Monday, January 28, 2013

Tim Tam Appreciation Week Part 1 - What is a Tim Tam

When you think about the national foods of Australia, you can't deny the role that Tim Tams play.  Not only is this cookie popular in Australia, but it's become a global wide treat, and in the United States it's known as "Australia's Favorite Cookie.".  Any time I talk about Australian treats, with any Australian, they ask me if I've tried Tim Tams.

The first variety of Tim Tams were the plain milk chocolate, invented in the early 60s.  The story goes that the creator of the Tim Tam had sampled some British Penguin cookies and decided that he could improve upon them.  The name is apparently based off the name of a horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1958.  Since their creation Tim Tams have been manufactured all over Australia, and today 3000 Tim Tams come off the assembly line every minute.
So now that you know a little history of this extremely popular cookie, you might be asking, what exactly is a Tim Tam?  The design of this cookie is very simple, two cookies with a cream in the center, covered in chocolate.  Today there are also many varieties available, there is sometimes extra fillings like jam or caramel in the center as well as different varieties of chocolate on the outside.  The cookies in most varieties of Tim Tams is a chocolate cookie, it's fairly dense, and perfect for dipping into drinks, because it stays relatively hard.  The chocolate is known to melt when dipped into hot drinks, and later this week we'll introduce you to the ultimate experience known as the Tim Tam Slam.

While this cookie is fairly simple by design, it doesn't diminish how popular it is all around the world, and in particular Australia.  Australian expats covet these cookies, and if you happen to befriend one (assuming Tim Tams aren't available where you live) they just might share a bite of their Tim Tam stash.

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