NEW! Peanut Butter & Jelly Biscuits (The Co-Op)

It's such a lovely feeling when a new peanut butter product hits the U.K shelves and you guys make an effort to let me know. It makes me appreciate that I'm not the only PB obsessive who gets excited by the new treats. Saturday evening three of you got in touch to let me know about the new peanut butter & jelly biscuits in the Co-Op's American range, so thank you. It did however mean that I made a detour after a super early start at work yesterday to the big Co-Op on the other side of town. Read: I bent Bert's arm to pick me up and take me.

'Biscuits with forest fruits filling and peanut butter, sprinkled with biscuit crumb.'

£1.79? For 6 own-brand biscuits? You've got to be kidding me! I felt the pressure to review them after the triple prod about their existence, and prayed that they would be good whilst popping them in my basket. I also spotted these new pretend chocolate coated Oreos, which I can't imagine would be as tasty as the (authentic) white chocolate covered Oreos. 

Each biscuit was individually wrapped, making them perfect for eating on the go, but that's not how I roll. Instead I opened two of the square shaped biscuits as part of my peanut butter inspired late night snack.

They were much thicker than I imagined to be, and I didn't expect them to be square either. The base was very crisp and crunchy, tasting more like shortcrust pastry than biscuit. As you can see, there wasn't a huge deal of the jam filling, meaning that it made little impression on the overall flavour of the biscuit. As for the peanut butter.. well at first I thought it wasn't real peanut butter* because it lacked the salinity that I expected -when in fact, the biscuits contain 19% peanuts, However, the more I ate, the more I enjoyed the biscuits and although there wasn't as much salt or as much jam (or jelly) as I'd have liked, they were edible and fairly enjoyable. There's just no way on earth they're worth £1.79 per pack.

7/10

*If you've had the British peanut butter Oreos, you'll know exactly what I mean by that. If you haven't (lucky you) then I'll fill you in: for some reason Mondelez decided to use a synthetic peanut flavouring instead of real peanut butter. Both disgusting and mind boggling. 

NEW! Waitrose 1 Chocolate & Salted Caramel Mousses

My sister was coming to stay yesterday evening and I was about to head to M&S to pick up a Dine in for £10 meal deal when I thought I'd check their 'menu' online. Oh. The desserts looked pretty lacking. I mean, the Millionaire's desserts are well worth a try if you haven't had them before, but I really fancied something different. I chanced a look at Waitrose's website and found that this weekend the upmarket supermarket is also offering a similar deal. For £10 you can have a main, side, bottle of wine (or box of chocolates) as well as a choice between many starters or desserts. This makes it a good option if you've got less of a sweet tooth, but let's be honest -for me- it's always going to be dessert.

As part of the offer, Waitrose have included their two wavy shaped mousses that form part of the '1' range. I've been eyeing these mousses up for a while, but there was no way in hell I was prepared to pay £3.99 for the privilege of trying them. I mean, they looked good, but they're hardly groundbreaking, are they? Just for info, and incase you're not as pudding obsessed as I am, the other flavour available is limoncello and raspberry. I was temporarily tempted by the lemony flavour, but when the choice was between lemon and chocolate? A no-brainer I'm afraid.

"Belgian chocolate mousse with a salted caramel centre, chocolate sponge base and topped with a chocolate sauce."

What the...? How the badger are you meant to retrieve these things from their plastic casing? If any has any better ideas than the only solution I came up with, please drop me a comment. I ended up using a combination of a knife under the cake bottom, and my fingers to wiggle the mousses out -of course leaving an inelegant finger print on both sides. Oops. I hoped my sister wouldn't spot the grooves of my digits on the side of her dessert, and instead would focus on the pretty glittery topping. 

"Ooh, they're gold..." she cooed. Phew.

The chocolate mousse was rich and light. Less so than the likes of an aero mousse, but that's unsurprising considering that whipping cream and dark chocolate (20%) are the top two ingredients. The resulting flavour is a chocoholic's dream, tasting of ganache but without the resulting heaviness. 

Disappointment hit however when I found the puddle of caramel in the centre. I was hoping for a generous, oozing trove of salty-sweet treasure, but instead I found a jot of thin, toffee sauce. Hmm. Another 'salted' caramel that really didn't live up to expectations. As for the chocolate sponge base, I can only imagine that it was created as a base to move the desserts with, for it was wafer thin and therefore added very little -if anything at all- to the dessert. 

As far as chocolate mousses go, this one is rather good. Is it worthy of a £3.99 price tag? Absolutely not. Is it worth buying with the ranch steak, pommel frites and bottle of Italian red for £10? You betcha. 

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...

NEW! DohPro Double Chocolate Chip Instant Cookie Dough (Online)

My cookie phase doesn't seem to stop. Yesterday we had the bells and whistles creme filled giant American cookies, so why not pull it back today with a healthier version? Cue DohPro. Haven't heard of DohPro? I'll let them fill you in...

"For years, millions of people have had to compromise. Either you choose the healthy option, or the tasty option. But compromise no longer, because we have created Doh-Pro.Doh-Pro is a delicious Cookie Dough which is high in protein, lower in sugar, has reduced fat, and is a great source of fibre."Unlike other Cookie Dough products, Doh-Pro can be kept in your cupboard and eaten straight from the tub. Fancy an even tastier treat? Just 20 seconds in the microwave will turn Doh-Pro into a deliciously indulgent cookie.If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can experiment with baking times to give yourself a gooey cookie dough treat."

Sound good? Or too good to be true? Let's find out...

DohPro contacted me last month to offer me a tub to review. The dough is currently available in both chocolate chip and double chocolate chip in two varieties: 30% protein or 50% protein. DohPro asked me which one I would like to try, but I'm always keen for a surprise and so left it up to them...

It was a tub of the 50% protein double chocolate chip DoughPro that turned up a few days later. They're large tubs at 367g -meaning that each contains a whopping 180g of protein! The serving size is not the whole tub however, it's 30g. The dough was a dark colour, much the same as a Quest chocolate brownie -and it smelt similar too. 

The packet suggests that you can eat the dough straight from the tub, microwave it for 20 seconds or oven cook for 10 minutes. Of course I tried all three..

Ambient

I have to be honest, I wasn't overly keen on the raw cookie dough. Whilst I found it excruciatingly difficult to resist the FlapJacked protein cookie dough, this was dry and a little tough. 

Microwave

After microwaving, I found the cookies had a slight greasiness to them. I mentioned that they reminded me of Quest bars, and that's what they tasted like once microwaved: heated chocolate brownie Questies. Now if you're a die-hard Quest fan I have some good news of you: to get 20g protein (the equivalent in a Quest bar) from the DohPro you'll need 40g of dough. Considering each tub of DohPro contains roughly 9 40g servings and costs £9.99 (or two tubs for £13.99) then you'd get a much better value for money by buying DohPro. 

I filled mine with a Reese's cup before cooking -of course!

Oven Cooking

It was hard to tell when the DoughPro was cooked. The packet suggests 10 minutes in a 160 oven or until golden, but given the colour of the dough that was rather difficult to ascertain! There was also a warning not to overbake them. I took mine out of the oven when they were still completely soft and didn't really set. I must have undercooked them. Oops. Back to the microwave for me - much less hassle. 

I like the idea of the DoughPro, however it tasted too much of protein bars of days gone by to me. I wonder if the 30% protein would be more cookie-like. 

Thank you to DohPro for the sample pot. If you fancy trying a tub or two, please head over to their website where you can enjoy 10% off with the code: AMY10.

Macros per 100g unbaked: kCal421 P49/C25/F13.2

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

*Guest Review* Choc Affair! Raspberry & Rose White Chocolate (Online)

Today you've not just got my opinion to listen to, for I've called in the chocolate expert to help me with this review. You see, this rose bar was kindly sent to me by the wonderful Choc Affair, but as I mentioned in a previous review, I'm not a big fan of Rose flavours. 

"Ripe raspberries, touched with the exotic taste of Turkish nights, swirls of floral fruitiness linger on."

The bar was beautifully wrapped -as I've realised that Choc Affair's bars always are. The 100g bar was darker than your average high street milk, due to the high cocoa content. It also had a slight sheen to it, which I now recognise as the hallmark of high quality. 

Biting into the chocolate, I was greeted with a strong rose flavour. I tried to like it, really I did, but I just couldn't get my head around the taste. But I knew someone who did love rose.. would my good friend Nat over at lot-o-choc mind me sending her an open bar of chocolate....?

"Amy was kind enough to send me some of this bar, knowing that I loved rose flavoured things, well apart from Turkish Delight and rose creams, but that's another story. I'd sampled some of Choc Affair's bars at food shows etc before and remembered really enjoying what they had on offer, I was hoping I'd feel the same about this bar.
At 33.6% cocoa solids the milk chocolate is good quality, it has a gorgeously creamy, rich melt and eat and unlike white chocolate, which can be quite sickly when paired with rose, balances the flavours really well. The rose is most definitely the prominent flavour in this bar, it's safe to say if you don't enjoy rose you won't enjoy this, as although the title of "Raspberry & Rose" suggests that raspberry would be the dominant flavour, this certainly isn't the case. As the bar melts you're met with a subtle, sharp tang of raspberry but the main flavour is that of the sweet, floral rose which grows as the chocolate begins to melt. Personally I loved it and it's one of the nicest rose chocolate bars I've probably tried - thanks Amy!!'

Well there you have it! I'd like to say a huge thank you to Choc Affair for sending out this bar. If you're a rose fan and love the sound of this luxury, handmade chocolate then you can find it available to buy from their website for a very reasonable £2.75. The company have also just launched a brand spanking new line of chocolate buttons, which includes this flavour -so please do go and check them out! 

Rhokett Caramel Cheesecake (Waitrose)

There's a dessert that's been haunting me for ages.. a cheesecake that's been on my mind since I first discovered it whilst researching Rhokett 16 months ago. The rarely spotted caramel slices has been supposedly stocked in Sainsbury's stores across the country, but Hereford didn't even get a sniff. I once found them, but it was in an extra store on a trip to Birmingham, and at the time I didn't think they'd survive the journey home -plus I was sure they were going to crop up sooner or later*. I guess I was right, it was just much much later, and in a different supermarket: Waitrose. At £3 for two 100g slices they're on the dear side, but I recall thinking that the Belgian chocolate flavour were worth the money and so I hope these would be too.

"A winning combination from Rhokett that really delivers on that traditional texture, raised to the next level by the Belgian chocolate chunks and the smooth caramel sauce that have been swirled through the mix before baking."

They were beautiful slices, l give Rhokett that, however they were very fiddly to retrieve from the packet -so please be careful if you buy them. 

I expected a rich toffee tone to the cheesecake, so was utterly perplexed when I tasted it and was met with a similar cheesecake batter used in the chocolate slices. That's to say it was creamy with a slight sour tang, but it was completely devoid of the caramel flavour that I'd longed for. Humf. What I hadn't realised was that the sole source of the caramel came from the toffee sauce, but unfortunately there wasn't a huge deal of it, and it certainly wasn't the generous pockets of thick dulce de leche that I had concocted in my imaginings. 

Oh the plus side, the chocolate chunks were both aplenty and delicious -although I can't help but feel that due to the lack of caramel that fudge pieces may have suited the slices better. 

I was also pleased that I'd saved the biscuit base until last as it was the only part I thought that Rhokett truly nailed. Thick and buttery with a classic digestive biscuit flavour, it held together enough to make it from fork to mouth, but crumbled easily upon munching. It just wasn't £3 worth of biscuit base. 

7/10.

* I even ended up sending poor Nat (author of Lot-o-Choc) on a hunt for them before my train arrived into New Street station when meeting her in Birmingham last month.

Macabella Doughnut (The Tandem Bakery)

And so we come to the end of Doughnut week, and I thought I'd be save the best until last. Unfortunately it's one that's not so easy to get hold of, but I promise you it's worth the effort....

Hereford, as I've mentioned many a time on here, is sleepy and very rural. It's technically a city due to the Cathedral, but it's more like a large town and until fairly recently even had the cattle market in its centre (no-one apart from farmers went to town on a Wednesday). Hereford hit the headlines during the 2007 recession for having one of the emptiest high streets in the country; yet fast forward a decade and we're fortunate to have both a new retail marketplace and (more excitingly) a thriving hubbub of independent food outlets. 

Whilst The Beefy Boys have gained interest from far and wide for their burger fame, it's of course a far sweeter Hereford hotspot that has gained my interest (and loyalty). Heather opened the The Tandem Bakery in September 2015 and it has since become a veritable Mecca for fresh delicious drool-inducing homemade cakes, brownies, baguettes, quiches, and salads using high quality locally sourced ingredients wherever possible (just take a look at their Instagram if you want a better idea). The team are always welcoming and make the effort for their customers, meaning that I am only one in the army of Tandem regulars.

But if you make the trip to Hereford, try to do so on a Wednesday - Doughnut day. 

Every Wednesday the Tandem produce two flavours of fresh doughnuts, which I now pester poor Heather about early on a Wednesday morning... You see, if I don't reserve some before (yes, Bert and my sister often put their requests in too) then I'm out of luck by the time I reach the bakery mid-afternoon. You better be quick when it comes to Tandem doughnuts, they don't hang around.

At £2.20 each the Tandem doughnuts are exactly the same price as a Krispy Kreme, however they are handmade and clock in at about 2.5 times the size (no exaggeration). Last week I was kindly sent some jars of Macabella to experiment with, and so I offered a jar to Heather -putting in a special request to the Tandem for a Belgian chocolate and macadamia doughnut, because I'm cheeky like that! 

Christ alive. Just look at those beauties! Filled with a combination of Macabella and whipped cream, and topped with more spread and chopped Macadamias...
I hope you're salivating by now, because I am at the memory. 

The outside edges were slightly crisp from the frying, whilst the dough itself was so soft that it almost fell apart in my mouth. Plenty of lip smacking was a necessity here due to the generous caster sugar coating, but that's surely the mark of a good doughnut? 

As for that filling, it was every bit as decadent as expected. Heather herself described it as 'adult angel delight' and I think the description hits the nail on the head. If I was to be picky I'd have liked a touch more chocolate in the spread:cream ratio, but I'm splitting hairs here. 

I thought I'd be sick of the sight of doughnuts by now, when in reality I'm looking forward to Wednesday already -particularly as a little birdie has let slip that pb&j might be on the cards... I hope you've got your calendars out and are scheduling a Wednesday trip to Hereford, but please don't nab the last doughnut from me! 

10/10 

NEW! Rainbow Ring Doughnut (Greggs)

OK so I mentioned yesterday that there's in fact two new doughnuts to grace the Greggs summer range. The banoffee doughnut didn't hit the mark but I didn't have huge expectations from the rainbow doughnut in the first place (given my previous experiences with Greggs' rings*). The two friendly girls in Greggs Hereford however were quick to sing the praises of the new summer addition though, so I tried to refrain from judging it before actually taking a bite.

"If you like something that looks AND tastes good, then look no further than our rainbow doughnut.

A soft ring doughnut is coated with raspberry flavour fondant and finished with multi coloured decoration."

It's a very pretty doughnut, I'll give Greggs that. Although if you want to keep yours that way I'd suggest that you ask them not to put it in a bag in the shop, or else most of the icing will stick itself to the bag!

The dough was slightly softer than yesterday's banoffee doughnut, but it was still a lot denser than the Krispy Kreme ring. It also lacked the sweetness of Krispy Kreme's dough, which may make it more preferable to you if you find the glazed doughnuts too cloying, but to me it just tasted bland. 

As for the raspberry topping, it was very mild in flavour. Think of a stickier version of the toppings you find on raspberry finger buns and you'll get the gist. The trouble is, those buns also tend to have a jammy centre -and without that the doughnut was insipid. Yesterday I said that KK could do with some doughnut filling training from Greggs, well today it turns out that Greggs could do with the training from KK on how to make a topping flavourful. After all, the shimmery raspberry topping on the (ridiculously under-filled) PB&J doughnut was delicious. 

Meh. This is just a pink ring doughnut, and to be honest, Tesco's pink ring doughnuts are far tastier. They're also a lot cheaper; the Greggs rings are 75p each, whereas Tesco's rings are currently 80p for four (normally £1). Even better yet, @productsinstore found new filled raspberry ripple ring doughnuts in Sainsbury's yesterday, which -I hope you agree- look incredible!

6/10

*Previous Greggs rings doughnut reviews:
Lemon Sherbet
Toffee Apple
Rhubarb & Custard

NEW! Banoffee Doughnut (Greggs)

Doughnut week is very much down to one of you lot. Dan, if you're reading this, I'm not sure whether to thank you or cuss you. You see, Dan brought the release of Greggs' new range to my attention last week...not long after I had realised that I would soon be in the proximity of a Krispy Kreme store (and would be making the most of the opportunity to stock up). His prompt also fell after a conversation with the talented Heather (at The Tandem Bakery) about a very exciting doughnut that she was going to make this Wednesday (just gone) and I just knew I couldn't resist that one either. That brought the running total to 5, so why not go utterly doughnut doolally and get the two new Greggs offerings too? Especially as one of them was banoffee.

The new sweet menu was released yesterday and features lemon shortbread, toffee apple cookies, as well as the duo of doughnuts. 

"Soft ball doughnut topped with caramel icing with a banana flavoured filling."

The new filled doughnuts come in at 90p each, a damn site cheaper than Krispy Kremes, but more expensive than standard jammy doughnuts. They looked as pretty, if not more attractive, than Krispy Kremes too.

Slicing mine in half revealed an abundant pocket of pale mousse. Perhaps Greggs should offer Krispy Kreme some training on how to adequately fill a doughnut. 

However, having had so many Krispy Kremes this week, it was extremely evident to me who reigns supreme when it comes to the dough. Even after freezing and defrosting the KKs they were much fluffier in texture than the Greggs doughnuts, with a sweeter flavour throughout. In contrast, Greggs dough felt heavy and breadlike, though it was still admittedly enjoyable. 

The banana mousse was entirely artificial in flavour, and although it was reminiscent of foam banana sweets, the aftertaste was slightly chemically. I wish Greggs had thought to inject a little toffee sauce into the centre too, because although the icing was caramel flavoured, the synthetic banana was the far more prominent of the two flavours and so to me it wasn't really true to the classic dessert. 

I did however enjoy the little crunchy balls on top, which reminded me of the Muller Crunch Corners. Sure it would have been nice to have some digestive crumbs (as per a banoffee pie) but I guess they'd have gone soggy and so I think Greggs might have made a wise choice. 

To be honest, I probably won't bother with this doughnut again. Hats off to Greggs thought for constantly innovating their range (as opposed to KKs barely veiled attempts to disguise their rereleases as new products). 

7/10

NEW! Krispy Kreme Pecan Pie Doughnut

The new Krispy Kremes have been a mixed bag thus far. They had so much potential but despite the fact that I bought the new range from a Krispy Kreme store (inside the Birmingham Selfridges) they've not really delivered on the filling. Fortunately the final doughnut in the Taste of America range can't really disappoint in that respect, so I found myself hoping that the new Pecan Pie ring would deliver on the flavour front.

"Hand-dipped in maple icing and sprinkled with pecans and white choc flavoured drizzle."

Having never had pecan pie I can't really comment on this doughnut's likeness to the classic American dessert, although the lack of pastry suggests that it's not particularly pie-y*

It was beautifully soft and covered in Krispy Kreme's classic glaze -which always has and always will be a winner in my book! There was also a strong maple flavour which worked wonderfully well, delivering a rich depth of flavour that I simply adored -but then I do love Maple syrup. A little crunchiness came from the nuts on top, although they were chopped up so small that you'd be hard pressed to distinguish exactly what kind of nuts they were. As per the New York Cheeseake Krispy Kreme, the white chocolate drizzle wasn't white chocolate at all; instead made from "Sugar, Palm Oil, Whey Powder (Milk), & Emulsifer: Soya Lecithin." Pssht.

Then it dawned on me. This wasn't a new doughnut at all. This was just the Maple Crunch with some pecans scattered on top and some fake white chocolate sauce. What a cop out Krispy Kreme! It was scrummy, and my favourite of the 'new' doughnuts, but really Krispy Kreme? Can't we have some of these exciting flavours from across the world....

(Krispy Kreme India)

(Krispy Kreme America)

(Cappuccino & Pear Doughnut: Krispy Kreme Russia)

(Krispy Kreme Phillippines) 

Just maybe not this one.... 

(Krispy Kreme Japan)

Pecan Pie Krispy Kreme Doughnut: 8/10

 

*another new word, I'm on a roll this week! 

NEW! Krispy Kreme Reese's Peanut Butter & Jelly Doughnut

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best Krispy Kreme I've ever had was one of their Reese's peanut butter doughnuts. The best doughnut I've ever had? The Tandem Bakery's PB&J. Therefore it should come as no surprise that I was super excited to see that Krispy Kreme have re-released their Reese's Peanut Butter & Jelly doughnuts as part of their new American range, though this time it has a new raspberry gloss. In fact I'd have been tempted to make the 46 mile round trip purely to get my grubby mits on the pb&j Krispy Kreme last Monday (when the range was released) had it not been for the fact that my vehicle is still off the road and that I'd already planned a trip to Birmingham on the Saturday to meet the lovely Sian. 

"Filled with Reese's Peanut Butter & Raspberry filling, hand-dipped in a sparkling raspberry flavoured gloss and topped with peanut butter chips and peanut butter drizzle."

It was even glittery! I've heard that glittery food tastes on average 1467&9x better than non-shimmery food, so I felt it was worth the hefty £2.20 price tag. Feel free to gulp if you like. 

The best thing about the Reese's Krispy Kreme was the ample peanut butter filling. Sweet with a slight salinity, it hit the spot and made me grin from ear to ear (after I'd finished smacking my lips of course). 

FFS. It was only yesterday that I mentioned Krispy Kreme's infamously unreliable filling skills. This had got to be a joke right? Surely I'd just cut into it wonkily*.

Apparently not. There had got to be a maximum of half a teaspoon of peanut butter and half a teaspoon jam in that off centre nugget. I could've cried. It's a huge shame because the single mouthful that contained the filling was delicious. In the end I retrieved my jar of Skippy from the cupboard and made my own Krispy Kreme - something you shouldn't have to resort to when spending £2.20 on a doughnut (the equivalent of 11 supermarket jam doughnuts).

On the plus side, the glittery topping was full of flavour. The raspberry worked really well, but be warned, it's very sticky and therefore only advisable to eat when you're near a sink to wash your hands after. I'd have liked to have seen a few more of the peanut butter chips too. Hell, it would've been nice to have some kind of pb in the doughnut. 

In the aftermath of reeses-pb&j-donut-gate I sent an email to KK, including the above images, who replied and said... 

46 miles for a replacement? You've got to be kidding...

The doughnut I had: 2/10

What I imagine a properly filled pb&j KK would score: 10/10.

Is it worth the gamble though? You decide.


 *new word alert!

NEW! Krispy Kreme New York Cheesecake Doughnut

Day two of the Doughnut week brings you a review of the NY Cheesecake inspired Krispy Kreme. Now if you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know just how much I love a good cheesecake, but NY cheesecake? Not so much. Give me lemon, chocolate, chocolate orange, dulce de leche, strawberry donut, or speculoos cheesecakes (to name just a few) any day; but vanilla and sour cream? Nah, you're alright. That said, I'd heard good things about this new doughnut from the American chain, so looked forward to trying it.

'Filled with Kreme Cheese, hand-dipped in vanilla icing and sprinkled with biscuit crumb and white choc flavoured drizzle.'

Now the white chocolate topping didn't taste of white chocolate, and taking a look at the ingredients (Sugar, Palm Oil, Whey Powder (Milk), Emulsifer: Soya Lecithin) that's unsurprising. Why don't you use real white chocolate Krispy Kreme? Especially when you're charging a small fortune for each doughnut? 

Krispy Kreme's are renowned for being unpredictable when it comes to the amount of filling they contain, but this particular doughnut contained a respectable amount of 'Kreme Cheese'.

There was a slight tang to the flavour, and it was certainly different to their standard Kreme, but it wasn't 'shut-the-front-door' amazing. I did however enjoy it, and the sour edge helped to combat the resounding sweetness. 

As usual, the dough was beautifully soft and fluffy. The biscuit crumbs were also a welcome touch, helping to deliver the cheesecake element, however I have a bone to pick with Krispy Kreme.

That, ladies and gents, is the American Krispy Kreme NY cheesecake doughnut! Why can't ours look like that? Even the PR photo of the British version doesn't look as promising, although at least my doughnut did pose similarities to the picture below!

7/10