Chips Ahoy! Thins Cinnamon Sugar

Folks, thin cookies are in. Growing up I was strictly an ooey & gooey kinda snacker, but as I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate thin & crispy cookies. It's a good thing too, because that's basically all the new stuff coming out in America now, with the exception of dozens of Oreos. Heck, even they've got a 'Thin' variant now.

Cinnamon sugar is a less frequently praised combination than say, peanut butter & chocolate or birthday & cake, but it had big fans in my household growing up. Toast, butter, cinnamon, sugar. A real solid snack, if you ask me. So when I saw that Chips Ahoy! was going forward with a cinnamon sugar version of their new thins, I was in.

Of course, your standard Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies have also shed some inches and become Thins, but the Cinnamon Sugar version intrigued me far more.

Upon opening, you're hit with a very strong sweet cinnamon smell - not like Cinnabon, but like a snickerdoodle.

The base cookie has the same buttery & sweet flavor of your classic Chips Ahoy!, but it's enrobed by cinnamon sugar. There is also that hint of salt in the base flavor that always elevates Chips Ahoy! above store brand chocolate chip cookies, and it really makes this cookie sing too.

The creamy chips seem really tasteless, like they add nothing but a bit of creamy texture - personally, I think the cookies would be better without. They'd be crispier & no creamy chips would probably mean less calories as well. Not that these are particularly bad in that way, weighing in at about 150 for 4, but the cookies would be just as tasty minus those chips if you ask me.

Generally, I appreciate this new thin trend in cookiedom, but I think for my own personal taste I'd prefer a less sweet cookie that had a larger diameter. As it stands, these are small cookies that only satisfy in larger quantities, but you'll probably tire of their sweetness before you're satisfied by the amount. Think I'm going to have to accept that cookies, or rather...biscuits in the UK were really far superior to American ones. Had I known this, I would'v absconded with a few packs of HobNobs before I left London.

Choco Chip Oreos

I got one word for these cookies, and I hate to say it: boring.

I don't know how they screwed this one up, honestly. I used to eat Chips Ahoy Creamwiches until I popped - they were Chips Ahoy plain chocolate chip cookies sandwiched with Oreo cream. Yes I was a tubby young woman, but the late 90s - early 00s were a great era for junk food. Those halycon days of the movie tie-in soda pop...Makes me go all misty eyed.

Anyway, when I heard that the next batch of limited edition Oreos was going to include a 'Choco Chip' variety, I was pretty excited. Then I started seeing the pictures come in, and my excitement waned a bit. See, these are still flat Oreo cookies, and the flecks of "choco" chip don't really have any mass, they just look like flat, colored bits in the cookie. It's not chocolate chips - ergo, "choco" chip. They taste okay, but while I was expecting them to be like saltier, butterier Golden Oreos, they were more like sweeter & less flavorsome Golden Oreos. A real let down.

The biggest disappointment however was definitely the creme. I can honestly say it seems nearly tasteless to my palette. They would've been better off just using the plain creme. This was just sweet & gooey, not pasty like the usual creme texture in an Oreo. I felt no textured chip bits, it was just a smooth, gooey creme that tasted like sugar...brown sugar if I'm being generous. Take a look at the texture - it was really gummy. I've had that experience with a few other limited edition Oreos, think when they can't integrate the flavor well into the traditional cream they use more emulsifiers and it comes out like this.

I dunno, I'm really disappointed in these. It could be that my nostalgic desire for Creamwiches return has colored my opinion, because Creamwiches these ain't. But ... decent cookies these ain't, either. A real meh, wish I would've gotten any other Oreo.

Red Velvet Chips Ahoy!

One thing my husband has yet to adjust to/appreciate in America is our on-shelf cookies. He thinks they're too sweet (he's right) and are not worth the calories (he's wrong). So I know that when I buy a box of Oreos, or Chips Ahoy, or whatever - I know they're all mine. Which is both good and bad, because I also think on-the-shelf American cookies are really sweet, and therefore not something I want to eat an entire box of. That's what is keeping me from buying the Key Lime Pie Oreos - hear me, Nabisco? Maybe it's time to finally release just single rolls of the limited editions, huh? Your missing out on the illustrious Creamy Steaks purchasing market. How I fight against the sweetness, however, is by coupling them with black coffee.



So yes, I absolutely suggest trying these Red Velvet Chips Ahoy! with a hot mug of black coffee because they're very sweet. However, they're also very tasty.

The cookie base itself does have the delicate cocoa tones of a classic red velvet cake, and is slightly bittersweet. It's got the classic chewy Chips Ahoy! texture that's super moist and just the slightest bit mealy - not in an unpleasant way, just in a very 'processed cookie' way.

The cream cheese chips are mostly creamy, with a hint of vanilla - frankly, I think they're just white chips with some sweetness. The cheesiness & tang will ultimately come from the filling, which is a firm cream cheese style frosting. It's a very thin layer, but the taste is strong enough to come through and be identifiable cream cheese frosting.

While they're very nice, as a person facing the idea of having to chomp through the whole package by myself...well, I don't see that as a cause for celebration as I would with plain crunchy Chips Ahoy!, for example. If you have a spouse who can stomach sweets or better yet, kids, then this is a nice pick up. If you're a single person you'll probably enjoy the first serving but then wonder what you're doing with yourself as you stare down another 20 or so cookies.

Red Velvet Crunch Creams

Red velvet is a funny thing, isn't it? Most British people I speak to about it think it's really awesome, and most Americans seem to try & fit the 'flavor' into as many objects as possible. While in America you can easily find red velvet inspired cookies, ice creams, and even red velvet bagels, here in the UK it's still kind of left to the realms of cake.

So that's why I was surprised, pleasantly so, to spot these biscuits at Waitrose this week. I'm a fan of the Fox's Crunch Creams line, it's got a couple of my favorite things: crunch, and cream. What I don't like is Vinnie, the American panda who slings these limited edition flavors. I've ranted about him before, but long story short Americans don't say "biskwits" and I'm certain that the Italian American Anti-Defamation League would really have a problem with him. He's just a bad mascot, but he shills for some interesting biscuit variations.

The coloration on these are really great, a nice rich & deep red for the biscuits and off-white cream. They're quite brittle cookies, being crunchy and all, and I prefer them dipped in tea. Of course, since they're quite dry & brittle you need to move fast lest you want them to drop into your mug while dipping.

The biscuits themselves are very subtly chocolate-y, just like red velvet flavor always is. I mean, it is just a low intensity chocolate flavor, isn't it? The big highlight is, as always, the cream cheese frosting - or cream, in this case. Now they do specify in the packaging that it's 'cheesecake' flavored cream, but what is cheesecake if not sweetened cream cheese, eh? I did find it odd though, considering red velvet cake is so strongly associated with cream cheese frosting - maybe not everyone in the UK would see cream cheese as a good biscuit filling, but yeah, cheesecake is hard to say no to.

So there is just a bit of tang, some vanilla, and a lot of creamy & sweet flavor. Coupled with the subtly chocolate-y biscuits, this is a nice little afternoon snack. They're really sweet, but would you expect anything less from a red velvet flavored cookie?

Candied Yam Cupcake, Hummingbird Bakery

I'm no stranger to Hummingbird Bakery's charms - particularly around this time of the season when they regularly bring out pumpkin flavored bits. I've reviewed the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie and also a 'head to head' battle of the butter & sugar titans in the form of a Jam Doughnut Cupcake & a Strawberry Milkshake Cupcake.

So, while this year they've neglected poor, pitiful pumpkin quite a bit (who knows, maybe they're saving it for November?) they have, in fact, released 2 very cool & as far as I know totally new cupcake flavors. First - Snickers. Which I'm sure is absolutely fine, but I also feel like I could write that review without ever tasting it. Chocolate frosting, perhaps with a 'nutty' component (think Nutella), filled with caramel, and chocolate cake. On top, as you may suspect, half a fun-size Snickers. If someone brought me one just on a lark, I would eat it before they could even turn around and walk away, sure - but when it comes to buying it myself for the blog...well, I went with the more exciting option.

Candied Yam Cupcake. Huh. That's something I can't really presume anything about. While many American families enjoy the gooey sweet potato/marshmallow/"candied yam" dish on their Thanksgiving table, mine did not partake. Not sure what I'm on about? Take a look at this recipe. Basically, it's cooked sweet potatoes topped with a brown sugar & cinnamon mix, with brulee'd marshmallows on top. So how do you make that a cupcake? Turns out the answer is with ease.

It's a natural, really. The cupcake base is cinnamon & nutmeg like a classic spice-based cake with more vegetal sweetness like you find in a good carrot cake. That's because it's a 'sweet potato' based cake. Look ma, it's healthy! Then the frosting really tops everything off, chuckle chuckle. It's like whipped marshmallow creme with a bit of toastiness on the top. It's also the perfect amount to just be an excellent compliment to the slightly spiced cake. Since it's marshmallow based, it's extremely sweet - if they had stacked it as high as say, the Red Velvet Cupcake pictured below - purchased only for comparison's sake, of course - it would've been over the top. 

The texture was excellent too, with a dense & moist cake (you can expect a quality level sponge from Hummingbird in my experience) and the marshmallow frosting was very light and whipped - as it should be with something that sweet.

Would I recommend it to the average consumer over the classic Red Velvet or even a Black Bottom? Perhaps not, but I would suggest it to anyone looking for something a bit different than the usual - or anyone who just loves marshmallow.

Trader Joe's Kona Coffee Creamy Half-Dipped Shortbreads

Europeans, here's something that you're missing out on: Trader Joe's. It's sort of like a cheap & more experimental Marks & Spencer, and it's brought to you by the same people who run Aldi. It's a beloved chain in America because their products are not as expensive as Whole Foods, posited as equally healthy, and they sell lots of things that you don't traditionally see on American grocery shelves.

Things like the following mouthful: Kona Coffee Creamy Half-Dipped Shortbread Cookies.

I really appreciate the sort of retro Hawaiian style box, it's cool - Kona coffee is of course Hawaiian in origin so it makes sense thematically. It's also just eye catching & pleasant.

The cookies themselves are in a tray, wrapped in a bit of plastic, so they stay fresher & are less apt to get stale than say, a sleeve of Digestives or a box of Oreos. I think this also helps make sure that the creamy dip doesn't get too hot or cold - keeps it insulated. Perhaps because of this, the cookies made the journey across the Atlantic with me in tip-top condition.

As you can see they are indeed half dipped in "creamy" (namedrop), which I originally thought would be similar to white chocolate in flavor & texture - you'll see how I was wrong later on. If you look closely you may be able to also spot some fine coffee bean bits, these blended very well into the sandy texture of the shortbread cookie, Some people may be turned off by the texture - they remind me of Pecan Sandies, or a slightly crumblier and less densely 'packed' Walkers shortbread.

The flavor is buttery, not too sweet, and with a subtle twinge of coffee. It's not like brewed coffee, it's more like espresso beans - not too strong, just subtly bitter & earthy.

The creamy side is very sweet with a bit of artificiality coming through in the texture - very slippy & a bit greasy. It's best dipped in some coffee, as it transfers some sweetness into the drink & absorbs some further coffee flavor. We also tried them dipped in milk - it was good too! Not sure I'd recommend them for tea, but that's just because of my natural aversion to mixing coffee & tea. It just sounds...wrong.

If you happen to find yourself in Trader Joe's, and your looking for a new kinda cookie experience, particularly if you want an accompaniment to your coffee, you'd do well to give these a try!

Mr Holmes Bakehouse, San Francisco - Cruffins, Doughnuts, and Choux Bombs

So we are in San Francisco for some business, and I had been doing tons of research on where to go to enjoy some great Californian grub. San Francisco is a real food-enjoyer destination, so there were tons of places being recommended. We're only here for a couple days, so there were only so many places we could manage. One I was certainly not going to miss was Mr Holmes Bakehouse.

I'm still a sucker for the world of hybrid pastries (Cocomaya & DumDum Donuts reviewed in the past) and this is San Francisco's popular cruffin spot. What's a cruffin? Well, break it down - it's a croissant and a muffin. You can actually get cruffins in London at Foxcroft & Ginger, although my guess is that they're going to be much less creamy & indulgent. I mean...America.

At Mr Holmes Bakehouse the flavor changes daily, and when we visited the flavor was Macadamia Nut & White Chocolate. In the past they've also had Peanut Butter & Jelly, Matcha, and perhaps best of all - Dark Chocolate Cherry. These are just the flavors that intrigued me most, but on their Facebook they update weekly with the schedule of flavors so you can best time your visit.

And oh yes, you'll want to time your visit indeed. The cruffins come out at 9:00 AM, and the line when we arrived at around 8:20 was already...extensive. The area that Mr Holmes is in is not the nicest - it's a short walk from the hotel area of Union Square but the atmosphere gets a bit unpleasant - you'll be nearing the Tenderloin which is an area of San Francisco that is considered really nasty. Honestly though, it's not that bad (still quite near the 'nicer' areas) and it's in the morning - we didn't feel uncomfortable, just don't expect a lot of interesting things to catch your eye while you wait in line for a cruffin. You'll certainly not be alone.

Crowd control was quite good, managing a good amount of people filtering into the shop without ever overwhelming the small space, and once the line started moving the first dozen or so people in front of us were out in about 10 minutes. Good knowledge to take with you - I heard that they often sell out of the cruffins by 10 AM. It seemed that being about 25 - 35 deep in the line was fine, but any further back than that and you may risk no cruffin. Worth knowing also that there didn't seem to be a spoken limit for customer purchases except cruffins, which were 2 each. The cruffins were also about $5 and the rest of the bits we got were slightly less, which I think is right reasonable. To be fair, I'm coming from London where the slightest hint of trendiness will increase some food's price three fold. Rest assured something this zany would run you £5 in London.

The shop was clean, small, and modern - it was very photogenic, as San Francisco seems to really lay the carpet out for Instagram types.

The items we bought were:

White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Cruffin
This was lovely! I wasn't sure what the flavor was when I first had bit into it, and I had assumed it was white chocolate & coconut. Macadamia nut is often paired with coconut as they share a rounded, nutty flavor - so I wasn't too off. It's covered in cinnamon sugar which pairs well with this particular flavor, but I did think to myself that there were in fact many flavors where it would've been an unwelcome distraction from the filling. The cream was custard style, thick and unctuous - no whipped lightness here! It was topped with a smattering of white chocolate covered crispies. It was about the length of my hand and nearly as thick as my palm, so quite big. Good for sharing, but uh...could be eaten by one highly determined individual.

Maple Cream Doughnut
This was sort of just thrown on at the last minute, because I love maple flavored things. Now, disappointingly, the maple wasn't that strong - that is usually a sign that the maple used was real as opposed to the much stronger flavored artificial stuff, but I was anticipating something a bit more zow & pep. That being said, this was a nice doughnut in general. The cream was slightly whippier than what was in the cruffin, and was deeply filled. This one was coated with just sugar, and the doughnut itself had a lot of buttery flavor & softness underneath the crisp exterior. It was a good one, just not the best flavor. Very high quality pastry nonetheless, but next time I'd try a filling with perhaps a bit more tang to it. They do a blood orange flavor that sounds stupendous!

Ferrero Rocher Choux Bomb
This one was a must get, as Ferrero Rochers are one of my top general, always available, universally accessible chocolates. Hazelnut & chocolate is always a big ol' double tick. The pastry is of course choux, so a bit crispy on the outside with a delicately chewy inner bit, with a buttery and not-too-sweet flavor. Atop the pastry is a pleasantly soft bit of hazelnut & chocolate nougat, which does indeed bring to mind a Ferrero Rocher. The inner cream is hazelnut flavored, and very sweet, with a touch of grain. It's sort of the texture of frosting or soft nougat, but a bit less thick.

The hazelnut is definitely the dominating flavor in this one, so if you're looking for a chocolate hit you may want to look elsewhere. The lack of chocolate does make the whole thing slightly less Rocher-like, but it's still super delicious - sweet & nutty.

If I lived in San Francisco, I'd definitely make a point of going to Mr Holmes when they had an intriguing flavor on! It's also worth mentioning that they did many other sorts of pastries, including some savory ones (a croissant with the all components of sushi inside it, for instance) which may be easier to get a hold of throughout the day. Also, their coffee was amazing - Sightglass coffee, just the filter, and it was deliciously acidic, fruity, and strong.

Pierre Marcolini - Macaron Concession, Selfridges

Readers of the blog are probably aware of my London macaron hunt; I've already reviewed Laduree & Pierre Herme. That leaves only a few left to try including William Curley, Paul, Artisan du Chocolat's ganache macarons, and today Pierre Marcolini.

Pierre Marcolini as a brand seems to focus in quite a bit on chocolates - as you'll see later on in this review, I can see why. They've recently opened a dedicated cafe for London in Marylebone, whereas before the were sold only in the Selfridges Food Hall. Not only are they selling macarons & chocolates, but the Marylebone cafe also sells eclairs baked on the premises. Glad to see a bit more of the patisserie side of things popping up, as I had bemoaned the Pierre Herme cafe for a lack of cakes & pastries. Good on Pierre Marcolini for giving it a try. Hopefully if the eclairs sell well they'll go on and start serving Religieuse, Saint Honore, et cetera. I'll try my best to encourage this, haha.

So, where are we at then? Macarons! The variety is a bit more adventurous than Laduree, and a little less 'mature' than Pierre Herme. For instance, there is a Speculoos macaron & quite a few chocolate varieties.

Our selections included:
Pierre Marcolini, Framboise, Pistachio, Palet Or Fondant, The Citrus, and Passionfruit.

Pretty sure I've got the order right. I'll cut right to the chase: the BEST macarons from Pierre Marcolini are the chocolate ones. It makes sense, as the focus does seem to be on chocolate, at least in the international market. They are also amazing. Properly bitter dark ganache holds it's own against sweet, buttery caramel notes in the Palet Or Fondant. Instead of blending into one sweetened dark chocolate, as I suspected might happen, two distinct tastes were produced, with a bitter beginning and a sweet end. The equivalent, I suppose, of a filled caramel dark chocolate. Really lovely stuff!

The macaron shells are slightly chewier than Pierre Herme, but less chewy than Laduree - putting them in the middle in terms of chew. The fillings were particularly soft as well - the chocolate ones were similar to ganache in terms of thickness & unctuousness.

To be fully honest, I can hardly remember the taste of the flavors that contained no chocolate - but the ones with chocolate? Unforgettable.

I recall the Framboise was an amazing zingy, perfectly balanced chocolate and raspberry combo. Not too sweet milk chocolate base with a natural raspberry flavor - minus the seeds, add a bit of zest.

The Pierre Marcolini was deserving of what I presume is it's signature status - semi-sweet Grand Cru chocolate with a hint of vanilla to sweeten & deepen the flavors. It reminded me of a homemade chocolate pudding, baked in the oven with vanilla.

The The Citrus is a citrus tea, kind of refreshing bergamot with a squeeze of lemon. Similar to an Earl Gray, this one was my favorite of the non-chocolate flavors.

The Passionfruit was suitably sharp & strong, but it didn't leave a hugely lasting impression. I think that has more to do with the greatness of the chocolate flavors, than any failing on the end of this one.

The Pistachio suffered a similar fate - nutty, warm & sweet, but it didn't stick out any particular way.

I highly recommend trying out the chocolate varieties, and the flavor of the month at the moment sounds nice -Yuzu. I'd like to check out the shop in Marylebone and try an eclair, as well.

Fruit Punch Oreos

Fruit Punch Oreos are super weird, and really show that the good folks down at Nabisco are willing to take risks. I like that in a snack. However, they taste like Flintstones Chewable Vitamins.

I don't like that in a snack unless it's at least giving me zinc while it's grossing me out. Fruit Punch Oreos ain't giving out anything but heartache.

My husband refused to even try these, and to drive his point home refused to bring them into his office for his co-workers. I decided not to share them either, as these Oreos would definitely be cause for alarm in my office - which is mostly comprised of continental Europeans who already raise their eyebrows at any American snack. This one ain't ready for the UN, let's put it that way.

First thing, I suppose we need to figure out what exactly 'Fruit Punch' flavor should be. I think of it as a tangy, sweet, 'red' flavor and all indications on the front of the box say that's also how these Oreos wish to be perceived. If you've ever had Hawaiian Punch or any maroon-to-pink spectrum Kool-Aid, you'll know exactly what I mean by red flavored.

They smell tangy & sticky, just like a sweet kid's juice. The cream is a lurid red color, and something that I'm sure is actually contraband in the EU. Though after all the money I've paid to customs through my years as an expatriate, I deserve some home-style E numbers.

The taste though - yeesh. I don't know what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn't expecting a tastebud-by-tastebud reproduction of a crunchy multivitamin. Maybe it's been too long since I had some Red 129 and I've grown to forget the taste, but this tasted surprisingly powder-y & had something a bit bitter behind the sweet that I'm sure was unintentional. The texture also seemed off - Oreos I've had in the past have a creamier & lighter consistency in the cream, whereas this was just like a thick, sticky paste. I could've easily rolled it up into a ball without it leaving much of a trace on my hands, and when I split the sandwich it easily clung to just the one side. Think fondant rather than frosting.

 I wonder if it comes from the addition of flavor & color - but not all flavored & colored Oreos behave like this. For instance, the Reeses' ones are a pure joy with a classically smooth & 'sticky' cream. However, the Watermelon type also had this weird texture.

Long story short, if you want weird American Oreos there are much better flavors to choose from:
Candy Corn
Banana Split
for instance.

I've got my eye on a few that have came out recently, including S'mores and Cotton Candy. Will they ever run out of flavors for Oreos? I'm waiting on 'Salty Sweet Cream', myself. Or if they want to make it a bit more pedestrian - salted caramel cream. What say you, Oreo board of directors?

Pierre Herme, London - Sloane Square

Recently I've been on a macaron kick. It was never really something I'd gotten before, I've had a few grocery store macarons & maybe even one or two 'meh' restaurant ones, so I wasn't passionate about them. I did know, however, that there must be something to them considering how many people flip their wigs over a box.

My first port of call was Laduree near my flat,  and I really enjoyed it - take a look at that Laduree review for more info. From there, my interest in macarons was kindled, so I went peeping around to try and find the best of the best in London!

...it's a short list. Apparently, even though the proximity to Paris would suggest otherwise, French patisserie is in a bit of short supply here. Because, you know, British people hate sweet & creamy treats. It's not like there as an entire traditional meal built around biscuits, cakes, and cream. So...wouldn't be a success here, I guess.

You can find macarons in lots of places, to be fair, but in terms of the best it's all basically "Get on a Eurostar, or Laduree (done) or Pierre Herme." Correct me if I'm wrong - because I'd love to try some more good ones!

Anyway, we went to Pierre Herme over the weekend to finish up our sampling of the best of the best in London. I wish it would've taken a bit longer to finish, haha.

It's in a fancy area that I rarely go to, but it's a very nice & accessible looking cafe - hardly too ritzy for the average t-shirt & sneakers wearing Creamy Steaks.

There were chocolates available, boxed tea, some sweets (jellies and the like) and a couple bagged biscuits - of course, also macarons. I had already been forewarned that this boutique doesn't stock any of Pierre Herme's amazing looking pastries, but I was still disappointed to find out that yes, it was true. A couple of loaf cakes, and that's it. I have no idea why the patisserie element of this shop isn't being utilized - to be fair, this is a very small space so I know nothing could be made fresh in that specific location. However, I don't get why they're not being made...somewhere in Britain.

I know that creamy cakes couldn't withstand being shipped from France. But surely British people would be interested in some fine patisserie from Pierre Herme, in addition to the macarons and chocolate? Frankly, I'd nix the chocolate and add patisserie. That's the USP - lots of nice chocolate by well known chocolatiers to be had here in the UK, but choux, saint honore, and all manner of well-crafted pastries is kind of a French thing, and the good stuff is hard to find here. I just think they're missing a trick not offering stuff like this...It can be done, as Patisserie des Reves & Laduree shows, and William Curley has an amazing selection of patisserie as well. So why not here? No idea. Maybe in the future, I can hope upon hope. I actually had a crazy idea that the French Tourism board discourages patisseries from opening up overseas, to maintain the amount of food tourism France currently receives. Hey, it makes sense kinda!

So, after much ado: the flavors we chose were Infiniment Vanilla, Passionfruit & Milk Chocolate (Mogador), Matcha & Black Sesame (Imagine), Honey & Meadowsweet (Jardins des Pres), Olive Oil & Mandarin Orange, and Pistachio, Cinnamon, & Cherry (Mosaic).

Infiniment Vanilla is a special blend of three vanillas: Madagascan, Tahitian, and Mexican. Some of the toppest-class vanillas in town, I might add. The ganache filling was cooling & buttery with a ton of vanilla flavor: it reminded me of a vanilla bean ice cream. I really enjoyed it, and it definitely was more special than a regular 'vanilla' flavored anything. It's a shame I'm not describing it very well at all: if you like vanilla, you'll enjoy this even more. I've had a perfume before, Comptoir Sud Pacifique, that smelled a lot like how this tasted. It was 'gourmand' in the same way a vanilla perfume would be - but don't worry, it wasn't at all sharp or alcoholic - just the fact that there seemed to be notes to it, that's the similarity.

 The macaron 'shell' was crispy & chewy, slightly less chewy than Laduree. This was the same for all of the following flavors, as well.

Mogador is Passionfruit & Milk Chocolate, emphasis on the passionfruit. This one was my husband's favorite, very tangy with a very light & creamy milk chocolate. I'd say that the ganache was like that of a firm truffle filling, infused with passionfruit of course. This one was a bit more firm inside than the rest, probably do to the inclusion of chocolate.

Imagine is Matcha & Black Sesame, one of them that I chose. Slightly bitter & earthy matcha matched with nutty black sesame. The inside of this one had a black sesame 'crisp', in addition to the cream being infused with the two flavors mentioned. One of my favorites, but really only for green tea/matcha fans, as it was quite strong. For me, this was a really good thing. For others, might be a bit too much.

Jardin des Pres was Honey & Meadowsweet. Meadowsweet is apparently a type of herb - it looks like the sort of thing that would make me feel water-y eyed & sneezy, but it tasted delicious. It was incredibly sweet, but had the soft & ever so slightly herbaceous or flowery quality of a fancy honey. This one came in 1st place for me. It was also quite attractive, with a natural color & a cute clover stamp to remind you of meadows.

Olive Oil & Mandarin Orange is a unique flavor, but funny enough it's actually part of one of my favorite shower gels of all time, Lush's Olive Branch. I really presumed I wouldn't taste any olive oil, but I did. It was just a bare hint, but the savory & 'umami' olive flavor did come through just the tiniest bit to contrast to the tangy & sweet mandarin. This one was nice, but honestly not super memorable, I do seem to recollect that the center had a bit of jelly rather than just straight ganache.

Mosaic was an intriguing combination of cherry, pistachio, and cinnamon. Flavors that I love separately, but couldn't really picture together. It did work quite well. It was mostly cherry & cinnamon, and I think the pistachio really blended in with the cherry in the same way a nutty almond flavor will taste vaguely of cherry. This one was unique, but very approachable. Well balanced between tart, spicy, and sweet.

All they need to do is start bringing over some of those delicious creamy pastries over, and Pierre Herme would be an amazing addition to the sweet scene in London.

Laduree in the City, London

I hope everyone's been having an awesome Easter break! We just recently moved into the heart of the city of London from the suburbs, so we've taken a couple extra days off on either side to explore our new digs. One of the biggest shocks for me was finding out that there is a Laduree about 10 - 15 minutes away from us now. I've recently been on a real kick for patisserie & hunting around for cool bakeries in Paris (wistfully, all the while) so Laduree was on my radar as I passed by it on a bus journey back towards our new flat.

This location is sort of across the street from The Royal Exchange, where a Paul A Young shop is...a perfect corner of the world, sweets-wise, if you ask me. It's amazing - I don't know how I missed it! Not only is this Laduree nearby, it keeps pretty decent hours during the week (early morning 'til 8 pm) but is closed at the weekend entirely. That's the only downside to this neighborhood, everything is shut at the weekend. However, if you find yourself on the side of town (or within a 10 minute walk or so, like the Liverpool St area) during the week with some free time, I highly recommend having a stroll & a piece of cake or chocolate around here. It's just so much less busy & fretful than Soho or Covent Garden, provided it isn't before work, during lunch, or straight after work.

There is no seating inside that I could see, but they had a menu of hot drinks in addition to the macarons & a few other pastries - literally, like 3 left. I asked the lady working there if they usually had more patisserie options, and she said yes, they just so happened to sell out early on that day - maybe because it was the Thursday before the bank holiday. Fair enough, hopefully I'll be a bit more lucky next time because they have some cool stuff with lots of cream on the website. I was really most interested in trying their most famous treats of crispity-creamity flavorsome macaron-y, anyway!

We chose a box of 6, which ended up being a good amount for two to share as a light afternoon snack. The flavors we selected were Cherry Blossom, Pistachio, Chestnut, Yuzu Ginger, and two Marie Antoinettes. In hindsight, we made the absolute right choice in getting one Marie Antoinette each, as it was easily the best flavor. They were all very soft & creamy centered with a crispy meringue style cap 'n' bottom. Can you tell I'm no expert on macarons? I can count on one hand the amount of times I've eaten them, counting this Laduree trip.

The Marie Antoinette macaron was flavored with a special Laduree house blend tea, unsurprisingly also called Marie Antoinette. It had a lovely delicate black tea backnote, with a citrus-and-honey top flavor. The black tea base just sort of grounds it & keeps it from being too sweet or too zesty. It reminded me of an earl gray tea with just a splash of milk, but sweeter. Hey, it is a macaron after all. A really lovely refreshing flavor.

Pistachio macaron was nutty & a weensy bit salty, and was super accurate to the taste of pistachio in ice cream or cake. Was it like a real pistachio? No, but that's a good thing - they can be a bit bitter & oddly tart for a nut. This wasn't though, thank goodness! Went particularly well with the tea, perhaps because it was less sweet than the rest.

Chestnut macaron was also nutty & sweet, no salt - with a bit of a vanilla note as well. Reminded me a lot of mont blanc pastry, which are some of my favorites. Not a whole lot to say about this one, it was sweet, nutty & vanilla-y...hard to go wrong.

Yuzu Ginger macaron was my husband's favorite, and I was a fan too. I think the best flavors at Laduree (in my incredibly limited experience of...this trip) are the citrus & fruit ones. They certainly had the most unique & true tastes, brightest & cheeriest colors, and refreshing, revitalizing flavors. This one was a honeyed yuzu with just a bit of warming spice from ginger. I'm usually not a fan of ginger, but it plays nicely here.

Cherry blossom macaron had an oddly rosy taste, with a hint of sweetened cherry flavor. Can't say it really reminded me of other cherry blossom/sakura sweets I've had, but it was nice all the same. The predominant flavor really did seem to be rose, with a bit of fruity sweetness.

They were all quite tasty, no losers in the bunch. The over all winner is definitely the Marie Antoinette, followed closely by the Yuzu Ginger. Next time I want to try Lemon & the Orange Blossom, as I thought the citrus flavors were best of the bunch. I'd fill the rest of the box with more Marie Antoinettes, and then try a cup of the namesake tea. Or, if they had more pastries out, I'd get something creamy!

Just before I forget, another cool thing about this location is that they sell Laduree candles as well. There are a few really nice ones, including 'Incense' and 'Coffee'. They're expensive, but a nice luxury if you're a home fragrance fan!

Oats and Nutella Cookie from Starbucks UK

Starbucks UK has, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, recently seemed to push for a stronger lunch time & snack time presence. Like I said before, it's hard to imagine going into a Starbucks & not ordering a hot drink of some sort, but I generally don't have coffee in the afternoon and hot chocolate at lunch seems to indulgent for an average weekday, which is usually when I go to Starbucks.

Regardless, it's pretty easy to manage a cookie for breakfast and get a coffee. It was with that thinking that I grabbed the new Nutella Cookie from Starbucks as my breakfast this Monday. You'll notice a different quality to the images today (and even more so, a different background) as I was at work instead of at home.

It was about palm sized and quite heavy - with hazelnut choco-filling, we can presume.

It's described as being 'lightly spiced' and I was surprised to taste that it was indeed relatively spiced. It reminded me of the flavor profile of an American molasses cookie, with a deep sweetness & a touch of cinnamon sugar spice.

It was also similar to a molasses cookie in that it was chewy & hearty - the oats definitely boosted this one up to be quite filling. It's funny, even though it cannot even border being healthy, the hearty texture and gently spiced flavor made it feel a bit more wholesome & therefore okay for breakfast than a regular cookie.

The layer of Nutella inside was substantial, and took up a lot of the diameter of the cookie if not tons of vertical height. Probably for the best not to just have a couple inch high blob of Nutella in the middle...who am I kidding, that would've been more than welcome. As it was, it was quite well balanced and again, made me feel like what I was eating wasn't entirely unhealthy. It was at the level of perceived health of say, a banana nut bread with Nutella spread on top.

I did receive this product for free from Starbucks in exchange for a fair & square review.

2015 Paul A Young Valentine's Chocolates

I know it's late, but I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! I know it's not one of the most well-loved holidays in the world, ironically enough, but I've always enjoyed it as just a day to celebrate love in general, not necessarily romantic love. Love between family, friends, and the love human beings have for sugar & fat. That's why chocolate is so popular on the day, right?

During the course of my celebration on the 14th we stopped by Paul A Young for some last minute truffles 'n' treats. I've covered Paul A Young a few times on the blog previously:
Golden Champagne Easter Egg, 2014
Valentine's Day Selection Box, 2014
Valentine's Day Shortbread, 2013
Christmas Gingerbread Shortbread, 2012/2013

As you can see my Paul A Young visits do often correspond with the major holidays. Every year he does something special for them, so I'm often tempted right on in. This year the Valentine's theme was romantic cities around the world...as visited through chocolate. We tried a few of the cities & had a couple of new filled chocolates just for good measure. Odds are good these will still be available in the shops awhile longer!

Dublin (first row, far left - bottom row, far right)  - Confessions: I've never tried Guinness, but that is what's in this truffle + some soda bread crunching about. It tasted like a slightly malty dark chocolate, and I did really enjoy it! I asked my husband if that is about what Guinness tastes like, and he said "yeah." So, must be accurate then!

London (first row, far right - bottom row, far left) - Gin & lime with tonic water, super accurate! There is a bit of mouth-watering fizz to the lime & tonic water, and the gin hits you with a very smooth, fresh alcohol taste. Not like a lot of other alcoholic truffles, the next one included, that have a bit of strength & vapor to them. This was a lot more refined, and could be very appealing to people who aren't even that into drink-infused chocolate.

Paris (top row center - bottom row center) - Absinthe, lump sugar. Nice alcoholic kick to it, I'm not an expert on absinthe (if I was, what a strange blog this would be...) but it certainly seemed to have some boozy vapors tucked away inside the smooth, dark ganache. Big fan of this one, anybody into alcoholic truffles would love it.

Seville (middle row far right) - This one was good, your classic orange & chocolate combination with a bit of flaked almonds for crunch & nutty depth. Not a whole lot to say about it to be honest, but the marmalade was well balanced for tang & sweetness.

Peppermint & Coffee (second row, far left) - This one was lovely. Strong, sweet peppermint with a hint of a coffee bean style flavor. Not so strong like brewed coffee, more like - well, a chocolate covered coffee bean. It was a lot like having a nice mint fondant chocolate with a sip of a strong espresso to follow. It was interesting to try this as the filling was much stiffer/more fondant than I usually see in Paul A Young.

New York (dead center) - Cream cheese, biscuit, dark chocolate. This one was awesome. Definitely the most traditional of all the flavors, as it is a cheese cake in domed chocolate form...I mean, what could go wrong? What I liked best was the density & sourness, it really captured NYC style cheesecake in a way that many British places kinda don't see. Often topped with sour cream, NYC cheesecake is a dense & not too sweet, more fatty affair. This got it right - and the little bits of graham-y biscuit drove the point home. I'd happily scarf these down just like the salted caramels - it's the same sort of perfect balance. A new line of cheesecake chocolates would be a great idea, too...in case Mr. A. Young happens to read. ;) Blueberry compote on top? Just sayin'.

Bonus mini-review! I also shared the Pink Praline brownie, and it was as dense & fudgey as ever, with a subtle almond sugar crunch on top. As nice as ever, and nearly just a perfect plain brownie.

Banana Split Oreos

It's been a few months since my last review of American cookies, and so I'm not sure if these are even still available in the USA. Thanks Granddad! :)

I never used to be a fan of banana, both natural or artificial - but living here in the UK it became such a rare flavor option that it's a bit more tempting. I've also became a fan of actual banana, but that's just because I try to compensate for my lack of nutrition by eating the occasional real fruit.

So these Oreos are comprised of the basic elements of a banana split: banana & strawberry split creme center, and one Golden Oreo (vanilla) and one classic chocolate Oreo. So, lots of different flavors at play here. Do they all mesh well like a fine Banana Split, or are they a disjointed mess like a peppermint, marshmallow & pretzel sundae? I'm fine either way - they both sound nice. As my family knows, I'll eat any ice cream concoction.

These, however, could be enjoyed by even the most traditional of ice cream flavor enthusiasts! I will admit, the flavor balance isn't perfect - the banana flavor is the strongest by far, followed by the chocolate. I'd say for a true banana split it's vanilla first and foremost, than banana, than strawberry, than chocolate. It's just a bit off here, but still very tasty. It's very artificial banana, so if you're unaccepting of that than you should definitely look elsewhere. Maybe mash a banana & replace the filling of a Heads or Tails Oreo for a more natural taste?

The strawberry definitely gets lost - it's also more sweet than I prefer, as I like artificial-yet-tangy strawberry. I can see how that wouldn't go as nicely with chocolate.

One option is that they could've removed the chocolate Oreo biscuit from the equation, because then that would allow the less dominant flavors like strawberry & vanilla to shine a bit more. Personally, when I think banana split I think vanilla, banana, nuts, and most importantly - tons of whipped cream. I don't consider the drizzle of chocolate sauce to really play much into it other than presentation, and until I Googled an image of an actual banana split I didn't even really realize it was meant to have strawberry ice cream as well. I was more of a Turtle or Brownie Sundae fan, myself.

I didn't try these topped with whipped cream, however I did consider it. Now, crumbled up over a real banana split? Great idea - however, we're trying to save a bit of money & eat healthier, so adding up chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and strawberry ice cream...suddenly I'm doing neither of those things, even worse than I'm already doing neither of those things.

Chips Ahoy! Birthday Frosting Filled Cookies

Sorry for the prolonged absence - I've been in various ways ill for the past month so I just didn't feel like doing anything taxing! While I was in fact eating snacks, I hadn't been writing reviews - I'll get back into the swing of things, I really missed blogging. So to cut a long story short, here's a cookie I received in my cool USA parcel!

Birthday cake & birthday frosting ARE flavors in their own right. There, I said it. It's not just vanilla and it's not just cake, it's got something special I can't quite put my finger on. American-style birthday cakes are just the slightest bit more extravagant than UK ones, as many American things tend to be. They're almost always slathered in thick buttercream frosting, with piped icing borders & sugar roses. I loved getting the roses, haha. Here's some examples of the kinds of birthday cakes my family would get. Fondant isn't that common, and any sort of frosting other than buttercream is rare. I've had some amazing cakes in the UK, but the frosting-to-cake ratio is very rarely in frosting's favor here.

That's why you gotta import your frosting-flavored goods from America - so I did.

I've spoken highly of Chips Ahoy! here in the past, both their root beer flavor cookies & the Dairy Milk collaboration. In the USA they were one of my favorite cookies, specifically I liked the standard 'crunchy' style, as I felt the chewy ones didn't have enough of a salty taste to really be like a true, homebaked cookie. This is a chewy style Chips Ahoy!, but the fact that it is full of birthday frosting really made it irrelevant - this is going to be sweet, no matter how much salt is in the initial mix.

The initial smell is very sweet & vanilla, and kind of nondescript. The look is kinda smooshy and small, interestingly not uniform but that could just be a byproduct of being shipped.

The taste is crazy sweet, without much variation. The frosting in the center is a very thin layer so it's a bit hard to notice, but carefully biting around to expose the frosting to the elements leaves me feeling underwhelmed...and also proud of my small biting ability. Years of Reese's eating, what can I say.

The frosting middle just tastes like sugar, and is a bit pasty in texture - that I don't mind, the stickiness and mouthfeel does mimic actual frosting quite well - not high quality stuff, but like, buttercreme. Bit of a margarine vs butter situation, because the taste was boring at best, and at worst, sort of odd and bitter. Surely that's from the chemicals, of which there are many in this cookie. My husband actually refused to eat any of these after the first one, and he's a guy who usually doesn't care about chemicals - I mean, he married an American and we're chock full of them from our beef & cookies.

Yeah, can't say that these cookies were a success. They did, however, get eaten by me eventually, and they were inoffensive when eaten as a whole. I don't recommend breaking them up to try & get to the cream - Oreos they ain't.

The good news is, my birthday is this week and there is a high probability that I will get the truest form of frosting-with-cookie, a cookie cake!

Takenoko No Sato, Mellow Chestnut

I'm back from Japan! It was a lovely two weeks...week and a half, maybe - but it feels nice to be back home. We ate tons of good food, and I'll be looking back on the trip in big installments like my previous Singapore & Berlin series, but as a nice starter I've already snacked on one of my bring-home treats: these bamboo shoot shaped cookies that you may have seen in many flavors elsewhere.

Takenoko no Sato means Bamboo Shoot Village, and the inner packaging reflects that by showing you a relaxing old-timey village scene. Am I to believe that these cookies are living out normal, village-type lives inside this rattling box? And here I come, just eating them one of by one & in some cases, two by two. Life's not fair, cookies, get used to it.

This flavor particularly is 'Mellow Chestnut', and I had an interesting experience with it. When bitten into, there is a weird savory edge that is a bit unpleasant. If you've ever had mont blanc and felt like "gee, suddenly this tastes a lot more like what I expect an acorn to taste like than a delicious nutty dessert paste" than A) you're just like me, and B) you'll know just what I mean, flavorwise. Chestnut is certainly not the only nut that falls victim to this, it's happened to me with almonds & hazelnuts alike.

However, when allowed to melt in the mouth the taste is, in fact, very mellow. Nutty & creamy, seamlessly blending into the buttery cookie. It seems to be an actual chestnut flavored white chocolate given the melt quality, rather than a 'coating'. I think they'd be really nice with tea or milk, but they're quite tiny so no dunking.

 I did consider a cookie soup sort of recipe with these...Cookie soup of course being my childhood culinary masterstroke: as many cookies as you care to eat stacked in a bowl, pour milk on top, eat with a spoon. Do combos - multiple cookie types, different milk flavors, add toppings...Cookie soup truly is the most versatile dessert soup of them all. These would integrate very nicely into any form of cookie soup.

 The smell might put off some, as it is a bit earthy - but when you're eating chestnut flavored, bamboo shoot shaped cookies that's part of the charm, huh? It's only earthy in the way that some nuts are.

There are about maybe 20 in a box - I split it with my husband as a little snack and we both felt pretty satisfied.

If the flavor of mellow chestnut doesn't strike your fancy, there are tons more. NapaJapan has a good size selection, I'd love to try the Maple one sometime.

Look forward to more to come from Japan, both individual reviews and retrospectives & general thoughts on the food available this time around!