NEW! Nature Valley Nut Butter Almond Biscuits (Sainsbury's)

If you're a regular reader you might've already read my review of the new peanut butter filled Nature Valley biscuits. They were so good that I detoured the very next day via Sainsbury's to fork out another £2.90 for the other flavour: almond butter. Now, I do like almond butter, but never get around to buying any, always favouring my beloved peanut butter when buying a new jar of nut butter. Actually, my dad used to keep me in almond butter, but it must've been a couple of years since I last had any ...

*hint hint, Christmas hamper idea Daddio?* 😉.

"Crunchy biscuits made with wholegrain oats, barley and cinnamon with an almond butter flavoured filling."

What I hadn't realised when buying the peanut butter biscuits was that the almond version incorporates cinnamon. I bleeding love cinnamon, and so it wasn't long after I got home that I flicked the kettle on and opened a pack whilst sitting down to write that peanut butter review. On a side note, I don't think I mentioned before that both of these new Nut Butter biscuits are individually wrapped, making them handy to pack into lunch boxes or handbags.

Wowzers. The biscuit is even better than the ones used in the peanut butter ones. They'd got the same oats, hobnob vibe going on, but this time there was a beautiful sweet warmth coming from the spice. As a cinnamon fiend, I was so pleased to find that Nature Valley hadn't underplayed it either. There's absolutely no escaping it, but why would you want to. It's got me wondering why McVities haven't brought out cinnamon Hobnobs actually...

Anyway, I digress, again.

That almond butter was scrummy - soft and smooth with an underlying nuttiness. Some might say that the cinnamon overshadowed the delicate flavour a little, but actually I liked the ratios that way round - it made the eating experience very different to that of the peanut butter biscuits.

I'm actually torn between which flavour I like better. At £2.90 they're on the expensive side for UK mass-made granola biscuit bars, but I'll definitely be stocking up when they inevitably come on offer. 

10/10

Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Bun (A Taste Of The States)

As you may have gathered from my many lengthy rambles about cinnamon buns, I bloody love the things. In fact, I love most cinnamon based treats, and have now renamed Mondays Cinnamondays. It's the buns that especially fill my heart with joy though and so It should come as no surprise that when A Taste Of The States recently gave me a gift card to spend on their website that the Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Bun made its way into my basket. If you regularly read these posts you'll know that I'm also no stranger to Mrs F's cinnamon products, having tried their Cinnamon Twirls and, more recently, their Cinnabon Cinnamon mini ring donuts.

At 113g it was a sizeable affair, slightly larger than both Tesco's cinnamon buns and the Kanelbullar that I'm (more than a little bit) in love with. As you know, Cinnamon buns are often covered in cream cheese frosting; but given the long life span, ambient nature and the distance this bun had travelled, I was pleased to see that Mrs F had opted for some kind of icing instead. It was also shorter, wider and less tightly coiled than the cinnamon buns I'm accustomed to.

Oh jeez. You remember I said that the Mrs F cinnamon donuts were like a cake hybrid? Well imagine a cinnamon bun crossed with a glazed doughnut and you'll get the gist of what this cinnamon swirl bun was all about. It was soft, sweet, spicy - and even better when warmed in the microwave for 15 or so seconds!

The glazed coating was sheer genius, and I was left wondering why other companies don't jump on the bandwagon and glaze their buns. It's safe to say that it's not for the clean eaters though, and should probably come with a notice that they're best reserved for dedicated sugar fans only. Noms.

The Cinnamon Swirl Buns from A Taste Of The States cost just £1.39 (although they're currently out of stock, please keep an eye on their website as they're regularly restocked) you can also get a massive 20% discount off them (and anything else that catches your fancy on their website) with the code: AMYSEEKS20.

9/10

Thank you to A Taste Of The States for the gift card!

Mrs Freshley's Cinnabon Cinnamon Mini Donuts

If you follow me on instagram you might've seen that I've recently discovered long life doughnuts. Yes. Doughnuts that you can keep in your cupboard for that moment when the cravings strike. Of course they're not a British creation (one day hopefully Mr Kipling will jump on the bandwagon) but for now we'll have to make do with importing packs of Mrs Freshley's from the states. God bless America. 

You can find my insta-review of the Mrs Freshley's Crunch mini donuts here, but this was the pack I was more like excited about...

I feel that cinnamon is essential to life's happiness, especially cinnamon buns (again, if you follow me on instagram you'll know that cinnamon bun Sundays are back thanks to a recent IKEA trip). A real Cinnabon is on my foodie bucket list, but mini Cinnabon donuts sounded like a good option to tide me over until I can visit America (or London most likely). 

As with the Crunch version, this pack contained six mini ring donuts -but this time they were leaden with a heavy cinnamon coat. Yes, not dusting, coat. This means they're a little messy to eat, but that didn't bother me in the slightest.

Again the texture was like a doughnut-cake hybrid. Despite their long-life status* they're remarkably soft, although the Cinnabon donuts were slightly more crumbly than the Crunch versions. The cinnamon made them a winner in my books though, and the ample covering ensured for a sweet, spicy hit with every mouthful. 

These mini donuts are morsels of joy for fellow cinnamon loving sugar junkies!

8/10 

*they didn't have a BB date on them, so I don't know how long-life they are!

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!

Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon Rolls (Tesco)

Cinnamon rolls. One of the greatest, if not the very best bakery treat. The soft dough with sweet spices filling that as you uncurl as you break the spiral apart, all topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting. Mmm. Only the inclusion of raisins (like a Chelsea-Cinnamon bun) would make it better. I haven't had an IKEA trip for a while, so my freezer is sadly devoid of their wonderful Kannelbular, but my dismay might've been solved on a recent trip to Tesco. There, sat amongst the scones was a bag of Pågen Gifflar mini cinnamon rolls. At just over £1 for 12 buns there was no question -they were mine. 

"Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon is deliciously baked, and has a wonderfully tasty filling. With coffee, at picnic, with friends, or just for yourself when you're in the mood for something sweet! Simple and tasty! With Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon you're always in good company!"

The Gifflar are produced in Sweden too, which helped me feel like I was getting even more of a bargain. After all, the Swedes are known for their cinnamon buns.

The dough had a brioche-like shine to it, and although they were still fairly soft, they weren't fluffy like just baked versions.

I made the mistake of attempting on at ambient temperature. The dough didn't taste very fresh, which ruined the flavours of the roll. Let's try it microwaved for 15 seconds as per the packet's instructions.

Hmm. Still not great. The dough tasted no different to a standard savoury dough and lacks the characteristically soft centre of a fresh baked bun. The filling also lacked the rich buttery flavour that I loved so much. Yes the cinnamon was there, but without the sugar it tasted harsh. Of course there's no frosting to these buns, and yes I missed that too. 

These Pågen Gifflar left me feeling sad and hard done by. I'm sure there's plenty of you that'll disagree with my views on these cinnamon rolls (there certainly was a lot of love for them on my Instagram post) but for me they just don't hit the spot. Tesco's fresh cinnamon rolls and IKEA's Kanelbullar still reign, but I think a trip to LIDL's bakery might change that..! 

Where do you buy your cinnamon buns from in the U.K? Leave me a comment on here, twitter or Instagram and let me know! 

3/10 

NEW! Spiced Carrot Muffins (M&S)

So we've established that the Tesco carrot cake muffins are a bit pathetic and that the M&S carrot cake hot cross buns are the biz*. The carrot cake trend looks set to continue (&/or Marks' bakery team are running out of ideas) as they've recently launched carrot cake muffins into their four pack range. Now their muffins have been hit and miss of late; the banana chocolate chip four packs were decidedly disappointing, as were the rhubarb, strawberry & custard filled affairs,  but let's not forget how good their chocolate oranges were -there's hope yet.

"Light and delicately spiced carrot muffin studded with plump sultanas, a cooling cream cheese centre topped wth granola and pumpkin seeds."

We can even pretend that they're healthy too, what with their fruit and vegetable content and granola & seed topping and all! At £1.50 per pack they're not likely to break the bank either.

Ok, so I might've squished them on the cycle home. I could've cried when I opened my backpack, what a clutz I am. I promise you they looked rustic to begin with, just maybe not this rustic. 

A corner broke off as I sliced the muffin in two, but as I'm not sure whose fault that was, I won't mark M&S down for that. I do remember that before I mistreated the muffins the topping was scattered everywhere though. Once bisected, the pale pocket of filling was visible, and it was a pleasing sight -central and adequately proportionate- just as it should be.

The warming notes of cinnamon were well balanced, not overshadowing the earthiness from the carrot, but instead complimenting it. An abundance of plump, juicy sultanas added extra little bursts of flavour. The cake was a little on the dry side, and more like a country cake, but strangely this didn't detract from the enjoyment given the wet filling within.

The topping was ingenious too. The crunchy seeds offered a joyous textural contrast against the cake combined with a welcome gentle nuttiness. If I was being pernickety I'd point out that the 'granola' was really just oats given its lack of cluster formation, but I enjoyed it so lets forget that.  

The make or break moment comes with the filling though surely. I found the cream cheese to be more akin to traditional frosting than the centre of M&S' carrot cake hot cross buns. That is to say that it's sweeter and fluffier. I'm not sure if the gooeier, sauce like innards used within the buns would've worked better against the sweetness of the cake, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

Please don't bother buying Tesco's carrot cake muffins, pay the extra 50p and treat yourself to Marks & Sparks' spiced carrot muffins instead.

9/10

* I'm going to re-score the buns as a 10 given my 'currant' 😉 addiction to them and the amount of cream cheese I've had in every bun since writing the review.

NEW! Carrot Cake Muffins with a Cream Cheese Centre (Tesco)

Chocolate orange and carrot cake are the flavours of the season it seems. Every man and his basket have got on the choc orange hot cross buns bandwagon this year (stay tuned for the last in that series very shortly!) and all of a sudden the carrot cake craze is popping up. Hoorah! The humble carrot cake has been vastly under appreciated until now, and it's lovely to see such a summery flavour appearing on a shelves - it certainly makes a welcome change from dulce de leche/salted caramel everything. What's even better is that these companies are filling these products with cream cheese. I always find that cupcakes are a bit lopsided on their ratios. Yes buttercream is tasty (when done right) but the cake should always be the star of the show, and somehow it gets lost under showy icing when part of a cupcake. That's why I think filling cake is a better concept. Anyway, as soon as @productsinstore alerted me to the new Tesco muffins the hunt began. 

The first store I visited wouldn't sell me any because they were "waiting for a manager to set them up" (your guess is as good as mine) but fortunately the nice manager that I found in the bakery department of Hereford's smaller Tesco retrieved me some from the freezer. Thank you kind sir! The four pack cost £1, and I just prayed that they were better than their Christmas Red Velvet muffins. 

"Spiced carrot cake with a tangy cream cheese centre." 

The muffins were a decent size and colour, speckled with sugar crystals on their tops. 

I sliced through and discovered how close crumb it was. Was that all of the filling? I thought M&S were stingy, but this was ridiculous, there could only be a teaspoonful of cream cheese at the bottom there.

The cake was well spiced with a strong cinnamon flavour and a slight warmth from the ginger. There were hints of carrot throughout, but it wasn't as prominent as one would expect in a home made version. The texture was soft, but it was so moist that it was claggy and almost raw in places. 

It wasn't just the cream cheese that was missing either. Where were the raisins at? Surely a carrot cake has to have dried fruit in too? Humf. One of the qualities I love most about carrot cake is the plump raisins that break up the texture and burst in your mouth as you munch.  

I did enjoy the sugar crystal topping however, which reminded me of country cake (albeit without the raisins). 

As for the cream cheese at the bottom, it was fairly good, but its location and meagreness meant that it was impossible to enjoy some with every mouthful of cake. 

Tesco' Carrot Cake muffins are kind of the anti-cupcake I suppose. Let's hope M&S carrot cake muffins are better, and if not I'll be sticking to their buns. 

6/10

FlapJacked Mighty Muffins: Maple Pumpkin, S'mores and Apple & Cinnamon (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about FlapJacked's Buttermilk Protein Pancake & Baking Mix and also promised to review their Mighty Muffin range. Today I'm reviewing 3 of the 6 flavours -so you'll have to come back again to find out how the peanut butter, chocolate, and peanut butter & chocolate flavours fare. But first, let's get to grips about what Mighty Muffins are all about...

"FlapJacked Mighty Muffins are a delicious, certified gluten free, protein packed and high fibre muffin developed with scrumptious flavour, balanced nutrition and convenience in mind. Bursting with pockets of flavour in every bite, Mighty Muffins pack 20 grams of protein and 240 calories in each serving (1 container). The patented probiotic GanedenBC30 has been added to help you support immune health as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Simply add water, microwave for up to 1 minute (time will vary depending on the power of your microwave) and you have a delicious meal or snack on the go."

Gluten free, high in protein and scrummy to boot? Surely not. 

Maple Pumpkin
As usual I opted for the flavour that I thought I'd like least (although they all sounded good to me). I peeled back the lid to find a fair amount of powder, before adding 60ml of water using the provided container as suggested. 

As I stirred the mixture my nostrils were greeted with an array of spices which instantly made me even hungrier; it's a good job I didn't have to wait for this cake to bake in the oven! My microwave took a little longer than the advised 60 seconds to make the muffin peak out the top of the tub (but it is only low watt).

I was still too eager to eat my muffin and soon found that it was still gooey in the middle - but I pretended it was supposed to be a fondant. The flavours were really delicious though, maple and pumpkin are underutilised in the UK, and I loved the combination of spice and sweet. I wasn't expecting the little crunchy maple bits in the muffin either, but enjoyed the contrast in textures.
Maple Pumpkin Mighty Muffin was every bit as scrumptious as FlapJacked promised, and it's certainly a treat I'll happily enjoy over and over again.

9/10

S'mores 
This time I knew the drill: I added my water and mixed, before attempting to give my muffin a sufficient amount of time in the microwave.

The S'mores muffin was packed full of chocolate chips and marshmallow pieces. The cake had a fluffy texture this time (thanks to my patience), but I found that without the spice that the protein flavour was much more prominent. I primarily use whey protein to bake with and haven't ever tried Pea protein before. All of FlapJacked's products are made using a combination of both. It didn't taste bad, but it certainly wasn't your usual sponge cake flavour. 

6/10

Apple & Cinnamon

I was in need of some comfort food after a long day yesterday, so opted for cake and ice cream for pudding. This was much healthier than it sounds though, thanks to the Mighty Muffin's low sugar and fat content and OPPO's low sugar content. Is my healthy halo glowing yet? I think not.

The heavy dose of cinnamon in this cake was scrummy, although now I'd detected the protein taste in the S'mores muffin I couldn't ignore it in the background of this flavour too. The combination of warm cinnamon cake with ample apple pieces and salted caramel ice cream was wonderful though, and I felt like I was eating a hug in a bowl. Serious noms.

8/10

Flapjacked's Mighty Muffins are available to purchase from their website, where you will receive 10% off by using the code AMY10.

If you want to be in with the chance of WINNING 6 Mighty Muffins AND a Protein Pancake Mix amongst many other goodies, please enter my instagram competition.

Thank you to FlapJacked for the samples!

NEW! Weetabix Additions: Apple & Raisin Review (ASDA)

Whilst I can't live without my daily dose of porridge in the mornings, my other half struggles to start his day without a bowl of trusty Weetabix. Or at least that was the case until the Golden Syrup flavour disappeared from supermarket shelves towards the latter end of last year. He was so gutted that we couldn't find his favourite cereal anymore that I contacted the company back in November to ask if they were coming back. They said:

"Recent high demand has meant that we have had an increase in orders and we hope are hoping to be back to full capacity in the next few months. Please accept our sincere apologies, we do hope that you will continue to enjoy our products and are assured of our best intentions to get this back on the shelves."

With Bert's hopes intact, we eagerly awaited the return of the Golden Syrup Weetabix and were therefore somewhat surprised to see the two new Weetabix 'additions' lines that launched last month. I guess the company told porkies. Humf.

I tried to see the bright side in all of this and reminded Bert that although he doesn't like coconut (so the coconut and raisin flavour are out of the question) he does like apple and raisin. Maybe this new variety of Weetabix could serve as a valid replacement?

"Delight your senses...
with a nutritious breakfast that's packed with delicious apple, juicy raisins & warming cinnamon ensuring temptingly tasty goodness in every bite."

Whilst I'm not a huge Weetabix fan, I do love apple and raisin and was therefore intrigued to discover how their new flavour fared so purchased the box of 24 biscuits from ASDA for £2.

Whilst their banana and golden syrup (RIP) flavours are strongly scented, I couldn't particularly smell anything other than wheat when popping my biscuits in the bowl before drowning them in cold milk.

Oh. Was that it? Where was the flavour? Cinnamon is a pretty pungent spice -and my favourite one at that- but I couldn't detect it at all amongst the wheaty mush. The apple flavour too was non-existent and I was grateful that I'd had the foresight to top my cereal with cubed apple so that I could at least pretend I was eating flavoured Weetabix.

The only promise that Weetabix delivered on was the inclusion of raisins, but unfortunately I can't say this was a welcome addition. I really love dried fruit, but not like this. Have you ever eaten shrivelled, bullet-hard raisins before? Well that's what is lurking in amongst these biscuits. Rather than the moist, squidgy, flavoursome fruits, these were little dry rascals that stuck between my teeth in a frustrating fashion. Not good.

It wasn't just me either, Bert wasn't a fan either. If we weren't so reluctant to waste food they'd have ended up in the bin by now, but instead I've promised to buy him a couple of boxes of his new favourite cereal (Golden Syrup Wheats) from Sainsbury's when he's got through the Weetabix. You should never have to "get through" food though, should you?

2/10

Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts (M&S)

There's not many things more satisfying in life than finding a good bargain, particularly if said bargain is found in M&S! One afternoon last week I popped into our local branch and spotted duo packs of their Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts reduced to just 35p! Now I'm not normally a fruity dessert kind of person, opting for chocolate every time, but these looked rather good and I just couldn't turn them down at such a steal -especially as they could be frozen too! 

"Apples with sultanas and cinnamon in an all butter luxury pastry case topped with butter enriched filo."

They didn't pay a lengthy visit to my freezer because I thought that the tarts would make a perfect post-roast Sunday pud. They appeared to be the wonderful love child of a strudel and an apple pie. Could these possibly be the most homely desserts known to man?

The tarts come in individual tin foils, and M&S suggest popping them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving. Whilst they were heating up I contemplated serving them with custard, then ice cream, before remembering I'd got the rest of the Aunt Bessie's custard ice cream left to use -perfect. 

The tarts were hot to touch after quarter of an hour, and were easy to remove from their casings. One had a slightly soggy bottom so I guess it could've done with a few minutes longer, but I was too impatient to wait! 

There was a good mixture of apples and sultanas in the centre of my tart, which were wonderfully sweet and well spiced. The apples were soft but not mushy, retaining just enough texture to provide bite. Talking of texture, the combination of pastries worked wonderfully well together. I can't remember ever having filo and shortcrust pastry together before, but they complimented each other remarkably well.

As they did with their Frangipane Mince Pies (which I so hope will return this year) Marks and Spencer have created perfect buttery shortcrust pastry once again. It's sweet and crumbly, melting in the mouth in the most delicious way. I'm sure I heard Bert groan with pleasure at the simple but ultimately scrummy dessert -I know I did!

I only wish I'd stocked up on these tarts; they're delightful.

9/10

NEW! Nestle Curiously Cinnamon Granola (B&M)

I recently rediscovered my love of granola thanks to the Max Protein Shreddies Granola released last year. Nestle's decision to transition it's traditional cereals into granola format must've proved fruitful for the corporation, because they've recently started manufacturing Curiously Cinnamon and Cheerios varieties too. The only trouble is, they're seemingly impossible to get hold of. The only reason I knew they exist was down to @productsinstore' photo of her find in Home Bargains last month.

The trouble is, our local Home Bargains taunts me. I often see evidence of their exciting new products on Instagram (looking at you again @productsinstore) and eagerly trek across the city on a mission to buy said treats, only to be left disappointed by their lack of availability in sleepy ol' Hereford. Nestle's new cereal hybrid caused an embarrassing amount of frustration -again and again I would search the aisles and come home empty handed.

On Sunday I persuaded Bert that we needed a trip to B&M for dog food, knowing full well that it's next to Home Bargains and that he'd let me pop in on my usual mission. Yet again it was unsuccessful and so I trundled into B&M miserably...

..Where I spotted a lone box of Curiously Cinnamon Granola and a load of Cheerios Granola for just £1 per box! Halle-flipping-lujah! Now the Cheerios granola didn't excite me all that much; it was the Curiously cinnamon that really tickled my fancy. Every U.K cinnamon lover can appreciate the deliciousness that is Curiously Cinnamon (although the Santé cinnamon stars are equally delicious). Add oats clusters into the equation and surely Nestle are onto a serious winner.

Yes, yes they are! There was a good even mixture of oats and cinnamon squares in the box and the warming scent was inviting. The granola isn't as heavy as some others either thanks to the rice flakes also gracing the mixture. As for the flavour, it's an intoxicating mixture of oats, wheat and spice that I absolutely loved. Ultimately the texture of this cereal gives it the edge, with the softer squares that go soft in milk whilst the clusters remain crispy.

The following evening I decided to top banoffee skyr (made using skyr, banana flavour drops and toffee sugar-free syrup) with the cinnamon granola and fresh sliced banana. Oof, it was delicious! I wasn't overly keen on ASDA's White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola with yogurt, but strangely much preferred the Curiously Cinnamon served this way.

Cinnamon & oat lovers rejoice: Nestle have nailed this one!

9/10

Macros per 100g: P7.7/C:73/F9.5

NEW! Favorina Spiced Biscuit Spread (LIDL)

I don't know about you but I definitely go through phases. Biscoff is often subject to such phases; I become addicted to the stuff and then don't have it for a few days and before I know it it's relegated to the back of the spread cupboard (yes I have three shelves and an entire cupboard solely dedicated to toast toppings). Then when I rediscover it, I fall back in love and the cycle begins once more. Honestly, if you've never bought it and have addictive tendancies stay clear of Biscoff, the stuff is ridiculously hard to put down.

Anyway the subject of today's review is LIDL's Spiced Biscuit Spread, which I presumed to be their knock-off version of Biscoff. They've released it as part of their Christmas range, something I found strange because Biscoff doesn't even enter my mind as being a seasonal product. However Speculoos biscuits do tend to make an appearance at this time of year, so I guess from that point of view it is. 

LIDL are selling two versions just as Biscoff do: Crunchy and Smooth. Whilst I'm almost always a smooth peanut butter kind of gal, crunchy Biscoff always gets my vote -so that's what I went for. The 350g jars are on a 2 for £2 deal though (I think they were £1.29 each) so if you can't make up your mind then you could always pick up both.

"Spiced biscuit spread with biscuit pieces." 

I had a jar of Biscoff Crunchy at home, so I'll directly compare the two for those of you who are also obsessed with the spread.

The colour of both was identical, and even the keenest eye would be hard pressed to tell them apart. There was a noticeable difference in consistency though, with the LIDL version appearing slightly shinier and a lot smoother. 

I first tried the spread on M&S' Gingerbread Teacakes -which I now realise is the perfect topping for said treat. Whilst the spread complimented the bread perfectly, the warming flavours from the teacake prevented me from really being able to tell the difference between LIDL and Biscoff. The following evening I tried both on the same *Christmas Tree* crumpet for optimum comparison, and found that there was very little difference in the flavour between them -both delivered on the extreme cinnamon biscuit yummy scrummy-ness. The singular difference came from the texture: Biscoff's spread was grainier and stayed put whereas LIDL's spread melted wonderfully, oozing into the crumpet's pockets and still provided a little crunch from the biscuit pieces. Delicious. 

Top 1/2 of the tree is LIDL, bottom 1/2 is Biscoff.

There's slight variations between the ingredients, more than I expected given the similarity of the flavours. Nutritionally the LIDL is slightly higher in calories and fat, but is lower in sugars (see below for the breakdown). Really there's not a lot in it though, and I love that the consistency of LIDL's crunchy Spiced Biscuit Spread is more like a mixture of Biscoff's smooth and crunchy. The price is also a bonus -at 36.8p per 100g it's a lot cheaper than the branded version (currently on offer at Tesco and still 46.1g per 100g). I'll certainly be stocking up before Christmas anyway, and I suggest you do too!

9/10

Nutritional Info Per 100g
LIDL: 594Kcal/ P:3.2/ C52.0/ F41.2
Biscoff: 571 Kcal/ P:32.3/C58.8/ F: 35.7

Sante Cinnamon Star Cereal (Polski Sklep)

I don't know about you, but I certainly think that cinnamon cereal is distinctly lacking in the U.K. Sure we have curiously cinnamon and more recently the (distinctly under-spiced) Cinnamon Oat Crisp Cheerios, but that's about the extent of the matter. The only way I've known to get hold of other cinnamon cereals until now is to place an order from American import companies as the States have a vast array of the stuff including Cinnabon cereal, Apple Jacks and Cinnamon Toast Crunch -to name just a few.

It wasn't until my last chocolate mission in the Polish Delis that I decided to delve further into stores, and soon uncovered a plethora of interesting looking cereals that I've not seen before, one of which was this bag of 'Cynamonowe Gwiazdki' -which I (correctly!) guessed translates to 'cinnamon Stars'. At £1.09 for a 250g bag it wasn't bad value and I decided to discover what Sante's Smart Teens cereal is all about.

The little stars are made from a mixture of wheat, barley, oat and corn flours, whilst the remaining ingredients are sugar, honey, inulin (a watre soluble fibre), sunflower oil, cinnamon, molasses from cane sugar, sea salt and natural flavours -that's it. It was a welcome surprise to see a list devoid of strange chemicals and e-numbers that you can find on so many cereals, although there is 8.1g of sugar per 30g.

The combination of sweet, warming scent and golden coloured stars resulted in a bowl of rather festive cereal. My friend and fellow blogger Laura (of A Daisy Chain Dream) rightly pointed out last week that there's no christmassy cereals here in the U.K either, so perhaps this is the closest we'll get.

Texturally, the stars were crunchy, and passed the milk soaking test with flying colours. I could definitely taste the oat within the cereal mixture, but of course the main flavours were sugar and cinnamon -both of which were delicious.

I'm so pleased that I've found these cinnamon stars. Comparitively they're cheaper than Nestle's Curiously Cinnamon, yet equally delicious with less fat and salt (although as mentioned, they do have a slightly higher sugar content).

If you're a cinnamon cereal fiend then it's well worth a trio to your local Polski Sklep to pick up a bag or two!

8/10

*Comparative Nutritionals per 100g:
Sante Cinnamon Stars: 375kcal, fat 3.4g, sat fat 0.5g, carbs 75g, sugars 27g, fibre 7g, protein 8.1g, salt 0.23g
Nestle Curiously Cinnamon: 419kcal, fat 10.1g, sat fat 3.8g, carbs 74g, sugars 24.8g, fibre 5.2g, protein 5.4g, salt 1.11g