Maryland Big & Chunky (white choc chunk brownie)

Product name: Maryland Big & Chunky (white choc chunk brownie)
Calories: 127 for a 25g cookie
Country of origin: UK 

I was recently given a goodie bag as a thank you gift and, amongst other things, it contained this white choc chunk brownie Maryland Big & Chunky cookie.  

As a ‘snack pack’, I know that this individually wrapped biscuit was from a larger multipack, but it was still very well presented in a pretty, metallic purple wrapper that contained a photograph of the cookie. 

Made by Burton’s Biscuits Company, I was pleased to see that the cookie contained both white chocolate (15%) and milk chocolate (13%) ‘chunks’ rather than the slightly less satisfying ‘chips’. Although these appeared to be relatively sparse (there were far fewer than the packaging suggested!), the white chunks in particular, were visibly mixed into the cocoa-coloured biscuit. The chocolate cookie looked quite hard and dry but, on breaking it in two, there was a slight flexibility there, and it was slightly darker on the inside which suggested it might have been a bit more moist than it initially appeared. 

I noticed a chocolatey aroma on opening the wrapper and, up close, the quality of this reminded me of ginger. It wasn’t the most amazing scent in the world but it had something about it that caught in the back of the throat. 

The biscuit was generally crunchy but, as suspected, it was slightly softer in the middle. I think this was to make it seem a bit like a brownie but it wasn’t nearly soft enough for this and, unfortunately, it gave the impression of being a bit stale instead. I also found the milk chocolate chunks to be quite soft and crumbly but, thankfully, the white chocolate seemed to have a bit more substance to it and improved the overall texture considerably.

The cookie itself had quite a bitter chocolate taste which the white chocolate broke up a bit. It was pretty pleasant and chocolatey but there just wasn’t nearly enough white chocolate in there for my liking. However, I definitely found this Big & Chunky product to be more interesting than basic cookies – it just wasn’t as good as other biscuits on the market. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Coconut creams

Product name: Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Coconut creams
Purchase details: £0.89 for a multipack of six packs of six biscuits (Home Bargains)
Calories: 64 per biscuit (384 per pack)
Country of origin: UK 

I’ve finally got to the end of my Hill Biscuits Snack Packs variety pack and my last review is of the flavour I suspected I would enjoy the most – the Coconut creams.

The biscuits used in this variety were identical to the ones used for the Custard, Orange and Strawberry creams. The cream, though, was a pure white colour and so the overall appearance was fresher.

 

These biscuits did have a coconut scent that hit me every now and then, but it was the taste that I was most interested in. I tried a bit of the cream on its own, first, and found that it had the same soft, slightly grainy texture that all the other versions had. Flavour-wise, it actually had a really creamy taste, with hints of coconut, and I found it to be very pleasant. Even better was the fact that it wasn’t overly sweet and had a more subtle taste than the Custard creams. 

When eating the biscuits as a whole, the coconut flavour was minimal, which was a shame but, on the plus side, I found they tasted like how I expected the Custard creams to taste since the vanilla was noticeable and they weren’t too sugary at all.

 

I really enjoyed these Coconut creams – they were simple but very tasty. I’d certainly have no objections to buying them again, although they did lack the tangy excitement provided by the Orange creams.

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.5/10

Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Digestive creams

Product name: Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Digestive creams
Purchase details: £0.89 for a multipack of six packs of six biscuits (Home Bargains)
Calories: 64 per biscuit (384 per pack)
Country of origin: UK 

I’m nearly at the end of my Hill Biscuits Snack Packs variety pack and, today, it’s the turn of the Digestive creams. 

I found this a slightly strange concept since I don’t think I’ve ever had a digestive biscuit in anything other than a smooth, round form, so having a rectangular shape with a raised pattern was a bit unusual for me. Aside from this change, though, these were identical to the Custard creams – the colour of the biscuit was simply a bit darker and more of an oatmeal colour, and also contained the usual wheat flakes. They didn’t look quite as appealing as the Custard creams but there was more of a contrast between the two parts of the biscuits.

These biscuits smelt identical to the Custard creams and the filling was also the same. However, I could taste the digestive flavour coming through which resulted in the overall experience being slightly less sweet. Whilst I preferred the flavour provided by the original biscuits, I did like how these digestive ones did stop the sugary cream being quite so powerful.

Whilst not massively different from the other varieties in the packet, these Digestive creams did have a slightly thicker texture due to the little flecks that are present in this type of biscuit. I found this to be less preferable but, in reality, it didn’t make a massive difference.

These Digestive creams were fine for what they were but I felt the differences in flavour and texture were so minimal in comparison to the Custard creams that it just didn’t seem worth the effort.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 6.5/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.88/10

Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Strawberry creams

Product name: Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Strawberry creams
Purchase details: £0.89 for a multipack of six packs of six biscuits (Home Bargains)
Calories: 64 per biscuit (384 per pack)
Country of origin: UK 

Continuing my reviews of Hill Biscuits Snack Packs, tonight it’s time for the Strawberry creams.

 

The biscuits used for this variety looked identical to the Custard creams and Orange creams but the cream centre looked far more exciting – it was baby pink in colour so was cute and different.

These Strawberry creams emitted a strong aroma which was fruity but not in a natural way. Instead, it made me think of bubblegum.

I tried a bit of the cream before anything else and it actually caused me to voice the word ‘WOAH!’ – it was so sugary on its own. I also noted that it wasn’t very fruity in flavour and tasted more like Calpol. When combined with the biscuit, though, the flavour wasn’t as overwhelming and it was actually still possible to detect the vanilla in the biscuit. However, there was a tangy aftertaste from the cream which was a bit like a milder sherbet.

As expected, these biscuits were the same concept as the others in the variety pack, and delivered the same great texture. I did expect to enjoy this particular variety more than I did but, ultimately, I was let down by the flavour. 

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 6/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Orange creams

Product name: Hill Biscuits Snack Packs: Orange creams
Purchase details: £0.89 for a multipack of six packs of six biscuits (Home Bargains)
Calories: 63 per biscuit (378 per pack)
Country of origin: UK

Following my reviews of Custard creams and Chocolate creams, it’s now time for the first of my reviews of the more exciting varieties on offer in my Hill Biscuits Snack Packs multipack – the Orange creams.

These were identical in appearance to the Custard creams except the cream, whilst not orange, was slightly darker in colour.

I loved the orange aroma that emitted from these biscuits and found it reminiscent of the Jacob’s Club: Orange chocolate bars I used to have as a kid. The only downside of this was that it tricked my mind into thinking I was about to get some chocolate! 

The biscuits themselves had an orangey taste but it was unclear if they were infused with this flavour or whether it was just the result of being in contact with the cream filling. I did think it was a pretty strong flavour, if the latter, though.

 

I tried a bit of the orange cream on its own and found it to be slightly grainy (although this wasn’t noticeable when eaten with the biscuit). Taste-wise, it was actually quite vanilla-like and sweet, initially, but it did have a tangy aftertaste.

When eating the biscuits properly, they were texturally the same as the other varieties, and I found the flavours were decent and went really well together – they were generally sweet but had a bit of a kick from the tangy orange.

For a bargain product, these biscuits were impressive!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.63/10