I received a selection of Cracker Jack Popcorn products to facilitate this review; all opinions are my own.

Cracker Jack Original, Butter Toffee and Kettle Corn Popcorn

When I think of Cracker Jacks, I think of my dad. He was in the navy and wore the same hat as the child on the package; it always makes me smile when I see it. Plus dad snuck me a box now and then as a treat. Back then, I was a child (in the late 60’s and early 70’s) and I loved the magical little boxes of popcorn because of the little plastic toys. My favorite prizes though were the lick-and-stick tattoos which I think may have come later – oh how I loved those!

Cracker Jack Butter Toffee popcornI stopped eating Cracker Jacks long ago when my eating habits changed, but the Cracker Jack brand, who’s celebrating their 120th year, has added a few new flavors to their repertoire so I had to try them out. The new flavors are Cracker Jack Kettle Corn popcorn and Cracker Jack Butter Toffee popcorn. Plus, they’ve added more peanuts in the Cracker Jack Original snack packages (4 & 8 oz sizes).

So how do the new flavors taste? So fabulous! I’ve never really loved the original flavor, but the Kettle Corn has a sweet glaze with salt (different from many other Kettle Corn brands) and the Butter Toffee has almost a maple taste.

Cracker Jack Toys go Digital

Electronic Cracker Jack Toy Tie-in

They’ve “modernized” their snack prizes as well. Now they come with digital content in addition to stickers and fun facts. Some have special codes that offer online surprises. The digital prizes don’t have the same rip-and-enjoy feel their predecessors did, but I suppose today’s kids may not enjoy a plastic toy as much as I did.

Free Cracker Jack-branded App

There’s also a new Cracker Jack-branded free mobile app which features baseball and pinball for the iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone as well as all mobile Android devices. Download it at www.crackerjackapp.com.

Recommendations

My recommendation? Stick with the Cracker Jack Kettle Corn – it’s very good and the most natural. Now if we could get them to use GMO-free corn they’d be perfect.

Cracker Jack Kettle Corn popcorn ingredients: Sugar, Popcorn, Canola Oil, Corn Syrup, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Caramel Color, and Natural Flavors (how I wish they didn’t use caramel color).

Cracker Jack Butter Toffee popcorn ingredients: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Popcorn, and less than 2% of the following: Molasses, Soy Lecithin, Salt, and natural and artificial flavor. (Darn the artificial flavors!)

Learn more about Cracker Jack on www.facebook.com/crackerjack or Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fritolay. Also check out the Cracker Jack brand history infographic at bit.ly/13g9OG9 for some fun info.

Enter to win a Cracker Jack Prize Pack

WIN Cracker Jack Original, Butter Toffee and Kettle Corn
One lucky winner will win 15 4-1/2 bags of assorted Cracker Jack popcorn flavors including both new flavors! Retail value is $24.

:giveaways: