I dispute the existence of any proper food category that could be called "cookie sticks." I think we're all familiar with the concept of "cookie bars"--cookie dough baked in a cake pan instead of dolloped onto a cookie sheet. What Trader Joe's has done here is just take cookie bars and cut them into thin strips. This is not a new thing, it's just an old thing cut a bit differently.
I've never much liked cookie bars. I think the reason is that they throw off the ratio of surface to interior; you get too much interior texture and not enough surface texture. Obviously that problem is not cured by how you cut them after baking. As a result, I don't much care for these TJ's "sticks," either. There's very little crispness from the outer surface being in contact with the oven's hot air. Imagine taking a bunch of nice cookies, peeling off most of the crispy surface, and smooshing the resulting soft, bare insides together. That's what you've got here.
I have liked the addition of salt to chocolate in some contexts, but it didn't do anything for me here.
Will I buy it again?
No. I rate this a pretty dismal failure. I ate one of the four "sticks" in the package. Nina ate less than half of one before turning up her nose. The remainder went back to the store for a refund.
I had a similar issue with the gingerbread holiday version last year. The flavor was great but i couldn't get past the weird soft texture- and the crunchy sugar on the outside was somehow too large and too crunchy.
ReplyDeleteIf i'm eating a cookie i want it to feel like it's "worth the calories"!
Ttrockwood