The major brand snack makers are always trying to sell us the latest and greatest spicy snack by convincing us that they have something really hot this time around. Us chiliheads usually just shake our heads and say “whatever”, knowing that they are really marketing to the average consumer (who thinks Cholula is superhot) and not those seeking out something to munch on that really delivers a burn. But once in a while, they manage to come up with something that surprises and actually delivers some heat with good taste.
The Lay’s baked chips have been around since the ‘90s as have the Ruffles variety that offers the ridges and a thicker chip. Just lately, they have added the flaming hot flavor to the Baked Ruffles, and since I am a particular fan of the baked chips, I decided to give them a try. Now I should note that I am not a fan of the Lay’s flaming hot flavor in general, because I find it to be more sour than hot, especially when they throw in the Limon twist. But Lay’s has done a good job of marketing the flavor with pretty much every snack they make getting the flaming hot treatment.
And surprisingly it works well with the baked chips, especially the Ruffles version. The baked chips have a sweetness to them and that acts as a good balance to the tang from the seasoning. The sourness is still there, but it does not dominate (and don’t add limon to these!). With the regular Lay’s chips and pretty much every other snack item they add flaming hot to, I typically only get the sour with not enough heat or flavor to offset it. But the baked Ruffles do the trick. And they have a nice heft to them which delivers a good crunch.
As far as the spiciness, these deliver a medium heat which is pretty good for one of the major brands. Without the sourness dominating, the heat definitely comes through. And if you get a chip loaded with seasoning, it really delivers a kick. The heat also builds as you eat more of these (they are quite addictive) and it lingers for a bit as well. These are not anything that will set your mouth on fire, but of all the “Famin’ Hot” (the official branding drops the “g” from flaming), these are the best out there in my opinion.
Good luck finding them, though. I saw an announcement that Lay’s was releasing these earlier in the year, but could not find them anywhere on the shelves. I finally stumbled across a bag at my local Super Target hidden in amongst the many other chip varieties fighting for space on the store shelves. Walmart shows them on their website as does Amazon, but they are out of stock. If you manage to find a bag, I recommend snatching it up.
The baked chips became a thing back in the ‘90s when low fat was all the rage. This was a way to eat chips without all the fat usually associated with that snack. The idea with the low fat trend was that you could eat whatever you wanted as long as you kept your fat intake to twenty-five percent or less of your total calories. That particular thinking eventually delivered us low fat Twinkies. When someone is trying to convince you that Twinkies are healthy, be dubious, be very dubious. Then, everything went to low carb. And we got to the point that pork skins were considered the preferred snack. When somebody tells you pork skins are good for you, be dubious, be very dubious.
For me, it’s got nothing to do with the diet trends. (Okay, I confess. I was part of the low fat craze.) I just happen to like the Baked Lay’s, especially the Ruffles version. I’ll buy those whether you tell me they are the healthier choice or not (the current trends are down on them because of the high amount of processed carbs). And that flaming hot version works quite well so I will be seeking these out again. Final fun fact: these are called potato “crisps” because, similar to Pringles, they are made from ground-up dried potatoes.
Tale of the Tape:
Ingredients: Dried Potatoes, Corn Starch, Corn Oil, Sugar, Maltodextrin (made from Corn), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Dextrose, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Yeast Extract, Sunflower Oil, Citric Acid, Monosodium Glutamate, Artificial Color (Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6), Whey, Onion Powder, Natural Flavors, Corn Syrup Solids, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese (Cow’s Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Butter (Cream, Salt), Garlic Powder, Lactose, Disodium Phosphate, Skim Milk, Spices
Serving Size: 28g (About 11 Crisps)
Calories: 120
Fat: 3.5g (0.5g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 21g
Sodium: 160mg