Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes, reviewed

Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes
You don’t usually find cookies or cakes the refrigerated section of the grocery store, though you’ll often find ready-to-bake cookie dough. Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes stand out from the rest of the refrigerated products that surround them because they look like already baked cookies tucked in between the pudding cups and …

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Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes
You don’t usually find cookies or cakes the refrigerated section of the grocery store, though you’ll often find ready-to-bake cookie dough. Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes stand out from the rest of the refrigerated products that surround them because they look like already baked cookies tucked in between the pudding cups and cookie dough packages. Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes – which come in Birthday Truffle Crumb and Chocolate Cakes – are ready-to-eat treats from Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar line, inspired by her well-known confetti cakes.

The truffle cakes come in packages of two and are just a bit bigger than your average candy bar. There are two cakes in each package. The cakes seem to actually be more like cake pops than regular cake, very dense and with an almost cookie dough-like texture to them. Most cake pops are shaped into balls, put on sticks and served fresh. These are flattened into discs, dipped in a white confectioners’ coating and rolled in streusel and sprinkles, then packaged.

Milk Bar Birthday Truffle Crumb Cakes

The truffle crumb cakes look cute and brightly colored, but they’re just not as satisfying to eat as a real birthday cake or even a cake pop. They’re extremely sweet, and their dense texture means that they are both chewy and a bit dry. The streusel on top adds a bit of crunch for texture, but adds even more sweetness.

I think that there may be confectioners’ coating within the truffle cakes due to their dense texture – and the fact that a lower moisture content will keep them fresher for longer, unlike their freshly baked counterparts. White confectioners’ coating is also known as white candy coating and is frequently described as white “chocolate” made with a vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter. It is very sweet and much more stable than real chocolate, requiring no tempering. The chocolate version is slightly less sweet than the plain flavor, but not by much.

If you love eating refrigerated cookie dough out of the package, these are almost like dressed up pieces of cookie dough and you’ll probably enjoy the variety. If not, you’ll probably want to pass on these – or at least serve them with some hot, black coffee to cut all the sweetness.

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Trader Joe’s Cookie Mug Hangers, reviewed

Trader Joe's Cookie Mug Hangers, reviewed
The holiday season is all about cookies, and as much as I love other desserts, I’m always looking for new cookie recipes to bake and new cookie treats to try. I couldn’t resist Trader Joe’s Cookie Mug Hangers when I spotted them while out shopping. These adorable gingerbred people are cut to fit …

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Trader Joe's Cookie Mug Hangers, reviewed
The holiday season is all about cookies, and as much as I love other desserts, I’m always looking for new cookie recipes to bake and new cookie treats to try. I couldn’t resist Trader Joe’s Cookie Mug Hangers when I spotted them while out shopping. These adorable gingerbred people are cut to fit over the rim of most mugs, accessorizing your coffee, tea or hot cocoa with a sweet and friendly holiday face.

The cookies are sold in a package of 16, which is plenty for most gatherings. That said, you’re probably going to want to keep a box for yourself because these cookies are absolutely delicious. The gingerbread people are very crisp, but very tender. They have a great balance of sweet and spice, with nice punches of cinnamon and mace over a molasses backdrop. The spacers where they are designed to slip over the rim of a mug are generous, so they should fit over all but the chunkiest of handmade mugs. I found that they were particularly delicious with hot cococa topped with whipped cream or marshmallows, but I also enjoyed them with plain black coffee in the mornings. I’m not exaggerating when I say that their smiling faces were a fun holiday pick-me-up with my morning coffee!

In short, these are excellent cookies that look great and taste even better. This isn’t always the case with gingerbread people – nor with cookies that have a decorative purpose. I’ll be stocking up on a few extra boxes to enjoy into January.

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Let’s Chat Rothy’s

Three fave improvements in the ‘vegan scene’ in the past five years. One, vegan cheese. I mean, there are SO many options these days. Two, vegan ice cream. Same thing. And so many mainstream brands now have vegan options. And three, vegan shoes!!

I spent many early vegan years feeling shoe shopping deprived. I wandered the shoe section at Bloomingdales or wherever and every single boot or heel was made from leather. I left, with empty arms and a sad face. Shoes are overrated anyways, right? But flash forward to today, I proudly have an over-stuffed vegan shoe closet and a big smile on my face when I look down at happy feet! From boots and heels to ballet flats and loafers, vegan shoes are diverse and sophisticated these days. I’ll include a list of my favorite vegan shoe…

This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!

Three fave improvements in the 'vegan scene' in the past five years. One, vegan cheese. I mean, there are SO many options these days. Two, vegan ice cream. Same thing. And so many mainstream brands now have vegan options. And three, vegan shoes!! I spent many early vegan years feeling shoe shopping deprived. I wandered the shoe section at Bloomingdales or wherever and every single boot or heel was made from leather. I left, with empty arms and a sad face. Shoes are overrated anyways, right? But flash forward to today, I proudly have an over-stuffed vegan shoe closet and a big smile on my face when I look down at happy feet! From boots and heels to ballet flats and loafers, vegan shoes are diverse and sophisticated these days. I'll include a list of my favorite vegan shoe...

This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!