Our Cheez-It-Loving Minds Were Blown Today

It’s hard to beat Cheez-It crackers. They’re cheesy! They’re salty! They’re crunchy! They’re crowd-pleasers for kids and adults! There’s just one thing better than a Cheez-It cracker — and that’s a burnt Cheez-It cracker.

You know what I speak of: The Cheez-It you find in every other handful that somehow got a little more well-done than the rest in the bunch. It’s darker than the rest of the crackers in the pile and it tastes a little more, uh, burnt. But in a good way!

The burnt Cheez-Its are the best and everyone says so. Apparently people say so so much that, Kellogg, overwhelmed by requests, decided to take action: Apparently, a few years ago, the brand launched Extra Toasty Cheez-Its. I had somehow never heard about it or seen it on the shelves.

Floored, I asked my fellow editors and none of them had heard about it either. Of course, we all knew (and thoroughly enjoyed) the texture of Cheez-It Grooves, the powdery goodness of White Cheddar Cheez-Its, and the playfulness of Scrabble Junior Cheez-Its. We had just never heard of (or enjoyed) an entire box of Extra Toasty Cheez-Its. So there was only one thing to do: We tracked down some boxes on Jet and proceeded to shovel dozens and dozens of them into our pie holes.

Buy: Extra Toasty Cheez-It, $3.50 for 12.4 ounces at Jet

I was worried that it’d be overkill. Like, is the burnt Cheez-It only great because it’s a novelty in the sea of regular Cheez-Its? Turns out, no. At least in my opinion, a bowl full of all-burnt Cheez-It crackers is way better than the occasional burnt Cheez-It cracker.

Our new Staff Writer, Lauren Masur, agreed with me. Ariel Knutson, our News & Culture Editor, however, took a contrarian (and incorrect!) stance: “I think I like the original better — you don’t get as much of the cheesy flavor this way.”

I really think she’s wrong, but then again, I also like burnt popcorn.

Related: How To Make Cheddar Cheese Crackers.

Have you had Extra Toasty Cheez-It crackers before? What’d you think? Do you agree that the burnt ones are the best? Discuss in the comments below!