Target's Fall 2025 Snacks, Ranked Worst To Best

Fall is the most wonderful time of the year, at least in my opinion. It only takes one day to dip below 70 degrees Fahrenheit for me to start getting into the fall mindset. I love the colors and the smells, but most of all, I love the flavors that this time of year brings to the forefront — cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, and apple. This is the time of year I treat myself a little more than usual. And with store shelves stocked to the brim, it's easier than ever to take in a few extra treats.

For this piece, I was more than happy to peruse the aisles of my local Target to see what Favorite Day and Good & Gather nuts, snacks, or treats were offered up for the season. Stocking my cart with as many sweet and savory products as I could find, I ran home to give each of them a taste. The items are ranked based on overall taste, fall flavorings, and whether or not I would go back for more.

These Jack-O-Lantern cookies look like they belong among the many unique Oreo cookie flavors we've grown to know and love. Each cookie has been pressed to resemble delightful, carved pumpkins with dyed orange cream. And Oreo is the flavor I was expecting. I was highly surprised; it was nowhere near what I got.

As soon as a bite of this cookie hit my palate, I was overwhelmed by a noxious chemical taste that went across my tongue and up to the back of my nose. What had happened here? These seem like a pretty straightforward cookie. The cookie itself should taste of chocolate, and the cream should be just that — creamy. I don't know if the coloring of the cream was the culprit or perhaps something in the cookie. But for a cookie you expect to taste like a beloved favorite, these are a hard pass for me, as they seem more of a trick than a treat.

This Favorite Day trail mix features apple-flavored pecans, cinnamon yogurt-flavored pretzel balls, sweetened cranberries, and apple chips. While the densely coated pecans were obviously the star of the show, large and chunky, I chose to go for a pretzel ball first. It was quite restrained in flavor with only a hint of cinnamon at the end. The apple chips were ample and tasted as expected, but were surprisingly chewier and stickier than I thought they would be.

I was most excited for the pecan, which I saved for last, and was most disappointed by it. An overly artificial apple flavor hit my tongue immediately and was incredibly off-putting. When the bluntness of the meaty pecan came through, it was a pleasant reprieve that only lasted a moment before the artificiality circled back around. Unfortunately, these didn't deliver on the flavor I was promised, and thus, I will not be purchasing again.

These pumpkin spice donut holes looked incredibly nice and cakey. They were a bit tacky to the touch, which made them seem rather fresh. But biting into one, I was surprised to see that there was an obvious outside coating that surrounded a paler, denser middle. The coated layer, which peeled away from the donut ball easily, was moist and almost flaky. The inside ball was incredibly dry and seemingly compressed, with a texture that took quite a bit of chewing. Putting these two very different textures together was extremely unpleasant in the mouth.

Sadly, the best part of this donut hole was the aftertaste, as the delivery system was highly unlikable. Beyond the coating and texture, the flavor was pumpkin spice. While better than the ones ranked lower, these are still not something I would return to.

This trail mix looked very familiar to me, with candy corn, honey-roasted peanuts, raisins, and white chocolate pretzel balls. Mixing candy corn with salty peanuts delivers a taste familiar to that of a Payday candy bar, which was what I expected from this trail mix. However, after tasting it, I wish Favorite Day had stuck to my recipe. 

Having honey-roasted peanuts alongside white chocolate and candy corn was just too sweet. The bread of the pretzel couldn't even break through to give a reprieve from the straight sugar. Separately, this is edible, and the flavors aren't bad. A little nibble here and there would get you through the package, which is better than the lower-ranked treats. But overall, it wasn't something I could see myself taking multiple bites of at a time because the cloying sweetness was simply too overpowering.

The chocolate-covered cereal squares in this trail mix were creamy in texture due to the covering of powdered sugar, but it ultimately concealed any flavor of chocolate. And that cloyingly sweet taste was the trend for most of this mix, as the peanut butter in the candies, the oat in the dense cereal circles, marshmallow, and chocolate were all almost lost under a blanket of this powdery confection.

The peanuts offered a nice salty bite that enhanced a hint of peanut butter and chocolate. Had the mix been more peanut-heavy, this would have been much more enjoyable and flavorful. The textures are all present, and separately, the flavors are more prominent than the lower-ranked option, but the sweetness ranks supreme. Again, a small bite would suffice, but I would still look for other options before this.

While the other donut holes in this list were a disappointment, it didn't keep me from getting excited over this prospect. But biting into one, I found myself again with a strange, obvious outer coating and dense middle that offered very opposite experiences.

The cinnamon sugar on the outside was delightful — crispy and crackly to the teeth. However, I didn't really get an apple flavor until I hit the inner core of the donut. And it was extremely slight. While the overall flavor of this option was much more decent than the lower-ranked items, the texture did it in.

The inside was incredibly dense and dry, almost tough. It was shocking to have an outside that was moist and fresh, paired with an inside so incredibly dehydrated, which is what lands these here on the list. This was far from a favorite, and I suggest looking elsewhere for seasonal fare.

Sweetness was the first flavor that hit my tongue with these pretzel twists. However, it wasn't harsh or excessive like the lower-ranked items. And it only lasted a moment before the blunt bread of the pretzel took over. These seasoned pretzels were a very subtle treat with only a hint of cinnamon flavor that came through mostly in the aftertaste.

Had the salt on the pretzel been more abundant, and the sugar and the type of cinnamon-sugar coating from the previously ranked donut hole been applied to this snack, it would have met my simple expectations for flavor. It would also have probably allowed this to rank higher on the list. This one had so much promise but was disappointingly lackluster. As they are, these landed solidly in the middle of the overall ranking.

These witch's hats looked so tempting on a package that presented large swirls of thick peanut butter and obvious mini waffle cones slathered in a dense dark chocolate. So tempting, in fact, that I missed where peanut butter was actually not in these at all, but only a peanut-flavored spread. It made a difference.

The hats were much larger than I imagined, which was nice to see. But once biting in, I was surprised by the white filling that I was expecting to be peanut butter. I can't say it was unpleasant, but the creamy inside only had a slight hint of peanut flavor. The waffle cone was okay, but could have been crisper. And I believe the denseness of the dark fudge was to credit for keeping the sweetness at a tolerable level. Although I would have enjoyed a richer, fudgier taste, these at least seemed better balanced than the ones ranked lower.

Putting pumpkin spice on a product gives a consumer a very distinct flavor profile to expect. So, when I saw these mini pretzel twists labeled as such and looking very much like they were covered in white chocolate, that is the flavor profile I anticipated. And I was incredibly disappointed, as there was not a pumpkin spice to be found. Although I did feel a bit of heat on the back of my tongue in the aftertaste, like these were attempting to be spiced, there wasn't much to write home about. That being said, these were nice white chocolate-covered pretzels.

The coating matched the pretzel in flavor and size. It was snappy and lightly salted, and the color was festive. I could have happily sat and snacked on these for a while, and that is more than I can say of the lower-ranked items. While these wouldn't be my go-to fall treat, they were much more fulfilling than their predecessors.

It was nice to see a gluten-free option among the fall treats, although I did wonder if that would alter the taste of these pumpkin spice crème cookies. But I can honestly say I didn't find that to be the case, as lack of gluten really didn't cross my mind after reading it on the package.

The cookie was softer than I expected and slightly chewy, reminding me a little of a soft animal cracker. The spice level, on the other hand, was like that of a gingersnap on a much lower scale. And surprisingly, the spice seemed to come almost entirely from the crème. Had that level of spice been slightly more potent and the cookie just a bit crisper, this would have ranked higher on the list, as the flavor and texture were overall more pleasing than the lower-ranked snacks.

Seeing that these cookies were dipped in a candy coating rather than white chocolate lowered my expectations considerably. Breaking this cookie in half, expectations dipped even lower, looking at the layers of beige before me. But biting into it immediately lifted my spirits as the taste hit my tongue.

There were definitive cider spices that were immediately obvious to my palate. Whether it was coming from the coating or the cookie, I couldn't tell, but I tasted cinnamon, cloves, and perhaps nutmeg. The cookie resembled something akin to a shortbread in texture and taste, rich and crumbly in the mouth but dense enough to bite into. The crème in the middle was unnecessary and almost took the sweet factor over the top, as the outside of the cookie carries enough sugar. All in all, this cookie had a great profile, just not as great as those to come.

Seeing pumpkin spice madeleines in the fresh section of Target seemed quite fancy to me, and I was very much looking forward to enjoying these with a nice hot cup of coffee. And I am happy to report that they didn't totally disappoint.

These cookies were lovely in texture and pleasantly moist. The pumpkin flavor was present, only slightly sweet and somewhat subtle. The structure was solid but crumbled nicely in my mouth. As a pumpkin madeleine, these were on point. But there wasn't much spice to report home about. Perhaps just a wee bit of cinnamon and clove comes through if you search hard enough, but not as much as I was hoping for. These cookies toe the line of just sufficient in fall flavor, which was enough for them to land higher than some of the other items on this list.

Looking at the bag, I didn't immediately see any peanut butter cups, pretzels, or candy corn, and simply expected a peanut butter-flavored caramel corn, which didn't sound bad. The caramel corn by itself was buttery and delicious. Melted peanut butter cups clumped with some of the popcorn, adding a rich flavor and a higher level of sweetness. The salt and bread of the pretzel were much-needed additions in balancing flavors and also enhanced the overall depth of chocolate, peanut butter, and butter.

The entire bag only contained two pieces of buttery, vanilla-y candy corn, but for that, I was appreciative. I think that addition to the mouthful could have made it too sweet. You need everything (sans candy corn) to experience the full flavor profile. But considering that this is almost all popcorn, there aren't too many opportunities for that to happen, which drops this snack in ranking.

These crispy cookies, with their creamy center, have the delightful taste of a frosted gingersnap. Warm spices filled my mouth pleasingly upon taking a bite, and were quickly soothed by a gentle sweetness. Unlike the description, however, there was absolutely no flavor of cheesecake.

I think a cheesecake flavor profile would have taken these cookies up a level in flavor and in ranking. A little tartness from a cream cheese-based filling would've really complemented the sweet and spicy flavors already present in the cookies. The spices could even be dialed up some more to climb higher above the sweet factor to help make a more favorable bite. Overall, these were much tastier and better balanced than the treats that came before. I think they should change the label to be more reflective of the given product, but they aren't bad.

This lovely caramel corn came accompanied by huge pieces of dried apple that were also scattered with caramel. But taking a bite without even getting a piece of apple, the taste of cinnamon apple was abundant over the buttery richness of the caramel popcorn. When I did get a piece of apple, the intense level of tartness cut through the sweet and elevated all flavors present to new heights. This was indeed an ingenious idea and wonderful execution.

On the aftertaste, however, there was a salty aesthetic that lingered too long. And that is the one aspect that puts this corn lower than the next two. It was absolutely delicious and really made me feel like it was fall. This was the level I expected but failed to find in most of the items on this list.

There was a savory and buttery aroma that wafted from this bag as soon as it was opened. And while the popcorn looked very plain, it was anything but. Just popping a single piece, it was easy to taste the depths of the brown butter, which I found to be exceedingly delicious. Light, salty, and undeniably savory, this popcorn doesn't scream sage but definitely hints at having more going on than just salt and butter.

The overall flavor of this popcorn is incredibly unique, flavorful, and extremely easy to keep eating. This was definitely one of those snacks that you could easily eat in one sitting, handful after handful, if you aren't paying attention. And it is only the subtlety of the flavors that sets this as number two. Were the number one snack on this list not so blatantly tasty, this would have easily garnered the top spot.

Well, Good & Gather yourself as many of these potato chips as you can before they are gone because they are exceptional! As a potato chip, these tasted crispy, light, and perfectly oiled to a melt-in-the-mouth satisfactory level. But then there was so much more.

When the first chip hit my palate, I felt the flavor was going down a sour cream and onion avenue. However, it didn't take long for my brain to detect full-on stuffing flavor and send my senses reeling. These tasted just like Thanksgiving stuffing! There was onion, garlic, sage, salt, and all at the exact perfect level of intensity. As far as this treat tasting the way it was labeled AND tasting good, this was 100% there. And how original!

I really didn't think I was going to like this because who would be crazy enough to think of this potato chip flavor? And I was right on one front: I didn't like it. I loved it! These are an absolute must-try. I suggest you stop reading and go get some now.

I went into this tasting with the excitement of a kid on Halloween. I wanted all the sweet, savory, buttery, and salty flavors you would expect from a well-rounded fall-themed treat that would leave me going back for more.

I started with the sweet and moved to savory in order to keep my palate as clean as possible. I took time between tastings to clear respective flavors from my mouth, having bread and water to soak up excess sugar and spices that may have lingered. I was excited to try almost every one of these options, went in open-minded, and had at least three tastes of each. The disappointment was astounding.

For a time of year to indulge in fun, tasty treats, the majority of these selections left me wanting more. Of all the snacks on this list, I would only recommend trying the top three. And it's only the top two I could find myself genuinely indulging in. The top two were delightful, unique, and not to be missed. They uphold the best flavors of the season and are worth every bite.