Few things are as nostalgia-inducing as food. Whether it’s Grandma’s special chocolate-chip cookie recipe or the first sip of that Orange Julius drink you always bought at the mall, beloved tastes and smells can work like a time warp, instantly transporting you back to the first (or last) time you enjoyed them.
There will be plenty of time-machine tickets available in 2025, thanks to numerous grocery and restaurant menu items that are making comebacks — some after decades. Here’s a look at some of them.
Golden Oreo Cakesters
Oreos are cookies — we all know that. But Oreo also sells a treat known as Oreo Cakesters, a soft-baked snack cake with a creme-filling center.
Cakesters originally came out in 2007 and were discontinued in 2012. The chocolate version returned in 2022 and was joined by a peanut-butter variety.
But those who loved the Golden Oreo Cakesters were out of luck — until now. Oreo tells Money Talks News that after a decade away, Golden Oreo Cakesters are now a permanent addition to the lineup as of Jan. 3, 2025.
Coca-Cola Orange Cream
Beverage behemoth Coca-Cola loves to offer flavored versions of its main product. From 2019 to 2022, the company offered Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla. That’s now gone, but look for Coca-Cola Orange Cream (in both sugar and zero-sugar versions) in 2025.
A representative for Coca-Cola tells Money Talks News that Coca-Cola Orange Cream is “a smoother, creamier taste profile” than the orange vanilla version and likely will hang around until 2026.
5 Taco Bell menu items
Taco Bell is celebrating its past with a Decades Menu, bringing back five different items, each from a different decade.
The 1960s Tostada, 1970s Green Sauce Burrito, 1980s Meximelt, 1990s Gordita Supreme and 2000s Caramel Apple Empanada all joined the menu late in 2024, each priced at less than $3. But they’re limited-time items.
McDonald’s Snack Wraps
McDonald’s Snack Wraps — chicken, lettuce, cheese and sauce in a flour tortilla — came out in 2006 and were discontinued in 2016. But take heart, Wrappers: McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger confirmed that the Snack Wrap will be returning sometime in 2025.
There are few details, although a 2023 press release said that this time around, the Snack Wraps would be a spinoff of the chain’s McCrispy sandwich.
Dairy Queen’s S’mores Blizzard
Sometimes food companies let fans get involved in product comebacks. In late 2024, Dairy Queen asked fans to vote between three Blizzard flavors — S’mores, Georgia Mud Fudge and Cappuccino Heath — and that campfire favorite, the S’mores Blizzard, was the people’s choice.
Blizzards, of course, blend DQ soft-serve with candy and other mix-ins, so the S’mores version offers graham crackers and marshmallow-filled DQ chocolate bars.
Look for it in April 2025, as part of the DQ Summer Blizzard Menu. (April doesn’t seem like summer to me, but big chains operate on their own calendars.)
The Chi-Chi’s restaurant chain
Remember the Chi-Chi’s Mexican restaurant chain, famed for its chimichangas and deep-fried ice cream? Founded in 1975, the chain topped 200 locations before a hepatitis A outbreak and other issues meant all the U.S. eateries closed by 2004.
But now, more than 20 years later, the chain is making a comeback. Michael McDermott, son of one of the chain’s founders, is planning to open new restaurants bearing the Chi-Chi’s name beginning sometime in 2025.
There are not a lot of details, but McDermott promises “an updated dining experience with the same great taste and Mexican flavor.”
Jolt Cola
Children of the 1980s remember the big splash made when Jolt Cola came out in 1985. With the slogan “all the sugar and twice the caffeine,” the cola appealed to students and others who felt the need to stay up late.
Now, the Jolt Cola name is returning as part of a deal with energy drink company Redcon1. The new Jolt Cola will be an energy drink, not a cola, and will come in at least two flavors.
CNN reports that the new beverage will have 200 milligrams of caffeine per 16-ounce can, up from around 70 milligrams in a 12-ounce can in 1985. The drink should be out sometime in 2025.
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