Picture this epicurean odyssey: it’s the day after Thanksgiving, and you’ve just finished a delightful franken-wich of fused leftovers—gravy-braised turkey suspended in cranberry sauce topped with a mashed potato schmear, all on a bun made from waffle-ironed stuffing.

And now it’s time for dessert, so you make Grandma’s classic: a fat slice of toasted bread thickly buttered with the puréed result of cramming an apple pie slice into your food processor.

At least, that’s what I picture when I think of “Apple Pie Toast,” the latest naming convention-transgressing foodstuff implied by the people who brought you “Frosted Toast” Crunch and “Sugar Cookie Toast” Crunch. I mean hey, I understand that it’s just the name of a cereal and therefore it doesn’t need to conform to reality, but c’mon, they did this flavor already with Apple Cinnamon Toast Crunch, a name I had no trouble accepting.

But whatever, I’m just grasping at semantic straws. If Apple Pie Toast Crunch is good, I’m willing to forgive its eponymous sin.

And boy, is this stuff good.

And man, am I honestly not all that surprised.

Granted, it can be hard to predict how good a Toast Crunch cereal will be. I can’t say there’s ever been a downright bad member of this particular cereal family, just a few that were less memorable. CTC Churros didn’t really change much—and frankly, the texture was a downgrade—while recent Dulce de Leche Toast Crunch likewise felt like a cloyingly caramelized Cinnamon Toast Crunch on over-sweetened steroids.

Apple Pie Toast Crunch, on the other hand, sounded from the start like a no-brainer knockout success. Rather than souping up or doubling down on cinnamon, APTC brings one of cinnamon’s historically closest companions into the fray. From Apple Jacks to Quaker Oats, apple and cinnamon have storied, successful past at the breakfast table, yet Apple Pie Toast manages to surpass all its ancestors.

Notice I haven’t described the taste yet—that’s because it’s exactly what you’d expect. All the cinnamon-sugar-swirled goodness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, with a juicy twist of golden-brown baked apple. There are a lot of different types of apple flavoring to compare it to, but I’d say it comes closest to an apple butter or, well, the crisply caramelized innards of an apple pie, of course!

What is interesting is how different Apple Pie Toast Crunch tastes from General Mills’ recent Apple Cinnamon Chex. The latter felt like biting into an autumn-spiced candle, but Apple Pie Toast Crunch tones down the aromatics in favor of a delightfully balanced apple and cinnamon experience, while retaining all the flavor-blasted dust you know and love (to lint roll off your black slacks).

If the existence of Apple Pie Toast Crunch was a no brainer, then the idea of eating it in milk is like a negative brainer. Don’t even waste a thought: just do it. Then use that banked thought to think about kittens and fresh coffee (both are recommended supplements to the APTC experience).

Simply put, a short milk steeping helps give Apple Pie Toast Crunch the actual syrupy and sweetly sopping mouthfeel of apple pie filling. Not to mention the twinkling auburn endmilk.

Put even more simply, Apple Pie Toast Crunch is a must try. 2021 hasn’t been the most prolific year for outstanding cereals, but Apple Pie Toast Crunch nevertheless stands in the upper echelon. Its appeal is straightforward yet no less satisfying. I enjoy when a cereal tries something innovative and ingenious, but sometimes you just want to hunker down with a cozy bowl of something you know you’ll love. And unless you’re deeply biased against caramelized apples (maybe you’ve been burned in the past by a still-hot pie you cartoonishly swiped from a windowsill?), you’re gonna love Apple Pie Toast Crunch.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a kitten trying to sneak a lick of my coffee creamer.

The Bowl: Apple Pie Toast Crunch

The Breakdown: Classic Cinnamon Toast Crunch goodness with a twist baked apple, this cereal delivers on the no-nonsense promise of its name. I think I liked Apple Cinnamon Toast Crunch a little better due to its denser bread shaped pieces, but it’s hard to complain with my mouth full of ambrosial awesomeness.

The Bottom Line: 9.5 absolute zero-brainers out of 10