Happy Belly Peanut Butter Sandwich Cremes — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Happy Belly Peanut Butter Sandwich Cremes by Happy Belly (Amazon) DUMP — score 17/90.

The 'real peanut butter' here is peanuts cut with hydrogenated vegetable oil — the trans-fat-risk ingredient that's an automatic fail. Around it: four more fats, two sweeteners including high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, and artificial flavor. This is a budget cookie built to a price, not a recipe.

Why this verdict

• Hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, rapeseed, soybean) — trans-fat territory, automatic DUMP
• Two sweeteners: sugar plus high fructose corn syrup — a sweetness system, not simple ingredients
• Hyper-palatable triad: sugar + palm/canola oil + enriched flour, engineered for craving
• Caramel color and artificial flavor doing the work real ingredients should
• Five separate fat sources in one cookie: hydrogenated oil, palm, canola, plus the peanuts' own

Ingredients (9)

• Hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, rapeseed, soybean) (avoid) — Hydrogenation creates trans fats — the one fat category with no safe intake level.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (caution) — The dominant sweetener and second ingredient; drives the sugar load.
• Enriched Flour (moderate) — Refined flour with some nutrients added back, lacks whole-grain benefits.
• Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
• Palm Oil (moderate) — Saturated-fat-heavy oil used in the crust.
• CANOLA OIL (moderate) — Refined vegetable oil.
• caramel color (caution) — Artificial coloring for a browned look, no nutritional purpose.
• Artificial Flavor) (moderate) — Lab-made flavor doing the 'creme' work.
• Soy Lecithin (safe) — Common emulsifier, generally benign in these amounts.