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If you have your own views on these cookies please be sure to share them ...
McVitie's Mini Cookies Choc Chip:
Kcal 196 Fat 9.2g Fat(sats) 4.7g Carbs 26.0g'Mini Cookies packed with chocolate chips'
These McVitie's Mini Cookies Choc Chip came in a 40.0g snack bag that I bought for 59p from my local convenience store (OneStop). For the information of my international readers it is worth saying that these cookies are pretty widely distributed across the UK, and can be found in most grocery stores, snacking vending machines etc.
Presentation wise I thought the product was reasonably well presented, though I would perhaps have chosen a more vibrant colour instead of the browney purple. The cookie pieces looked fresh enough outside the packet and emanated a fair set of biscuity smells when first unsealed. When it came to taste and texture I have to report I was a little underwhelmed. The cookies were light in texture and melted within seconds of being in the mouth. This meant there was very little flavour development from the sweet wheaty flavours that were first established, and it was rarity that any chocolatey flavours of note were forthcoming at any time. I felt the 40.0g pack was pretty unsubstantial.
5.8 out of 10
Maryland Bite Size Choc Chip Cookies:
Kcal 201 Fat 10.2g Fat(sats) 5.1g Carbs 25.0g'Mini cookies containing chocolate chips'
The long overdue Maryland Cookies review is finally here :D Like the McVitie's Mini Cookies above I bought this in a snack bag form which also weighed 40.0g. Similarly to the McVitie's these are also available in the same sort of distribution channels, and can be found occupying the shelves of most convenience retailers.
The presentation of the product was a pretty mixed bag. The exterior bag was attractive on the eye with it's eye-catching bright red and gold branding - I though it just looked very welcoming. Unfortunately the inner cookies appeared far less impressive and were scuffed and dusty (I have had this with several bags!!). When it came to the taste test I unfortunately also found the cookies pretty disappointing, and like above I was extremely disapointed by the length of time (or lack of!) they lasted when in the mouth. The only flavours developed were almost purely of brown sugar, with little establishment of any of the biscuity or chocolate elements I desired. Resultingly the entire packet left me feeling totally unsatisfied and still craving a decent chocolatey snack.
5.6 out of 10
McVitie's Boasters Chocolate Chunks & Hazelnuts:
Kcal 89 Fat 5.5g Fat(sats) 2.4g Carbs 8.8g (per cookie)'Cookies with chocolate chunks and Hazelnuts'
I have to admit these were a pretty random purchase that I made to take in for the tea room at work i.e. I hadn't planned on reviewing them :D I found them in my local Tesco Supermarket on one of their famous £1 deals so I thought I would give them a try. The pack I bought contained ten standard sized cookies, which in totality weighed 165.0g.
I will say upfront that I think the extent to which comparisons can be drawn with the two 'on-the-go' products above are limited given the nature of the 'in-home' comsumption expected of these cookies. Packaging and presentation wise everything was indeed a little more impressive - especially the wrapper which I thought had a nice premuim feel to it. The cookies themselves looked and smelt pretty delicious, with a forthcoming set of nutty scents compounding the appetising look of the hazelnuts evident in each biscuit. Taste wise these cookies were far more to my liking than either of the above, and there was little coincedence that they felt more substantial with their denser feeling viscocity. Throughout the taste, the cookies had a pleasant undercurrant of butter that underpinned the wheaty flavours of the biscuit nicely. The hazelnuts were not the strongest tasting nuts ever, however the Belgian chocolate was far more forthcoming in comparison to the options reviewed above, and provided an adequete chocolate flavour hit. They weren't the best cookies ever, but I would contemplate buying them again if I saw them on the cheap.
7.4 out of 10
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41 comments:
Woop woop Maryland cookies thanks for reviewing them Jim. I would give them a far better rating than you do but I respect your opinion on them.
I think they are great if you consider how easy they are just to buy. Of course homemade or freshly made ones are going to be better, but I think as ones you can buy off the shelf they are good.
Cool review mate. You have taken this site on from just reviewing normal chocolate bars and I think that is a good idea. I love the normal reviews about chocolate, but I think its awesome when you mix it up a bit with other stuff like these cookies.
You should have tried the purple packet marylands if you were going to try any of them. They have bits of hazelnut in and bigger chocolate chunks. I think they are a load nicer than the normal red packet but maybe thats just me.
Great reviews Jim. The only one of these I have that commonly are the first mcvities ones. I have never really thought about how nice they taste, they are just like an average packet of small biscuits. Lol next time I eat a pack your review is going to be in the back of my mind now. I bet I wont think they will taste as nice.
The Boasters look nice, I find it hard to believe they just cost one pound for ten big cookies.
If you are really serious about finding the best cookies we make in England can I suggest that you try the triple chocolate tesco finest. My mum buys them whenever she knows we are having people over. They are expensive compared to these but they are well good.
5/10 for Maryland Cookies? Are you mental kid???
I would give them at least an 8!!!
I demand you review them again, you most of got a rubbish bag of them or something.
Thank you for bringing bits and bobs back Jim I missed it last week :-)
I never eat cookies very often but if I do I have to make them myself. These companies label products like these as cookies when they are actually biscuits. Biscuits are hard (like all of these are) and cookies are supposed to be soft! Its just marketing.
Rxxx
Am I on the wrong website? Jim's Cookie Mission LOL??
Only joking mate I like the reviews and I agree with you about the top two. As much as we try here in the UK we just aren't as good as the Americans at making cookies. I wish we would just buy more of theirs in.
I told you this all last week on the oreo review but you guys should forget about these rubbish so called cookies and just kick it back with the traditional british biscuits like the custard creams :-)
They are what we are famous for in this country. We should just all stick with what we are good at making.
I like the idea of you reviewing biscuits but come on Jim Maryland cookies are loads better than the score you gave them. At my school they are the most popular biscuits by miles.
We get baskets of them in our canteen and they are always the first one that they run out of. If your not quick enough they only have the chocolate digestives left and they are so boring.
God I haven't had any of these for years.
When I used to take packed lunches back in the day I sometimes used to get given small packs of maryland cookies. Whenever I used to get them I never got given a chocolate bar so they always came with a bit of disappointment. I wouldn't bother buying them now I know they haven't changed at all.
I buy the mini choc chips all the time and I think they are great.
I don't get your criticism that they don't taste of much. I think they are plenty flavour full, maybe you are just thinking about it too much.
One thing I can agree with Kim on though is that homemade cookies are always the best. My mum has this amazing recipe for peanut butter and banana ones, omg they are amazing.
Jim at the weekend at bought some new Dairy Milk biscuits in Tesco have you seen them?
They were on an end of an aisle for £1. I will try find you a picture of them if you haven't seen them yet. I would love to see a review if you have time.
As ever I was more than happy to oblige for what my readers asking for, though I thought I would include two other UK made cookie products to draw some comparisons.
That was a courageous decision you took there ;) lol life must be so hard.
I share your disgust for Maryland cookies. They are vile things that should be locked away deep underground.
Lol Maryland cookies are part of my big plan for today.
1 big pack of Maryland Cookies
1 Ltr bottle of coke
1 bag of big Walkers
and the new Call of Duty all day :-) Cookies are essential gaming munchies.
I don't eat cookies or biscuits very often because they are very high in calories. If you all look at the nutritional information you see they aren't any healthier than eating a chocolate bar. Lol I know which I would prefer to eat if someone gave me the option.
My ratings would be maryland 8.5/10, mcvities mini cookies 6/10.
I think both are nice enough but the maryland ones pip it for me.
I would like to try those Boasters one day. I have seen them before in the supermarkets but for some reason I have never been tempted in to buying them. I think the packaging has changed on them loads down the years.
If you were going to review cookies then you should have picked to write about pepperbridge farm ones. Honestly if you try them you will never look back. They are the only food thing that I ever buy off sites on the internet. I can live without all the American chocolate bars etc but I refuse to compromise on second rate cookies like the ones you reviewed here. Good reviews Jim.
Yay BnB is back! This makes me happy :-)
I'm not a cookie expert like other people on here appear to be but I have had both the top two on occasion. I've never really thought about which one I prefer out of the two but I can remember that both are average at best. I think it is more a case of both of them being nothing special rather than me struggling to pick a favourite lol.
The best cookies you can buy in England are the Fox's double chocolate ones. Review them and you will see I'm right =>
Is this the chocolate mission side mission then :) If so I like your thinking good work.
I don't believe in buying packaged cookies like this. If I ever buy them they have to be made fresh in the instore bakeries. It's a bit like buy premade doughnuts, they are never as good as the ones made on that day.
I just retweeted your review. Please enter me in your competition
@sazwest3
Why would you buy small packs when the big ones cost just as much?
If you ask me the Mcvities ones are ten times nicer than the maryland. I can't stand maryland cookies, they taste of nothing.
I have tried all of these at one time or other and didnt think much of any of them lol. The Boasters are ok, but again theyre not something we ever really buy. They used to be very expensive if I remember rightly but they have come down in price. I don't like mini cookies much and Maryland are nothing special either.
@Ryan - I think its only recently theyve altered the packaging a couple of times (in line with them altering their other packages and the McVities logo). Boasters looked the same for years and years and I couldnt understand why they never changed it lol
I'm not sure about the other two but those boasters cookies look like they are worth a try at some point.
I don't know what it is about biscuits and cookies, I like them but I very seldom ever buy them. I think its because I prefer crisps and salty things. Nine times out of then I would rather have a bag of crisps than a bag of cookies.
If you are reviewing more biscuits and cookies going forwards can I ask that you have a try of Bahlsen HIT.
We bought them for the first time just the other week and they remind me of the BN biscuits we used to be able to buy. Ahhh those were the days when biscuits were decent.
You should hire yourself a proper biscuit lover to do these for you because it doesn't look like you love your biccies based on these scores.
I would be more than happy to help you out if the chocolatemission needs it :)
I want to lead the campaign against the miscategorisation of baked goods. All of the products you reviewed were most definitely BISCUITS. Crunchy, crumbly, it's a biscuit. Soft and chewy, it's a cookie.
What is the actual deal with Maryland Cookies? They are so unbelievably overrated. They just taste of sugary crunchyness. I do remember Boasters from when I was growing up and I thought they were heavenly. I think I'll get some today to see if they've changed! I hope not :( Still, fat soft cookies rule. Especially Morrison's The Best white choc... *drool*
The last ones are the only ones that look like they really are what they promise to be. You can hardly see the chocolate chips in the first ones and the Maryland ones look dusty.
From what I could gather after a quick search on the internet, it looks like there are also a few other Boasters versions: one that's similar to these ones, only it lacks the hazelnuts; a dark chocolate chips & ginger version; a cocoa biscuit with chocolate chips and raisins version. Are there any others?
I'm very experienced in the field of biscuits and cookies so I will give you my expert views on each of these lol.
My fave out of all three are the first mcvities ones you have reivewed. They are cheap and simple and I always think they are surprisngly chocolate satisfying for what they are.
I can't stand maryland cookies. They are just yuck. What I hate about them is that they always come really dusted up, as if someone has thrown the packet around before they are opened. I also agree with what a few people have said about them not tasting as much either.
Finally the Boasters I think are disappointing for what they are. I think your photos make them look loads better than normal because the packs I have had often don't have many nuts in them at all. You must have got lucky lol.
Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like my own analysis :)
Bits and bobs are the best thing you do.
The best out if these three are the boasters and the other mcvities. I've never really liked Maryland. I'm not sure why!!!
Yay bits and bobs :)
Sounds like the first too were a bit underwhelming eh? I've never been a fan of Maryland but recently they changed their recipe and they taste a bit better now. I guess they don't put as much effort into these tiny versions as they think people won't care.
I don't think I've ever tried Boasters, but they look tasty in that picture. Like Ryan I've always seen them but never been tempted to buy. They never used to look like luxury biscuits until they altered the packaging.
Hi All,
Thanks you for your comments today :D It seems a lot of you are very passionate when it comes to your choices on biscuits and cookies. I will almost certainly be doing more reviews on them in the future if this is something you all want to continue seeing.
Kim / Andrew / Ian - Re: Homemade
Homemade anything is always going to be more desireable (unless your a rubbish cook like me haha!). Just knowing that something is made with your own effort automatically makes them taste all the sweeter :D
David - Re: Reviewing more than just chocolate
Everything I review whether it be cakes, biscuits, cookies or chocolates has to link in to chocolate somehow. I'm more than happy to give anything a try, if only just to shake up what appears on the site to keep the content fresh. Chocolate bars will always be the table stakes of the website, but I don't see any hurt branching out a bit. Thanks for the positive response.
Golden - Re: purple packet marylands
Since they are so cheap I will probably review them sometime in the future. Thanks for the request.
Nick - Re: Supermarket Cookies
Since people are requesting all different sorts of cookies from different retailers I might just do a one-off bits and bobs super post looking at all the options we have.
Anon / Sam - Re:'I would give them at least an 8!!!
I demand you review them again'
No chance of that I'm afraid. I've had Maryland cookies plenty of times and this is exactly my thoughts on them.
Rachel - Re:'Biscuits are hard (like all of these are) and cookies are supposed to be soft!'
Oh no! I feel you have opened up a can of worms here :D To be honest I couldn't care less what things are called or labelled, lets just eat them and see what they taste like.
Nigel - Re:'Jim's Cookie Mission '
Every journey has it's off road bits :D Are your midweek predictions inbound?
Henry - Re: Dairy Milk Cookies
I have indeed clocked them already. Expect a review up soon.
Mysterio - Re: Call of Duty
Haha I will also being playing that this evening. I think I will leave the diet of coke and cookies to you though haha.
Alicia - Re: Nutritional information
Oh come on the odd cookie never hurt anyone. Everything in moderation Alicia :D Denying yourself of something only makes it more desireable.
Ryan / Alan - Re: Boasters packaging
I hadn't noticed the changes myself but I would encrouage a name change like I said in my review. What does 'Boasters' mean to anyone? I think it's a poor brand name.
Joe - Re:'you should have picked to write about pepperbridge farm ones'
I keep hearing a lot of good things about their cookies. I will make sure I try them soon.
Eric - Re: Fox's double chocolate
Take a look in the archives chap I have reviewed them already. I'm currently munching my way through their Caramel Crunch cookies for a future review :D
Alan - Re: Your comment
I agree that none of them are groundbreaking in the world of cookies or biscuits. I can't believe for one minute that Boasters were ever expensive, I NEVER see them off promotion nowadays, though I guess you could say that about a lot of things.
Charity - Re: Bahlsen HIT
Blimey the requests are mounting up today. Don't worry I will make sure they are on the radar.
Selina - Re:'I would be more than happy to help you out if the chocolatemission needs it'
Haha you need to join the line I'm afraid. I am getting increasing numbers of people who want to be my taste assistant :D
Ana - Re: Your comment
I'm not an expert in the Boasters biscuits but I think there is definitely one more variants that you have mentioned already (the raisin one!).
Honestly if you don't live in the UK I wouldn't say any of these are iconic enough for me to suggest you import. You will likely have better alternatives in your own country.
Susan - Re: Your comment
Thanks so much for your input you do indeed sound like you are an expert when it comes to these cookies. I also find the dusty nature of the maryland cookies off putting, no matter how many packs of them I try they always seem to be like it aswell.
Thanks for all the comments today everyone. The majority of feedback seems to be asking for more biscuit/cookie reviews so I will endeavour to do a few more in the coming future.
Remember by twitter competition this week :D
JIM
I have a story for your weekend post: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/chocolate-worth-its-weight-in-gold-2127874.html - not good news, I'm afraid
Nice cookie/biscuit review. If you haven't tried them yet, LU biscuits (milk chocolate) are superb.
lol I love the name "Boasters" because it's so random. It sounds like they have an inflated opinion of themselves or something :D
PS The competition is exciting but I feel sort of unfair entering it as a Marmite-hater...I suppose it could make a great gift for someone though ;)
Phil - I know you have tried a few of the Fox's chunky cookies so I would welcome your thoughts on the Boasters to see how you think they compare. Personally I think the Fox's ones are better, I'm really enjoying the caramel chunky Fox's at the moment! Have you tried them before?
Ana - That is crazy! £7 for a chocolate bar? Lets hope those days are a long way off eh!?
Thea - Thanks for entering the competition. It would indeed make a brilliant present for someone, I'm not expecting the 'lucky' winner to be bowled over by the quality of the chocolate :D
Thanks everyone
JIM
Haha well, they certainly used to be ;P They used to always sit amongst the higher end varieties, along with the supermarket 'best' ranges and so on, which is prob why we never bought them much because they were abit pricey for what you got.lol
Yay, return of BnB. Always love these! Nice to see you include my 2 favourite cookies in one review. Although, your scores suggest you don't agree with my tastes here :D I've not tried these smaller Maryland cookies but the proper sized ones are my favourite cookies, I find them quite addictive. The mini McVities cookies I used to eat by the barrow load. I couldn't get enough of their sweet, wheaty flavours. Ok, neither are anything special but both are very moreish. I don't recall trying the Boasters, the name's never done anything for me.
Caramel chunkies? No I've never heard of them Jim, but I'll certainly be looking into it :) Unless you mean the Fox's millionaire's "extra chocolaty" biscuits?
Ria - Well we each have our own different tastes don't we :D If we all thought the same thing life would be horrendously boring wouldn't it. It's not as if you are alone in thinking that either. They are some of the best selling cookies in the UK, there are plenty of people that disagree with me :D
Phil - No I don't chap! They are a new variant of the Chunky Cookies that they make. I will try get a review up for next week.
JIM
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