Found at the grocery store: Pumpkin spice cream cheese, candy corn, more

It's that time of year again — the time of year when you walk in the grocery store and everything's covered in pumpkin spice.

Goodbye summer, hello fall.

And I'm not just talking about the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.

In recent years, the pumpkin spice phenomenon has grown to include everything from pumpkin spice cream cheese to pumpkin spice nuts and even pumpkin spice candy corn.

On a recent Thursday, I took a quick walk through the grocery store looking for all of the crazy pumpkin-spice products I could find.

And then, I tasted them all so you don't have to. (And trust me, there are some that you definitely don't want to try).

Here's what I found.

Fudge Stripe Cookie

The Fudge Stripe Cookie has a nice blend of sweet and spice. It's almost like eating a pumpkin pie in cookie form. The only thing not good about it is how sticky and messy the white icing gets.

Pumpkin rating: 4 out of 5

Pecans

A bag of nuts isn't my typical choice for a snack. And the pumpkin spice flavor didn't make it sound any more appealing. The initial taste isn't bad. It starts off sweet and flavorful, but by the end, the pumpkin flavor is gone and you're left with a weird spicy taste in your mouth. You'll definitely need a drink to wash these down.

Pumpkin rating: 2 out of 5

Candy Corn

Candy corn is bad enough (in my opinion), and when you add the pumpkin spice, it only gets worse. It tastes pretty much like you'd expect it to — like processed sugar with a hint of pumpkin spice at the end.

Pumpkin rating: 1 out of 5

Nestle Pumpkin Spice Morsels

These probably taste much better in cookies, but if you're planning to eat them straight out of the bag, expect an overly sweet, white-chocolate and strong cinnamon flavor. Side note: Don't sniff the bag. The morsels smell kind of like cat food.

Pumpkin rating: 1.5 out of 5

Tastykake

If pumpkin spice flavor belongs in any of these foods, it's the cupcakes. The flavor was not too overpowering, the cream cheese icing was a nice touch and the pumpkin pie aftertaste makes it a perfect fall dessert.

Pumpkin rating: 5 out of 5

Milano Cookies

Chocolate and pumpkin spice — it's a strange combination. But, in the Milano cookie, which has a thin layer of both flavors sandwiched between two biscuit cookies, it works. That's mostly because the chocolate and the cookie flavors overpower the pumpkin spice. So it's almost like eating a regular Milano cookie. It tastes good, but it falls short on the pumpkin spice.

Pumpkin rating: 3 out of 5

Giant-brand Cream Cheese

The Philadelphia brand was not in stock at Giant, so I went with the store brand. When I saw the dark orange color, I thought I'd be in for a pumpkin overload, but it had a decent pumpkin taste while still retaining the cream cheese flavor.

Pumpkin rating: 4 out of 5

Jell-O Instant Pudding

I'm not sure what this flavor was, but it wasn't pumpkin spice. I couldn't eat more than two bites of the pudding. Way too many spices and not enough pumpkin.

Pumpkin rating: 1 out of 5