Buzz
For decades, Little Debbie, a brand owned by McKee Foods, has been bringing joy to children of all ages. If you grew up after 1960, the year the company was founded, you likely have warm memories of enjoying some of their most popular treats—such as Swiss Cake Rolls, Nutty Bars, Cosmic Brownies, Zebra Cakes, and Oatmeal Creme Pies—whether at lunchtime or as an after-school snack.
Over the past 60 years, beloved Little Debbie snacks have appeared and disappeared from grocery store shelves, prompting some fans to launch online petitions in hopes of reviving these nostalgic treats. Here are 10 discontinued Little Debbie snacks that will leave you feeling hungry... and undoubtedly nostalgic.
German Chocolate Cookie Rings
In 2012, Little Debbie removed the German Chocolate Cookie Rings—rich chocolate cookies filled with caramel and coconut—from their snack range. Despite a wave of online requests for their return, the company suggested trying their Cookie Caramel Bars instead. If you’re still craving the German Chocolate Cookie Rings, there are a few copycat recipes online to help you recreate this sweet treat.
Peanut Butter Toasty and Peanut Butter Cheese Sandwich Crackers
Once upon a time, Little Debbie offered sandwich crackers like the Peanut Butter Toasty and Peanut Butter Cheese. These were similar to the popular snacks from Ritz or Keebler. However, Little Debbie quietly phased them out after a 2009 recall due to potential salmonella contamination at a Georgia production facility.
Boston Creme Roll
Little Debbie's Boston Creme Rolls featured layers of yellow cake drizzled with chocolate and filled with smooth vanilla cream. The snack was discontinued in 2023, leaving fans heartbroken and prompting petitions on Change.org to bring the beloved treat back. The loss is still a sore spot for many online.
PB&J Oatmeal Pies
Although the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie is still very popular as far as the brand’s offerings go, its peanut butter counterpart isn’t as well-known. In fact, PB&J Oatmeal Pies were taken off the market and according to the company, “There just wasn’t enough fan support to keep them in stores.”
Turns out, though, that there was. Some upset admirers started petitions to try to convince the snack company to bring it back. There’s even a dupe—a peanut butter and grape jelly creme spread—that makes it easier to enjoy your own version of this treat at home.
Banana Twins
Made with cream that was sandwiched between two slices of banana-flavored cake and packaged in twos, Banana Twins were similar to Hostess Cakes’ Twinkies in a way.
After this underrated snack was removed from shelves, some passionate fans called for its return from the so-called snack graveyard. The brand might have been onto something, though, as readers of the food site Mashed dubbed Banana Twins the "least-loved Little Debbie snack" in 2022.
Fudge Brownies with English Walnuts
Introduced in 1969, Fudge Brownies with English Walnuts were a staple on store shelves for over 50 years and earned a warm spot in the hearts of Little Debbie fans. However, the product was suddenly discontinued in 2022. Unlike some other snacks here, this one might not stay gone forever.
According to Little Debbie’s X account, the company can request to bring back products to the shelves—if enough fans rally behind it. In the meantime, there are plenty of similar recipes circulating online, so you can whip up your own batch of these brownies and indulge in the nostalgia.
Chocolate Zebra Cakes
Given how popular Zebra Cakes are – those yellow cakes filled with vanilla cream and topped with vanilla icing and a chocolate drizzle – a chocolate version of the treat seemed like a no-brainer. You'd think it would be a hit with consumers, but Chocolate Zebra Cakes just didn’t catch on like their original counterpart. As a result, the brand discontinued them in 2016.
Lemon Meringue Rolls
Little Debbie certainly knows how to capture the essence of the seasons. The Lemon Meringue Rolls were released in the summer as part of their ‘Share the Joy of Summer’ campaign. These treats were similar to Boston Creme Rolls, but instead of yellow cake and vanilla cream with chocolate drizzle, they featured a zesty lemon meringue filling and a refreshing lemon icing drizzle. Unfortunately, due to disappointing sales, these rolls were discontinued at the end of 2013.
Cosmic Cupcakes
While the Cosmic Brownie remains Little Debbie's most famous snack, its sibling, the Cosmic Cupcake, never gained the same level of popularity. The Cosmic Cupcake combined elements of the vanilla cream-filled Chocolate Cupcakes and the Cosmic Brownie, offering a unique hybrid treat. To mark the 2014 creation of the snack, the brand teamed up with the University of Tennessee Chattanooga STEM Learning Center to send some of the cupcakes into space, using a weather balloon equipped with a GPS tracker and GoPro cameras.
In 2017, the brand announced on X that the treat had quietly disappeared, no longer available in grocery stores. Perhaps in response to ongoing fan demand, Little Debbie introduced Cosmic Mini Muffins in October 2024. These bite-sized treats were launched as a tribute to the Cosmic Brownie’s 25th anniversary.
