NEW! Oreo Choc'o Brownie (Tesco)

There's lazy NPD (new product development) and then there's Mondelez. Mondelez are renowned for rehashing Milka bars under the Cadbury name, or combining their products to maximise profits - admittedly I do miss the Cadbury Philadelphia. This time though they've taken the biscuit. Literally. The UK has just been granted a new flavour Oreo, but have we got anything as exciting as the new Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie, Jelly Donut, or soon to be released Cookie Butter Oreos? Certainly not. We've got choco brownie. Yes that's right. A chocolate Oreo filled with chocolate filling. Sound familiar? Of course it does. Chocolate creme Oreos have been out in the UK for years, so what on earth are Mondelez playing at?

Last year, following the launch of the somewhat more exciting mint and strawberry cheesecake filled Oreos, the public were asked to partake in a month long flavour vote for the next flavour. So every day a few of us bloggers reminded each other to log on and vote - ok so we might've even used a couple of email addresses each. The choices were: lemon, coconut, banana and brownie batter. Yes, brownie batter.

Now of those choices, I was certainly team banana, but I would've been happy to try the lemon or coconut too. At least they were different. In fairness to those of you who opted for the brownie batter it did sound a little like a chocolatey cookie dough.. but you should've also realised that Mondelez like to cut corners (yep I'm referring to the peanut butter Oreo Dairy Milk for the umpteenth time). Anyway, apparently 43% of voters chose the brownie flavour -methinks their might've been some rigging for the easiest option at Oreo HQ. 

Anyway, the presumably-cooked-and-therefore-not-batter brownie flavour has now been released. So is it any different to the standard chocolate creme Oreo. No. Not in the slightest. In fact the ingredients are the same and they haven't even bothered to change the description*. They're still like an Oreo version of a Bourbon, but somehow not as good. I mean if I wanted a bourbon, I'd buy a bourbon -ya know? 

Christmas is in the shops already so please tell me this is an even more premature attempt at an April Fools.... 

2/10 (purely for taking the piss, Oreo). 

*Here's a comparison of the two packets, see what I mean?

BelVita Breakfast Soft Bakes Chocolate Filled (Sainsbury's)

It's not just Nature Valley who've brought out new 'breakfast' biscuits in the last couple of weeks.  On a side not I still don't know why they're called breakfast biscuits. Do any of you actually eat them or breakfast? Please drop me a comment and let me know. Anyway, the other key player in that market -Belvita- have surreptitiously released two new filled soft bakes in chocolate and strawberry flavours. The did, of course, release the soft bakes range two years ago, but Belvita have obviously decided it's time to give them an uplift. Admittedly I'm more of a Nature Valley girl - but then I'm addicted to oats- however it's Belvita that are bought more often in this house.

And that is because of Bert. He just loves biscuits. Where I can't resist the call of chocolate, he's more into sweets and biscuits. In fact he actively avoids the biscuit aisle in the supermarkets because he knows he won't be able to resist munching his way through an entire pack once it's open - which is why the pre-portioned 'breakfast' biscuits are handy. That and the fact that he's either at work or working on the Landy - so is forever eating out of his lunchbox. So they're handy. For Bert, the Yogurt filled and original Belvitas weigh supreme. The yogurt ones because of the taste, the original because there's four in a pack and they therefore feel more substantial.

"Soft baked biscuits made with wholegrain cereals and a chocolate hazelnut flavour filling (15.6%) and added vitamins and minerals."

Anyway, it was him I picked up these new filled soft bakes for, however I ended up tucking into them first - probably because I bought the chocolate flavour. Sorry Bert. Just for info, I found them in Sainsbury's for £1.50, however I believe they're now in Morrisons too. 

The biscuit was every bit as soft as it promised to be, although not so much that it fell apart in the pack. The smattering of oats was a pleasant sight, as was the golden hue. Breaking it in half revealed a fair amount of spread-like filling. 

Omnomnom. It was cakier than a cookie -and far removed from your standard biscuit- but I really liked it. In fact the consistency reminded me of a nutrigrain, although it was moister than that. As hoped, the chocolate filling was reminiscent of Nutella, although weirdly there's not any nuts in the actual ingredients. That shouldn't really come as a surprise seeing as Belvita comes under the Mondelez banner, and they're notorious for not including nuts in their nut flavoured products (such as the peanut butter Oreo ice cream sandwiches, and atrocious peanut butter Dairy Milk Oreo). 

Despite the lack of actual hazelnuts, I was impressed with these biscuits and went back for the strawberry flavour, so stay tuned for a follow up review of them! But most importantly, what did Bert think?....

"They're nice, but they're not big enough."

There you have it. 

8/10

NEW! Cadbury Crunchy Melt Chocolate Centre Chocolate Chip Cookies (ASDA)

Christ that's some title! Is it awful that it bugs me that it would be perfectly alliterated if it wasn't for that damn melt? They'd better be melty.

I was actually on a mission to pick up (yet another) pack of the new banoffee caramel digestives (our fifth packet so far) when I spotted these new cookies. I haven't given in to the new wafer based 'Roundies' yet, but filled cookies? Count me in.

At £1 per pack they didn't seem to bad value either, and I was torn between the trio of options: chocolate centre, soft cookie centre and double chocolate with a chocolate centre. I was tempted to buy all three, but then the rational side of my brain kicked in (there's a first time for everything) and I thought I'd try one first - I could always go back for the others after all. 

"Crunchy chocolate chip cookies with a soft melting centre."

The pack contained 6 cookies, and the inner plastic tray successfully kept them intact. Some of the cookies were more adorned than the others. I spotted the serving suggestion that they were 'even better warm' so tried one warm and one ambient. You know, for review purposes, because I'm good like that! 

The ambient cookie was far crisper than I imagined it to be. Crunchy is certainly right, although I must admit that I much prefer a soft, chewy cookie. I can't really complain about the texture though, seeing as they're marketed as 'crunchy melts'. It had an oily aftertaste to it too, and I can't say it was particularly enjoyable. As for those chocolatey chips, they were minute, and I can't even admit to tasting them.

But what about that chocolatey filling? I hear you ask. Well, the product description reads: "Biscuits with milk chocolate chips (15.4%)* and a filling (25.9%) with milk chocolate (4.5%)."

A filling with milk chocolate. Oh dear. That doesn't sound like a milk chocolate filling does it? 

It didn't taste much like one either. In fact it tasted hazelnutty to me, which is odd seeing as the ingredients list doesn't include any nuts. It wasn't particularly an issue as I love both hazelnuts and Nutella, but it didn't taste even remotely of Cadbury's chocolate. Hmm. 

Would they be better warm? 

The packet suggested microwaving it for between 10-12 seconds but warns not to heat for any longer. I don't have a digital timer on my microwave, so I obligingly counted to eleven elephants before retrieving my cookie and waiting the designated minute before munching. 

The centre was slightly better warm, but it didn't really improve the cookie at all. Meh. 

I shan't bother with the other cookies in this range. I feel like the Cadbury packaging is a clever ploy from Mondelez to lure us chocoholics to buy another one of their very mediocre products. These 'Crunchy Melts' are clearly made with cheap ingredients, and without the nostalgia factor that other mass-marketed biscuits have, they're nothing shy of a disappointment.

5/10

*My arse. 1.54% more like. 

NEW! Ben & Jerry's Berry Neighbourly (Tesco)

I thought I was just viewing another enviable American edition Ben & Jerry's when scrolling through my Instagram a couple of days ago and spotting the Berry Neighbourly tub. Wait, that's Chloe's page. I know Chloe has recently come back from America... but it wasn't #throwabackthursday. Was it a sneaky #flashbackfriday? No. No it wasn't! It was a new flavour, here in the U.K. Huzzah! Ben & Jerry's, you little devils! Why do you sneak these new flavours into our lives? Please shout about these things! 

Yep, it's another Tesco exclusive flavour (as Sofa So Good and Wholly Coach are). And yes, Tesco have put their price up on Ben & Jerry's again. So if you want to get your hands on this tub, you'll have to be prepared to stump up £4.20, and there's a good chance you'll have to ask a member of staff to retrieve it for you too; both of our local Tesco stores have it out the back, but haven't put it on the shelves yet. 

"Vanilla ice cream with cookie (9%) and blueberry (8%) swirls, and white chocolate flavoured chunks (6%)."

I was pleased to find that the ice cream was slightly firmer than the Sofa So Good. All of the sauce seemed to be on one side of the tub though. Also, there wasn't a huge deal of white chocolate flavoured chunks in the tub, but the ones I did find were huge! 

The vanilla ice cream was fairly good, melting easily (but not too quickly) with the indulgent creaminess that's missing from most luxury tubs (Haagen-Dazs being the other notable exception) but perhaps this is unsurprising considering that cream is the primary ingredient.

The jammy swirls were delicious though, offering a strong and authentic sweet blueberry flavour with a hint of zing. This successfully cut through the vanilla well, but there just wasn't enough of it! As for the cookie swirl, it too was scrummy, but there was next to none in my portion - although Bert seemed to  fare better than me last night on this front. This was a huge shame, as the single mouthful of cookie was delightful, giving the ice cream a real cheesecake vibe. With this in mind, I've heard people compare this tub to the Ben & Jerry's blueberry cheesecake Froyo, but as I never tried it, I can't comment on that.

As you might have gathered, Ben & Jerry's have veered away from their usual ampersand format with the white chocolate in this tub. Instead they've opted for brick shaped chunks, which made them much more obvious than the chocolate in the Topped tubs. Again though, the chunks were missing in my tubs (what is it with me and fillings), and my portion only contained two. What the badger? However,I'm pleased to see than Ben & Jerry's are honouring the white chocolate lovers amongst us again-although I'm still morning the loss of Baked Alaska. Boo. 

As someone who doesn't normally buy vanilla based ice creams (caramel and peanut butter are much more up my street) I was surprised to enjoy this new tub as much as I did. To be honest, it's nowhere near the top of my favourite Ben & Jerry's flavours, but it's a nice fruity addition to the pack.

My tub: 6/10

If it had more swirl & more chocolate: 8/10

NEW! Jelly Donut Oreos

Last week might've been doughnut week on the blog, but in a bizarre twist of fate this week has borne far more Doughnut success than last. Firstly, the lovely Heather made my absolute favourite doughnut in the world again this Wednesday (see the bottom of the post for the evidence) and then I received an extremely kind offer that I simply couldn't refuse from another talented baker (@annecupcake) who offered to send me her spare pack of Jelly Donut Oreos. Yes. You heard that right, but I'll repeat it just incase you think your eyes are deceiving you. Jelly donut Oreos. I'll let that sink in.

I was having a pretty shoddy day yesterday when I opened the door and discovered a parcel had been left on my doorstep. See, they're really not a figment of your imagination! They really do exist. 

Why don't we get these exciting flavours Mondelez? Is non peanut buttery peanut butter or non-cheesecakey strawberry cheesecake the best you can do for us Brits? I really hoped that they would live up to expectations. 

Once again I couldn't get over the difference in generosity of filling between British and Stateside Oreos. There's easily an extra 50% in these bad boys. Unfortunately, our American cousins don't seem to have to give a product description so it's often a bit of a guess as to what each component is meant to taste like.

Christ. I didn't expect that. There's a sugary doughnut flavour to the cookies. I expected a plain golden Oreo base, but it didn't taste that way. Perhaps it was my wishful thinking but I'm convinced that they tasted of ring doughnuts. 

The outer ring of Creme tasted like normal Oreo filling. Not bad, nor anything to shout about, just very sweet. The magic happened in the centre though, where the 'jelly' resided. It had a berry taste (raspberry perhaps) but once combined with the cookie gave for a full on jam doughnut biscuity experience. Hell to the yes! 

Now I bet you're wondering what the difference is between these and standard jam creams or even the Jammie dodger swirled I reviewed recently. For one, the cookies are crunchier, and secondly they really do taste of doughnuts. The flavour has baffled me in the same way that the (sadly now discontinued) Tesco jam doughnut yogurts did. I don't know quite how Oreo have managed it, but somehow they've nailed it.

Doughnut lovers need to try these American Oreos. I just hope that they're available to purchase in the U.K soon. Anne, I'd like to thank you once again for bringing the Jelly Donut Oreos into my life! 

10/10

I present to you, the incredible Tandem PB&J doughnut...

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! Reese's Crunchy Cookie (Online)

There's a new Reese's Cup in town. Well there's kind of two, if you count the British and American markets separately. You see, the Reese's Pieces Cups are now available to buy from Sainsbury's, but there's also a brand new variety Stateside: Cookie Crunch. 

As a huge fan of the American mini Reese's filled Oreos (please, don't insult my tastebuds by suggesting that the British ones are anything other than disgusting) I was looking forward to trying the new cups, but I'd promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more chocolate. Then one night when the insomnia was driving me utterly crazy, I consoled myself by placing a 2am order with American Fizz. Damn it. I kicked myself even harder when the parcel arrived with an item missing and half of the snacks broken and/of battered. American Fizz have truly gone downhill.

Anyway, the pack contained two crunchy cookie filled cups, which appeared no different to the standard cups. I found myself wondering if the crunch would be as disappointing as it had been in the Reese's crunchy cups and toenail cups -sorry, pieces cups. 

Ooh. Look at that slice through! There were plenty of Oreo-esque pieces to be seen in the standard orange coloured centre. Texturally Reese's delivered on its promise at long last too: the cups were crunchy, with an odd -but enjoyable- grittiness. 

Unfortunately, the cocoa biscuit flavour overshadowed the peanut butter. I shouldn't complain I suppose, as they are meant to be cookie cups, but as a peanut butter lover I felt the ratio was slightly off. For this reason, I imagine king sized versions of the cookie cups would be incredible as they always have a greater filling ratio. To be honest I always find the King Size Reese's products to be superior anyway! I'm still not sure they'd beat my favourite white chocolate Reese's cups though.

The crunchy cookies are an unusual peanut butter cup and at least Reese's have more successfully brought the cookie element into their core range more successfully than KitKat. They're worth a try, but I'd recommend waiting until the king size Crunchy Cookie cups make their way to British shores.

7/10 

Irresistible Mississippi Mud Pie Cookies (Co-Op)

I've gone cookie crazy! In the last week I've eaten at least ten and I'm not talking biscuit sized ones with either. Let's just call it research, eh? Anyway, I spotted these Mississippi Mud Pie Cookies on a rare trip to a large Co-Op last week. To be honest it was the orange reduced label that really called to me -yep, I still can't ignore a bargain. They were half price despite being long life and having until the 18th on them. I'm hoping the Co-Op just reduce their long life items when they've got less than a month on their best-before date, otherwise I'm telling you about a products that's been discontinued. 

The four pack of 'irresistible' cookies came in a resealable bag and I think they cost £2.50 full price (I paid about £1.60 if I remember rightly). 

For me, fresh bakery cookies always win, and that's because of the texture. Fresh versions have that lovely soft chew to them that never seems to be replicated in their hard baked, biscuity, long life counterparts. The Co-Op claimed that these were both soft and chewy however, so I was intrigued to find out if they'd mastered the seemingly impossible. 

"Soft baked cookies with chocolate fudge brownie pieces made with Belgian milk chocolate chunks."

I served up my cookie with a good helping of the Co-Op's PB&J ice cream, but refrained from warming it up like o normally would so that I could test that promised consistency. They smelt incredible though and although I would dispute their 'giant' status,  I immediately spotted a generous and even smattering of large fudge brownie pieces (16%) and Belgian chocolate chunks (16%). 

I bit into the cookie and thought that the Co-Op had fibbed about the soft chew. It was hard, and before I'd even asked Bert if his was the same he moaned that the cookie has hurt his teeth. Boo. As I reached the middle though I found a consistency much more akin to fresh cookies -hurrah! 

Let's be honest, It's not all about the texture though is it? Mississippi Mud Pie conjures up images of the ultimate in chocolate decadence, and these cookies certainly delivered on that front. From the deep cocoa flavour in the cookie base through to the squidgy, slightly sweeter brownie pieces and silken chocolate chunks, the Co-Op have created a chocoholic's dream! Yum.

Whilst the texture might not be perfect, the flavour is delicious. These irresistible cookies are indeed irresistible.

8/10

NEW! FlapJacked Protein Cookie & Baking Mix: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip & Double Chocolate (Online)

If you follow me on Instagram or have indeed read the reviews on here you'll know I'm a big fan of the FlapJacked range. I often have their pancakes for lunch -just yesterday I enjoyed banana flavoured ones and mashed fresh banana into the batter, which I highly recommend!- and regularly treat myself to a Mighty Muffin before bed.

With this in mind you can just imagine how excited I was when I saw that FlapJacked had released packets of cookie mixes and single serving smoothie mixes in the USA (where the company is based). Ok, so I might've been a tad more excited about the cookies than the smoothies, but I hoped that FlapJacked UK would soon start stocking both products. At BodyPower on Sunday I thought I'd take the opportunity to say hello to the FlapJacked gang and grill them about when I might be able to get my greedy mix on the cookies...

But I didn't need to. There, sat on their table was all of the goodies. The Mighty Muffin line-up, the pancake mixes I know so well, as well as the new cookie packs and smoothie sachets! Fortunately for me, the lovely team at FlapJacked  gave me some samples to review, hurrah! 

"FlapJacked Protein Cookie & Baking Mixes are a delicious, nutritionally balanced alternative to traditional cookie mixes. Made with non-GMO, gluten-free and artificial-free ingredients, these delectable cookies taste like a homemade treat but without the guilt. Each power-packed serving (2 cookies) contains 10 grams of protein to keep you feeling fuller longer, but with less carbs and less sugar than traditional cookies."

I was looking forward to seeing how the FlapJacked cookies compared to the existing products on the market. Most of the protein cookies I've tried to date have been very dry and crumbly (Oatein and Dr Zaks I'm looking at you) or thick and cakey (Lenny & Larrys and Buff Bake). None have come close to fresh or homemade cookies.

Each FlapJacked cookie pack makes up 12 cookies, and the suggested serving size is two cookies (none of this 1/2 a cookie nonsense that so many of the protein companies seem to cheekily suggest). To make up the pack you use the entire mix, 6 tbsp of butter and two eggs. I awkwardly made up just a single serving of each mix using 15g of butter and 1/3 of an egg -my dog had the rest on his kibble -it's great for his coat! Each portion of the mix is between 160-170kcals, but I'll include the macros of the mix when made up (including the egg and butter).

Oatmeal

Of all the things I've baked over the years (and I used to bake a lot, I'm a trained chef) oat & raisin cookies are Bert's favourite. I love a good oat cookie too, but I'd probably choose something chocolatey over something fruity as a favourite. But I digress.

The mix smelt wonderful, and I couldn't help but add a few raisins as per the serving suggestion. Despite my cinnamon addiction I refrained from any adding extra, just to see how it would fare without my meddling. The method suggested beating the eggs and butter together before adding the cookie mix -which I couldn't really understand as butter and eggs curdle together. Instead I mixed the whole lot at once. Damn they looked good, and I couldn't help but lick the spoon as I popped them in the oven to cook. Errmegoodgod. I could've just eaten the bowlful of raw dough, it was so damn tasty. I actually couldn't taste the difference between this dough and and the normal non-protein stuff. 

The method tells me to remove the cookies once the edges had set, and after about 8 minutes they were done. They had expanded slightly but hadn't turned into monsters (I once made side plate sized cookies by accident). I chose to sandwich them around some chocolate chip gourmet edible Cookie Dough*.

I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. They tasted like normal cookies! Now the macros may not be as good as some of the protein cookies on the market, but the mix does deliver 10g of protein per serving -and to be honest, I'd rather have something that tasted delicious. The cookies were well spiced with a lovely oaty texture; soft with a slight chewiness. Honestly, I could've eaten them all day, everyday. Seriously impressive stuff FlapJacked! 

10/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter, eggs & 15g of sultanas: P:13/C36.5/F:15.6

Double Chocolate 
Like chocolate cake, I'm never too trusting of double chocolate cookies. I was pleased to see a plentiful supply of chocolate chips in the mix. Again the dough was easy to make up and tempting to eat raw. 

I served this flavour with mint chocolate Oppo. The chocolate flavour was good: rich, dark and sweet -what more could a girl ask for? I found this flavour to be soft and cakier than the oatmeal mix -they're certainly not chewy like supermarket bakery cookies- but they're moist and utterly moreish. 

9/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter and eggs: 307kcal P:12.6/C:25.1 F:18.5

Chocolate Chip
As with the double chocolate, this mix was chock full of chocolate chips. Unfortunately they sunk to the bottom of the cookies whilst baking, but that's only an aesthetic issue.

Again the texture was soft and fluffy. I was concerned that the whey protein flavour might be more evident in a less flavoured mix, but I still couldn't taste any difference to a normal cookie batter. Nom nom nom.

9/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter and eggs: 307kcal P:12.6/C:25.1 F:18.5

Summary
As you can probably tell, I'm super impressed with FlapJack's new cookie mixes. Yes, they're not the most macro friendly of the protein cookies on the market, but I really don't care when they taste so good. I love the fact that I can whip up some freshly baked tasty cookies in less than 15 minutes. They're perfect for anyone on a gluten free diet, those looking to top-up their protein intake, as well as  any fellow lazy bakers! I do hope that FlapJacked bring out a peanut butter flavour soon too, they would be marvellous! 

If you fancy giving them a try, please pop on over to FlapJack's website where you can get 10% off at checkout by entering the code: AMY10.

*made by Gookie Dough, review of which will be coming soon!

NEW! American Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches (The Co-Op)

Why can't I ignore the call of new ice cream? It's a serious issue. We should never have bought that chest freezer. In any case, the Co-Op have launched their summer frozen range and I resisted these ice cream sandwiches for one whole day before I gave in. Oops. They're new to Co-Op but it seems that they're a year behind the pack as Ben & Jerry's, Aldi & Morrisons all released variations on the theme last summer. Anyhoo, this pack of four cost £2.

"Vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips sandwiched between two double chocolate chip cookies."

The Co-Op's ice cream sandwiches are a lot smaller than Ben & Jerry's 'wiches (bigger their sons of a 'wich though) although they both claim to be 65g*. The cookies are noticeably thicker too, with a bourbon-esque colour. I also noticed how soft the ice cream was - a fact I couldn't ignore really, for it had stuck itself to the clear wrapper.

The ice cream wasn't very exciting. It tasted like cheap non-flavoured supermarket ice cream. It's almost whipped it's so soft, which means its somewhat nostalgic (if you're looking for the silver lining). Blink and you'll miss the chocolate chips though, they were minuscule little nibs.

Fortunately the chocolate cookies were delicious. The cocoa flavour was every bit as rich as the colour suggested, with just enough sweetness to prevent them from tasting bitter. I could actually distinguish the chocolate chips too. Hurrah! The cookies have a good texture too; not teeth-creakingly crunchy but not soft either. They're much better 'cookies' than the Oreo ice creams, although they don't taste like the softer-style bakery versions like the Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough 'Wiches. They'd probably make good coffee dunkers actually!

If my tastebud memory serves me correctly,  think these Co-Op ice cream cookie sandwiches are on par with the other supermarket versions I tried last year, arguably they could be the exact ones used in Morrisons' Double Whammy boxes (that seem to since been discontinued). They're nowhere near as delicious as Ben & Jerry's (yes I'm still hooked on the Brownie 'Wiches), but they are cheaper and a yummy alternative to ice cream cones.

7/10


* out of interest I weighed a B&Js 'Wich for comparison, and it was around the 80g mark, so about 30% bigger.

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)!

The Skinny Bakery: Less Calories, Fat & Sugar Product Review (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by The Skinny Bakery who asked me to review their products. This was a very welcome request seeing as I've been pawing over images of their range on Instagram for quite some time. Haven't heard of The Skinny Bakery? Let me fill you in...

The Skinny Bakery is the brainchild of baker Mariella Forte, who set up the company in 2013 with a vision to create delicious baked treats containing a fraction of the calories of their traditional counterparts. Think flapjacks, cookies, tarts, and cakes that even dieters can enjoy. Salivating yet? You should be.

A couple of days later a box arrived. Well it arrived at my neighbour's house actually, who came out running as soon as she saw me return home from uni. 

"Amy! Amy! There's a parcel here for you, and it says to refrigerate it! But there's no room in my fridge!" She cried (she's a good egg).

Luckily it was a cold day and the cakes still all looked in perfect nick. The parcel contained 8 individual packs of treats, each of which contained less than 212kcals or less.

Skinny Beetroot Pearls (169kcals)
There's two flavours in this world that I really can't stomach, and those are beetroot and liquorice. I almost gave these to a friend, but then my curiosity got the better of me.

"Pack of beetroot sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting"

Blow me down. I'm sure I grimaced as I prepared to take my first mouthful, but my expression soon took a change for the better. The cake was unbelievably moist, with a very mild beetroot flavour. I tasted the delicate balance between earthiness and dark cocoa, contrasted with the slight tang from the quark centres. I'm not a beetroot convert by any means, but I can honestly say that this is the first beetroot product I've ever truly enjoyed.

7/10

Skinny Chocolate Pearls (208kcals)
Given the success of the beetroot Pearls, I was very much looking forward to their chocolatey sibling.

"Pack of chocolate sponges piped with our signature tofu-chocolate frosting. Low fat and a good source of protein. 21% tofu, 25% low fat yoghurt."

I was right to be excited. They tasted exactly like a very fudgy chocolate cake. The flavour was rich and dark whilst texturally they were moist and squidgy. I might've double checked the packaging to make sure I hadn't misunderstood and that they were 208kcal per cube. I wasn't, they were 208kcals for all 6 Pearls. Incredible.

10/10

Skinny Coconut Bites (212kcals)

 "Pack of 5 vegan coconut balls with only 5 ingredients. No added sugar and wheat free."

I was looking forward to these because they're made with peanut butter! However, whilst they were soft I found that none of the flavours really stood out and they were a little on the bland side.

5/10

Skinny Sweet Potato Brownies (189kcal)

"Pack of sweet potato brownie bites, gluten and dairy free recipe, made with 46% sweet potato and sweetened with dates – only 38 calories each!"

It's a shame I'd tried the Pearls first really! These were yummy, but they weren't as chocolatey as the Pearls. They are a good treat if you're gluten and/or dairy free though!

7/10

Skinny Carrot Cake Pearls

"Pack of carrot cake sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting."

These are a new addition to the Skinny Bakery collection, and boy are they good! They're moist, yet fluffy and well spiced. The ratio of cake:filling was spot on and the mini morsels contained currants -Tesco take note. These surpass most of the full fat/sugar carrot cakes I've had. Delicious!

10/10

Skinny Choc Chip Cookies (187kcal)

"Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip biscuits – only 37Kcal each"

My pack contained a mixture of mushroom,star and heart shaped cookies, which were texturally somewhere between a biscuit and a cookie. In fact they reminded me of rusks! They were less sweet than I'm used to, and I could barely taste the chocolate. Tasty, but not outstanding.

6/10

Skinny Choc & Orange Cookies (181kcal)

"Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip and orange biscuits – only 36Kcal each"

I couldn't really taste very much difference between these and their standard choc chip cookies. Both the chocolate and the orange could've done with being bolder.

6/10

Skinny Double Chocolate Meringue Cookies (141kcal)
The pack contained 7 rather splendid looking cookies. Instead of eating them on their own I decided to make a wicked dessert with them and sandwiches them between Jude's Chocolate with a touch of sea salt ice cream.

"Pack of chocolate cookies made with egg whites and dairy-free chocolate. Crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. 30 calories per average cookie."

Genius. The cookies were exactly as promised. They were crispy, crunchy, chewy and chocolatey! My decision to pair them with the indulgently dark ice cream was a good one, and the added creaminess added a wonderful additional layer of flavour and texture. The double chocolate Meringue cookies are definite winners!

9/10

Summary

I love the idea of The Skinny Bakery, and many of their products are simply scrummy. I'm sure I could live off the chocolate and carrot cake pearls as well as their double chocolate meringue cookies. The packaging is cute and a lot of their products are suitable for those requiring dairy free and/or gluten free diets. The cakes have a short shelf-life but can be frozen for up to 6 months -if you can wait that long! If you love the sound of them and fancy giving them a go please check out their website, where you can receive 10% off your order by using the code STARTER10 at checkout.

**A huge thank you to the team at The Skinny Bakery for sending me the samples**