Subway White Chip Macadamia Nut Cookie

Product name: Subway White Chip Macadamia Nut Cookie
Purchase details: £0.50 for a 48g cookie (Subway)
Calories: 218 per cookie 

I love Subway’s cookies so I wasn’t going to turn down a free one in return for providing some online feedback after my last lunch visit. I decided to get my favourite variety for the purpose of this review: White Chip Macadamia Nut. I’ve loved this version for years but, to be honest, all of their cookies are good, with their soft centres and not-too-crispy edges. 

Whilst it’s well-known that Subway sandwiches are made fresh in-store, I’ve never actually noticed where their baked goods come from. However, I assume that, even if they are brought in from elsewhere, they are still made in the UK. Although they are simply sold in a generic paper bag, thankfully, the nutritional information can be found on their website.

This slightly sweet-smelling cookie was fairly large with a bumpy top and smooth, flat base. Its centre was quite greasy in appearance (and to the touch) but this was a feature I love since it made for a doughy texture – the cookie could be torn apart rather than snapped because it was so soft! The macadamia nuts and white chocolate were scattered through the cookie in large chunks with the chocolate being a little smaller and less rounded than the nuts. 

Due to the fantastic texture, I always nibble the edges of Subway cookies and leave the middle until last. As expected, this cookie’s edges were slightly crispy but gave way easily when bitten into. The white chocolate taste was also noticeable from the first bite despite, by nature, not being the strongest flavour in the world.  

The cookie’s middle was deliciously soft and moist, with the sweet dough blending beautifully with the great chocolate flavour provided from the white chocolate chips. I can’t say I’ve ever eaten a macadamia nut that wasn’t in a Subway cookie but my impression of them is they’re quite bland when competing with other elements. However, they did provide a slightly nutty flavour here which wasn’t dissimilar from Brazil nuts, and they also delivered a great crunchy texture which went fabulously with the doughy cookie and chunky chocolate. 

What a treat! 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 9.5/10
Overall score: 8.13/10

Galaxy Bubbles (milk chocolate egg)

Product name: Galaxy Bubbles (milk chocolate egg)
Purchase details: £0.60 for a 28g egg or three for £1.20 (Tesco Superstore)

Calories: 155 per egg 

I still haven’t finished all of my Christmas items but I thought I’d go ahead with my first Easter review anyway!  I’ve had bars of Galaxy Bubbles before, and I’ve head treat eggs before, but I’d never had a Galaxy Bubbles treat egg so this was a new experience for me. 

Produced for Mars UK and Ireland (although I’m not sure where), this product came in a crumpled foil wrapper that was in the standard brown Galaxy design. In this case, I did like the added touch of each letter of the word ‘Bubbles’ being placed within a bubble.

When it comes to standard milk chocolates, Galaxy is my favourite but, since part of this is down to its silky texture, I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy this version since 24% of the product was the ‘aerated centre’. 

The chocolate egg, containing a minimum of 14% milk solids and 25% cocoa solids, came presented in a nice, swirled design, although its surface did look quite dull. The two halves had clearly been made and filled separately and then stuck together, but the centre did look nice and bubbly when dissected. 

As I’d hoped, this egg had the traditional sweet and creamy Galaxy scent, along with the fantastic creamy taste that I love. It was full of flavour and, furthermore, I needn’t have worried about its texture since the bubbles melted brilliantly and, since they did so more quickly than the thick outer shell, there was also a nice contrast between the two layers. This difference also worked well when chewing the chocolate since, whilst both elements were solid, the bubbles were a little softer.

Yep, I enjoyed this!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.75/10

Shaken Udder Chocolate!

Product name: Shaken Udder Chocolate!
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 200ml carton or three for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 140 per carton
Country of origin: England 

Having reviewed Shaken Udder Vanillalicious! when I first started my blog, I was pleased to see this great offer on the brand’s newer kids’ cartons. I bought one of each flavour and tonight’s review is of the Chocolate! variety. 

  

This fun, slightly more angular than usual,  brown carton was very much focussed on being natural and having health benefits. It contained no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives and, containing vitamin B12 and calcium, provided ‘natural immunity support’. The ‘high temperature pasteurised milkshake’ claimed to be a ‘delicious blend of natural fresh milk and real chocolate’ and ‘full of great tasting natural milk goodness’. Furthermore, it met government guidelines for use in schools. 

As instructed, I enjoyed this drink chilled and shaken (the latter caused the extreme frothiness at the top of my glass!). You may be wondering how a child could enjoy this chilled having taken it to school in their lunchbox. The answer? Freeze it overnight – sorted! 

The drink was the shade of brown I’d expect for a chocolate milk drink but I was pleasantly surprised that it smelt more like a sweet milk chocolate itself rather than a chocolate flavoured milkshake. However, this aroma wasn’t overly strong. 

Since 95% of the milkshake consisted of semi-skimmed milk, with only 1% being milk chocolate powder (plus some cocoa powder for added measure), the chocolate taste was quite subtle.  However, the cocoa flavour was definitely present and it did taste more interesting than standard milk. For me, the best thing was that it wasn’t at all sickly! 

In terms of texture, this drink was only a little thicker than ordinary milk, so it felt more like a flavoured milk than an actual milkshake. That’s not to say it wasn’t pleasant, but I do prefer a thicker liquid for milkshakes. However, this probably would have been more difficult to be consumed through a straw. (Incidentally, I intended to try this milkshake in that way too but I completely forgot until I finished it and then spotted the straw on the side – oops!) 

I’m not going to pretend this milkshake was mindblowing but I do love the concept of a relatively healthy but fun drink aimed at children. I know I would have loved to have found this Shaken Udder Chocolate! in my lunchbox when I was a kid! 

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

Krispy Kreme Caramel Macchiato

Product name: Krispy Kreme Caramel Macchiato
Purchase details: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Calories: 278 for a 65g doughnut
Country of origin: UK 

I’m one of a strange breed who can’t stand the taste of a cup of coffee but really enjoys coffee-flavoured sweet treats. For that reason, I decided to try the Caramel Macchiato doughnut for my free birthday doughnut from the Krispy Kreme Rewards card. Since a few hours have passed since claiming my doughnut and writing this review, I have completely forgotten how much it should have been. In my head, it was £0.05 more expensive than the Original Glazed, making it £1.40, but I may be completely wrong! 

I obtained this doughnut’s nutritional information from the official Krispy Kreme guide (see here), and found from the general website that the Caramel Macchiato was effectively an Original Glazed that had been ‘hand-piped with caramel and coffee drizzles’ and ‘topped with coffee pieces’. As a result, I won’t go into major detail since I’ve said most of it already! 

According to Google's ‘define:’ tool, a macchiato is ‘a drink of espresso coffee with a dash of frothy steamed milk’. How this would be captured in a ‘drizzle’,  I wasn’t sure! 

The doughnut was the same in appearance as the Original Glazed but had the added attraction of the icings which were two different shades of brown and had been applied in a kind of cross shape. I was particularly impressed that most of the coffee pieces had stayed in place despite me having not gone straight home with my treasured treat. 

The main aroma was identical to the Original Glazed but, up-close (and I literally mean holding it right next to my nose!), there was a very, very slight hint of coffee. 

I tried the piping on its own and found that the darker brown coffee flavour tasted like a sugary sweet but slightly bitter coffee creme. The lighter caramel icing initially tasted like the glaze but then an additional buttery kind of flavour kicked in too. I found the coffee pieces to mainly taste of sugar but they did also have a hint of coffee. 

Bizarrely, when eating the doughnut as a whole, it didn’t really taste any different from the Original Glazed at all. I think it may have been a little sweeter but I genuinely couldn’t detect a coffee flavour over this. However, the bumpy icings and hard, crispy coffee pieces did create a more textured experience. 

Since the Caramel Macchiato had all the Krispy Kreme delicious, sugary goodness of the Original Glazed, I would recommend it, but there isn’t really much between them so, if you’re after a strong coffee hit, you might be better off with an actual cup of coffee to accompany the signature doughnut! 

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 9.5/10
Overall score: 8.75/10