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Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???My reviews of the slabs from the Hotel Chocolat Summer Peepster Selection box continue today with me taking a look at the Cookie Creme offering. If you haven't yet checked out my reviews of the Tutti Fruitti from last year (See HERE) or the Eton Mess from last week (See HERE) they are well worth looking at, as both scored pretty highly on the ChocolateMission rating system. Whilst both of the aforementioned slabs were chocolates that had a fruity twist, this Cookie Creme slab today was of a more a original variety, and came billed as 'milk chocolate stirred with little cocoa cookies and pieces of shortbread'. I guess in the context of the other flavours in the selection, this didn't sound the most exciting, however as past experiences have proven sometimes it is the simpler things that are the best.
This slab was another that came in a 100.0g size, and I ate it over the course of a few sittings. I have always been a big advocate of the Hotel Chocolat slab format but I have to admit I was somewhat annoyed by the way that this slab was impossible to break apart without causing a right old mess. In terms of aesthetics there was no doubting the slab looked good with the two different colour biscuit bits decorating the top nicely. When attempting to snap bits off, these cookie pieces unfortunately couldn't help themselves from flying all over the place - this made was not only a little irritating because of the mess, but also because it limited their subsequent involvement in the taste.
One thing that continues to amaze me about Hotel Chocolat chocolate is how it always smells so fresh, and how it continues to do so even when left out to air for days (not that this happens all that often). The smells offered by this chocolate were very tempting in terms of the strength of the chocolatey scents, and there were even a few biscuit hints evident when really searched for. Once I had stopped enjoying smelling the chocolate, and finished picking up the several cookie bits lining my Kitchen floor (Doh!!) I finally got around to tasting it. People who have been reading this site for any extended time will probably be able to repeat what I am about to write word for word about Hotel Chocolat's 40% milk chocolate, as I have said it so often in the past. You will be unsurprised to hear that the chocolate was nothing less than delicious with it's nicely balanced cocoa taste wonderfully supported by strong undertones of sweet, double cream flavours. As ever it not only tasted superb, but it also felt wonderful in the mouth in terms of melt, and had a transcended from a solid to liquid state with an elegant, smooth softness. Whilst the viscosity of the chocolate was undoubtedly pleasant, it does have to be said that it meant the cookie pieces struggled to create an impression in terms of flavours due to the thickness of the melting chocolate. As a result I couldn't pull apart the flavours of both of the different cookie types, though at times there were subtle buttery shortbread suggestions. Despite the cookie pieces not offering a great deal to the taste, the quality and richness of the chocolate still made a 50.0g serving seem like a terrifically satisfying serving.
Overall I wouldn't say this was either one of Hotel Chocolat's most inspired or well executed chocolates, however the fantastic quality of the milk chocolate can't be denied. As I mentioned previously in the review, the cookie element on this slab wasn't implemented probably as well as it should have been. Although there were also shortbread cookies bits in the base of the chocolate, a lot of the bits placed on top of the slab broke away when it was being snapped. This is probably me being ultra fussy, but this was somewhat annoying, and I am certain that it hampered the resulting impression that the cookie pieces had on the overall taste. Putting my minor grumbles to one side, the 40% milk chocolate was again delightful. You would have thought I would be getting a little tired of it now having written so many reviews where it is used, but it is still one of my favourite milk chocolates and I have no problems reiterating just how good it is. If you are one of those people that hasn't indulged themselves in Hotel Chocolat yet this would be a safe chocolate of theirs to start with. I would also say this one is a pretty safe gifting option - after all who doesn't like milk chocolate and biscuits!?
8.2 out of 10
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26 comments:
Yum I love Hotel Chocolat milk chocolate. It is nice to have a plainer choice I think.
I have had the bigger slab version and I thought this flavour was amazing.
In the bigger one you get larger cookie bits. I bet you would feel they come through in the taste like that.
Rxxx
Nice photography work Jim. The slabs always looks so drool worthy. I am not sure about those cookies though. They look very small.
I want to see the Banoffee one done next. I am so tempted to buy it, but I just want to be one hundred percent sure that it is worth it.
Its so annoying I don't have a Hotel Chocolat shop around me. I am getting sick of paying their postage costs.
This is definitely a safe pick for giving away as a gift. I bought it for my sister for her last birthday and she loved it. She can be really fussy when it comes to food so be assured it will be fine in that sense.
I think it looks a bit more exciting than just the plain chocolate slabs as well. Whenever I give someone a present another consideration I always have is that it has to look good, and this one fits the bill.
I don't get why everyone gushes over the slab style that HC make their chocolate in.
I find it really hard to break in to smaller pieces and it melts all over my hands when I try to do so.
I will happily concede that they looks good a lot of the time, but when you just want to eat some they aren't as appealing. They could do with putting some grooves in them to break them up more easily.
Fewer but bigger cookies would have been better by the looks of it.
Now I think about it biscuits in chocolate never seems to work. The Cadbury bar used to suffer from exactly the same problem. I wasn't surprised to see it go when it did.
I want to know what ever happened with their peanut butter products they promised us all.
I remember when you did that interview with them they said they would be bringing out some PB chocolates. I wish they would hurry up.
Chocolate with shortcake can be really tasty when done well, I used to love the Dairy Milk one. And of course you can't beat HC's lovely chocolate.
BTW does anyone know if HC do more ranges in their stores that they don't sell online? I'm sure when I was last in they had chocolates like white chocolate and passionfruit, white chocolate and mint, milk chocolate with coconut etc...but I've not seen them on their website.
@Golden_Touch - I ageee about the slabs being awkward to break apart, that bothered me too.
This sounds quite nice, I tend to prefer a bit of fruit thrown in aswell (such as a Cadbury irish Tiffin bar - I think biscuit works in that, even though the chocolate is very thick) but still it looks nice. I also think the slab format, while nice to look at, is flawed in the eating side, it's ok if youre eating it in one go but if you want to break it up.. ive had the same problem with other bars before.
Hotel chocolats milk chocolate is scrummy but I can see how it could possibly over power these flimsy looking biscuit bits. I think they are probably more there for decoration rather than anything else.
Hc slabs are pretty annoying when you need to break them apart. What I do is, as soon as I buy them break them up using a hot knife and then put small bits in the fridge to munch on every now and then.
Lol I say that like I do it all time. I did it once and it worked though.
When I saw the name cookies and creme I thought about the Hershey's white chocolate bar straight away. I am curious a little why they chose not to make this out of white chocolate but it seems decent enough anyway. I still think they should have put some sort of white chocolate in there.
It didn't print my full name last time whats up with that?
Steven you should give the Cadbury Tiffin a try like Alan suggests. It is one of the nicest chocolates they have in Ireland and we don't get it here. It's like this bar but with added raisins, I think Jim would recommend it if his review is anything to go by.
I bet this is very yummy but I think it suffers from being the the 'boring one' out of all four of the slabs you get given in this box.
Perhaps it is just me but I would be a lot more excited about trying the other three before opening this one. Rachel makes a good point about the bigger version of it looking better than this mini. Thanks for another brill review.
I've still got this one left from my peepster box. I was saving it for a time of need! I may break into it later, cure my imminent-exam stress!
I agree with the anti-slab brigade to an extent. They do look stunning and there's something so satisfying about their beastly chunkiness, but it's so difficult to break them into reasonble chunks.
My eton mess one did have some grooves in the back though, did yours? It made for a swift and clean breakage, HC should consider doing it to all their slabs methinks.
@PHIL- Yes! Yes they do! They have a selectors section where you can get loads of random stuff they don't have on the site, and it seems to changes everytime you go! There are 100g slabs like this and packs of 6 chocolates (eg you can buy a 6 pack of just salted caramels). It is beyond amazing, you must make a venture.
I swung by Hotel Chocolat shop on Saturday and stupidly brought a Banoffee slab at the start of my trip. By the time I had finished it was a little melted :( It was so silly of me.
I had to put it in to the fridge when I got it home. I checking tonight to see if it has been rescued.
Lmao at the people saying that this is a boring flavour. lol what are you guys on? It may not be as bright or as colourful as the Eton Mess or Tutti Fruitti but it still holds it's own in the looks stakes.
I understand what some people are going on about with the breaking up problem. It can be annoying with some of the thicker ones.
Thanks for the nice review. This won't be top of my summer wishlist but I will bare it in mind for gifts. Not everyone is going to like the more extravagant flavours they make. This is prettty safe as a milk chocolate option.
Hotel Chocolat should make some proper chocolate biscuits. I bet they would be ace.
I'm loving the return of Hotel Chocolat Monday's :-) I remember when you went through like a six month stint where every monday you would review a new Hotel Chocolat chocolate slab.
I used to get incredibly jealous but they were always nice reviews to read. I find it incredible that people are writing the word boring and Hotel Chocolat in the same sentence.
@Lottie I didn't even know that Hotel Chocolate made salted caramels they aren't anywhere on their website. I can't remember Jim ever reviewing them either. I will have to hunt some down in my local shop.
It looks gorgeous. I don't think it's a boring flavour by any means. I'm not that crazy about white chocolate anyway (except that, lately, I've started liking white Lindors more and more), this one may actually be my first choice out of the Peepster Box.
About the cookies flying all around when the slab was broken, perhaps this could be solved by leaving the chocolate in a somewhat warmer place before breaking it into pieces? I do that with a lot of chocolates and most of them even taste better this way (however, some of them don't - they taste better straight from the fridge). I have to be careful, set an alarm, because otherwise I just forget about it and I risk not finding the chocolate in a solid state anymore :))
lol ana are you completely mad. Warming chocolate is a mental thing to do. I get what jim is talking about with the messiness but I think he is just being a bit over critical.
PART 1
David
Yep I agree this selection of slabs needed a more original offering amongst the madness of some of the others.
Ni
Thanks for being so nice about my photography. Someone put it perfectly when they said that there should have been fewer, bigger cookie bits.
Rachel
Really? I haven't actually seen the bigger version in person. I like the sound of the cookie bits being larger. I am sure that would help them cut through the chocolate more.
Katie
The Banoffee one is the only one remaining I haven't reviewe so of course it will be next :D From what I can tell Hotel Chocolat are continuing to expand the number of shops they have, so who knows you may get lucky with their next chosen sites.
Paul
Yep I can envisage this being a decent safe bet for the less adventurous type.
To be honest I would be happy with 99% of Hotel Chocolat products if they were given as a gift :D I think most of us would.
Golden
I think the grooves idea is a good suggestion. If they just did it on the underside of the slab it wouldn't spoil it aesthetically but it would make breaking it up about ten times easier.
Steven
Yeh you are spot on about the fewer, bigger cookie bits being more ideal.
I am glad you are liking the return of Hotel Chocolat Mondays :D I miss them myself, but there are only so many Hotel Chocolat products I can review.
Alan has suggested a good bar where biscuit does work. The Cadbury Tiffin from Ireland is a fine example.
Nigel
I have no idea I had forgotten all about that actually. Next time I make contact with them I will ask.
Phil
I never really tried the Cadbury one when it was out. If the Irish Tiffin bar is anything to go by I can imagine it was pretty tasty.
I think Lottie has answered your question about HC's ranging already. Their stores are well worth looking in to uncover some of their hidden gems.
Alan
I always chill my chocolate so it is often hard to break up anyway, the slab format just makes it a wee bit harder but I guess that is my own fault.
Nice reminder about the Tiffin - I always forget about how good that bar is.
Estelle
Normally Hotel Chocolat aren't a brand for sticking things on there just for looks alone, but when it came down to it this was a little the case with this slab. By the sounds of it the bigger version of this slab is better.
PART 2
Richard
That is a good tip. It would have to be a very sharp knife to do that mind you :D I will give it a try next time I get some of their slabs in.
Duncan
I agree I would have thought given the name that it might of had some sort of white chocolate content.
I find it very hard to complain about this though, the milk chocolate is just way too good.
Nick
No idea ... I thought 'Ni' might be you :D I would indeed suggest the Cadbury Tiffin it is a delightful chocolate. Its just a pain the bum that we have to import it from Ireland. On the review there is a decent site for doing so.
Lauren
I don't get the 'boring' thing - it isn't boring at all. The others are just more extravagant aren't they.
I can see your reasoning for wanting to try the other three first, but I think this Cookie Creme is at least in the same class as they are.
Lottie
You have exams coming up? Oh dear I think you are going to need more than just the one mini slab.
Regarding the slab thing, I might moan about it being annoying to break up but I wouldn't change them - they just look so damn cool most the time.
My Eton Mess had no grooves to mention ... not that I noticed anyway! The grooves idea is a good one! Like I said to Richard above it isn't like it would spoil the looks at all.
I haven't ever seen any of these salted caramel chocolates you speak of. The moment I do you can rest assured I will get a review up. I am predicting they will be amazing just like you say ... way to get my hopes up eh :D
Louise
Oh dear it was really hot this weekend wasn't it. I hope you have been able to recover it. Next time save going in there until last :D
Mysterio
You are right I think it holds its own looks wise as well. If people think this Cookie Creme looks boring then I would hate to think what they would make of some of the other chocolates I have coming up on the site :D
Selina
Like I said to Paul this would be a great gift for the less adventurous chocolate lover.
As far as milk chocolate goes this is a really decent slab to gift someone.
Anon
I think that would be Hotel Chocolat venturing too far away from their core offerings. I bet they would be good but I personally think they need to keep their brand as simplistic as possible at the minute. There is no need to brand off in to other things just yet.
Nick
Nope I haven't reviewed them. As soon as I see them I will put that right though.
Ana
Lol you are funny sometimes, you do take your chocolate consuming very seriosuly :D good stuff.
I am the opposite to you. I like to chill my chocolate. Rather than having to warm it, I would rather HC just made their slabs easier to break up in the first place.
Alex
Oi no one is mad thank you very much. I don't think I was being overly critical at all. I was just stating the fact that sometimes their products are hard to break apart. Companies and brands are always looking foruseful feedback.
Thanks everyone - I hope you enjoyed the review. More Hotel Chocolat summer stuff to come in the near future.
JIM
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