When a Cookie is a Candy Bar

I think I might have found the missing link. The cookie/candy bar that’s both a cookie and a candy bar at the same time. The candy world has had a great debate for many years now, it’s even become a legal matter in a few places. It’s a question that gets put to me many times, sometimes aggressively. It’s all about trying to define candy and treats. In this case it’s a look at what’s a cookie and what’s a candy bar with a cookie in it. Legally this question is asked when countries are trying to define what should or shouldn’t be sold in the candy isle. A Twix bar is a great example of this kind of treat, most people would call it a chocolate or candy bar, but in reality it’s actually mostly cookie. Even a Kit Kat bar is debatable in this context.

The reason I bring all of this up is this “cookie” I recently discovered in a store in France. It’s called the Petit Ecolier and it really balances the line perfectly between being a cookie and being a candy bar. It’s not even subtle about it either. A Twix and a Kit Kat bar hide the fact that there’s a lot of cookie in them by covering everything in chocolate. This bar on the other hand keeps the cookie and the chocolate entirely visible. There are a few cookies out there that are stuffed with all kinds of things you might find in a candy bar too. This treat does not do that, the chocolate bar is totally visible on top of the cookie.

I can’t tell if the makers of this treat are lazy, or are trying to troll people. They really just took a cookie and smushed it together with a chocolate bar. There’s nothing really creative, but the fact that no one has done this before kind of makes it creative. The ratio of chocolate to cookie is almost perfectly split as well. I’ve never been so perplexed with a treat in my life. People often get mad at me if I review cookies or cakes on this site (claiming they’re not “candy”), but I’m tempted to give this a try just to see if anyone would react.

The only thing that gives this treat a category for me is the fact that I bought it in the cookie section of a grocery store. This brand also makes other cookie treat, but I’ve never seen any candy from them. It’s truly the treat that balances the line, it’s both a cookie and a candy bar.

P.S. I just wanted to note that these Petit Ecolier taste great too.

Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! - Têtes Brûlées

 In today's episode of Chris Why Would You Eat That?!! I taste one of the most popular candies in France, Têtes Brûlées. I thought it might extreme, but...

Blue Orchid

 Did you know I’m currently writing and drawing my own comic series?

Blue Orchid is a fun adventure about a teenage South East Asian girl who battles incredible monsters and faces the challenges of a world unlike anything she has ever known.

You can pick up every issue now at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or Amazon.

Is Yogurt Underrated?

While I've tasted a few yogurt flavoured treats in my day, it's not a flavour that you really see everywhere. I think it's mostly found in the Asian candy world, with maybe a few European treats participating as well. The thing about yogurt flavoured candy is, it's hard to simulate yogurt and be super sweet at the same time. While yogurt can have some sweetness in it to cut down the sour, the sour itself is really what makes yogurt great. Too much sweet just turns it into a sweet cream. This is exactly what happened here, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see more candy companies attempting this unique flavour.

Check out my latest yogurt themed candy review.

10 Second Kitchen - BeaverTails Ottawa

 A little interruption as I watch them make a tasty deep fried treat.

Discover the Sweet History Behind Your Favourite Snacks

 Have you ever stopped to wonder where your favourite snacks came from? From classic candies to beloved treats, many of the foods we enjoy every day have fascinating stories behind them.

That's exactly what Snack Facts is all about.

Join Barbara and Sir Francis Sweetums as they travel through the history of some of the world's most popular snacks, uncovering surprising facts, unexpected origins, and plenty of sweet discoveries along the way. Presented as a fun and easy-to-read comic, Snack Facts is perfect for curious readers of all ages—whether you're a lifelong candy lover or just enjoy learning something new.

If you've ever wanted to know how your favourite treats became household names, this book is a fun way to satisfy your curiosity.

You can pick up your copy of Snack Facts today by visiting candycritic.org/snackfacts/ or on Amazon.

Unlikeliest Of Flavour Combinations

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that strawberry, chocolate and vanilla together is the most common flavour trio in the world. I can't think of many cultures that don't have at least one or two treats with this flavour combination. Oddly, I don't actually know where this flavour came from, other than possibly Italy (based on the name). I'm not sure if ice cream was the first time it was used. It's objectively an odd flavour combination, unless you break the flavours into pairs. Then you realize that in pairs these flavours are pretty common, but all together it just seems a little weird. The thing is, it works.

Check out my latest strawberry, chocolate and vanilla treat review.

Boxed Ice Cream

One thing I’ve discovered in grocery stores in Tunisia (where I’m staying right now) is that they truly love desserts that come out of boxes. There are full isles in the grocery stores dedicated to baking and dessert making that comes out of a box. While most of these desserts and baked goods are fairly similar to what you find in many countries, there is one thing that really stood out to me, boxed do it yourself ice cream.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen ice cream in a box before, and there’s no way I was gong to let it pass me by.

Have you ever had a boxed dessert that seemed to easy to be true? This can really happen for two reasons, either there is truly very few steps to follow in order to make your dessert, or it’s such a complicated dessert (often requiring specific machinery) that you can’t believe that it can be made out of a box. This chocolate ice cream is the rare occasion where it’s both of those. This ice cream requires no ice cream machine at all, and the only other ingredient needed is milk.

It’s also not that complicated to make, just mix in the powder with the milk for a few minutes. Honestly it’s so simple that it had me worried about what was going to come out.

After my few minutes of mixing I was ready to let my freezer do the rest of the work. The liquid in my container looked and felt a lot like some of the ice cream starters I’ve seen in the past, so that was positive. The thing that made me nervous was the fact that it wasn’t going to be stirred while, before or after freezing. The instructions did suggest letting your ice cream sit for a few minutes before serving, so maybe that’ll help?

The end product kind of resembled ice cream. It did have ice crystals throughout and also seemed to be darker on the bottom and lighter on the top. Other than that the everything seemed okay... ish. Honestly those two problems do make for unimpressive ice cream. The end result was a little softer than I expected, and tasted pretty good too. The ice crystals were the most annoying thing about this ice cream, but it wasn’t the worst. The two different layers tasted the same as far as I can tell, but the texture of the darker parts was a little gooier than the light stuff.

All in all it wasn’t the best ice cream I’ve ever had, but it was remarkable considering how little work I had to do to make it. I’m not sure I would suggest this as an all the time ice cream substitute, but as a science experiment it was kind of fun.

Quick List - Worst Candy By Continent

 A quick list of the worst candies and treats in each and ever continent. Maybe some day I'll do each country, but that also seems a little complicated.

Discover the Wildly Sweet World of Treats and Beasts

 If you love beasts and you love treats, then you’re going to love Treats and Beasts!

Treats and Beasts is a fun A–Z alphabet adventure where wild animals meet tasty treats in a world full of imagination, silly surprises, and colourful illustrations. Each letter introduces a new combination of creature and confection, creating an alphabet book that’s a little different from the usual ABC adventure.

While it’s perfect for little readers who are learning their letters, it’s also a book for anyone who enjoys playful artwork, animals, and a good dose of creativity. Even if you already know your ABCs, there’s still plenty of fun to discover!

From amazing animals to delicious treats, Treats and Beasts brings together two things that everyone loves — imagination and a little bit of sweetness.

Whether you’re looking for a fun bedtime read, a gift for a young reader, or simply a colourful book to enjoy together, Treats and Beasts is ready to take you on a tasty A–Z adventure.

Get Your Copy of Treats and Beasts

You can grab your copy here:

https://bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/

You can also find it on Amazon.

Fake Chocolate Problem

One of the problems I have on candycritic.org is fake chocolate. More specifically I'm not really sure what the line is between fake and real chocolate. chocolate itself isn't technically an ingredient, it's a milk/sugar treat that's made with cocoa. The amount of cocoa can vary in chocolate creating different kinds of chocolate. Sometimes you take an entire portion of the cocoa bean out of the mix and it's still chocolate. By that definition, as long as there's some portion of a treat that contains even a small amount of cocoa, than it can be called chocolate. Now I know there are some countries where the amount of cocoa matters, but I would guess that most of the world does not have such regulations. Then we add to the mix the idea that some candies are chocolate flavoured, and may not contain any cocoa at all. It's all very complicated.

Check out my latest "chocolate" review.