Oreo's Fall-Favorite Cookie Will Be Hitting The Shelves Early

Love it or hate it, pumpkin spice is a quintessential flavor of fall. After taking a five-year break, Oreo confirmed that its Pumpkin Spice Cookies will make a return this year (via CNN Business). 

Another famous pumpkin spice item — the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks — does not have an official return date yet, according to People. For years, pumpkin spice items have been a sign that cooler days and autumnal colors are on their way, but in recent years the limited-time food items have been getting released earlier, blurring the division between late summer and fall. For example, last year, Starbucks started brewing its pumpkin spice latte on August 24.

Why do people love pumpkin spice items so much? Jason Fischer, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University, told NPR it's all about "familiarity" and comfort. While companies love to call their specialty fall flavors pumpkin spice, they don't usually contain any pumpkin. Instead, you smell nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, according to NPR. The appeal of all things pumpkin spice flavor has created some more limited-time food items like the pumpkin spice creamer from Coffee-Mate, pumpkin spice Special K cereal, pumpkin spice chicken sausage from Nature's Promise, and pumpkin spice hummus from Lantana.

Shoppers can expect to start seeing Oreo Pumpkin Spice Cookies on store shelves as early as August 15, the company announced via Twitter on August 3. The specialty cookies are made of two golden Oreos with a filling flavored with pumpkin spice. In August 2021, Oreo took a different approach with its limited-edition fall flavor cookie. The cookie company created an apple cider donut-flavored cookie, which had a filling that tasted of apple cider stuffed between two golden Oreos, according to People.

Part of the Oreo cookie model in recent years has been to launch limited edition flavors, such as a chocolate confetti cake cookie for its birthday. The limited-edition cookie flavors are part of the parent company's plans to increase Oreo sales by $1 billion over the next year, CNN Business reports. 

If you are ready for the comforting and nostalgic taste of autumn, head to your local grocery store on August 15 for your Oreo Pumpkin Spice Cookies.