Cookie Dough Bites: Red velvet cupcake bites

Product name: Cookies Dough Bites: Red velvet cupcake bites
Purchase details: £2.39 for an 88g box (americansoda.co.uk)
Calories: 180 per 40g serving (360 per box)
Country of origin: USA

So far, I’ve had mixed experiences with the Cookie Dough Bites brand, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked up these Red velvet cupcake bites from American Soda.

Packaged in the usual 88g box, these ‘cupcake morsels in creamy red frosting’ were a beautiful, glossy shade of crimson with a nicely contrasting light-coloured centre. Whilst aesthetically pleasing, I was slightly concerned by just how unnatural they looked.

The outer red frosting had a sweet and creamy smell which seemed very similar to the Cupcake bites I tried in my pre-blog days. This sweetness was also evident in the taste, but then, it would have been odd if it hadn’t been, bearing in mind a box of these bites contains 40g of sugar! Colour aside, where this frosting differed from the Cupcake bites variety was in its texture – it was far smoother and not at all rubbery. My only criticism of the frosting is that, after a while, I actually found it became a little boring – there just wasn’t enough interest there for me.

As for the cupcake filling, I found this to be quite dry with no apparent flavour of its own. Even when I tried it separately, having bitten off the frosting layer, it just didn’t seem to taste of anything at all. Therefore, I couldn’t really describe it as cake-like.

However, the frosting and the cupcake morsels did work well together in that the outer layer provided moisture for the filling. Whilst the centres were flavourless, they did provide a contrasting texture and so I was greeted with the usual grainy innards having bitten through the softer icing of each bite. When eating the whole box (as I always do!), though, the slightly chewy middles did feel a bit like hard work on the jaw towards the end of the packet.

I don’t feel like I’m qualified to judge whether or not these Red velvet cupcake bites are good imitations of real red velvet cakes, having only ever eaten them twice myself. However, my memory suggested that the frosting of this product wasn’t dissimilar in flavour, particularly when it came to the after-taste.

The word I’d use to sum up these Red velvet cupcake bites is ‘fine’. They are inoffensive and pretty enjoyable, but they just didn’t excite me in the same way that their sister product, Cinnamon bun bites (see here), did. Would I eat them again, though? Sure.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Cookie Dough Bites: Cinnamon bun bites

Product name: Cookie Dough Bites: Cinnamon bun bites
Purchase details: £3 for an 88g box (Bold Street Sweets)
Calories: 180 per 40g serving (360 per box)
Country of origin: USA

Another treat I bought from Bold Street Sweets was this box of Cinnamon bun bites.

Despite my expectations of the Cookie Dough Bites brand having been lifted, recently, I admit that I thought I’d find his brand decidedly average. How wrong I was.

Described as ‘cinnamon bun pieces in a white chocolatey coating’, I was fully prepared for a strong cinnamon smell when I opened the packet, but I was pleased to discover that these bites smelt more like white chocolate with just hints of cinnamon, instead. As a lover of white chocolate, this made me more eager to continue to the taste test, especially as I wasn’t expecting an artificial coating to smell so similar to the real thing. Even the cream outer colour of the bites was realistic – only the texture gave away that this was not real chocolate.

The cinnamon centres were a lovely shade of brown but, like with previous varieties I’ve tried, they had a graininess to the texture. However, I found that the overall texture was softer and less rubbery than other flavours which was a great improvement.

Now the important part: the taste! These Cinnamon bun bites, I thought, were pretty amazing. The coating was sweet and creamy, and the centre had a strong enough cinnamon flavour to counteract this, but without being overpowering. The box described them as having a ‘fresh from the oven taste’ but I’m not sure I would agree with this. On the contrary, I thought these bites tasted like they were about to go into the oven, rather than come out of it, as they had that divine cake mixture flavour. I found I couldn’t keep reaching for more quick enough.

The downside? Well, I’ve already mentioned the sugary texture and taste, and whilst this is something I can handle, I’m sure at least some people would find these just too sweet. In fact, I checked the nutritional information and found that this box contained a whopping 38g of sugar – oh dear! This in itself wouldn’t put me off eating these again, but it would certainly stop them being a regular part of my diet, which is a shame.

Healthy or not, I really enjoyed these Cinnamon bun bites and, so far, they are definitely my favourite variety from the Cookie Dough Bites brand. If you have a sweet tooth, you should definitely give them a go.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.63/10

Cookie Dough Bites: Cookies 'n cream bites

Product name: Cookie Dough Bites: Cookies ‘n cream bites
Purchase details: £1.85 for an 80g box (United States Grocery)
Calories: 180 per 40g serving (360 per box)
Country of origin: USA

A couple of months ago I found a friendly little ‘candy’ shop called United States Grocery. Whilst still a relatively new business, they are gradually growing, and their aim is to provide imported American goods at cheaper prices than their competitors. Although, to my shame, I’ve only visited this store once so far, my monitoring of their website (see here) suggests that they are generally achieving this.

Anyway, on my visit to United States Grocery, I picked up a box of Cookies ‘n cream bites (it pains me not to add the extra apostrophe on the letter ‘N’ but I’m staying true to the brand name!). I’d seen this product before but only ever tried the peanut butter version of this Cookie Dough Bites product. I wasn’t actually a fan of the latter but I felt I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to try this cookies and cream version for the relatively cheap price of £1.85.

A box contains two 40g servings although, I admit, I ate the whole box in one sitting as I had enough points left on this particular evening! 

The packaging described these bites as ‘creamy white chocolatey balls with crumbled pieces of cookie’ and contained an illustrated picture of the product. On opening the box, I was greeted with a cellophane packet containing these balls which looked more cylindrical than circular to me! They were also more yellow in colour than the whiteness of the product image suggested, but this wasn’t a problem to me as I wasn’t expecting a non-photographic picture to be realistic anyway. On the whole, the product did look appealing.

The Cookies ‘n cream bites had a sweet smell that wasn’t overly strong, and they tasted pretty good, thus improving my existing image of the brand. Although the cookie was visible in the coating, I found that I couldn’t feel or taste these flecks in my mouth. However, I did enjoy the ‘white chocolatey coating’ all the same. White chocolate, if I’m honest, is my favourite kind, although I was dubious about this coating since I knew it wasn’t real white chocolate. Unsurprisingly to me, the coating didn’t taste of white chocolate, but this was made up for by the way it reminded me of a sweet, creamy cake frosting – very nice!

The cookie dough centre was also pleasant to the taste, although, again, I wouldn’t say it particularly tasted like cookies. Texture-wise, I found it to be fairly soft (with a bit of resistance coming from the outer coating), but it also had a slight sugary grittiness to it which reminded me of uncooked cake mixture. As somebody who loves to lick the bowl when baking this, again, didn’t overly bother me, although it did make them seem more artificial and I did wonder what it meant for the health of my teeth.

I did enjoy this product, but I do prefer the Cupcake bites variety which I tried at some point between eating the peanut butter version and buying these Cookies ‘n cream bites! 

For anyone else who is watching their weight, I would advise that the recommended 40g portion is certainly substantial and would still feel like a nice treat. As I neared the end of the box, the bites were beginning to feel a bit sickly, although not to the extent that I wouldn’t eat them all at once again!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 6/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 6/10
Overall score: 6.5/10