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Before I give you the run down of how each tasted and bombard you with photos and graphs, I must first give you the finer details about the four different flavours. Distinguished by their coloured packs, the four variants were Sicillian Lemon Meringue, Triple Chocolate, Praline & Milk Chocolate and Ginger & Dark Chocolate. Three out of the four (all but the Praline 175.0g) weighed 200.0g with eight cookies in each pack. Aesthetically I thought the presentation quality was fair to standard. I wouldn't say they looked as premium as one might have thought Thorntons would have chosen to make them look, but they looked appetising enough, and it must at least be said the on-pack pictures gave a very good steer as to how they looked in real life.
With thirty-two cookies in my possession, there were more than enough to pass round the family to get some second opinions - brace yourselves for a feast of photos, graphs and ratings:
Sicilian Lemon Meringue'Lemon flavour cookies baked with white chocolate covered meringue pieces'
Kcal 120 Fat 5.1g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 17.3g (per cookie)
Lets start off the worst ones and get them out the way. When I first showed all these cookies to my family, both my mother and sister latched on to these stating they were the most desirable. Unfortunately they were none to impressed with them, and described them as overly sweet, and fake tasting in regards to their lemon fruit flavours. When I got around to trying them myself I have to say I 100.0% agreed with them. The covered meringue pieces acted almost like lumps of sugar, and the lemon element was tart enough to take the edge off the sweetness (if anything it just enhanced it). Want to know the worst thing of all about these cookies? They made the rest of them smell and taste like them when stored in the biscuit barrel!
4.6 out of 10
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Triple Chocolate Chunk'Baked with white, dark and milk chocolate chunks, half coated in milk chocolate'
Kcal 124 Fat 6.1g Fat(sats) 3.8g Carbs 15.7g (per cookie)
On to the next disappointing ones :D Now before you all get the wrong idea please take notice I say 'disappointing' and not 'bad'! Essentially these were tasty cookies - the dough bases were pleasant, and the half coated milk chocolate undersides were a nice touch if a little messy. My disappointment, actually, OUR collective disappointment came in the fact that they didn't deliver a 'Triple' chocolate experience. Had you asked me what flavour they were in a blind taste test, I would have told you that they were just milk chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately the dark and white chips didn't cut through in the taste, with neither the unsweetened flavours of the dark or the creamier influence of the latter mentioned managing to shine through. Good cookies, but didn't live up the Triple Chocolate billing.
7.0 out of 10
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Praline & Milk Chocolate'Hazelnut & almond praline, roasted hazelnuts, half coated in milk chocolate'
Kcal 117 Fat 6.9g Fat(sats) 3.1g Carbs 12.1g (per cookie)
These cookies were slightly smaller than their other counterparts, but what they lacked in size they made up for taste. These were the favourite of both my mother and sister, and I have to say they did give the Ginger cookies a run for their money. These cookies were billed as being filled with nutty influences and I'm glad to say the nut element was more than delivered on. The combination of the base biscuit and milk chocolate set the taste up with an initial sweet chocolatyness. As the melt developed, and the crunchy hazelnut pieces came into play, a pleasant woodsy nuttyness came to the fore and brought a delicious salty savoury note along with it. These weren't as satisfying as some of the others, but they were well liked all round.
7.2 out of 10
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Ginger & Dark Chocolate'Ginger flavour cookies backed with candied ginger pieces, coated in dark chocolate'
Kcal 120 Fat 6.1g Fat(sats) 3.8g Carbs 14.9g (per cookie)
Hands down these were the nicest of the lot. As much as the praline variety was liked, these were loved! Being the dark chocolate ginger lover of the family, my father didn't wait to long before tasting one of these, promptly telling us how 'awful' they were, and attempting to run away with the rest of the packet haha :D Luckily the rest of got to him before he could get to far - and we are very glad we did. The combination of the dark chocolate and ginger was executed flawlessly. The outer lick of dark chocolate was thick enough to create a kind, unsweetened dark chocolate taste, which contrasted nicely with rest of the sweeter components. At the heart of each biscuit, the ginger didn't hold back when it came to the taste, offering a beautifully contrastive set of sweet, spicy flavours. Quite simply, these were damn tasty cookies.
8.5 out of 10
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Overall its pretty obvious which of these cookies I would be happy to recommend to you all. Fans of praline or ginger chocolates will be sure to enjoy those variants, whilst I'm pretty certain the Triple Chocolate would go down well with anyone none to demanding of the triple chocolate experience. As ever with Thorntons we got a real mixed here - my advice is just pick and choose wisely.
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52 comments:
I don't always approve of thorntons taking focus away from making chocolate but I have to say some of the cakes and stuff they make are tremendous. I had their mini brownie bites for the first time the other day and they were brilliant.
Thanks for these reviews Jim. You've given me an excuse to buy some of these now lol. Whenever I see something score highly on JCM I feel extra vindication in my purchases and feel less guilty :) Keep up the wonderful work on the site. Im looking forward to snack of the week tomorow, I missed it when you didn't post last week.
Did you see my comment the other day about reviewing some of the cookies they make from the bakery in Tesco? I would love to see how you score some of them especially the toblerone ones. I think you may find that they blow all these shelf made cookies out the water. I seldom buy cookies like maryland or boasters anymore. Fresh every time for me.
Yo J.
The photos of the cookies are mesmeric. I'm uber starving now. Damn you chocolate mission man!!!!!
Hey J
How the hell did Nani get your player of the season? Seems a little random to me he isn't even in the team at the moment is he?
I'm loving the reviews today btw. I think I'm going to have to treat myself to some of those ginger and dark choc coated cookies. They look mighty impressive and sound like they are the real deal.
Cheers
N
Mmmmm yummy. I like the sound of the triple choc and praline flavours. I would leave the other two for my parents, they sound like the yucky sort of ones they would appreciate.
I was wondering if you were ever going to review these as I got to try a few of them when I was in one of the thorntons shops last year. They had little samples of the lemon and praline flavours of the counter so I couldn't turn them down lol. From what I tasted I have to disagree with you Jim. I thought the white chocolate ones were really nice though I guess I only tried small bits. On the whole I didn't think either were so tasty I had to buy some.
Rxxx
Whats with all the cookies this week Jim? Its like you are slowly turning the site into a cookies side project. Not a complaint, just an observation :)
These are always going to be tres expensive compared to any other biscuits and I just dont see the point in paying more for them. Give me a choccie hob nob any day of the week. They do the same job dont they.
A few of the flavours here sound nice but I could do without the ginger and dark chocolates. Honestly I hate ginger flavoured things so much and that applies to any type of food. I don't know what it is about ginger but If I can detect any sort gingeryness I'm instantly turnedd off eating whatever it is.
God it must be a tough job all this cookie eating lark ;) You don't fail you know making me mega jealous of you. Everytime I log on this bloody website you seem to be trying out some amazing new product or tasty sounding chocolate foodstuff. I would kill people for your job.
After I've finished munching my way through my three packs of oreo double stuff I have stockpiled I will investigate trying some of these. I think first stop will be the dark chocolate and ginger judging by the ratings :) thanks Jim.
I see you've given the lemon meringue the lowest :( That is disappointing to hear considering they are the best sounding in the bunch. I will give them a try still to see what I make of them. At least my expectations are low now.
Omg I hate it when you get foods like the lemon meringues that spoil other things they come in to contact with. Mint flavour Club biscuits do that. I get so annoyed when my mum puts them in the cuboard next to the other chocolate biscuits. They make them all just taste like mint it's infuriating.
What marvellous looking biscuits. How many do you get in a pack? If they are only two pounds and you get like 8 then I would say thats tremendous value for something made by thorntons.
I forgot to say that I do love that new style of design they have on the wrappers of all their cakes now. If you compare them to the old style ones they had the news ones make them look so old fashioned.
The packs now look fresh and modern. I'm glad they changed them.
I think Thorntons are selling these in more places than just their own shops now. I can't recall where I have seen them before previously but I have definitely have and it couldn't have been a thorntons shop because our local one closed down over a year ago now. If I ever see them again I might give the triple choc a whirl.
I can't say I'm too keen on the ginger ones though despite the high rating.
Im loving your work today JCM. The photographs are all as drool inducing as per usual.
What is going to be snack of the week tomorrow then?
I've just done a quick google search and it looks like you can buy these in some of the supermarkets now. If you look here you can buy the lemon meringue http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Biscuits/Thorntons_Lemon_Meringue_Cookies_200g.html from Sainsburys for just over £2. Lol they must have got the short straw if they could only choose one of the flavours to have.
Someones been a greedy guts recently :P four types of cookies in the one review. I sure do hope you aren't making these taste assistants up because if you are you have to be piling on the pounds Mr Jim. If you aren't you must really be the most popular guy in your office. If anyone ever brings any food in to ours they get treated like a queen, last week when I bought in some muffins I made I didn't have to leave my seat all day :) I've never drank so many cups of tea in my life LOL.
These look cool Jim thanks for all the reviews. You must think you are becoming a cookie/biscuit expert now what with all these reviews. They are just as welcome as your chocolate ones in my opinion. You do just as good job with them.
Did you get one less cookie in the praline pack? 25 grams less sounds quite significant in the main part. If you didn't get one less the praline flavour must all have been noticeably smaller than the others.
Not a fan of this sort of thing I'm afraid. Just give me a chocolate bar instead thanks.
If this thorntons PR company ever decide they need some more second opinions Jim I hope you will send them in my direction :) I'm more than happy to take one for the team and try out some yummy cookies lol.
Awesome reviews of these Jim. I loving the cookie chocolate mission you have embarked on now lol. Have yourself a top weekend lad.
Fantastic reviews Jim. If I had no prior knowledge from your reviews the white chocoalte and lemon would have been the first I would have picked up so I'm thankful to have seen these.
Its a shame they didn't make them better, I though Thorntons were good when it came to white chocolate. I know you rate theirs higher than most.
If I wasn't totally in love with double stuffed oreos at the moment then I would be on these within an instant. I'm happy licking and dunking my way through the oreos for the minute though. Especially when I can get them for 40p from Asda woop woop.
Dx
Want to know the worst thing of all about these cookies? They made the rest of them smell and taste like them when stored in the biscuit barrel!
.... I can't tell you how much that annoys me when that happens. I always used to find that orange kit kats do that.
t the heart of each biscuit, the ginger didn't hold back when it came to the taste, offering a beautifully contrastive set of sweet, spicy flavours. Quite simply, these were damn tasty cookies.
I can see my dad loving these but ginger biccies are my least favourite. It would be the triple chunk all day long if I had to choose.
Have you considered making a leader board for things like this Jim? Its hard comparing say a thorntons biscuit to a thorntons chocolate bar. The comparison doesn't work really does it!
I say you create a seperate one for biscuits and cakes and the such. I can help you out with that if you like? I will happily go through them all and sort out what the winners are. Let me know if you want the hand.
Did Thorntons give you any details on how much these are going to be Jim? They look to me like they are going to be expensive.
Jim I don't suppose you have seen the new cadburys triple chocolate cookies have you? I don't for a minute think they will be as good as these but a comparison between the two could be an interesting thing for you to do.
I had totally forgotten about these I could have sworn it was ages ago they were supposed to come out. Are they still what you would class as newly launched or were you sent these a while ago now? I've not seen or heard about them for months.
Im loving all of these cookie review this week Jimbo you are spoiling my chocolate freak friend =) What ever made you change your mind to reviewing cookies and the such? I remember you were dead against it to begin with.
I have had the misfortune of trying all these and they were all horrible sickly and I won't be buying them again, any of them! Don't know what Thorntons are doing at the moment they seem to be making more and more horrible stuff and losing all the ones that were nice. STOP IT!
Good review Jim. It's ages since I've tried these now, I think I only had the praline and lemon flavours. I remember the praline being good quality but a little lacking in some way. Looks like I should have tried the ginger ones, I'll look out for them next time they're on offer.
LOL at your dad trying to run off with them.
@Richard - £2?! That's a bit steep. Look out for them on special offer, I don't know about other supermarkets but Morrisons sell them for £1 from time to time.
These are some excellent reviews but im disappointed to see no one can really crack the praline biscuit yet. Both mcvities and thorntons have failed at it this week.
Hi All,
The weekend is upon us :D I have to say I'm especially looking forward to it this week. It's been a hectic one for myself.
As some of you have picked up on I have reviewed a heck of a lot of cookies and biscuits this week. Apologies if you guys wanted more pure chocolate reviews - I can assure you they return next week.
As for these biscuits. Since writing this review months ago they only ones I have bought are the dark chocolate and ginger ones. They are still by far the best in my opinion.
DAVID - Indeed the brownies are terrific. If you are lucky you can find them for the small price of a pound.
STEVEN - Snack of the week is another cookie product :D
GOLDEN - I did indeed. I responded to it by savying I would look in to it chap.
NIGEL - Nani has most assits and scored some very very important goals at the start of the season when others *ahem* Rooney *ahem* weren't exactly on form. I think he deserved it personally.
COLIN - I can't remember how many you get to be honest I wrote the reviews a few months ago. I think you get 8 in each pack.
TONY - See above chap
BETH - Haha I get similar treatment when I bring in all the product samples I get sent. Like you say the endless cups of tea and coffee are always very welcome aren't they :D
ANDY - No chap they were just smaller than the rest of them.
KATIE - Ahhh yes Kit Kat mint ones have that problem aswell. I wonder what all the science is behind it. I don't understand how the smells can affect the taste.
SHAUN - I really need to update my leader boards dont I. Thanks for the suggestion.
Darren - They are currently retailing in the £2-£2.50 region. It depends where you buy them from.
Gooner - I will look into them chap. I can't say I have seen them knocking around my supermarket recently though. I think I would have noticed given the amount of time.
PAUL - See above.
JOEL - As time has gone by I have felt the need to make the site broader in terms of scope. I want to keep it relatively tight as to what I review, but I don't see how reviewing things like cookies, biscuits and cakes can cause any problems.
JAY - Just out of interest what products of Thorntons did/do you like? I still think they have plenty to offer myself.
PHIL - Thanks for the nice words. I would highly recommend the ginger ones if you do get the chance of trying them. You are right about the £1 promotions btw. Its almost like you have to be stupid to pay over that price point now for anything in the biscuit aisle in the supermarkets.
JOHN - Who knows someone might come out with a terrific praline biscuit soon. These were hardly bad.
Thanks for all the kind words about the reviews and photographs everyone, they are always really appreciated. Until Monday ....
JIM
Can we have some actual chocolate reviews next week please? I thought the whole point of this site was to find out what the best chocolate in the world is?
Sorry but I dont get how you are aiming to do that when you are reviewing things like cereal bars and cookies all of the time. Bring back the chocolate.
I to hate it when you get foods that make others taste like them if you store them in the same space. That always used to happen in the roses tins with the orange chocolates. You could always tell when one of the other chocolates had been sat next to one of the orange ones in the tin because you always used to be able to taste the orange. Lol as someone that doesn't like orange it used to really annoy me.
Ginger biscuits FTW man! I can only ever enjoy a cup of tea if I have a ginger nut to dunk in it. A ginger biscuit lathered in dark chocolate for my tea dunking sounds like a match made in heaven. If I see these anywhere I'm going to be all over them.
Cookies and biscuits are a demon for me. They are always the thing that make me end up breaking my diet I can just never stop eating them once I open a packet. Lol I think the triple choc chunk would be especially dangerous in my company.
They sound exactly the sort of thing I wouldn't be able to put back in the cupboard after opening. Thank you ever so much for the wonderful pictures Jim. I love the attention to detail you always pay showing off the middle portion of chocolates and the such.
Why did they have to put lemon in the white chocolate ones :( Its so annoying I hate that combination and its not like its popular or anything.
I reckon if you were to do a poll then most people would say a plain white chocolate cookie would have been preferable. If they were going to put fruit in them they could have at least done it with a sensible fruit like strawberry or raspberry.
Jim in response to the person who commented before regarding your health I have to say I share their concerns :) I fear you may suffer cookie overload if you continue at your current rate mate. Due to this I am going to have to insist that you start sending me any samples of chocolates or cookies that you get starting now. I can't promise I can write any reviews for you as I'm a busy man but at least I will be doing your good self a good deed. Someones got to do it now lol.
For once it looks like thorntons have done a good job with some of these. They actually look pretty classy if you ask me. The packaging is well different.
I bought the triple chocolate cookies last year and I thought they were wonderful. I've not managed to come across any of these other ones yet but if they are anything to by I look forward to doing so.
If I had to prioritise the order I try them in it would be the praline next, then the ginger and then maybe the lemon if I fancied going full circle. I'm not too convinced I would ever bother with the lemon meringue though, they aren't one that I was all that tempted by in the first place and from what you say they don't sound nice at all.
Lol Thorntons make better cakes and biscuits than they do chocolate these days. I might well give some of these a try if I see them around. I'm not so much impressed by the sound of the white chocolate or triple choc but the other two sound like they could be worth a look at. Thank you for your reviews Jim.
These are going to have no chance surviving if they don't half the price of them. Like someone was saying on the bits and bobs the other day unless you hit the £1 mark you will just get ignored by the majority of people. Unless you are like a throntons enthusiast its not likely you are going to pick a £2 pack of cookies over an equally good alternative that is half the price, well .... not unless you are brain dead lol.
Damn mate you are hella lucky getting to try all these cool things. I can't help myself when it comes to biscuits I will literally eat anything you put in front of me.
Have you ever thought about reviewing some more of the classical ones? I have done a search for a chocolate digestives and bourbon creams but I didn't find anything? Hopefully this isn't me just being dumb lol.
So many biscuits in one week!! When did this become the chocolate biscuit mission hey???
Thorntons all over, some amazing stuff, some er..not.
Ooh if I find those ginger ones on sale I'm trying them. I got a pack of some dark chocolate covered ones by a different maker and they were delicious, they didn't go soft either. ps count me among those who consider chocolate-covered/chipped biscuits a legitimate CM subject.
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