I happened to stumble on these at Dollar Tree one day, while just going through the food aisle in search of nothing in particular. The “New!” descriptor on the packaging made me a little nervous…kind of like first versions of software, you never know if all the bugs have been worked out. I mean, most of the old stuff that’s been sitting on Dollar Tree shelves for years are still terrible, so how could I expect anything less from Sun Best?

First impression: I have to say I’m impressed. They actually look a lot like the name brand at first glance, even down to the “two crisps per package” serving size. They’re roughly the same size and same appearance with icing drizzled across the top of each one, which promises a dazzling symphony for the taste buds. So far, surprisingly so good.

But as we know all too well, looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to DT food brands. Oftentimes they at least have the look down, but fail on areas where it counts more…you know, like actual taste. Nevertheless, with no visual red flags, I was actually quite eager to dig in and see for myself just how these would stack up to other brands I’ve tried.

I’m happy to report that these are fantastic all around. Everything is similar in appearance to other brands, from the amount of filling in each one (not a lot, but enough), to the flavor, right on down to the texture…if I didn’t know any better, I’d say these are made by the same company that makes the national brand. If they aren’t, they’re made by a company that makes other private label products…there’s no way a Dollar Tree-exclusive would be able to hit this so spot-on.

It’s a shame the packaging seems to insinuate that it’s as bad as other Dollar Tree food products – just seeing it almost gave me PTSD, an unfortunate side effect from eating foods no one should ever eat, simply so I can make sure other people do not make the same mistakes. I mean, do they have to make their packaging so off-putting? Is that one of the stipulations when DT approaches companies about carrying their products? (“Only if you give it the least flattering package imaginable, and don’t mention us anywhere on it.”)

Outside of that, these are the real deal, and worth a try for anyone who enjoys pastry crisps in general.

Overall: 9/10. These are fantastic crisps for the price, able to go to toe with the national brand in both appearance as well as taste. Since when have DT food products started not sucking? Since this one is “new”, according to the packaging, can we expect higher quality stuff from them going forward? Something tells me this is still the exception to the rule, but I’ll take what I can get for the time being. A good amount of filling and a tasty drizzle of sweet icing help to make these a solid little treat. If you like other brands, be sure to give these a shot.