NEW! KitKat Chunky NY Cheesecake (Tesco)

It's been just over a year since we last had a new flavour to the KitKat chunky range. Have you tried the Cookie Dough version? I must admit that I wasn't taken with it. In fact I haven't bothered buying it since that review. The KitKat peanut butter bites were a pleasant surprise however, so I tried to hold back my preconceptions and get excited when I saw that Nestle had released NY Cheesecake Chunkys. The new KitKats are currently stocked in Tesco and are part of their very handy 3 for £1.20 mix and match chocolate bar offer (or else they're 60p each). 

"Crispy wafer with a New York Cheesecake flavour topping (19%) covered with milk chocolate (60%)."

As normal, the Chunky comprised of three segments. Within these segments were the bottom layers of wafer topped with that "New York Cheesecake" layer. Now I've only recently mentioned by ambiguity towards NY cheesecake, and it's lack of identifiable flavour. Was this going to be just another cover up from Nestle, another marketing ploy for what was essentially a pretty dull vanilla topping?

Well kind of. It was vanilla-ry but there was a slight sour tang to it that I've not tasted on any KitKat before. I mean, it wasn't groundbreaking and it certainly didn't make me squeal with delight, but it wasn't resigned to the bin either. The ingredients list includes "powdered soft cheese", so there is some authenticity to the title, but without any hint of biscuit (digestive, graham cracker or otherwise) can it really be labelled as cheesecake? In any case, the topping worked fairly well with the standard KitKat milk chocolate and wafer layers; i.e. it didn't jar, but didn't provide something entirely new or interesting either.

If you're intrigued by the bar then please do give it a go, at least there's no new product premium to pay -as is so often the case nowadays- and it's inoffensive. As the Cookie Dough before it, I probably won't bother with it again though -  I'd much rather the double caramel, peanut butter or white chocolate KitKats. Well actually, I'd rather that Nestle brought over the Raspberry Cheesecake Duo KitKats that our Australian cousins are lucky enough to have - of which you can read Nat's review here.

7/10

NEW! Peanut Butter KitKat Bites (B&M)

I think I've done well to refrain from both the new peanut butter chocolate bars until now. I had made a promise to not buy any until I'd made a healthy dent into my Ridiculous Reese's stash from Xmas, but there was a couple of additional reasons that I'd stopped myself. Neither the new KitKat bites or the Butterfingers excited me all that much. I mean I got so excited by the Cookie Dough Chunky last year and haven't bothered with it again, and I can't even stomach American Butterfingers. 

"Mini crispy wafer fingers with a creamed peanut filling (17%) covered with milk chocolate (70%)."

With my pb chocolate supplies starting to wane I gave into the KitKats. The peanut butter KitKat Chunkies are pretty good after all; as are the Reese's Sticks. £1 for a bag it wasn't too much of a gamble either (I bought them in B&M but they're available in most supermarkets and WHSmith now).

I find 'bites' a bit of an odd name for them. They're more than one bite in size, but I suppose it makes sense if you consider that they're smaller than the awesome KitKat minis that Nat bought back from Japan. To be honest, my biggest concern was that in their non chunkified format that there wouldn't be much room for the peanut butter and that they'd be a bit bland as a result. 

Bravo Nestle! They do indeed deliver on the peanut butter front, and theyve been mastered the salinity that makes Reese's so moreish. It helps that they've used roasted peanuts too, to really boost the flavour. I'm not normally keen on Nestle chocolate, however it's evidently better than the Reese's variety, and this makes the bites all the more enjoyable. In fact, I found that the ratio of chocolate:wafer:peanut butter was pretty damn good, and had a hard job to not finish off the entire bag (16 bites) in one sitting. Serious self restraint required. 

9/10

NEW! KitKat Chunky Cookie Dough (ASDA)

It was only last week that I was wondering when a new chocolate bar would come out, and what it could possibly be. 2016 has already heralded some fantastic new entries to the market (Cadbury Tiffin and M&S' The Nutty One get in my belly!), some pretty damn good contenders (Galaxy Duet Toffee & Popcorn I'm looking at you), and others best relegated to the bargain bin (never again Cadbury Dairy Milk Fudge Medley). 

Of course there were also two new KitKats released in January too -the extra chocolatey chunky and vanilla stirred four finger- but, I was so uninspired by them that I still haven't bothered with them. The trouble with KitKats you see, as I've pointed out before, is that there's just not enough chocolate. Even the extra chocolatey seemed too wafery to me. Still, when I saw OneTreat's photo* pop up on instagram of this new cookie dough edition chunky, I just knew would have to track one down. Two trips to ASDA later, and I finally found them nestled in front of the tobacco kiosk -where else?!

 "Crisp wafer with a creamed cookie dough topping, covered with milk chocolate"

As usual, the chunky was split into two separate sections. I sliced one of the halves in two to have a good peek at the cookie dough filling. There it was: a creamy coloured paste with darker flecks. So far so good.

I realised that I had fallen into my usual pattern of  nibbling off the thicker chocolate round the edges -anyone else do this? Of course, we all know that Nestle doesn't make the best quality chocolate, but it wasn't bad by any means. The wafers were as crisp as usual, but that's not what you want to know is it? Oh. The cookie dough. How did that taste? Well, despite my efforts to dissect the KitKat, the cookie dough was a let down. I couldn't really taste it against the chocolate and wafer -probably because it made up less than a fifth of the bar. 

Indeed I was so disgruntled that I let my other half take a bite (just in case my taste buds had gone into hiding) but he couldn't tell the difference between the cookie dough and standard KitKat chunky. Perhaps if Nestle had used a white chocolate casing then it would have stood out more? Who knows. I'll be sticking to peanut butter and double caramel KitKat chunkys when my (rare) cravings arise in future. If neither of those flavours are your bag, then I suggest you buy the cookies & cream KitKat 2 fingers instead, they're far more noteworthy. 

6/10

*Please pop along to One Treat's blog and see what she has to say about the new KitKat! 

KitKat Ice Cream Cones (Tesco)

I've had my eye on these Kit Kat cones for a while now, but every time I think about buying them I spot a better ice cream offer and they end up being demoted down the wish list. 

Tesco have got some cracking deals in their freezer aisles at the moment, including half price Haagen Daaz, Soleros and four packs of Cornetto peanut butter cones for just £1! Amongst the bargains are the Kit Kat cones, half price at £1.49 per box. I couldn't think of a better time to purchase.

"Biscuit cone with chocolate and vanilla flavour ice cream rippled and topped with chocolate sauce and a chocolate coated wafer finger."

I was pleased to find that Nestle had been sensible with their packaging choices; each cone was not only wrapped with cardboard, but topped with a plastic cone to protect the KitKat fingers poking out of the ice creams' peak. The non-ecologically-friendly casing did the trick though, the cones looked impeccable with their swirls of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. 

I'm afraid that once again this was a case of style over substance. The 'vanilla' ice cream really meant 'devoid of flavour', and the chocolate ice cream didn't fare any better. I can't remember ever having tasted a chocolate ice cream so horribly insipid before. As for the chocolate sauce? Well I didn't even know there was meant to be any until I typed out the product description. ALDI's chocolate brownie ice creams would seem like the creme de la creme after these. Yuck.

The situation got worse with the KitKat. Whilst I thought I would pleased to find that it was a full size finger, I really wish it wasn't. The biscuit had gone limp and soggy, tasting rather rancid. Not good at all.The ice cream's only saving grace came from the biscuit cone which -unlike the KiKat- had retained its crispness. 

Put it this way: I certainly wouldn't buy these cones again and I don't even think you could persuade me to eat another one in future, even if it was free.

2/10

KitKat Limited Edition Mocha Flavour (Morrisons)

Sometimes I'm quick off the mark when it comes to new food releases, whilst other times I'm not so excitable and wait a long while before buying. This is certainly true when it comes to this KitKat Mocha, as they've since released two new flavours: Stirred Vanilla & Extra Chocolatey (check out One Treat's review here). Anyway, on the off chance that you've not tried the Mocha Kitkat yet either, I thought I'd give it a quick review.

The four-finger bar smelt convincingly of coffee. The chocolate was of standard Nestle quality (I much prefer both Mars' and Cadbury's milk chocolate). The coffee came through as a mild flavouring, certainly earning its status as mocha rather than espresso, which gave it a rather comforting element. The wafers were perfectly crisp, but the ratio of chocolate to wafer was rather stingy- but maybe that's only my chocoholic opinion!

Overall, this is a pleasant bar, but I wouldn't choose it regularly over a more chocolatey product. I just wish there were more true coffee chocolate bars on the market!

7/10