Back when the pandemic hit last year, I started subscribing to a subscription box called Universal Yums that sends you a bunch of snacks from across the globe every month. January’s box was from the Netherlands—a country that, based on the box, has all sorts of sweet, savory, sour, chewy snacks. This month’s box was very interesting, and I want to tell you about it. So let me break down the tasty and strange snacks that were in the box this month.

Caramel Stroopwafels

You know ‘em, you love ‘em, you used to eat ‘em on United flight. The stroopwafel is a classic Dutch treat and was the one in this box I was most familiar with. It was exactly what you’d expect—syrupy, sweet, crisp. It’s a perfect snack. I will say, though, that I didn’t like the method of putting it on top of a cup of hot tea. It didn’t really warm it up enough for my liking; I’m a fan of the microwave method. But that was the only thing I didn’t like. So safe to say, it was delicious.

Dutch Candy Cars

These were too cute! They’re different shades of pink, coming in strawberry, blackcurrant and cherry flavors. The strawberry flavor was so good! I loved that it was almost sort of floral because it was super, super sweet. These Cadillac gummies are SUPER chewy. These are definitely not a soft gummy, but I knew they were supposed to be chewy going in, so I wasn’t all that bothered by it, especially since the flavor is so solid.

Sour Watermelon Candies

I’m not going to spend much time on these. I don’t like sour candy, but these were actually not that sour. They just tasted like a slightly tangy watermelon candy. They become chewier the longer it’s in your mouth, which I found interesting, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to eat these again.

Cheese & Onion Potato Chips

Cheese potato chips are something I’ve only recently started getting into. My choice potato chips are barbecue flavored, but these aren’t bad at all! I really liked the cheese and onion flavor. And these chips are kettle-cooked style, which I love. Are these the best potato chips I’ve ever eaten? No. Are they tasty AF? Yes. 

Aged Gouda Cheese Crispies

Of all the snacks in the box, this one was my favorite! The “crispies” (how cute is that name?!) are basically little baked bread squares that taste like very mild white cheddar Cheez-iIs. Now I love Cheez-Its, so these were an easy win for me. But they were actually less salty than I expected. It had a slight sweetness that I found really enjoyable. Plus, Gouda cheese was invented in the Netherlands (though not in the town of Gouda, interestingly), and I happen to love Gouda, so this was an easy win all around. 

Soft Licorice & Fruit Gummies

When it comes to black licorice, I’m iffy on it at best. It’s very medicinal, which is a quality I both like and dislike. I’m just as confused as you are. Black licorice is a confusing experience for me. But I love fruit snacks. This snack was interesting, as it was half fruit snack, half black licorice. Think CatDog, but with gummy candy instead of pets. I enjoyed these initially because of the fruit snack that leads the flavor initially, but the aftertaste tastes very strongly of licorice, so for that, I don’t think these are my jam. But they are definitely an interesting snack, and it was fun to sample.

Sour Violet Candies

These were the wildcard in the box. I did not expect to like these. I don’t love floral flavors, but this one was shocking! It was sweet and fruity and lightly floral without being soapy. It was like sucking on a dum dum without the lollipop stick. It was great! I didn’t find it to be sour at all, but like I said before, I prefer it that way. 

Chocolate-Covered Kruidnoten Cookies

Now last month, we received kruidnoten (Dutch spice cookies) in the holiday Yums box. They taste similar to Biscoff cookies, which who doesn’t love those? But these were WAY better because they were covered in dark, milk and white chocolate. I found the chocolate to be an amazing way to balance the spice. Plus I loved the crunchy cookie with the creamy chocolate. The dark chocolate variety was my favorite because it wasn’t overly sweet. Of the sweets in this box, this was easily my favorite.