Monday, October 3, 2011

From the Canned Goods Aisle: Koogle

Koogle Peanut Butter
Company: Kraft
Years: 70's

Look, I blame my parents for lots of stuff. My dislike of Apple Pie, my anxiety in crowded places, and my fear of puppets, to name a few. But I really can't blame them for not having me sooner so I could enjoy the flavored peanut butter treat that was Koogle. I mean, sure, they could have stockpiled a bunch of jars for me prior to my birth, but really, who has that kind of hindsight? Give them a break, they aren't perfect (remember, there is that whole fear of puppets thing).

Koogle was a flavored Peanut Butter treat from the 70s that came in several flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Banana. It had a memorable commercial featuring the jive talking Koogle Mascot who sang  "Pea-nutty-koogle with the koo-koo-koogly eyes!" It was around for a few years, but sadly didn't last.

Man, I wish my parents had me sooner. I missed out on some serious craziness with Koogle.

Please, if you've had Koogle, let me know. Sounds like one extinct food I could have gotten into.

107 comments:

  1. I remember it well, and was sad to see it go. I think my granmother or even mom bought it once when I was in 6th grade. I still can't go past the peanutbutter isle in the store without hoping MAYBE it will magically re-appear.

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    1. I am so happy to have stumbled upon this! For years I've been trying to find the cinnamon peanut butter of my childhood. Now I know what the name of it was back in the 70's. It was delicious!

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    2. I wrote a letter to kraft and was told they had to discontinue the item. I forgot the reason. I asked them to correct it and bring it back. But they said it would not happen.

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    3. I wrote a letter to kraft and was told they had to discontinue the item. I forgot the reason. I asked them to correct it and bring it back. But they said it would not happen.

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    4. I wrote a letter too I was told that not enough people bought it. I think all of us had in the 70s. That was good stuff 😊

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    5. I wrote a letter too I was told that not enough people bought it. I think all of us had in the 70s. That was good stuff 😊

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    6. I had it when I was young. I think Nutella has the market pretty well cornered now on nut spreads, however.

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    7. Born "1967" so when Koogle eye's came out I was very young but I remembered it well. It left a definite lasting impression in my memory. It was an oh my GOODNESS memory. However, I remembered it as Googlie Eye's (must have been the age) I thought about this spread many times over the years and wondered why on earth did something this good.. seem like one day it was here and all of a sudden GONE! (again I was just a kid) Today I bought some nutella and decided to dip it into some peanut butter .. I can't tell you how excited I was .. it immediately brought me back to my childhood. "Are you kidding me" I thought .. it was that simple. Oh my goodness, heaven at last! :) Decided to do a search on it and it led me here. So glad I'm not alone .. I grew up with 5 siblings and not one of them remember it. Heart broken as you can imagine, I thought maybe it wasn't what I thought .. But as soon as my taste buds got a taste of it I knew it was my childhood memory of my Googlie eye's.

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    8. I feel the same way .I still hope to see that banana flavored peanut butter

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    9. I thoyghtvit was Google for years. Couldn't find anyone who remembered it. I finally decided to search the internet and here I am. I did not remember the jingle, but otherwise glad to know I'm not crazy. It just one day disappeared like Freakies cereal.

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    10. My memory of it is not as positive. A kid in my class in 1970 - as a five year old - had it on his sandwhich. He dropped it on the ground - I dobbed him in for "throwing" it on the ground and the teacher clearly showing my my first lesson in dobbing. Made me eat it dirt and all. It was disgusting. I was very ill at the dinner table that evening. To this day i can not stomach the smell of Nutella or others - so long lasting for me this one.

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  2. yes my grandma always had this at her house. loved the googley eyes. now i have my daughter hooked on nutella lol

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  3. omg! i LOVED that peanut butter!! wish they still had it around. i thought my mom was just being mean when she stopped buying it. i was sooo lil" at the time. thought even she was hiding it all for herself. lol. why did they take it off the market? i think we all demand it back! lol.

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  4. I remember it! My Mom would only allow me to get the cinnamon kind, I guess because she thought it was the least "fattening." I loved it. It was awesome. I don't remember the packaging or the commercial, but I remember cinnamon peanut butter. I was born in 1969.

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    1. I remember my mom bought the chocolate that was my favorite of all time.

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    2. My favorite was banana i can still tast it i wish they would bring it back

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  5. Thank you !!! Everyone thinks I'm crazy this stuff was amazing. I would get a spoonful of the chocolate Koogle and a glass of rootbeer koolaid. Now sad to say they are both just a memory a good memory still just a memoy

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  6. Banana Koogle was the best. I would eat it at lunch time. After a breakfast of Pink Panther Flakes cereal.

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  7. There was a Grape Flavor Koogle, too! Why doesn't anyone remember this?

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    1. I don't remember the grape flavor

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    2. I don't remember the grape flavor

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    3. They had a peanut butter and jelly but wasn't koogle it was a elephant with glasses and a captain crunch hat on

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    4. I remember. No Mandela effect here. My husband swears I'm making it up. Lol

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    5. You sure you're not thinking about Goober Grape? Or maybe your mom mixed peanut butter and grape jelly herself?(according to my dad, mixing peanut butter and jelly is the correct way to make a PB&J)

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  8. I think you may be getting it confused with Goober Grape, similar product out about the same time. As far as I can find from my research and talking to various people familiar with the product, there were only the 4 flavors: Vanilla, Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Banana. Now, it's always possible they could have test marketed a Grape flavor in certain areas of the country, that happens all the time (I still can't get anyone to believe they made Ranch Flavored Funyuns in the early 90s, which I believe may have also been a test market thing, and they were real, I remember buying and enjoying them). Anyway, I will do a little more research and see if I can't get to the bottom of it.Thanks for checking out the blog!

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    1. Goober Grape(as well as Goober Strawberry) is still around today...

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    2. I wish they would bring back the pizzaria chips

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  9. I remember that I used to like the banana one - AND I vaguely recall the monster, but not exactly what he looked like. I think it was a giant muppet.

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  10. I have just recently put the question of whether anyone remembered this peanut butter or not on my facebook page! My cousin found your blog and sent it to me. I'm so glad he did because I was starting to think I was crazy--my mom didn't remember it (but she's getting old and crazy, shhhhh). Wasn't there a hairy caveman character with the eyes at one point? I loved this product and I'm going to request it from Kraft right now!

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    1. I did that, they will not bring it back. It was pulled from the market for something.

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    2. I did that, they will not bring it back. It was pulled from the market for something.

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  11. The banana Koogle kicked ass!
    I only remember the 4 flavors and definitely not grape.

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  12. I remember Koogle well. My mom bought it for me and my siblings all the time. I hated when it vanished. I never knew why at the time. This product needs to be resurected. The chocolate was my favorite flavor. BTW I was born in 1967.

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    1. Me too 1967 and I loved the vanilla and banana, it was awesome, I remember it as Google eyesπŸ˜‚ I would love it again!

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  13. It was delicious. I used to make sandwiches with chocolate Koogle on one side and banana Koogle on the other.

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    1. Me too. I loved it. I also loved those space sticks.

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    2. I mixed flavors too!! Vanilla and chocolate on two pieces of bread
      I am older than all of you. I lived off of chocolate Koogle when I was a jr in college. I was very sad when taken off market. Couldnt find anyone who remembers it

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  14. Chocolate koogle was my favorite, but banana koogle was a close second.

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  15. Oh I used to love the commercials with the life sized puppet (I was a hardcore Sid and Marty Krofft mark in those days). My mother balked at the price of Koogle though. One day I managed to whine enough for her to relent and get the cinnamon variety. I remember liking it, but I can't help but wonder if it was the having or the getting that tasted so sweet.

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  16. I ate the cinnamon so much one time i got sick from it. Now every time i think about I get quizzy.

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  17. And now flavoured peanut butter is back! Kraft finally saw the light...again. Just ate way too much of the chocolate. mmmm

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  18. I have a vague memory of having a sandwich with chocolate Koogle in my lunchbox when I was in first grade...

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  19. The vanilla was amazing, and I also enjoyed the chocolate Koogle...wow, so many memories flooding back at once! I'm having a nostalgiagasm!

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  20. Banana was my favorite; so delicious. I always looked forward to that sandwich treat! I've been hoping that Kraft would bring these original recipes back, I know me and my sisters would buy them!

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  21. When you unscrewed the lid, the wax paper-like seal said, "Here's lookin' at yOOgle! I could eat a whole jar of banana with a spoon!

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  22. Yes!! I loved Koogle when I was young! (born in '68). I liked them all, but really liked the vanilla and chocolate mixed! I also remember the texture being quite smooth, and like the commercial said it wasn't sticky in your mouth like regular peanut butter.

    Humans were not the only creatures to enjoy Koogle! My dad used to bait mouse traps with the banana flavor Koogle and sing....M..I..C..K..E..Y.....M..O..U..S..E!....as he headed to the trash to empty the traps! Weirdo! LOL!

    Now, does anyone out there remember Willy Wonka's Oompa's candy?? They were my favorite as a kid! They were about the size of a peanut m&m, with half chocolate and half peanut butter inside a candy shell!! Way better than Reese's pieces!! ET would have died and gone to heaven! Lol! I would buy them if they were still around!!

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    1. oompa loompa candies were the best!
      I used to try to crack them in half, in my mouth...the candy coating was so crunchy!
      good times!

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    2. oompa loompa candies were the best!
      I used to try to crack them in half, in my mouth...the candy coating was so crunchy!
      good times!

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  23. I guess that's where the saying comes from "You can catch a mouse with Koogle" (note: this is not a real saying. Nobody says this currently, but I think I'm going to start saying it, because it's awesome) - As for the Oompa's, yes, I remember those! I haven't added them to the store here yet, but a friend of mine wrote an excellent history about them on his website CollectingCandy.com: http://www.collectingcandy.com/wordpress/?p=5625 - Thanks for checking out my blog!

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    1. if you spread a single slice of bread with butter, peanut butter and nutela, you will effectively re create the taste of chocolate koogle

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  24. Koogle was awesome. Made great fuffernutters. Does anyone remember Libby's Fruit Float? Another great product.

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  25. Fluffernutters..."it takes fluff fluff fluff to make a fluffernutter, marshmallow fluff, and lots of peanut butter!"

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  26. Fluffernutters..."it takes fluff fluff fluff to make a fluffernutter, marshmallow fluff, and lots of peanut butter!"

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  27. Mom bought me Vanilla Koogle...one was enough to satisfy my curiosity. The cinnamon one sounds interesting, though.

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  28. I used to see the Koogle commercials on TV when I was a kid. I could never convince my mom to buy it though. Koogle went to it's grave without me ever getting to find out what it tasted like. I distinctly remember the commercials too. I can only find the lame one out there with the mom and her kids, but I thought the ones with the Wolfman Jack sounding guy were pretty cool. "Come on Koogle it one more time!!"

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  29. I used to see the Koogle commercials on TV when I was a kid. I could never convince my mom to buy it though. Koogle went to it's grave without me ever getting to find out what it tasted like. I distinctly remember the commercials too. I can only find the lame one out there with the mom and her kids, but I thought the ones with the Wolfman Jack sounding guy were pretty cool. "Come on Koogle it one more time!!"

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  30. Oh yeah, I remember this. I loved the vanilla flavor. Don't remember trying the other flavors though.

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  31. I loved the chocolate and Banana flavors!!!

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    1. Chocolate would be spoon eaten more than spread on bread or toast.

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  32. We did have it quite a bit when we were kids! I loved that stuff! Tried to find it when I was an adult! I loved all the flavors! Wow sure does bring back some great memories!

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  33. I wrote the author of Copy Cat recipe books, Todd Wilbur, and asked I'd he could copy cat Koogle. They wrote back and stated that they would news the product on m order to so that. I have an original jar. But the top is not in good enough shape to read the ingredients.

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    1. I wrote Kraft, they had to pull the product because of the ingredients. They stated they will bring it back.

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    2. I wrote Kraft, they had to pull the product because of the ingredients. They stated they will bring it back.

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    3. I can give you the ingredients.For which flavor?

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  34. I had soooo much of the vanilla flavor - at every opportunity, I'd ask my mom to buy it. I used to spread it on a graham cracker (always thought it was wasted on a sandwich). WHen I was 10 or 11, I had a paper route and used to stop by the store after collection days & pick it up as a treat. Yes, you read that right - I enjoyed it so much, I would spend my own hard-earned cash on it. THAT's how good it was.

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  35. Loved it banana was great. Does anyone remember freekies cereal or ralston hot cereal they were awesome too.as a parent I would love for my kids to experience them also

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  36. Peanut butter was a staple in my grandparents house as im sure it was in everyones! We should have owned stock in the company, as much as we ate! I too am glad there are others out there who enjoyed it also because that proves im not nuts. When i ask other people they look at me like im strange. Best ever!!! Memories How about Tang orange drink and space food sticks.

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  37. I still crave the taste of it
    Oh I guess I'm crazy but I'd give 50 dollars for a jar of it. Mmmm is all I can say
    David Cantrell Maryville TN

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  38. My brother was hooked on the chocolate and i remember liking it as well. I don't think we ever tried the vanilla which is perhaps a good thing because i probably wouldn't have fit through the doorway had i gotten hold of a stash of it. Love vanilla...

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  39. I ate Koogle all the time. My favorite was chocolate. I used to eat it by the spoonful right out of the jar.

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  40. I ate Koogle all the time. My favorite was chocolate. I used to eat it by the spoonful right out of the jar.

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  41. Oh my goodness...I thought I was the only one!! I loved eating a chocolate Kooglg and marshmallow sandwhich as a kid! I was born in 69! Oh how I wish they would bring that stuff back!!

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  42. Oh my goodness...I thought I was the only one!! I loved eating a chocolate Kooglg and marshmallow sandwhich as a kid! I was born in 69! Oh how I wish they would bring that stuff back!!

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  43. My mom would buy this for me and my sisters...I thought we were the only ones to ever eat this as a kid because no one outside of our family that I've talked to about it remembers is...our favorite was banana

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  44. I used to bring a chocolate Koogle sandwich to school every day.

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  45. I remember my mom buying the banana and the Chocolate and mixing them together i was born in 1968

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  46. I have been searching for Google for several years now amd just recently found I can no longer get it anywhere as I was praying I would be able to find it SOMEWHÈRE BUT NO SUCH LUCK. I hope Kraft gets the himt and remakes it cuz when I was about 7 years old when we come home from church on Sunday morning we stopped at Harding market and bought Google and other snacks for the afternoon but it was always koogle that I grabbed off the shelf. If I could have any product back from my childhood it would definitely be Google so I could make myself a Google and banana sandwich.....yum!!!

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  47. Koogle that koo koo crazy banana peanut butter was the greatest thing since sliced bread!😜 When my grand mother passed in the early 90's, I found an unopened jar in the pantry. I nearly cried. My grandma and me would eat these awesome banana koogle and sliced banana sandwiches after school when I was about 5 years old. It was like a gift from heaven...πŸ‘

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  48. I loved this stuff when I was a kid!! Thank you for the memories.

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  49. One of the few great memories I have as a little kid was the magical jar in Mum's cupboard of Koogle. Chocolatey peanuty silky goodness that melted in your mouth...I thought it was heaven in a jar! Alas it didn't last long but Mum made us pretend 'Koogle' using chocolate icing & peanut butter...I thought she was a wizard. Let me tell you, it was better than no Koogle at all. Nowadays its Nutella & Peanut Butter if ever the nostalgia awakens. Let's hope Koogle returns soon to its rightful place amongst the spreads of today.

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  50. And in the Koogle commercials with the Wolf Man Jack sounding monster guy... didn't he end the commercial by saying "It's Mabaloobalish, man!".... I remember that somehow... help me out here.

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  51. I loved that peanut butter. i craved it when i was pregnant with my first son.

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  52. I loved Banana Koogle so much I've been trying to figure out how to make it. Kraft had a special process to remove some of the strong peanut flavor from the base - that's why banana peanut butter isn't even close. Miss you, Koogle! Breakfast just hasn't been the same in forty years. :(

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  53. If you eat a handful of Reese's Pieces sprinkled with cinnamon, its very similar

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  54. Sometimes, if I think hard enough, I can still recall the taste and smell of chocolate Koogle in my mind... A couple years ago, I bought a jar of Skippy chocolate creamy peanut butter, on clearance, I'm not sure if the product was being discontinued, or if they were just test marketing it in my area(I'm in Stockton, California)... It wasn't exactly the same, at least not exactly what I remembered... but I have also seen some specialty or gourmet peanut butters that came in chocolate flavor, as well as banana(I could imagine the label for that one would include an illustration of Elvis Presley...), cinnamon, and/or vanilla... As for grape flavor, which some people have claimed they made, I can think of two possibilities: first, it is possible they did test market a grape flavor, and whoever claims to have seen it would be fortunate enough to have been living in one of the areas they were test marketing it in at the time, and the second is they may be mistaking it for Goober Grape, which is peanut butter and jelly combined in one jar, which is still being made and sold today(along with Goober Strawberry, for those who prefer strawberry to grape on their PB&J)... I remember my mom buying me Goober Grape when I was a kid, and still buy it on occasion as an adult... Of course, while writing this, I also came up with a third possibility: whoever claims to have seen grape Koogle, their mom(and/or dad) mixed peanut butter and grape jelly(according to my dad, mixing them is the correct way of making a PB&J)... But anyways, a sandwich with chocolate Koogle, chips, Hydrox cookies(which are now available, if you know where to look), and a Snack Pack of butterscotch pudding in a metal can(for the life of me, I don't know why they went from the metal cans to plastic containers with foil on the top) along with chocolate milk, was something I found in my Hong Kong Phooey lunchbox on more than one occasion...

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  55. I remember my brother and I would go through a jar a week.The chocolate was our favorite!

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  56. I was addicted to chocolate Koogle. I would use whatever money I had as a kid and run to the store to get it. I would talk my friends into giving me theirs whenever I found out they had some. I especially loved it on graham crackers. I think I would settle for vanilla but I didn't care for the other flavors. I'm sure my arteries are clogged from all of the trans fat that was in this stuff. It sure did taste good though.

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  57. Is it available on obscure websites? when will Kraft bring it back?my partner would love to see it again.Ive never had it

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  58. Us kiddos in our family were lucky enough to have a mom that bought all 4 flavors for us to try during those years. I think cinnamon was the only flavor I didn't really like personally, but loved the chocolate, banana, and vanilla. I was born in 1964, the tail end of the baby boomers, so the koogle peanut butter years were definitely during my childhood years.

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  59. I say we start a petition. I want this back. It was awesome. NOBODY that I've spoken to remembers this to include my siblings, of which I KNOW they've eaten this. Please bring it back.. it'll catch on this time I bet.

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  60. Yes I have had Koogle when I was younger.Chocolate flavor Koogle was really good.I wish they would bring it back.

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  61. I make a cinnamon Koogle dupe by mixing natural peanut butter (Peanuts Only) with almost equal parts honey and a thick pinch of cinnamon. It closely matches the textures and tastes of my childhood.

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  62. So cool to see how many people remember this awesome peanut butter, as all of you truly wish they would bring it back.I was born 1963, I remember asking my parents to get me the banana one because I simply loved it. I decided to google it to see if I could find it or maybe some kind of recipe and ran across this blog. This is the first time I get on a blog. If any of you know of a recipe let me know.

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  63. Back in the day, Koogle came in four flavors: chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and banana.
    How to make a modern day version of Koogle:
    For the banana, use banana pudding powder mixed with smooth peanut butter and maybe a little bit of butter as an emulsifier, same with the vanilla and chocolate flavors. For the cinnamon just add cinnamon and sugar to peanut butter.

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  64. I adored chocolate Koogle. I remember running my finger around the ridges on the inside bottom edge of the jar, getting every last bit out of it. Definitely eaten more with a spoon, but I remember Koogle sandwiches in my lunch for school. I was born in '65 and also loved Freakies, Space Food Sticks, Danish-Go-Rounds, Tang, King Vita Man cereal, and soaked up all the Sid and Marty Krofft I could (Sigmund and the Sea Monsters!)!

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  65. I had an allergic reaction hives when I ate the chocolate did not stop me I loved it I want it back I look for it to this day or a dupe it was google I southeastern ohio in 74 love love loved it I'd eat it and itch today or maybe I've grown out of it? dont Care. Kraft bring it back please and dont change it not a thing !! I dont want organic green vegan just how it was in 1974!!!

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  66. Koogle was the best. My dad used to collect coins and we still have a Koogle jar filled with Indian heads

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  67. Have y’all tried Better’n Peanut Butter Banana or Chocolate flavor? Reminds me of Koogle so much!!!

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  68. I'm old enough to remember the ads for Koogle. The tune was from "Barney Google". I don't remember my mom ever buying Koogle. I'd love to try these, especially Banana flavor.

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  69. There's gotta be a recipe somewhere? I'm a '69 baby and grew up eating all 4 flavors switched out daily. Please if someone has a recipe then I beg of you to post it for everyone of us old people. Lol TIAπŸ™‚

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  70. I remember it SO WELL, and SO wish they would bring it back today. It was delicious!!! My mom used to let me pick the flavor in the 70’s at a tiny market in Iowa. Later, in later 80’s I worked at a grocery store, and always kept my eyes open for it. Was so sad to never be able to buy it again. It would be a huge hit today.

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  71. Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolatey Dreams Peanut Butter, Non-GMO Project Verified, Gluten Free, Vegan, 16 Ounce (Pack of 6) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GQ3E3M/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_67ZVMRY9834P2Y99WB8D?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

    Here ya go. After nearly 50 yrs, this as close as you're gonna get. *Psst* It's worth buying a six-pack at a time.

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    1. Copy/paste the link above. Sorry it won't hyperlink from the comment.

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