Snickers Pods

Once again I have to give a shout out of thanks to the amazing Cinabar of Foodstuff Finds for sending me gobs of goodies from the U.K.

Today's reviewed item has been quite the world traveler. Snickers Pods are not a U.K. item, but are actually a product of Mars Australia. So, before it was even opened, this package made the trip from Australia -- well, to be picky, they are actually made in New Zealand -- to an import shop in Cinabar's corner of the U.K. Then from the U.K. it flew all the way to Southern California. All of which means that these Pods went (using nearest major cities to give you a better geographic picture) from Auckland, New Zealand, to London, England, to Los Angeles, California. That's a grand total of 16,846 air miles -- or 27,111 air kilometers -- just so I can get my chance to get my nom-noms on. (Wait...did that sound unprofessional? I meant to phrase that as: So I can have my chance to try yet another hopefully amazing foreign delicacy. That sounded better, right?)



I could not resist, though. As soon as I read Cinabar's review of the Pods (here), I had to try them. First, because I am just an all-around a fan of Snickers. Secondly (and to be honest, this was my main reason), there is just something about them that screams Scooby Snack! I can't explain why that is, but something in my mind just thinks if there was ever a human version of a Scooby Snack, these Pods would be it.



The Pods consist of a crunchy hemispheric shell that is full of a caramelly Snickers-type filling, and topped with chocolate.

So what do they taste like?

The wafer reminded me slightly sweeter, sugar cone style ice cream cone.



The center has a very thin layer of yellowish creme. It looks like caramel shown on the package (though not nearly as thick as the picture would indicate). That layer is where the peanut flavor and the caramel flavor reside. It's interesting because there is no mistaking the nuttiness -- it's just as present as it is in an actual Snickers bar -- but the creme is perfectly smooth, and there are no actual nut pieces to be found.

The chocolate layer is thicker than I was expecting. It's as perfectly smooth and creamy as any Mars chocolate ever is. The only thing I can say is that it does have that sweeter taste that many mass-market chocolates made outside of the U.S. tend to have.

I actually really liked these Pods. The added crunchy texture to the classic Snickers taste was a good combination. I would definitely buy these if I could get them on a regular basis.



PURCHASED FROM:
Gift from Cinabar of Foodstuff Finds.

CALORIES:
545 kilojoules per 25 grams. (I have no idea how many calories that equals.)

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain tree nuts and barley.

Pepperidge Farm Caramel Tim Tam Cookies

I love Tim Tams!
After my review of the classic style Pepperidge Farm Tim Tam several people wrote in comments that while I thought the Arnotts version is better they couldn't tell a difference or preferred the Pepperidge Farm. Well they will either be really happy or really sad to know that I LOVED the Caramel Tim Tams!

Basically it's the same cookie- two chocolate biscuits that have a chocolate creme sandwiched between the two and then the whole thing is enrobed in more chocolate. The chocolate is still on the sweet side but it is quite smooth and has a nice melt to it.
In this version, the caramel lays below the first biscuit gently resting atop the chocolate creme. The caramel doesn't have the strongest flavor. It's not overly buttery or rich BUT what it does add is some great chewy texture. It's the contrast of the cool chocolate, the crunch of the biscuit and the sticky caramel that made the cookie for me.

I may not go out of my way for the normal Pepperidge Tim Tam but I will be buying more of these!

PURCHASED FROM:
Target

Pepperidge Farm Tim Tam Cookies

A few years ago my friend Bek made a visit from her home in Melbourne.
Amongst the gifts she had brought from home for her U.S. friends were a stash of Arnott's Tim Tams. It was then that I realized that Hugh Jackman may in fact be the second best gift Australia has given to the world.

Arnott's Tim Tam's (which can often be found at World Market- and easily, but not cheaply on-line) are a cookie comprised of two chocolate biscuits, a chocolate creme filling and then the whole thing is enrobed in a milk chocolate covering. There are some variations available and I am partial to the double coated ones myself. How would the Pepperidge Farm version stand up to the memory of the Arnott's?

Let's start with the outer layer of chocolate.
First, the layer is so thin that it immediately starts melting in your hand. The chocolate is real chocolate but it is on the low end side. It's smooth, but very sweet. If Pepperidge Farm had used the chocolate they use on the Milano's that would have been outstanding.

The biscuit layers are crunchy and have a satisfying flake to them. While they are chocolate colored, flavor wise they remind me of an old school Nabisco Cameo cookie. Which is to say that it is mostly vanilla flavor, but it is bland even by vanilla standards.

The creme.
Again, it's chocolate colored, but flavor wise about all I could come up with- and people I actually went through the trouble of scraping filling out and eating it on it's own (my inner Alton Brown again)- was that it tastes kind of, like oily butter.

All things considered it is not a bad cookie. It is a lame attempt at matching the greatness that is a proper Tim Tam, but again an OK cookie. If you have never had a real Tim Tam before get a hold of the Arnott's- you will thank me.

And just because it amuses me have a little Aussie eye candy as a parting gift:


PURCHASED FROM:
Target