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! 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! 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! Spirit of Summer: Summer Macaroon Selection (M&S)

I was truly on the bargain hunt yesterday. I started the day at the Malvern Giant Flea Fair (a must for antique lovers nationwide) and found myself in Marks & Sparks just before close. The trouble is, those yellow stickers are just too appealing, and despite not being initially tempted by the summer macaroons, the 65p sticker was irresistible. My last experience with M&S macaroons wasn't that great, and so I felt annoyed with my lack of self-restraint. 65p wasn't too much money to waste I suppose...

"A selection of French almond macaroons in 3 flavours -1 peach and apricot, 1 lemon and 1 cherry."

At least I could tell which macaroon was which this time around thanks to their bright colourings. I couldn't see much in the way of fillings peeping out, so split them in half for a better look. The centres seemed to be saucy as opposed to cream based like the Festive ganache filled macaroons. 

Wow, I was impressed. I didn't think I was a massive macaroon fan, but I indulged in the delicate texture but bold flavours of these miniature French-style treats. The macaroons were light, with a crunchy exterior and fluffy centre. I loved the prominence of the almond, which came through in all of the three flavours. 

The centres were like a solid jam, and were wonderfully well-flavoured. I'm not sure I could pick a favourite because apricot conserve is usually my favourite, but I also adore cherry Bakewell and am going through a lemon-loving phase at the moment. 

I can't believe that I thought I might be wasting my 65p! M&S have created a sensational summer treat here that simply screams of sunshine.  I'll be certainly sure to buy another pack  if I'm lucky enough to find them reduced again, and may even treat myself to them at their full price.

9/10

NEW! Jammy Ring Ice Cream (Tesco)

After many trips to Tesco I've finally found the Jammy Ring ice cream. Well, no actually I fib, Bert found it for me. Given my disappointment with the Red Velvet I didn't have very high hopes for this new flavour, but still desperately hoped that the supermarket would pull it out of the bag.

"Try our delicious 500ml tub of Jammy Ring Ice Cream. Biscuit flavour ice cream with a swirl of raspberry sauce and tasty shortcake biscuit pieces."

Except the tubs only contain 480ml of ice cream don't they Tesco? Starting with a lie is never a good sign. Each of their new 480ml tubs cost £2 each.

Once the lid was removed I was met with a milky coloured ice cream that barely hinted at the prospect of raspberry sauce. Digging in I found the ice cream to be almost mousse-like in consistency. It was so airy that the 96ml portion only weighs 59g (compare that to 82g for the same volume of Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Swirled). I did, however, uncover some bright pink swirl as I scooped.

I'm not exactly sure how to describe the flavour of the ice cream. It's meant to be biscuit flavour, but seeing as biscuits come in such a huge array of varieties and flavours, it's hard to distinguish one determining element. Instead I'll tell you that the ice cream is sweet, and somehow does remind me of shortbread -although that might just be wishful thinking. I also found it to be quite nostalgic, stirring memories of the cheap little ice cream mousse pots that mum used to give us as children.

The sauce was neither here nor there, adding little in the way of flavour. As for the biscuit pieces, they were far and few between - I had a grand total of 3. Texturally they were hit and miss too: two were soft and cake like, whilst one was delightfully crunchy. Humf. Fortunately Siân had already tried the ice cream and given me the heads up on instagram concerning the meagreness of the chunks so at least I'd had the foresight to top my cone with mini Jammy Dodgers.

What a shame. Tesco have created an ice cream with a scrummy flavour; it's just a shame they haven't used quality ingredients and seen the product through. As a luxury tub it doesn't quite work and as such I'd rather pay the extra 50p for a tub of Ben & Jerry's from ASDA.

7/10

Fresh Bakery Jam Filled Doughnut (LIDL)

It's that time of year. You know the one, when you only have to get within 100 metres of a supermarket before the sweet hunger-pang-inducing scent of hot cross buns assails your nostrils and suddenly you're making an unexpected detour into the bakery aisle. It drives me crazy, especially as I cycle down the side of Morrisons (and straight under their vents) on the way to the train station every day. In the same vein whilst I don't directly pass LIDL on the same stretch, I often pop in to replenish my Skyr supplies on the way home and more or less have to shut my eyes and nostrils when unavoidably passing their in-store bakery. It's not so much the scent of it, but the impressive array of both sweet and savoury treats that look undeniably tempting. Yesterday though my yogurt mission was unsuccessful -they sell like hot cakes, excuse the pun- which meant that I had enough room in my backpack for a treat or two. Oops.

Just look at that jam doughnut though! Even better, the basket was being refilled just as I picked up the tongs so I knew they were the freshest they could be. At 25p each they're a veritable bargain too, and LIDL even provide individual little plastic boxes to keep your treats safe (it seems that Krispy Kreme and Greggs could learn a thing or two from the German supermarket) .

Are you a powdered sugar or caster sugar jam doughnut fan? For me it's the former all the way, and it's part of the reason that I prefer Morrisons' bakery doughnuts over any of the other supermarkets' versions. This LIDL doughnut looked like it might trump Morrisons though because it was much bigger and so very light!

I couldn't help but feel hugely disappointed when I sliced the doughnut in two. Where was the huge dollop of sticky jam filling hiding? It then occurred to me why the doughnut was so light. It was devoid of jam.

Fortunately the dough was the saving grace. I mean it was everything that I want from a doughnut; unbelievably fluffy with a good sweet flavour and lacking that horrible greasy aftertaste that often lingers after eating one of Tesco or ASDA's. In fact the quality far surpassed both Greggs and Krispy Kreme!

The teaspoonful of jam was pretty good, gooey and sweet with a decent fruity flavour. Goddammit LIDL, if you'd doubled the jam content you'd have nailed the perfect doughnut!

I'm convinced I just bought a dodgy one, so next time I'm in store I'll ensure I leave enough room in my bag for another doughnut, you know, just in case! I'll keep you updated...

8/10

Lambertz Milk Chocolate Lebkuchen Hearts (Waitrose)

I'm not shy about my adoration for Germany's Christmas treats; I believe that their use of spice is cleverly balanced, brave and quite frankly unsurpassable. Last year I reviewed ASDA's lebkuchen iced stars, Weisse's Pfeffernüsse, Bahlsen's Zimtsterne, Lidl's marzipan stollen as well as Bahlsen's Poppy Seed Stollen, and this year I'm on a quest to discover the best on the market. 

Today's review is of Lambertz's apricot filled Lebkuchen hearts: the hearts were a favourite Christmas treat as a child, my grandmother was always dependable for a healthy supply of them too and I looked forward to gorging on them after school. I say gorge because it felt impossible to stop at one or two (I reckon they're even more moreish than Jaffa cakes) so I really hoped that Lambertz' version would live up to my high expectations. I bought the 150g bag from Waitrose for £1.

Gingerbread hearts with apricot fruit filling (28%), coated with milk chocolate (23%) and dark chocolate decoration (3%).

Now to some, the combination of gingerbread, chocolate and apricot might sound like an utterly absurd idea. Even to me it sounds like it shouldn't work, but it really does (hence why I thought to spread M&S' new gingerbread teacakes with apricot jam). 

The hearts weren't exactly perfectly formed, but I preferred the almost homemade look. The milk and dark chocolate coating was ample too, with none of the gingerbread peaking through (as often happens with the iced stars). I could smell a subtle gingery warmth, but only when I brought the hearts to my mouth pre-munch. 

For anyone who's not had Lebkuchen before (seriously you're missing out), the texture between varieties and brands can vary quite dramatically. Even in a single bag of ASDA's stars I've found that some have been very firm, whilst others have been soft and cake-like. The Lambertz hearts leaned towards the latter texture, with a lovely fluffiness that provided very little resistance when biting into. The spice was very mild though, too much so for my liking. The ginger was almost completely lost against the delectable chocolate and apricot jam. Yes, you heard correctly, the chocolate was super! The quality was much better than one might expect for a biscuit/cake covering and I'm sure I'd have been quite happy to enjoy a bar of the chocolate that Lambertz have used here. As for the jam, it was gooey, sweet and in abundance -exactly what I hoped for. 

9/10

What do you think are the best German (or continental) Christmas treats? I'd love to know, so please do leave me a comment!

Pink Jammie Doughnut (Greggs)

Filled doughnuts: fantastic when they're actually filled, but utterly distressing if and when you're unfortunate enough to munch into a dud one. It's not just the Co-op who are guilty of empty 'filled' doughnuts either, I've heard many reports of void Krispy Kremes too -which I feel is even worse given their extortionate price point. I felt the need to rectify my doughnut disappointment of the apple crumble kind quick smart.

Pink ring doughnuts are my fiancés absolute favourites. We're not even allowed boxes of the mini versions in our house anymore because he simply can't resist their call and ends up munching all 30 in one go (not good when he's trying to cut ahead of holiday in January). He also loves jam doughnuts (as do I, who doesn't?) so the individually sold Pink Jammies solved our problem, and I picked us up a couple. I actually dropped them off with him during his workout at the gym I was working from -you should've seen the face of the exercising customers when they spotted the Greggs treat box, I'm cruel aren't I? Pahahaha. 😈

That evening I tucked into the Pink Jammie, and hoped it would live up to its promising title. The icing was ample, which was a good sign, as was the tell tale jammy hole on the one side.

Crikey. When Greggs say Jammie, they meant jammie. In fact there was so much jam in this doughnut that it proved tricky to eat without becoming a sticky mess. It wasn't long until I surrendered to my clumsiness and embraced the nostalgic joy of the gooey, sugary filling. The dough was soft, but slightly bread like as I've come to expect from the high street bakery. Of course the icing was super sweet (it would be more of a shock if it wasn't!) and the jam was too. I'm not sure what flavour the jam was mean to be, but it tasted of berries and apple, and it was yummy.

The combination of icing and jam provided a little too much sweetness for my personal preference. For this reason I preferred the Greggs' caramel custard and standard sugar dusted jam doughnuts (Morrisons make the best I think, do you agree?). My other half however completely disagreed and revelled in the amalgamation of his two favourite doughnuts..

7/10

Witches Fingers: Peanut Butter & Jelly Filled Milk Chocolate Bars (Co-Op)

Instagram (or instagrammers) beckoned me again yesterday morning, informing me of a peanut buttery product that I just had to try straight away (thanks ladies!). New, chocolate, and peanut butter are the three words that ring through to my core. They don't have to all be present at the same time either -as apparently these witches fingers were around last year too. How did I miss that?

The 100g pack contained 8 individually wrapped fingers and was priced at £1. I had my doubts about the quality of a chocolate geared specifically towards children (although I do love Milkybar) and only popular enough to market once a year at Halloween (shh, I know Reese's pumpkins are the biz).

"Milk chocolate fingers with a smooth peanut butter and strawberry jelly filled centre."

Do witches have cuboid fingers? According to the Co-Op they do! In all seriousness though I liked the fact that each bar could be broken into four individual sections. 

Breaking one such section in two revealed both the peanut butter and jelly centres. I could smell a mixture of calendar chocolate and synthetic super-sweetness -which I presumed was emanating from the centre. 

Biting into the chocolate made me pull such a disgusted face that my other half started laughing at me. I was eating some white chocolate Reese's hearts around the same time for comparison (and if you believe that you'll believe anything - I just fancied them), and the contrast in sweetness between the two peanut butter & chocolate products was immense. The peanut element of the Witches Finger's filling was fondant like; and although it had a strong peanut flavour, was completely off kilter thanks to the sheer amount of sugar (6.5g per 12.5g finger FYI). As for the jelly, it tasted artificial, and so far removed from strawberries that it was off-putting. If you've ever tried goober you'll have an understanding of what the centre of the Witches Fingers are like. With that in mind I imagine that if you're a fan of the American pb&j spread, you'll like these too. The chocolate was as expected: thin, waxy and just about edible. 

As I made my way through the last three segments of the bar, I found it slightly more bearable, but not exactly enjoyable. I won't bother with these again, and actually hope that I have some teenage trick or treaters to palm them off onto this year -aren't I horrible? ;)

4/10 

Kellogg's Jif PB & J Cereal (American Fizz)

As you may or may not recall, I have been trying to track down this cereal for ages whilst growing increasingly envious of the ample array of peanut buttery products available across the pond. Why can't any of the cereal manufacturers produce a pb flavoured cereal in England? I'm certainly not the only British nut butter addict. I bought the box from American Fizz for £4.99.

I had high hopes for Kellogg's; after all they're arguably one of the best know cereal brands in the world. The 'naturally and artificially flavoured' label on the front didn't phase me either as it's seemingly proudly displayed on all of their pop tart boxes, and they're pretty darn tasty.

The box contained a good mixture of two different cereal types: golden squares with holes in, and little pink balls. As soon as it was opened I noticed an overwhelmingly artificial, chemically smell... Oh dear. 

I  poured myself a bowl anyway and attempted to ignore the odour. I decided to try the peanut buttery cereal first, but all I could taste was fake strawberry. The flavour from the pink balls had leeched its way into every mouthful, and unfortunately it wasn't pleasant. In fact it reminded me of the fake flavour of the protein+ peanut butter flapjack I was unimpressed by back in March.

What a disappointment! I'll have to stick to the co-op's fantastic ice cream to satisfy my pb&j cravings and Reese's Puffs for my cereal needs from now on. 

3/10 

NEW! Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream (Co-Op)

Now, you must have realised by now if you've ever read this blog before just how much I LOVE peanut butter and jam. I must be secretly American or something. The trouble is, bad peanut butter jelly combinations can be vile...

I'll give you one example in particular. Goober. Have you seen the attractive looking jars containing perfect stripes of peanut butter and strawberry or grape 'jelly'? Have you been tempted to part with your pennies? Well please do not buy it! Save yourself the heartache. Seriously that stuff tastes so plasticky that I woudn't even feed it to my peanut butter loving dog Monty. Yuck.

Anyway, last week Snack-finding-extraordinaire Kev (Kev's Snack Reviews) posted a photo on Instagram of some new ice creams at the Co-Op. I'd spotted the cappuccino sticks that very same day, but then remembered the overflowing state of my freezer and left them there for another time. What I hadn't spotted however was their new peanut butter & jelly ice cream tub. There's been a host of new pb ice creams this year (including Feasts, Magnums and ASDA's own) but I haven't seen a PB&J ice cream since the much missed Ben & Jerry's core tub.

Wowsers. I wanted! Nay, I needed! I would have to make room in the freezer. Back to the Co-Op. No luck. There was one thing for it, I'd have to cycle the 16km round trip to the larger branch on the other side of the city. I didn't bank on the heavens opening about a third of the way through the journey though -this ice cream better be worth it.

"Peanut Butter ice cream rippled with raspberry sauce and fudge pieces, topped with sugar coated chocolate candies."

Doesn't it look pretty? Or rather akin to something you'd find at the ice cream factory station at Pizza Hut -am I showing my age here or does that still exist?

The ice cream was reasonably easy to scoop straight from the freezer -a good job seeing as I was so eager to get stuck in. I immediately noticed the sweet peanut-y scent and admired the vivid ruby red sauce that not only adorned the ice cream, but permeated it as well.

With one lick, I entered peanut butter heaven. Thankfully I could taste the real deal instead of the artifical flavouring that infuses Peanut Butter Oreos and Peanut & Caramel Müllerlights. I realised later (when writing this post) that there was a good reason why it tasted so good: the Co-Op Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream includes 9% real peanut butter. Hurrah! The ice cream is perhaps a little on the sweet side, but not so much that my teeth started to jar.  It was rich too, but admittedly not quite as luxurious as Ben & Jerry's.

The fruity sauce was tasty, offering a slight tartness that worked so well against the nut flavour. Crunch came from the sugar coated chocolate pieces -mini smarties if you will- and there was enough of them to inject tiny kicks of chocolate into every few mouthfuls.The only element which puzzled me was the fudge pieces. Yes they were sweet, squidgy, and really quite yummy, but they seemed like an odd addition to an already sweet and creamy ice cream. Perhaps little pretzel or biscuit pieces would have worked better?

I imagine this peanut butter and jelly ice cream would particularly appeal to children -if only for the colourful little smarties. I'm quite happy to act the kid however, and enjoy every last spoonful of this pretty new Co-Op ice cream. It's not as good as the Ben & Jerry's PB&J core, but it makes a good substitute!

9/10

NEW! Forest Fruits Barny (ASDA)

There's a new Barny on the block. I really wish companies would opt for more exciting flavours (anyone else up for a peanut butter or Biscoff Barny?) but instead, this is yet another example of a 'new' product that's not particularly innovative. Are you excited by a cake filled with apple & berry jam? No? Me neither, but as you may have gathered, if its got 'new'plastered on the label somewhere, chances are I'll buy it. 

The sponge bears portrayed their usual 'surprised' open-mouthed expression. They were about palm sized, and once cruelly sliced in half, the jam-packed (haha) centre of purple filling was revealed.

The sponge was unsurprisingly dry, as is often the case with long-life cakes, and they had a consistency that I imagine would be enhanced by a good coffee dunk -although I'm less sure that would work well with the forest fruits flavour. The generous pocket of jam was tasty, and as I tend to buy the apple flavour if and when I buy Barnys, I noted that the flavour was improved by the addition of the berries -adding an almost-tartness that offset the apple well.

Let's be honest; Barnys are never going to be as good as home made cakes (or even Mr Kipling's) but they are inexpensive, cute, and make a good on-the-go snacks or lunchbox fillers. If you don't regularly buy Barnys I wouldn't rush out to pick up a pack of the new forest fruits edition, but if they are a mainstay in your household, then they are certainly worth a try.

5/10

Mr Kipling Winter Whirls

It's got to that time of year where I'm a little bored of the standard mince pies. Didn't I say that would happen when I reviewed Tesco's Mince Pie Cookies just over a month ago? Anyway, I've seen the Winter Whirls on the shelves for a while now and as I was visiting my sister this weekend (who's also a Christmas maniac) I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try Mr Kipling's variation on the classic festive treat. 

Winter Whirls, for anyone who hasn't seen or tried them are 'Scrummy shortcake swirls filled with rich buttercream and Christmassy mince pie-flavoured filling.' The box cost £1 from the Co-Op and contains six whirls. 

The biscuits are just as crumbly as I recall -although admittedly I can't remember the last time I bought Mr Kipling's standard Viennese Whirls. The biscuits melt in the mouth with a delicate butteriness that I remember fondly. The buttercream filling is very sweet and soft, and would probably be more enjoyable refrigerated. My gripe however was the mince pie element, which was just a mere smudge of jam flavoured with the traditional Christmas spices*.  The whirl could've benefitted from a better filling ratio, as the jam was almost completely lost against the decadent biscuits and rich buttercream. 

It's such a lovely idea, and it feels like a lovely dainty Christmas treat. It might be one for those who aren't so keen on the richness of mince pies, or who like the flavour but not the raisins! 

7/10

*I Read the ingredients later and realised that it's in fact just a spiced apple jam- how misleading...