NEW! Hershey's Cookies'N'Creme Dipped Pretzels (A Taste Of The States)

I told you I’m obsessed with pretzels at the moment! I actually had my greedy eyes on the brand new Snyders Reese’s pretzels, but A Taste of The States hadn’t had any in when I placed my order. I can’t moan at all though, I had the Good Health pretzels to munch through and have an affinity towards anything cookies and cream. I’ve had sweet (S'mores flavoured) Snyder's pretzels once before, but I wasn't overly impressed with them

I can’t help but feel that It’s such a shame that pretzels aren’t given the recognition they deserve here in the U.K. I love their salty crispness, which is perhaps odd considering that I rarely crave potato crisps. Hey, I’m just contrary like that. Thank goodness for America!

The packet contained roughly 25 traditionally shaped, generously coated pretzels. There was  a good amount of cookie crumb poking about in the bag’s corners too -a good sign for those cereal dust fans* out there, you know who you are. I’m not sure how big Snyder’s mouth is but I didn’t agree that they were bite size. Well, you could fit a whole one in your mouth in I guess, but I’m more ladylike than that.

That’s a lie, I just like to savour my pretzels.

They were utterly delicious though; I mean seriously good. Despite loving the Hershey’s Cookies ’N’ Creme bar, I’ll admit that you need to be in a sugary mood to crave one as they are  sickly concoctions. I was therefore relieved to find that Snyder’s hadn’t done away with the salinity in these pretzels completely, as the salt was required to counteract the sweetness. The resulting combination was tantalising on the tastebuds: a journey of sweet vanilla with a touch of cocoa, followed by that wonderful salty hit. All that chocolate luckily hadn’t hampered the crunchiness of the pretzel dough either, and I enjoyed every single nibble. 

I’d like to say that my pretzel cravings have been satisfied, but actually I’m now even more desperate than ever to try the Reese’s covered Snyder’s Pretzels, which are now in stock at A Taste of The States. Don’t forget, you can get 20% off the new pretzels -and anything else that takes your fancy- from A Taste of The States by using the code AMYSEEKS20 at checkout.

Thank you to A Taste Of The States for sending me the new Hershey’s Cookies ’n’ Creme pretzels!

9/10 

*you know, the people who love the end of the bag of cereal? I’ll admit here that we normally give ours to the dog, which I know some of you will deem heretic! 

Efectiv Pro & Oats High Protein Flapjacks (Online)

There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t eat oats in some form or another. In fact, it was the food I missed most when in Malaysia earlier this year. Almost every morning is kick-started with a bowl of protein oats (proats if you will), but I also love granola and flapjacks too. Protein flapjacks however are often disappointing, and tend to be so far removed from real flapjacks that I’d rather have a real flapjack and get my protein elsewhere. I’m not averse to trying new products though and so when Efectiv contacted me a few weeks ago to ask if I’d like to try their new protein flapjacks and Dual bars, I accepted their kind invitation. After all, the protein bar market is rapidly evolving. Gone are the days of chewy bricks, thank goodness! 

Their flapjack range currently consists of three flavours: Chocolate Orange, Toffee Oat & Cherry Bakewell. Each 70g bar is less than 270 cals and contains 14g of protein (check the bottom of the review for the full macros). They’re made with gluten free oats and whey, with no palm oil or gelatine. Efectiv have also used natural flavours and sweeteners, and the flapjacks are GMO free and certified Halal. One massive bonus for me is that they contain no soya protein or polyols, making them much kinder on your stomach. This makes them higher in carbs, but also the perfect post-workout treat. I say treat, but that’s only right if they taste good… 

Cherry Bakewell

I’d normally save the flavour I’d anticipate would taste the best until last, but my preconceptions on what these bars would taste like wasn’t especially high and so I thought I’d give Efectiv the best chance possible. 

The first thought that struck me was how much closer to a real flapjack this bar looked. It was also a decent size too. The second realisation was just how soft the bar was - often protein flapjacks are either super dry or gluey, but this was neither. 

The texture was spot on. Soft and gooey, with a pleasant chew that wasn’t hard work. The cherry flavour however was milder than I’d have liked and I couldn’t help but think that either a layer of jam or chunks of dried cherries would improve the taste. It was still the best protein flapjack I’d tried to date though. 

8/10

Chocolate Orange

Unlike the Bakewell bar, this flapjack was dark in colour. Texturally it was very similar though. 

As for the flavour, this time it was much punchier, although I’d describe it more as cocoa orange as it lacked the milkiness that I’d associate with eating a bar of orange flavoured chocolate. In fact, the flavour kind of reminded me of something that Trek might make, but it was much tastier than Trek’s protein flapjacks. 

8/10

Toffee Oat

I saved this bar until last and found myself really looking forward to it. 

I wasn’t disappointed either. The bar tasted like a proper flapjack! It was gooey, sweet, soft and chewy with a lovely toffee undertone. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that I’d happily eat the Efectiv toffee & oats pro&pats flapjack instead of a normal flapjack and I’ll be hunting down more to try in the future!

9/10

All in all, I was mightily impressed with these protein flapjacks from Efectiv. I do feel like the flavour of the Cherry Bakewell bar could be improved slightly, but that’s just a mini moan! Thank you to Efectiv for sending me the samples. The flapjacks (and the new Dual bars, watch out for the review) are available from their website.

*as promised, here's the Macro breakdown:

Coffee Nut M&Ms (A Taste Of The States)

If you read my review of the American white chocolate M&Ms a couple of weeks ago, you might recall my rant about the appalling lack of flavours we have in the U.K. Luckily, we've got A Taste of The States who have come to our rescue and brought the funkier flavoured editions to British shores on our behalf. Do you remember I mentioned the gift card they gave me? Well as well as the Mrs Freshley's cinnamon swirl bun (now back in stock), I also ordered a pack of the Coffee Nut M&Ms.

The coffee nut M&Ms were the winners of a flavour vote last year which coincided with the US presidential elections and included three options: coffee nut, chilli nut and honey nut. I must admit, I'd have gone for coffee nut too! Honey nut also sounds tempting, but I wouldn't have tried the chilli nut. Bleurgh. Which one would you have chosen? Drop me a comment below (or on Instagram) and let me know!

I was surprised by the strength of the coffee aroma that welcomed my nostrils as soon as I opened the share sized bag -which for info is 92.7g and equates to 2 servings, although I'm not sure how one measures 46.35g of M&Ms 😉! The candies, again, were larger than the British counterparts -but that does't surprise me anymore. 

Each M&M contained a full sized peanut, wrapped in chocolate and covered in the standard sugar coating. Mars have shun their usual bright colours too, opting for coffee-esque shades, which I think was a smart choice. 

I didn't really expect the full on mocha hit that I experienced with these M&Ms. In my head, the flavours shouldn't really work well together -no coffee shop that I've ever visited has offered peanut syrup- but I really enjoyed them. Admittedly, the coffee and chocolate completely overshadows the peanut, meaning that all the centre really offers is a textural contrast with a slight earthy undertone.

I can't help but wish that Mars had chosen to fill these coffee nut M&Ms with either whole almonds or hazelnuts, but I'm not really complaining. They're unusual and wholly addictive. In fact, they're my favourite M&M flavour to date. 

You can order these coffee nut M&Ms from A Taste of The States, and also benefit from 20% off the entire site with the code: AMYSEEKS20. Go on, treat yourself!

9/10

Thank you to A Taste of The States. 

Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Bun (A Taste Of The States)

As you may have gathered from my many lengthy rambles about cinnamon buns, I bloody love the things. In fact, I love most cinnamon based treats, and have now renamed Mondays Cinnamondays. It's the buns that especially fill my heart with joy though and so It should come as no surprise that when A Taste Of The States recently gave me a gift card to spend on their website that the Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Bun made its way into my basket. If you regularly read these posts you'll know that I'm also no stranger to Mrs F's cinnamon products, having tried their Cinnamon Twirls and, more recently, their Cinnabon Cinnamon mini ring donuts.

At 113g it was a sizeable affair, slightly larger than both Tesco's cinnamon buns and the Kanelbullar that I'm (more than a little bit) in love with. As you know, Cinnamon buns are often covered in cream cheese frosting; but given the long life span, ambient nature and the distance this bun had travelled, I was pleased to see that Mrs F had opted for some kind of icing instead. It was also shorter, wider and less tightly coiled than the cinnamon buns I'm accustomed to.

Oh jeez. You remember I said that the Mrs F cinnamon donuts were like a cake hybrid? Well imagine a cinnamon bun crossed with a glazed doughnut and you'll get the gist of what this cinnamon swirl bun was all about. It was soft, sweet, spicy - and even better when warmed in the microwave for 15 or so seconds!

The glazed coating was sheer genius, and I was left wondering why other companies don't jump on the bandwagon and glaze their buns. It's safe to say that it's not for the clean eaters though, and should probably come with a notice that they're best reserved for dedicated sugar fans only. Noms.

The Cinnamon Swirl Buns from A Taste Of The States cost just £1.39 (although they're currently out of stock, please keep an eye on their website as they're regularly restocked) you can also get a massive 20% discount off them (and anything else that catches your fancy on their website) with the code: AMYSEEKS20.

9/10

Thank you to A Taste Of The States for the gift card!

NEW! Peanut Butter KitKat Bites (B&M)

I think I've done well to refrain from both the new peanut butter chocolate bars until now. I had made a promise to not buy any until I'd made a healthy dent into my Ridiculous Reese's stash from Xmas, but there was a couple of additional reasons that I'd stopped myself. Neither the new KitKat bites or the Butterfingers excited me all that much. I mean I got so excited by the Cookie Dough Chunky last year and haven't bothered with it again, and I can't even stomach American Butterfingers. 

"Mini crispy wafer fingers with a creamed peanut filling (17%) covered with milk chocolate (70%)."

With my pb chocolate supplies starting to wane I gave into the KitKats. The peanut butter KitKat Chunkies are pretty good after all; as are the Reese's Sticks. £1 for a bag it wasn't too much of a gamble either (I bought them in B&M but they're available in most supermarkets and WHSmith now).

I find 'bites' a bit of an odd name for them. They're more than one bite in size, but I suppose it makes sense if you consider that they're smaller than the awesome KitKat minis that Nat bought back from Japan. To be honest, my biggest concern was that in their non chunkified format that there wouldn't be much room for the peanut butter and that they'd be a bit bland as a result. 

Bravo Nestle! They do indeed deliver on the peanut butter front, and theyve been mastered the salinity that makes Reese's so moreish. It helps that they've used roasted peanuts too, to really boost the flavour. I'm not normally keen on Nestle chocolate, however it's evidently better than the Reese's variety, and this makes the bites all the more enjoyable. In fact, I found that the ratio of chocolate:wafer:peanut butter was pretty damn good, and had a hard job to not finish off the entire bag (16 bites) in one sitting. Serious self restraint required. 

9/10

Marabou Daim Milk Chocolate Rolls (IKEA)

Please reassure me that I'm not the only weirdo out there that gets more excited by the food hall in IKEA than the furniture? It's surely the treasure at the end of the trail, the reward for getting through the market hall without murdering a dawdler (or five). No trip is complete without picking up a pack of my beloved Kanelbullar. This time I pushed the boat out and decided to treat myself to two bags, before spotting the chocolate and biscuit samples. Oops. That'll be two bags of Kanelbullar, some ginger and almond biscuits and some Daim chocolate then. After indulging in the Lindt shop a couple of hours earlier. And I'd promised to not buy anymore chocolate. I'll say it again, oops. 

To be fair, having sampled both the chocolate and the biscuits, I knew I'd regret not buying either. I think the Daim chocolates were £1.50 for the two-pack but I can't be 100% sure, so don't shoot the messenger. For those of you who don't know, Marabou is owned by Mondelez (owners *read ruiners* of Cadbury) and is the equivalent brand in Sweden. Like Cadbury, Marabou has lengthy roots and was founded 101 years ago. 

One of the most appealing features of this chocolate was the design. Instead of your usual chunky bars, the chocolate came in rolo shaped morsels. I love being able to savour my chocolate, and often wish we had more single serving bags of bite sized chocolate, so the Marabou Daims suited me down to the ground. At 70g, they're on the generous size for an individual portion, but I'm a chocoholic so once again I found Marabou scoring brownie points -or should that be chocolate points? 

The chocolate was delicious. It's smooth and rich with an easy melt. There's a striking similarity between the Marabou and Dairy Milk of days gone by. The little studs of Daim were a wonderful, if not a slightly sickly, addition. The combination of toffee and chocolate was delicious though, and utterly moreish -especially given the sunken dome shapes. I'd devoured my first pack before really acknowledging it, and I'm grateful that I've got the other in my fridge to look forward to. It's better than the Cadbury Daim bar, and the rolls are well worth tracking down.

That's another IKEA staple added to the shopping list!

9/10 

Reflex Nutrition Chocolate 3D Protein & Mug Cake Recipe (CNSport)

I've been gradually getting to grips with the different types and brands of protein powders on the market. There's one brand than I feel I can undoubtedly trust to deliver high quality, and that is Reflex Nutrition. For those of you who aren't convinced, hopefully the knowledge that their powders are made at their dedicated Science Park facility here in the U.K and that every batch is tested might go some may to persuade you that nutritional excellence is at the very heart of Reflex's ethos.

 This time I'm reviewing their 3D protein, which is 'the only time-release protein powder to contain Native Whey Protein, Micellar Casein and Egg White Protein in the world' in a 45:45:10 ratio. It's designed to deliver a comprehensive combination of protein to aid both during a workout and in recovery. Reflex's 3D protein contains 360kcal, 80g of protein, 6.5g of carbs (just 0.4g sugars) and 1.6g of fat per 100g. Technically it sounded wonderful, but let's be frank: it's got to taste good too. 

And it does. It doesn't have a super rich chocolate flavour, but it's pretty damn tasty. Given the graduated release of the protein in this powder, I tend to use it in my proats before a workout. 

I've also mixed with it skyr and enjoyed it semi-frozen on hot days and used it to make cakes to munch before bed too. In fact, I've had many people asking how I make my mug cakes, so here's the recipe -which is a slight amendment to the one that Nat gave me (thanks Nat).

Protein Mug Cake Recipe

• 25g Reflex 3D protein
• 10g Coconut Flour
• 1 egg white
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Xantham gum
• 50ml milk (I use dairy but I imagine that almond would also work)
• A splash of chocolate salted caramel Jordan's skinny syrups.

Simply mix all of the above in a mug/bowl and microwave for 70ish seconds (I have to do it by eye as my microwave doesn't have a digital timer). Then top it with whatever you heart desires... or your macros allow!

9/10

A huge thank you to Reflex for the protein! 3D protein is available from Reflex's website, CNSport and most good sports nutrition retailers.

NEW! McVities Banoffee Caramel Digestives (Waitrose)

Almost six weeks ago the best biscuit broadcast was made; McVities were set to release not just one, but two new caramel digestives. Hurrah! Apparently they weren't being subjected to any of this 'thin' nonsense either, and as a bonus McVities had opted for fabulous sounding flavours. Banoffee and coffee sounded right up my street -I'm guessing they must've read my cries for a full size cappuccino digestive 😉. 

The only trouble was... the new biscuits were playing an almighty game of hide and seek. I kept hunting for them, and even contacted McVities three weeks ago, who replied "the new coffee and banoffee caramel flavours will be in stores over the next few weeks and in major supermarkets over the coming months." Helpful. Cue the daily stalking of my local corner shops, which never prevailed. In fact it wasn't even me who found them, it was @productsinstores, who eventually discovered the banoffee variety in Waitrose yesterday. No exagerration, I was on my bike within ten minutes, I must've stunk of desperation. My local store had them in and thankfully, at £1.50, they weren't any more expensive than the standard caramels. Double win! 

"Milk chocolate digestives with a layer of banoffee flavour caramel."

I hoped that McVities had executed the banana flavour well. I mean banoffee caramel digestives sound delicious, and just the idea of dunkable banoffee pie was too good to resist. It's just that my recent experiences with banana biscuits haven't gone so well. Take the Party 'Jaffa cakes' for example, or these Julie's banana crackers that I brought back from Malaysia. Both were almost inedible due to the awful synthetic taste -although my dog seemed to enjoy the crackers. 

Thankfully McVities new biscuits didn't suffer the same fate. Yes the banana is synthetic, but it works well, reminding me a little of the flavour in Grenade's Banana Armour bar. The caramel layer is perhaps on the thin side, but there's enough of it to add texture to the wonderful wheat biscuit and to compliment the milk chocolate. 

 Despite not being a banana buff in the same way that I am, Bert adored these new biscuits too. In fact I might have to hide the rest of the pack....  I just wish Mars would be as brave and create a banana Twix. Anyone else with me on that?

10/10

NEW! Spirit of Summer: Summer Macaroon Selection (M&S)

I was truly on the bargain hunt yesterday. I started the day at the Malvern Giant Flea Fair (a must for antique lovers nationwide) and found myself in Marks & Sparks just before close. The trouble is, those yellow stickers are just too appealing, and despite not being initially tempted by the summer macaroons, the 65p sticker was irresistible. My last experience with M&S macaroons wasn't that great, and so I felt annoyed with my lack of self-restraint. 65p wasn't too much money to waste I suppose...

"A selection of French almond macaroons in 3 flavours -1 peach and apricot, 1 lemon and 1 cherry."

At least I could tell which macaroon was which this time around thanks to their bright colourings. I couldn't see much in the way of fillings peeping out, so split them in half for a better look. The centres seemed to be saucy as opposed to cream based like the Festive ganache filled macaroons. 

Wow, I was impressed. I didn't think I was a massive macaroon fan, but I indulged in the delicate texture but bold flavours of these miniature French-style treats. The macaroons were light, with a crunchy exterior and fluffy centre. I loved the prominence of the almond, which came through in all of the three flavours. 

The centres were like a solid jam, and were wonderfully well-flavoured. I'm not sure I could pick a favourite because apricot conserve is usually my favourite, but I also adore cherry Bakewell and am going through a lemon-loving phase at the moment. 

I can't believe that I thought I might be wasting my 65p! M&S have created a sensational summer treat here that simply screams of sunshine.  I'll be certainly sure to buy another pack  if I'm lucky enough to find them reduced again, and may even treat myself to them at their full price.

9/10

Cookie Dough Gourmet Edible Cookie Dough: Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip, Triple Chocolate Fudge & Funfetti Cake Batter (Online)

Have you ever made cookies and considered just not baking them? Just sitting and eating the entire bowl with a spoon? Please tell me that you have. Raw cookie dough is a wondrous creation, and must be on par with -if not even better than- warm cookies straight from the oven. We're not meant to eat it though are we?  I mean, the dough contains raw egg, but I also guess if that if our aim is to make cookies, we probably shouldn't fall at the first hurdle and eat the dough. 

Cue Gookie Dough: the love-child of Olly and Anja, who say that they came up with the idea of creating tubs of gourmet edible cookie dough from their life long obsession with Willy Wonka. The tubs are available in four drool inducing flavours: red velvet, gooey chocolate chip, triple chocolate fudge and funfetti cake batter. They're designed to be kept refrigerated (with a shelf life of about a month) but can also be frozen. That's if your self restraint allows, of course. I was utterly excited when I received an email from Olly asking if I'd like to review their products and immediately accepted, starting to think up ways to serve up the Gookie Dough (that's if I wasn't to eat it straight from the jar). I love a good food brainstorm, but if you're feeling less creative there's plenty of ideas on their Instagram page.

Gooey Chocolate Chip

"Is there anything better than fresh golden chocolate chip cookie dough? With a generous portion of luxury Belgian dark chocolate chunks swirled in a silky, buttery Madagascan vanilla dough, the original handcrafted Gookie dough recipe is to die for!" 

The first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of chocolate chips that were embedded within the dough. The batter was quite loose too, a similar sort of consistency to peanut butter or chocolate spread. A serving size is 75g (half a mini jar) and I chose to use it to top a protein cake in one of my late night snack bowls. 

The dough was tacky, and melted fairly quickly on top of the warm cake. As you can imagine it was very sweet, but it was also comforting too. The consistency of the dough is smooth, lacking the graininess of the cookie dough chunks that are commonplace in ice creams. I thought the serving size was a little generous as I found it quite sickly towards the end, but that just meant that there's more servings per tub. Bonus.

8/10

Funfetti Cake Batter

"Sprinkles make everything more fun and better right? Taking inspiration from the ultimate American childhood birthday cake flavour, this decadent and rich Madagascan vanilla dough is layered with handfuls of luxury Belgian white chocolate chunks. Just to make it ultra special, this party favourite is loaded full of rainbow crystal sugar sprinkles!"

If you've been reading this blog for some time you'll know that misleading names are a personal bug bear -despite being a marketing and advertising student. So let's get this straight, this flavour Gookie Dough was in fact a white chocolate version of the chocolate chip, there's not really any cake about it. I'll step down off my high horse now.

This time I sandwiched the batter between two Oatmeal & raisin flapjacked cookies, and I'm salivating just thinking about the combination. I used just 50g this time and loved the flavour and textural combination of the Gookie dough with the cooked cookie. If you decide to treat yourself to some Gookie Dough, I highly recommend that you try the pairing for yourself. 

9/10

Red Velvet

"Have you ever tried the world’s most famous & elegant cake flavour? Intertwining super moist, luscious red Belgian cocoa dough, and heavenly, creamy, melt in your mouth Madagascan vanilla frosting, this dough doesn’t disappoint when it comes to providing that signature light chocolaty flavour. It’s most certainly red velvet by name and red velvet by nature!"

There's no doubt about the flavour of this cookie dough given the colour of it. Red velvet is notoriously difficult to nail from both a colour and flavour point of view, so I was pleased to see that Gookie Dough had achieved at lest one of the objectives.

This time I decided to top my ice cream with some frozen Gookie Dough. However, I'm not sure if I didn't put it in the freezer for long enough (just an hour) but the batter didn't really solidify. I also didn't find that it had a particularly strong chocolate flavour, and although the swirls of vanilla frosting were evident in the appearance, they were lost in the resounding sweetness. It was tasty, but not the best flavour by a long shot.

6/10 

Triple Chocolate Fudge 

"Simply put, this is a choc-a-holic’s dream! Using not one, not two, but 3 different chocolate varieties, this fudgey 100% cocoa dough is heaped full of divine dark cocoa, Belgian milk chocolate fudge and white chocolate chunks. Prepare yourself for a chocolate coma!"

Coma me up. I needed a chocolate hit and decided to enjoy this flavour straight from the jar. Yes it was chocolatey, yes it was extremely sweet, yes it was sticky, and yes it was the ultimate in indulgence. It was a chocolate bomb and I felt it should be for reserved for really bad Monday evenings (or Sunday night blues).

Gookie Dough isn't for the faint hearted. It's made especially for us sugar addict. It's unique (as far as I'm aware) and I applaud Olly and Anja for their ingenuity. Gookie Dough is available in 150g mini tubs and 450g monster tubs. Prices start at £7.50 for two mini tubs and can be purchased directly from Gookie Dough's website. I really hope they consider creating peanut butter and snickerdoodle flavours in future....

Thank you for the samples Olly! 

Kingdom Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Centre (Wholefoods)

Ok so I might have been hoarding this bar since before Christmas, when I found it in a WholeFoods store on a trip to London. Despite the vast selection of Reese's chocolate that I owned at the time (and still do, honestly I could open a shop) I couldn't resist the call of this Kingdom bar. As you know I'm always open to trying new peanut butter products, but adding fuel to the fire was the memory of good feedback about Kingdom. For those of you who haven't come across or tried their chocolate before, Kingdom promise "to make exciting chocolate from only tip top ingredients" using Ethical Ugandan cocoa. 

"Quality peanut butter and superb milk chocolate make this bar a 

potential superstar of the range."

The 100g bar was chunkier than the other gourmet bars I've reviewed recently from the likes of The Chocolate Smiths and Choc Affair. It was a similar colour though thanks to its high cocoa content (minimum 34% cocoa solids and 27% milk solids). Unlike Cadbury Kingdom have used real peanuts in their peanut butter bar, so I didn't have to worry that it would be anywhere near as atrocious as the Dairy Milk peanut butter Oreo bar.

The chocolate tasted every bit as luxurious as I'd hoped, with a rich flavour and silken texture. I bit further into the centre of the first chunk and realised I'd tasted it before... well not the exact same bar, but very very similar. The Montezuma's peanut butter eggs! It was then that I read the packet and realised that Kingdom is owned by Montezuma's. Ahhhh, it all became clear. Anyway, the peanut was delicious, and I actually preferred it to the eggs despite the fact that there was far less of the paste in the bar than in the eggs (10% compared to 48% respectively). I think the preference was due to the prominence of salt in the Kingdom bar, which came from large that seemed to supercharge the flavour and provide welcome contrast against the sweetness. The balance made the bar even more addictive than the eggs and I had a hard job to restrain myself from eating all 100g in one sitting! 

Serious noms. 

9/10

NEW! FlapJacked Protein Cookie & Baking Mix: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip & Double Chocolate (Online)

If you follow me on Instagram or have indeed read the reviews on here you'll know I'm a big fan of the FlapJacked range. I often have their pancakes for lunch -just yesterday I enjoyed banana flavoured ones and mashed fresh banana into the batter, which I highly recommend!- and regularly treat myself to a Mighty Muffin before bed.

With this in mind you can just imagine how excited I was when I saw that FlapJacked had released packets of cookie mixes and single serving smoothie mixes in the USA (where the company is based). Ok, so I might've been a tad more excited about the cookies than the smoothies, but I hoped that FlapJacked UK would soon start stocking both products. At BodyPower on Sunday I thought I'd take the opportunity to say hello to the FlapJacked gang and grill them about when I might be able to get my greedy mix on the cookies...

But I didn't need to. There, sat on their table was all of the goodies. The Mighty Muffin line-up, the pancake mixes I know so well, as well as the new cookie packs and smoothie sachets! Fortunately for me, the lovely team at FlapJacked  gave me some samples to review, hurrah! 

"FlapJacked Protein Cookie & Baking Mixes are a delicious, nutritionally balanced alternative to traditional cookie mixes. Made with non-GMO, gluten-free and artificial-free ingredients, these delectable cookies taste like a homemade treat but without the guilt. Each power-packed serving (2 cookies) contains 10 grams of protein to keep you feeling fuller longer, but with less carbs and less sugar than traditional cookies."

I was looking forward to seeing how the FlapJacked cookies compared to the existing products on the market. Most of the protein cookies I've tried to date have been very dry and crumbly (Oatein and Dr Zaks I'm looking at you) or thick and cakey (Lenny & Larrys and Buff Bake). None have come close to fresh or homemade cookies.

Each FlapJacked cookie pack makes up 12 cookies, and the suggested serving size is two cookies (none of this 1/2 a cookie nonsense that so many of the protein companies seem to cheekily suggest). To make up the pack you use the entire mix, 6 tbsp of butter and two eggs. I awkwardly made up just a single serving of each mix using 15g of butter and 1/3 of an egg -my dog had the rest on his kibble -it's great for his coat! Each portion of the mix is between 160-170kcals, but I'll include the macros of the mix when made up (including the egg and butter).

Oatmeal

Of all the things I've baked over the years (and I used to bake a lot, I'm a trained chef) oat & raisin cookies are Bert's favourite. I love a good oat cookie too, but I'd probably choose something chocolatey over something fruity as a favourite. But I digress.

The mix smelt wonderful, and I couldn't help but add a few raisins as per the serving suggestion. Despite my cinnamon addiction I refrained from any adding extra, just to see how it would fare without my meddling. The method suggested beating the eggs and butter together before adding the cookie mix -which I couldn't really understand as butter and eggs curdle together. Instead I mixed the whole lot at once. Damn they looked good, and I couldn't help but lick the spoon as I popped them in the oven to cook. Errmegoodgod. I could've just eaten the bowlful of raw dough, it was so damn tasty. I actually couldn't taste the difference between this dough and and the normal non-protein stuff. 

The method tells me to remove the cookies once the edges had set, and after about 8 minutes they were done. They had expanded slightly but hadn't turned into monsters (I once made side plate sized cookies by accident). I chose to sandwich them around some chocolate chip gourmet edible Cookie Dough*.

I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. They tasted like normal cookies! Now the macros may not be as good as some of the protein cookies on the market, but the mix does deliver 10g of protein per serving -and to be honest, I'd rather have something that tasted delicious. The cookies were well spiced with a lovely oaty texture; soft with a slight chewiness. Honestly, I could've eaten them all day, everyday. Seriously impressive stuff FlapJacked! 

10/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter, eggs & 15g of sultanas: P:13/C36.5/F:15.6

Double Chocolate 
Like chocolate cake, I'm never too trusting of double chocolate cookies. I was pleased to see a plentiful supply of chocolate chips in the mix. Again the dough was easy to make up and tempting to eat raw. 

I served this flavour with mint chocolate Oppo. The chocolate flavour was good: rich, dark and sweet -what more could a girl ask for? I found this flavour to be soft and cakier than the oatmeal mix -they're certainly not chewy like supermarket bakery cookies- but they're moist and utterly moreish. 

9/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter and eggs: 307kcal P:12.6/C:25.1 F:18.5

Chocolate Chip
As with the double chocolate, this mix was chock full of chocolate chips. Unfortunately they sunk to the bottom of the cookies whilst baking, but that's only an aesthetic issue.

Again the texture was soft and fluffy. I was concerned that the whey protein flavour might be more evident in a less flavoured mix, but I still couldn't taste any difference to a normal cookie batter. Nom nom nom.

9/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter and eggs: 307kcal P:12.6/C:25.1 F:18.5

Summary
As you can probably tell, I'm super impressed with FlapJack's new cookie mixes. Yes, they're not the most macro friendly of the protein cookies on the market, but I really don't care when they taste so good. I love the fact that I can whip up some freshly baked tasty cookies in less than 15 minutes. They're perfect for anyone on a gluten free diet, those looking to top-up their protein intake, as well as  any fellow lazy bakers! I do hope that FlapJacked bring out a peanut butter flavour soon too, they would be marvellous! 

If you fancy giving them a try, please pop on over to FlapJack's website where you can get 10% off at checkout by entering the code: AMY10.

*made by Gookie Dough, review of which will be coming soon!