one reason alone: increasing profits.
That’s the thinking behind a series created by Lee, a creator who describes herself as having “25+ years of innovative recipe development” in her Instagram bio. Lee, known online as the Food Hacker, calls the series “what happened to your favorite foods?” In each installment, she reveals “how companies cut costs, raise prices, and destroy your health … allegedly.”
Sometime since the COVID pandemic, she says Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies fell victim to the trend of changing the recipes of millennials’ favorite prepackaged foods.
A spokesperson for McKee Foods, the makers of Little Debbie, said that the company regularly makes slight changes to its recipes.
“While there have been no functional changes, insignificant changes are made to recipes often to improve ingredient list and nutrition fact accuracy,” Mike Gloekler, Corporate Communications & PR Manager for McKee Foods, said in an email. These ingredients represent less than 2% of the recipe.
What happened to Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies?
Oatmeal creme pies are the first snack cake Little Debbie created.
The cream-filled cookies debuted in 1935. Nearly a century later, oatmeal creme pies remain one of McKee Foods’ most popular items.
But will the changes Lee details have people opting for something else to satisfy their sweet tooth?
Few seem to be fans of the new oatmeal creme pie. People have described today’s version as sweeter, lacking flavor, and, as one colorfully put it, with a “foamy” mouth feel.
There’s a reason for that, Lee says.
She alleges that Little Debbie has made a few key changes to oatmeal creme pies. According to her, it’s swapped real eggs for powdered, nixed spices for “artificial and natural flavors,” and upped the amount of chocolate.
Of the lack of spice, she quips, “No spice for you!”
Chocolate used to be the last item on the ingredients list, per Lee. The ratio of chocolate increased so much that she describes it as “punching you in the face” with the flavoring.
Lee believes these changes have “the biggest impact in terms of flavor and texture.”
“In closing,” she says in the TikTok. “Now there’s no spices, less eggs—and the eggs we do have are dried, powdered eggs—and more chocolate.”
Little Debbie isn’t fooling our tastebuds
Many people who’ve purchased oatmeal creme pies in recent years have taken to the internet to ask what happened to them. They believe something just doesn’t taste right.
In November, a Redditor who says they hadn’t eaten one in the decade prior opined that the “taste/texture seems very different.”
Two years ago, another Redditor shared that they stopped liking oatmeal creme pies at some point.
“I had one that was giant-sized and it didn’t taste right. I’ve maybe had one or two since then, and I’ve concluded that I just don’t like them anymore. I thought it was just me, though,” they said.
Lee’s post resonated with people with similar views. It currently has 89,000 views.
People in the comments agree that something’s just not right about oatmeal creme pies these days.
“It’s so nasty now,” the top comment reads. “I used to love oatmeal creme pies.”
Another person says they’re “smaller” and “taste like packing peanuts now.”
@o_g_deez Still being requested, so here it is again: Major apologies if you saw the initial post. #snack #pie #foodie #tiktokfood #fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound – The Food Hacker
Lee didn’t immediately reply to an Instagram direct message seeking comment.
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