NEW! Hershey's Cookies'N'Creme Dipped Pretzels (A Taste Of The States)

I told you I’m obsessed with pretzels at the moment! I actually had my greedy eyes on the brand new Snyders Reese’s pretzels, but A Taste of The States hadn’t had any in when I placed my order. I can’t moan at all though, I had the Good Health pretzels to munch through and have an affinity towards anything cookies and cream. I’ve had sweet (S'mores flavoured) Snyder's pretzels once before, but I wasn't overly impressed with them

I can’t help but feel that It’s such a shame that pretzels aren’t given the recognition they deserve here in the U.K. I love their salty crispness, which is perhaps odd considering that I rarely crave potato crisps. Hey, I’m just contrary like that. Thank goodness for America!

The packet contained roughly 25 traditionally shaped, generously coated pretzels. There was  a good amount of cookie crumb poking about in the bag’s corners too -a good sign for those cereal dust fans* out there, you know who you are. I’m not sure how big Snyder’s mouth is but I didn’t agree that they were bite size. Well, you could fit a whole one in your mouth in I guess, but I’m more ladylike than that.

That’s a lie, I just like to savour my pretzels.

They were utterly delicious though; I mean seriously good. Despite loving the Hershey’s Cookies ’N’ Creme bar, I’ll admit that you need to be in a sugary mood to crave one as they are  sickly concoctions. I was therefore relieved to find that Snyder’s hadn’t done away with the salinity in these pretzels completely, as the salt was required to counteract the sweetness. The resulting combination was tantalising on the tastebuds: a journey of sweet vanilla with a touch of cocoa, followed by that wonderful salty hit. All that chocolate luckily hadn’t hampered the crunchiness of the pretzel dough either, and I enjoyed every single nibble. 

I’d like to say that my pretzel cravings have been satisfied, but actually I’m now even more desperate than ever to try the Reese’s covered Snyder’s Pretzels, which are now in stock at A Taste of The States. Don’t forget, you can get 20% off the new pretzels -and anything else that takes your fancy- from A Taste of The States by using the code AMYSEEKS20 at checkout.

Thank you to A Taste Of The States for sending me the new Hershey’s Cookies ’n’ Creme pretzels!

9/10 

*you know, the people who love the end of the bag of cereal? I’ll admit here that we normally give ours to the dog, which I know some of you will deem heretic! 

Mrs Freshley's Oatmeal Creme Pie (A Taste of The States)

I love cinnamon. Like seriously love cinnamon.  I mean, give me cinnamon buns, cereal, cookies, cakes, with apple in a crumble? It makes my heart sing, does it do the same to you? It might shock you, given my chocolate addiction, that oatmeal raisin cookies take precedence over any chip varieties in my house, something I already mentioned in my FlapJacked cookie review.  I also love cookie sandwiches (albeit normally filled with peanut butter or ice cream) and so the Mrs Freshley's Oatmeal Creme Pie appealed to me -especially at 99p and given my recent success with Mrs F's cinnamon donuts.

The Creme Pie consisted of two bakery-size cookies filled with creme. Now Creme tends to be something more favoured on the other side of the Atlantic, you certainly don't see it so often here (unless we're talking Oreos, but then again, they're American expats really anyway. The cookies had crumbled in transit, revealing the white coloured centre. I could also smell the cinnamon. Mmm. 

The cookies were fairly moist considering the distance they've travelled (they obviously don't suffer from long-haul flight related dehydration in the same way us humans do). The cinnamon spice was every bit as prominent as the aroma had led me to believe, however  I was a bit disappointed that the creme pie doesn't contain raisins -although according to the packaging it does contain raisin paste... something I've never seen referenced before.

If you're accustomed to eating Twinkies, you'll get the gist of what the creme was like. Indeed it was that similar, super-sugary buttercream-y filling. To be honest, I found it made the cookie creme pie overwhelmingly sweet, but I imagine if you ate it in two sittings (or shared, shock horror) that it wouldn't become so sickly. My bad. 

I'm glad I've tried the Oatmeal Creme Pie. It's not my favourite Mrs F product to date but I did enjoy it and would have it again. The Oatmeal Creme Pie is available to buy from A Taste of The States, where you can get a huge 20% discount across the site using the code AMYSEEKS20. Go, shop!

7/10

NEW! Krispy Kreme Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme Filled & Ring Doughnuts (Welcome Break)

I'm not going to lie. Despite still being narked at Krispy Kreme for their ridiculous pre-April Fools stunt I was excited by the release of their new Hershey's doughnuts. As a lover of Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme bar I just hoped that they'd be more successful than the last Cookies & Cream inspired doughnut I tried; remember that disappointing Oreo ring? 

Of course I had to wait until I was in Cardiff to get hold of the Krispy Kremes, and indeed I sent my poor Dad on a goose chase on the way home from visiting my sister's new home, purely in pursuit of these new doughnuts. In the end I ended up paying an extortionate £5.45 for three doughnuts (I bought the Nutty Chocolatta too) from a Welcome Break -they'd better be worth it! 

Ring Doughnut
I don't usually buy KK's ring doughnuts as I figure that the filled versions represent much better value for money, but I wanted to compare the two (for reviewing purposes, obviously! 😉)

"Filled with Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme Kreme, topped with white chocolate flavoured coating and Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme pieces."

It wasn't the prettiest ring doughnut I'd ever seen, but at least it did have a plentiful supply of Hershey's cookies 'n' creme chocolate atop! Biting into the ring I tasted Krispy Kreme's classic glaze, which of course works gloriously well with the sweet dough. I did find that the white chocolate coating became somewhat lost in all the sugariness though. The pieces too didn't stand out, and I ended up feeling very underwhelmed by this doughnut. Lets hope the filled version would impress!

7/10

Filled Doughnut

"Our signature ring, topped with white chocolate flavoured coating and Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme pieces".

Well that's not much of a topping in comparison is it Krispy Kreme? The doughnut also felt much staler than I'm used to (I usually buy their doughnuts from their shop in the St David's centre). Humf. I kept my fingers crossed that it was adequately filled.

Whilst the filling was off centre, I was just pleased that there was a decent amount to be found. Whilst I was worried that the doughnut felt stale, the innards had remained light and fluffy, with plenty of big air pockets. Taste wise the dough was just as delicious as always, but it was the filling I forked out my pennies for!

Oh. It just tasted of fondant. As a disliker of Creme Eggs, and fondant filled chocolate in general, this simply wasn't my cup of tea. How Krispy Kreme can call this Cookies 'n' Creme I'll never know. It was just flavourless sugar. As with the ring the chocolate coating was a let down too. White chocolate? If you say so. 

5/10

The new Krispy Kreme don't deliver. Greggs' new caramel cookie doughnut is far better and cheaper. I shan't bother with either again. 

NEW! Limited Edition Caramel Cookie Doughnut (Greggs)

It's doughnut change week at Greggs and whilst I was sad to say goodbye to their fabulous chocolate orange doughnut, the bakery chain more than made up for the loss with their new creation. Well, actually there's two new doughnuts which Greggs kings @macrodad & @notyouraveragejoe_89 kindly alerted me to via their morning food porn over the past couple of days.

The first new doughnut was a lemon sherbert ring which appeared on Wednesday. It sounded tasty but I wasn't desperate to have it. Then yesterday morning Joe discovered the caramel cookie doughnut. Now that I had to have, quick smart!

It just so happened that I was in Hereford city centre at the time, so popped into Greggs on the way home. Alas! No cookie doughnuts in sight. Do I continue back home or detour back to the other Greggs? Silly question really.

"Sweet biscuit flavoured filling, topped with caramel flavour fondant with spiced biscuit crumb and white decoration."

Remind you of anything? Krispy Kreme's Biscoff doughnut perhaps? Talking of which, I don't believe that the 're-branding' to Krispy Cream is real, I think it's a publicity stunt (remember the 'leaked email'?) otherwise they're effectively declaring the U.K as stupid.

Anyway, let's not take the limelight away from Greggs here. The doughnut was lighter than expected and looked every part the luxury doughnut. At £1 (also part of a £2 deal with a hot drink) it's not badly priced either.

The dough itself was what I've come to expect from Greggs: less sweet, more bready. This was easily the freshest doughnut I'd had from the chain though, and despite the fact it had been bought at 10am and not eaten until 9pm (yes, my self restraint is commendable) it was still perfectly soft, even at the edges.

Slicing it in half revealed a pale whipped centre. It was a sight for sore eyes given that it was much more generously filled than any high street doughnut I've ever had*. Flavour wise the creme was super sweet with a mild cookie flavour. Perhaps it could've done with more spiced biscuit, but it was still absolutely delicious.

The Caramel fondant was thick and gooey, adding yet more sweetness. This is where Greggs have gained the upper hand with their less sugary doughnut however; the flavours balanced out, managing to stop my teeth from jarring.

Atop the icing was the biscuit crumbs, which miraculously had remained crisp and crunchy, adding in extra crunch. I often wonder why the chains don't include crunchy biscuit pieces in the filling itself though -after all crunchy Biscoff is better than smooth.

If you've managed to read this far without stopping what you're doing and immediately making your way to Greggs I both applaud you and wonder what on earth you're playing at. Don't miss out any longer, go and get yourself a Caramel Cookie Doughnut straightaway!

9/10

*Just check out this shockingly filled Greggsnut I bought recently...

...and it certainly doesn't beat the filling ratio in the Black Forest doughnut I had a couple of weeks ago from The Tandem Bakery (which is well worth a visit if you're in Hereford)!

NEW! Cadbury Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo (Tesco)

Even though I got stuck straight into the hot cross bun reviews almost a month ago, I've somehow resisted the call of the Easter chocolates until now. It might have something to do with the fact that I still have an excessive amount of chocolate, some left over from Christmas as well as the countless bars I brought back with me. Oops. When I spotted the insta-famous Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons half price in Tesco this week however, my self-restraint evaporated and somehow I ended up at the till with a box.

I remember being utterly disappointed with the chocolate Egg 'n' Spoons when they first came out a few years ago. Since then I've stayed clear of mousse filled Cadbury chocolates (bar a lone snowman reduced after Christmas). It was the addition of Oreo swayed me. I'm not even sure why I'm so infatuated with anything Oreo, but after the disappointment of the Peanut Butter Oreo filled Dairy Milk this week I hoped that Cadbury could go at least a little way to redeem their sorry selves.

"4 Milk chocolate eggs with a soft vanilla flavour mousse filling (42 %) with biscuit pieces (4.5 %)."

At least the packaging design is smart, and although it hasn't changed since the eggs were first launched, I still think it's a nifty little concept. The box contained four purple wrapped eggs and two very dinky plastic spoons.

I unwrapped my first egg and spotted the lines where the top could come apart from the bottom. I'll be very honest here and admit to indulging my perfectionistic streak by separating the top from the bottom with a veg knife... Sooo satisfying.

Inside the chocolate casing was the milky white Oreo filling, flecked with cookie crumbs as expected. Digging in, I discovered just how soft and light the centre was. For some reason I thought it was going to be a similar substance to the centre of the Dairy Milk bars, and I'm still not sure if I was initially pleased or disappointed by my findings.

The flavour of the mousse was plain vanilla, and it was super fluffy. The gritty nature of the Oreo crumbs were a delightful addition however, and helped to provide a contrast in terms of both flavour and texture. I really enjoyed the lightness of the mousse, and was pleased that I'd chilled it in the fridge beforehand to give the egg a more dessert-like feel -perhaps next time I'll freeze it.

As for the chocolate around the outside, it was pretty thin, but I really enjoyed it. I've heard that Australian Cadbury is better than ours, but having tried a couple of bars of their Dairy Milk recently, I'm inclined to disagree. The quality of our chocolate has gone dramatically downhill -I'll give you that- but it still outstrips many of the foreign versions.

I think I may have to stock up* on these Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons whilst they're on offer!

9/10

*Actually I've just taken another peek at my chocolate hoard, and decided that that may not be the greatest idea.

Lotte Pepero Biscuit Sticks: Peanut & Chocolate and White Chocolate Cookie

The lovely Nat didn't just send me the beautiful Solkiki white chocolate Gianduja bar for Christmas, she was kind enough to send me a number of goodies including these curious Pepero biscuit sticks. I'd never seen the Korean (no.1!) brand before, but my they looked good -especially the flavours! I imagined that they might be similar to Mikado or Pocky because Lotte describe their Pepero as: "Pretzel stick filled with premium chocolate, from end to end!"

 Peanut & Chocolate

"Love peanuts? We give you the best of both worlds with a combination of dark chocolate and peanut bits!"

The 36g box was generously filled with the biscuit sticks, each amply decorated with both chocolate and chopped peanut pieces. Biting into them, they weren't as crunchy as expected. Don't get me wrong, they weren't soft or stale but simply lacked the snap of a pretzel. That said, they still managed to be utterly moreish. The chocolate was mild considering it was meant to be dark, but to be honest that suited me much better. The peanut pieces added texture and imparted their nuttiness almost the whole way down each stick. I really enjoyed them and before I knew it I was reaching for another, but alas, they were all gone. Nom!

7/10

White Chocolate Cookie

"Enjoy cookie and cream on the go? These white cookie sticks will definitely leave you wanting more! Crispy biscuit sticks covered with white chocolate and cookie crumbs – one stick is never enough!"

As you can see, the sticks in this box were more broken than the peanut flavour. Is it awful that I just thought "oh goody, more munchy bits"?

The white chocolate cookie Pepero had the same texture as before, but this flavour had an even scrummier covering. Imagine a Hershey's/Dove Cookies 'N' Creme bar coating a biscuit stick and you'll have a good idea of what this flavour Pepero were like. The combination of biscuit and cookie studded white chocolate might sound a little sickly, but thankfully the sticks themselves weren't that sweet, meaning that the overall flavour was well balanced. 

9/10

If you don't follow me on Instagram, you won't know that I'm off to Malaysia today (If you do, I'm sorry for banging on about it). It's my first holiday in a very long time, and I'm looking forward to trying some of their local delicacies as well as bringing back some unusual treats to review. Now that Nat has whetted my appetite for chocolate coated biscuit sticks (thanks again Nat) I'll be sure to keep an eye out for some similar products. In the meantime I promise to try and keep up the reviews, but if I go AWOL please forgive me -I'm simply having too much fun (well that, or the Malaysia Airline flight has gone missing).

Oreo Doughnuts (Tesco)

Having enjoyed my peanut butter Oreo ice creams the other day, the Oreo cravings lingered and I decided it was high time to try an Oreo doughnut. I've been eyeing them up for quite a while, especially since they're now stocked in our local co-op as well as the Tesco supermarket. The trouble is, defrosted doughnuts never taste anywhere near as good as freshly baked versions. It seemed that as fate was on my side though for the very afternoon I decided to buy them at last, I found them reduced to just 25p (normally £1). Bargain!

"Chocolate Doughnut with Vanilla Flavour Creme Filling (16%), White Icing (9%) and small Oreo Cocoa Cookie Pieces."

As with Tesco's toffee cream filled doughnuts, one was much more generously decorated than the other. How does this happen? Is it a test to find out who is the greediest in your household*? Apologies for my latent paranoia.

*Me by the way, obviously 😉.

The doughnuts had a very, um, sturdy base that wasn't as soft as I'd have liked. I hoped to discover an ample creme filling when slicing into my one, but instead found a sorry looking white sauce that was barely visible against the dark dough surround. The icing was in generous supply however, so I guess that was one bonus.

The dough itself had a strong cocoa flavour, but was extremely dry. To be honest it was easily the most un-doughnut-ty doughnut I've ever had. I mean it tasted more like overcooked long-life supermarket chocolate cake than the bouncy and light doughnut I was hoping for. I think even the out of date imported Oreo brownie I reviewed last year was better. As for the creme, there wasn't enough of it to really taste it, let alone even start to moisten the doughnut.

Easily the best part was the sweet and sticky topping. The cookie pieces were soft and tasted again more like cake (a better cake than the actually doughnut too I might add). They were OK though, and provided the only enjoyment in this pretty pants 'treat'.

Have any of you tried these Oreo doughnuts? If so what do you think of them?

4/10

NEW! Grenade Carb Killa High Protein Shakes Review (Online)

Before Christmas I was lucky enough to receive a parcel from Grenade containing their new Carb Killa Shakes to review. If you've read this blog for a while you'll know that taste-wise I think that Grenade's Carb Killas are the best on the market. I tend to see them more as a treat though and rely on Reflex's bars and powders for the top quality nutrition. Grenade's Carb Killa range is ever expanding, and even since the Shakes came out the banana armour and peanut butter bars have been released. It seems there's no stopping Grenade, but I'm certainly not complaining!

The Carb Killa shakes are currently available in three flavours: cookies & cream, fudge brownie and chocolate mint. All 330ml bottles deliver at least 24g of protein with a maximum of 9g carbs whilst still coming in at less than 200kcal -not bad going for a treat!

Chocolate Mint
Choc mint was the first up, purely because I expected to like it the least of the three and wanted to save the best until last. The shake was much thicker than expected, with a rich chocolate flavour that had a strong minty edge. It wasn't as dark as the flavour in the respective Carb Killa bar, but I liked that about it. The shake tasted undeniably indulgent, probably due to the 3% cream content. It was a delicious shake but mint chocolate is never my favourite, so I was really looking forward to the others.

8/10

Cookies & Cream
Next up was the cookies and cream for a treat post leg day workout. As you can see from the photo below, it was a very cold morning and so I took a swig before deciding to heat the rest of the bottle (in the mug not the container FYI). I couldn't believe how scrummy this shake was, and it as a bonus contained real biscuits (albeit only 0.5%)! Even compared to its non protein compadres this was one of the best milkshakes I've ever had. I mean warm cookies and cream on a freezing January day.. can you think of any better treat to help soothe aching and growing muscles?

10/10

Fudge Brownie
Last but not least was the chocolate fudge brownie shake, which I had last night before bed (alongside an array of other treats in my usual fashion). Again I slurped a swig fridge-cold before heating the rest in the microwave. The thickness in all three was similar to a frijj milkshake, and therefore almost spoonable. As a chocolate milkshake again this was delightful, and equally delicious warmed up too. I only wish I'd got some squirts cream to top it with!

9/10

I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's so easy to forget that the Carb Killa range is designed to supplement sport when it's all so bleeding tasty! Peanut butter or banana shake next please Grenade? All of the Carb Killa shakes are available to purchase from their website. 

*A huge thanks to Grenade for the samples. 

NEW! Morning Pops Subscription Box (Online)

At the beginning of July I was contacted by a brand new British company who told me about their exciting new subscription box, and wanted to know if I'd like to try the first shipment when they launched. Morning Pops sources a monthly collection of fun cereals from around the world and delivers to them to your door (with no delivery charge). The team have been scouring the globe on the hunt for innovative cereal to pop in upcoming subscription boxes such as Milo from Australia, and Oreo cereal from Korea.

If you follow my blog and/or Instagram you'll know that cereal is something I really enjoy -and eat a great deal of. My evening is never complete until I've had my pre-bed bowl. I also love trying international treats, so Morning Pops sounded right up my alley and I gleefully accepted their kind offer.

Last week the company launched and my Morning Pops Box arrived; I couldn't wait to see what lay within. Inside was three large individual serving bags of international cereals:
Kellogg's Froot Loops (USA)
Hershey's Cookies n Crème (USA)
Nestle Chocapic Duo (France)
The parcel also contained their own limited edition mix: Chocolate Pillows & Marshmallows (UK) and a mini Reese's peanut butter cup.

The only cereal I'd tried before was Froot Loops (I was addicted to them for a while a couple of years ago!) and I was eager to try the others. I just hoped that they still tasted fresh and the transference to clear wrappers hadn't resulted in stale or soft cereal.

Froot Loops
Nostalgia hit me of my trip to Miami when I opened this pack and the super sweet synthetic scent wafted into my nostrils. It never fails to amaze me how America can get away with using such artificial colours.

For anyone who hasn't tried these before, I warn you, they're so sugary that they always make me feel like I could jump on the sofas with sheer hyperactivity for half an hour after eating (not good when you have them before going to sleep). That said, I think they're scrummy and i love the fact that they taste so different to anything we have over here (UK Fruit Loops included!).

8/10

Hershey's Cookies & Creme
I was most excited to try this cereal, it's been on my must try list for quite a while, especially given how much I love Reese's Puffs -and indeed the Hershey's candy bar from which it is derived.

It didn't disappoint either. Both the cookies and Creme flavours were represented well in maize form. The little cereal balls retained their crunchiness too, and they imparted a creamy sweetness into the milk. Yum yum yum.

9/10 (nothing can beat Reese's Puffs).

Chocapic Duo
Now I only knew about Chocapic through Instagram (where else?) but I've seen it highly praised everytime I'd seen it posted, so was looking forward to discovering what all the fuss was about. The cereal comprised of a roughly even divide between white chocolate and chocolate curls. I couldn't really smell much, but poured my bowl and got stuck in.

Meh, both chocolate and white chocolate were tasty, but nothing special. White chocolate often doesn't translate well into other products -Tesco's white chocolate and raspberry ice cream cones for example- and this was no different. Of the two, the milk chocolate clearly dominated, and it was a pretty standard chocolate cereal taste. Texturally it was crunchy, despite its lengthy soaking in milk whilst I faffed about taking photos. I imagine that children would love the colours and flavour of the Chocapic Duo, but it's not one I'd considering importing especially.

7/10

MorningPops Exclusive Mix
I'll be honest here. An exclusive mix has so much potential, so chocolate pillows and mini marshmallows seems a little thoughtless -and dare I say it- lazy. Looking at the ingredients (printed on a label on the bag of each cereal packet) showed that the cereals indifferent to that of Tesco's Choco Nut Pillows. Even I can add a few jazzy marshmallows to that without a huge amount of imagination!

Despite my grumbles, it was yummy. The mixture of chocolate, hazelnut and fluffy marshmallow works like a dream. Of course it was very sweet and again probably not the best thing to munch on before bed, but I enjoyed it never the less.

6/10

I enjoyed my Morning Pops subscription box, and think it's a novel idea. At £8.95 per month it's perhaps a little on the steep side (especially when one of the cereals is mainstream and from the UK) however If cereal is your jam, then why not spoil yourself or even that person you love? Take a gander over to www.morningpops.com where you'll find the full low-down on what the company has to offer, and if you use the code BLOG25 you'll even get 25% off your first box order.

Many thanks to MorningPops for sending me a sample box to try.

Godiva Chocolate & Creme Bar (B&M)

I wasn't expecting to find anything of interest when popping into B&M this afternoon to pick up dog food. I just thought I'd double check the chocolate shelves en route to the till -just to see if they had any peanut butter twixs in stock. There was none of them -boo- but there was two Godiva bars! 

I haven't had Godiva chocolate before, but it was noted somewhere in the back of my brain as the ultimate in quality chocolate. There were two flavours to choose from: double chocolate and chocolate & creme. I ummed and ahh for a couple of seconds -would they be worth the 79p per bar? I could get three Galaxy duets in B&M for the same price- luckily my frugal nature lost out to my hungry eyes and both bars went into my basket.

The packets informed me that despite their branding as Belgian chocolate, the bars are in fact produced in Turkey and distributed from New York. Crikey that's some serious carbon footprint! 

I thought I'd try the lesser exciting of the two first, which to me was the chocolate and creme. 

"Layer of cocoa biscuit & creme in milk chocolate."

The guilt that I''d experienced from the purchase followed by their eco non-credentials abated when I cut the single finger chocolate bar in two. The layers were distinct and beautiful. The chocolate had a silken sheen to it, and I knew I'd spent my pennies wisely.

I'm convinced I spotted pearly gates; the combination of chocolate, creme and biscuit was heavenly perfection. Cote D'or make my favourite chocolate, but Godiva's version comes pretty damn close for it was soft, creamy and utterly delicious. The cocoa biscuit on the bottom was crunchy and short, tasting a little how I imagine the lovechild of a double chocolate digestive and shortbread would. As for the creme in the middle? Well it was milky, smooth and equally delectable, good enough to eat on its own but enhanced by the chocolate and biscuit surrounding it. 

It's taken me every ounce of determination and will power to not sit and gobble the Godiva Double Chocolate bar that's sat in the fridge..

10/10  

Oreo Creme Filled Brownie

Oreos. The undisputed king of American cookies. Well, unless you're a peanut butter fan, in which case Nutter Butter rules the roost. Anyway, how can you improve on an Oreo? Turn it into a brownie and stuff it with Creme? Let's hope so!

I've had my beady little eyes on these treats for quite a while in my local American candy store, but at £1.99 per brownie I'd always found something cheaper to try.It hadn't crossed my mind to order them from American Fizz because I normally just type 'peanut butter' into their search bar and go from there. I have recently got into the habit of browsing their clearance section before hitting the check-out however, and there I found an Oreo brownie reduced to clear for just 65p. Nevermind that it went out of date in March, after all I'm eating Nutter Butter bites that are 8 months out of date and they've seemingly not caused me any harm. E-numbers to the rescue!

The brownie didn’t taste off, but it didn’t taste fresh either. It just tasted artificial, like it would stay the same after any amount of time. The chocolate flavour was as Oreo-y as I expected it to be, with a rich cocoa kick. Texturally it was a bit strange… like a chewier, softer version of their biscuits. Not entirely unpleasant but it missed the tell-tale hard crack and gooey interior of a true brownie.

The crème that filled the middle was in abundance, but I’m not convinced that I wanted a lot of it given that it was so sweet and sickly. I shouldn’t be surprised by this seeing that it’s the same sort of stuff that fills a Twinkie, but combined with the sweet chocolate brownie outer the sugar becomes too much to bear. My teeth started to jar, and by the end I felt like I needed to book an appointment with the dentist.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy any more of these Oreo brownies unless we were expecting war, in which case I’d stock up -I think they’d survive anything!

5/10

Dove Cookies & Crème Chocolate Bar (American Soda)

As part of my (rather large) Black Friday order with American Soda, I bought the Dove Cookies & Crème Chocolate Bar. Dove is owned by Mars and is the US equivalent to Galaxy (you'll notice the packaging & branding is very similar). Although I've not had it in a long while, I think that the Hershey's Cookies 'n' Crème Candy Bar is a stroke of genius, and seeing as Galaxy is my go-to chocolate brand, I thought that I better try this Dove bar (which I saw as an amalgamation of Galaxy & the Hershey's bar).

'Enjoy a rich DOVE® Cookies & Crème Bar, with crunchy cookie bits blended with sweet and creamy white chocolate. It’s the perfect combination of childhood indulgence and DOVE® deliciousness.'

The bar was very slender, and had grooves to allow for easy breaking into 12 mini mouthfuls. The chocolate smelt very sugary, although I have to admit it didn't put me off. The bar wasn't milky as I'd have liked, but it was as sweet as it smelt -and actually reminded me of a Caramac. The cookie pieces added a gritty texture and a little bit of darkness to the bar, providing a welcome contrast to the otherwise sugary chocolate. 

The bar was very comforting to eat and evoked warm memories of eating Caramac as a child. It's not my favourite American chocolate bar (that's a spot still reserved for the wondrous Peanut Butter Twix)  but it's certainly a bar I'd like to have again.  

7/10

American Pop Tarts: Cookies & Creme

As it's Sunday and we'd run out of dog food, my other half was obliged to take me to B&M bargains this morning.. It's a store he hates simply because I love it so much and could therefore spend hours in it. As I've mentioned previously, they stock an unpredictable and cheap range of American Imports, which is the main reason why I love B&M so much.

This morning I spotted these 'Frosted Cookies & Creme' Pop Tarts which seemed like the perfect treat to end chocolate week on. They are described as follows-

'Chocolate cookie crust. Sweet, white frosting sprinkled with cookie crumbles. Smooth vanilla crème filling. '

I was hoping that they'd taste like an Oreo combined with a Pop Tart. The chocolate pastry was very dark in colour, and the flavour didn't disappoint. It was rich with a deep cocoa flavour- imagine a grown up Bourbon biscuit. The filling was incredibly sweet by comparison- it would have been far too much by itself- but it worked surprisingly well with the chocolate cookie flavoured crust. Imagine warm gooey Oreos.. That's what these are!

I couldn't have hoped for more from these Cookies & Creme Pop Tart. They're not my favourite Pop Tart to date, but they're pretty damn tasty, especially if you're an Oreo and/or Bourbon biscuit fan.

7/10

P.S I've also reviewed the American Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts & American Confetti Cupcake Pop Tarts