Cookie Review: Tim Tam - Caramel

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Delicious.  And did I mention how good they taste?

Cons: Very pricey; not available year round

The Bottom Line:

A little pricey

But they are so delicious

Indulge as a treat

Australian Goodness Finally Available in America (For a Limited Time Only)

Thanks to my friends in Australia, I was already familiar with Tim Tams.  These delicious cookies are a favorite down under.  I've had some shipped up to me, and I instantly became a fan.  So when I discovered Pepperidge Farm was selling them during the holidays, I made a point of getting some to enjoy.

A Tim Tam is an ingenious cookie.  The inside is basically two chocolate wafer like cookies.  They have a bit more substance than the wafer cookies we can normally get here in America, but they are crunchy and a bit porous.  Between the wafer cookies is a filling of some kind.  Surrounding that is a layer of chocolate.  So these will definitely appeal to chocolate lovers if no one else.  The surrounding chocolate keeps the inside cookies from crumbling too much.  You might get some chocolate on your fingers, but you won't get lots of crumbs from eating them.

I am a caramel fan, so of the varieties available here in the states, these are my personal favorites.  The inside most layer consists of gooey caramel goodness.  It's just enough to stand out from the chocolate flavor surrounding it, but it compliments the chocolate taste instead of over powering it.

While none of the packages contain an abundance of cookies (this is Pepperidge Farm after all), the caramel Tim Tams contain the least of the three that are currently available here in the states.  There are only 9 cookies in the package (instead of the 11 the other two flavors have).  Both of those are weird numbers to put in a package if you want the truth.

Tim Tams are currently only available in Target and some grocery stores.  Personally, I wasn't able to find them in any grocery stores around here, but one of the Targets in town has them in abundance.  During December, they were on sale for $2.50 a package.  Normal price is around $3.30.  These aren't cheap cookies.  But they are so delicious.

When I am thinking about sweets, I don't even want to think about calories or fat or any of that.  Seriously, you know sweets aren't good for you.  Why confirm that fact?  I did look at the nutritional information here.  Two cookies are 190 calories, 80 from fat.  And there's no redeeming value to them at all.  That's why I love them.

You know they must be good because the ingredients list starts off with sugar before it begins to list flower and condensed milk, a couple different butters and oils.  Really, there's nothing that's remotely good for you here.

These seem to be a season item, at least for the time being.  They showed up during the winter last year, and that's when they showed up again this year.  Rumor has it they will be available until March, but I urge you to get some today before they disappear again.

I judge my sweets based on one thing - how they taste.  And based on that, I love the caramel Tim Tams.  My pocket book is taking off a star for the cost to cookie ratio.  And I've got the responsible part of me that cares about calories and nutrition gagged so he can't bother me.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a package of cookies to finish.