The Better Chip

Update Review, May 2020

Given that I never really want tortilla chips, I did not seek out more of the veggie forward versions from The Better Chip, but, they wound up in my snack cabinet when my partner was gifted a snack box.  

I still tried a few bags (one new flavor for me, one repeat, see my earlier review), since it had been 6 years since my last try of the product.

Conclusion?  Yup, I still don't ever want tortilla chips!  That said, the 2 flavors I had were the most boring in their lineup - perhaps sweet potato & plantain or chipotle & poblano are more interesting?

Spinach & Kale.

"These whole grain chips are made with straight-from-the-farm, fresh spinach & kale for pleasant, balanced flavor. Enjoy them right out of the bag or pair them up with warm artichoke dip or your favorite hummus. The spinach and kale we dice and blend into each chip go from farm to chip within a week."

I have tried this flavor before, but, I still wanted to try one more time in case my own personal preferences had changed ... which, well, happens, particularly around snack foods and my desire to eat healthy things.

But I felt basically the same as my prior try: the kale & spinach I did like, and you could almost taste them, but, they still are just tortilla chips, which, just aren't my thing.

Beet & Flax.

"We like the Earthy taste and vibrant color of fresh beet. That's why we bring them in fresh, from the field. Our chips have a mild Beet flavor... for real!"

The beet & flax fared no better, in fact, I think worse.  They were just tortilla chips (square this time! and red!), salty, savory, corn flavored.  The flax added bitterness, and, besides the color, I couldn't tell what the beets added.  I certainly couldn't taste it.

Original Review, June 2014

As you know, I love trying new snack foods, and in particular, chips.

Sometimes I go for classics, like those from Frito Lay,  and sometimes I try out ones that are supposed to be slightly better for you, like the ones from Food Should Taste Good.

As you can probably guess from the name, The Better Chip makes ones in the later category: "Unlike any other chip, The Better Chip puts flavor inside with fresh diced vegetables. Made from 100% natural and non-GMO ingredients."

They aim to make chips that are enjoyable for snacking, yet a bit less guilt inducing. Available in corn, jalapeño, spinach & kale, beet, and chipotle varieties, all made with corn masa, making them more like tortilla chips than classic chips. Since I dislike tortilla chips, this didn't bode well for me.

Red Pepper

The first flavor I tried was red pepper with salsa fresca.

The chips were very spiced, but the flavor reminded me a bit too much of Doritos, which I don't like.  They were almost good, and I went back and tried them many more times, hoping to like them.  A bit more in the salsa direction and less in the Doritos direction, and I would have liked them.  The flavor was so strong that they could act as a standalone chip, your chips and salsa all in one, no dip needed, although I bet they'd be good with some sort of cream cheese dip too.

They were very crispy, and I did like the hearty taste from the whole grain corn masa.

When I went to the web site to pull up the description, I found out that they no longer make the red pepper variety, so, perhaps I'm not alone in not caring for this flavor.

Spinach and Kale.

Corn masa chip, loaded with spinach and kale.

Wow, I really did not like these. I don't tend to like tortilla chips in general, and these were clearly tortilla chips. Except they tasted like spinach and kale. Now, I like spinach and kale, but it just really didn't work here. Just bitter. Meh.

Jalapeño.

And finally, jalapeño.

I *almost* liked these. They had a delightful kick from the jalapeño. They were salty. They were crunchy. But, at the end of the day, they were still tortilla chips, and, I just don't like tortilla chips!

Read More...

Sweet Things Bakery

You know I eat a lot of baked goods.  A lot of desserts.  So of course I've explored nearly every bakery in the area, including Sweet Things Bakery.

"Sweet Things Bakery was founded in 1977 with the commitment of making wonderful “homemade” desserts. Today all these wonderful sweets are handmade by a crew of dedicated bakers."

Unfortunately for you, wholesale is their primary business, so slightly harder for you to get your hands on, but you can actually purchase directly from their store inside Cal-Mart in San Francisco. My purchases have always been through our wholesale distributor (GourmetXpress).

Delivery Van.

I spot their delivery van all over town.  I spot their products all over town.  I always laugh when I see them at grocery stores, coffee shops, and even on restaurant menus, particularly higher end grocery stores that package them up to look like they bake in-house (hi Woodland's Market!).  I can recognize them easily at this point.

"Sweet Things Bakery is famous for its tempting takes on classic American-style desserts."

Their product line is quite extensive, yet I've literally tried 95% of the Sweet Things offerings carried by our distributor: all the cookies, all the cakes, all the pies, all the tarts, most of the individual items and pastries ... the only product line I haven't fully explored is the bars.  Sweet Things does make more cookies, and a few more pastries and seasonal items that my distributor doesn't carry, but I've ordered everything I can.  Like I said, I've tried a lot.  Some are better than others, and I'd say that for a wholesale vendor, they trend above average.  They do also do some gluten-free items, if that matters for you.

Cookies

As you likely know if you've read my blog for long, cookies are rarely my dessert of choice, I don't mind them, but, unless made into an ice cream sandwich, or unless a phenomenal cookie, I'd just generally prefer a pie, a cake, a pudding ... But sometimes I do need something I can just grab, and thus, a cookie does have a place in my life from time to time.

I've tried a few from Sweet Things, and, actually found one I like.  They make more than this, but our distributor only has the two kinds available.

S'mores.  $2.25.

"Graham cookie topped with marshmallow and dipped into dark couverture."

I don't usually try cookies, since I don't generally like them, but, this one looked too curious not to try.  Plus, I knew I could likely just extract the marshmallow!

It really wasn't bad ... for a cookie.  A co-worker says its one of the best desserts he has ever eaten.

The base is a cookie that tastes exactly like graham crackers.  Fascinating, really.  On top of that is a classic, sweet, fluffy, gooey, marshmallow.  Covered in dark chocolate that pools out around the edges.

While still not what I would choose for a dessert, the elements were well done, and I was pleasantly surprised, and, glad I tried it!

Update: I've had a few more of these, and, yes, always enjoyed them.  Sweet fluffy marshmallow and chocolate, hard to resist!

Big Roadies.

"Rich chocolate cookies with pecans, chocolate chips and marshmallows."
Another surprise?  This.

As I always say, I'm *not* a cookie eater for the most part.  But this was a very good cookie.

Super chocolately, and then loaded with more chocolate chips.  Great crunch from pecans.  Gooey from marshmallow.  It had a lot going on, fun textures, good flavor.  A very good cookie.

Cakes

Next up, cakes.  They make some full size and many individuals, which our catering team often cuts in half for "proper" portion sizes.  Basically all the classics are available, nothing particularly novel.  I wasn't a fan of any really.

Petite Carrot Cake. $4.95.

"Bulging with carrots, pineapple, shredded coconut, without nuts.  Topped with cream cheese frosting and a slice of candied pineapple."

If there was a word for the most generic carrot cake, this might win it.  It was, simply put, boring.

Yes, the cake had bits of pineapple which was nice.  Yes, it had carrots.  But it was not moist nor particularly flavorful.  No spicing really.

The frosting was cream cheese frosting, but again, boring.  Not a very strong cream cheese flavor, although it was a decent consistency.

The candied pineapple chunk on top looked like it had potential, but, it too was just boring.

There was nothing wrong with this exactly, but, it just wasn't great.

Carrot Cake.

"A Sweet Things trademark cake. Bulging with fresh carrots, walnuts, coconut and crushed pineapple with a rich cream cheese frosting."

The also make a carrot cake in a traditional form, a layered cake, cream cheese frosting on top, in the middle, and on the back.  Different in that it includes walnuts, where the petite version did not.  And no little candied pineapple on top.

I appreciated the crunch from the walnuts, that was certainly an improvement.  Otherwise, it was essentially the same cake.  I liked it slightly more as it seemed more moist, the nuts were welcome, and it had better ratio of cake to frosting (as in, more frosting!), but it still wasn't an amazing carrot cake.

Lemon Drop.

"A lemony pound cake individually baked, drizzled with a lemon cream cheese glaze."

Lemon desserts are never my favorite.  I don't like pound cake.  So this?  Did not like.

The cake was dry.  Not buttery.  Not good.

The glaze was fine, although I didn't taste the cream cheese as advertised.

Did not like this item.

Salted Caramel Bundt.

"Chocolate cake with a hint of coffee topped with caramel and chocolate shavings."

This was not a good cake.  It was dry.  It wasn't chocolately.

The frosting was just cloying sweet.

Not good.

Black Tie.

"Rich moist dark chocolate cake with creamy buttercream frosting."

Eh.  This was fine.  Mediocre but not bad chocolate cake, sweet and not particularly complex but not just sweet buttercream.

No more, no less, than your basic decent grocery store quality cake.

Black Magic Cake.

"Rich moist dark chocolate cake with a creamy fudge frosting and chocolate shavings. A classic old fashioned chocolate cake – unbeatable!"

Eh to the "Black Magic" as well, basically the same mediocre kinda dry and not interesting chocolate cake, this time layered with a fudgey frosting.  The frosting was almost good, but still just very sweet.  I did like the dark chocolate shavings.

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake.

"Three layer red velvet cake, with cream cheese frosting. Finished with red velvet crumble."

The red velvet crumble on top and the sides was a bit unique to this cake, not something I've seen before.  I can't say it added much to the eating experience of it, but, it was there to make it look a little bit better.

Red Velvet: Side View.

From the side you can see it was a nicely made 3 layer cake, cream cheese frosting between the layers, each layer the same thickness.

The cake was fairly moist, and decent enough, although not particularly remarkable.  It didn't taste gluten free in any bad way, but it also wasn't particularly good, no depth of flavor to the cake itself.

The cream cheese frosting was equally "fine" - it was sweet though, fairly cloying, and not all that cream cheese forward, and I usually like a higher ratio of frosting to cake.

So overall, for me, this cake was absolutely fine, it was nicely made, but it wasn't one I really wanted more of.

Fallen Angel Torte.

"A fallen chocolate soufflé covered with a very light chocolate mousse and chocolate shavings." -- GourmetXpress, Distribuor

"A light flour-less fallen chocolate soufflé, topped with fluffy chocolate mousse and chocolate shavings." -- Sweet Things

I saw "torte" on the menu, and almost didn't even take a look.  Eh, torte.  But ... then I read the description.  "Light chocolate mousse".  "Chocolate soufflé".  Ok, now we are talking!

Spoiler: This wasn't as good as it sounded.

The "very light chocolate mousse" or "fluffy chocolate mousse" wasn't really fluffy, it wasn't really chocolatey, it was just highly boring.  The "fallen chocolate soufflé" wasn't soufflé-like in any way, it was just very mild boring not very moist chocolate cake.

The dark chocolate shreds on top were fine?  Otherwise, there was really nothing redeeming here.

Cupcakes

And of course, always trendy, always good for catering: cupcakes!  Sweet Things makes all sorts of holiday mixes, themed with colors and toppings for the occasion.  I have been surprised by the cupcakes, as they are generally better than the actual cakes.

Mini Black & White Cupcakes.

"Miniature dark chocolate cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting."

The black & whites are the cornerstone of the cupcake lineup from Sweet Things, featured in nearly every assortment (just differently dressed), and also available individually.

These are good, solid cupcakes.

Moist enough cake, and the frosting, although thick and sweet, was quite enjoyable.

***+.

Assorted Cupcakes: Red Velvet Xmas Mini, Mini Chocolate Fudge, Mint Butter Bite.

Here we had assorted cupcakes, dressed up for the holidays.

I skipped the red velvet with cream cheese frosting and red sprinkles.

I first tried the green topped one, which turned out to be a "Mint Butter Bite", a butter cake with mint frosting and white and green sprinkles.  It was much better than I expected.  Great mint flavor in the frosting, cake wasn't too dry, very buttery and sweet.  ****.

I also tried the chocolate fudge (chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting), and the fudge frosting was great, really, really intensely fudgey. ****.

These reminded me of "grocery store" cupcakes if you know what I mean, a bit heavy on the sweet, but, more enjoyable than I expected.

Mint Butter Bite.

I liked the mint one so much, that when they showed up at an event the next year, I eagerly grabbed one.

I again loved how minty the frosting was, and the cake was buttery, dense, and sweet.

Really, a decent little "bite".  ****.

Holiday Assorted Bites: Mini Chocolate Fudge, Mini Black & Whites, Bug Bites, Frost Bites.
.

The next assortment I tried was dubbed the "Holiday Assorted Bites", clearly intending "Holiday" to mean "Winter".  It featured their standard Black & Whites and Mini Chocolate Fudge dressed up for the holidays (the Black & White had green sprinkles and red balls), plus the crowd pleasing Bug Bites (carrot cake with cream cheese and nuts), and the very wintery "Frost Bites", which turned out to be vanilla with blue vanilla buttercream and white balls.

I tried the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

It too was far better than I expected.  Thick frosting, super creamy, excellent cream cheese flavor.  The cake was awesome, totally loaded with shredded carrot, decently moist.  Topped with crushed walnuts. ****.

Fall Assorted Bites: Mini Chocolate Fudge, Mini Black & Whites, Spice Bites, Orange Butter Bites.

The fall lineup has the two standards (the chocolate fudge and black & white), plus two seasonal varieties.

I tried them all.

Fall Mini Chocolate Fudge.

The chocolate fudge is the standard chocolate base with fudge frosting, and comes garnished with orange sprinkles this time.

I was again impressed with the fudgy frosting. ****.

Fall Mini Black & White.

The black & white has the same chocolate base, white frosting, and black & green sprinkles.

Orange Butter Bite.

New to the assortment is the "Orange Butter Bite", with orange buttercream frosting and yellow balls.

Since I had liked the butter cakes before I thought I'd like this, but I did not.  The cake was a bit dry, it tasted stale, and like a bad version of a "grocery store cupcake".  Orange refers to color only, not flavor in this cupcake, the cake was plain, the frosting just sweet.  Cloying sweet.

Overall, this was shockingly bad compared to the other offerings.  Side note: the yellow balls though were actually really good ... they were sour! And crispy!  Totally not what they looked like.  **.

Spice Bites.

The "Spice Bites" were actually interesting, with currants and pumpkin pie spices in the base, cream cheese frosting, and orange & green sprinkles.

I liked the aggressive spicing in the cake, it didn't really taste "pumpkin spice" necessarily, more like, uh, spice cake, like a more intense version of carrot cake.  The cake was moist, I liked the sweetness and texture from the tiny currants.

The frosting was cream cheese based so not just cloying sweet, and it too had some spicing.

Overall, one of the more interesting, and best tasting, offerings. ****.

Red Velvet.

"Red Velvet cake with cocoa, topped with cream cheese frosting and Guittard chocolate jimmies and a red chocolate heart."

This was a seasonal specialty, for Valentine's day.  I couldn't resist ordering.

The red heart on top was white chocolate, and totally delicious.  I really enjoyed it.

The cupcake though was ... fine?  The cake was a bit dry, but did actually have a slight cocoa flavor which you don't normally get in a red velvet (even though they usually have cocoa in them ...).  The frosting was rich and generously applied, and very cream cheese forward.

If you are looking for a decent red velvet cupcake, with plenty of cream cheese and cocoa notes, this is a decent option. ***+.

Pies

Now we have reached a category I really do love.  Pies!  And Sweet Things really does make incredible homemade looking pies.

Blueboy Pie.

"Blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries in a flakey pie crust with crumb topping." 

This is actually decent pie, particularly for an item that I assume arrives frozen.  I've had it many times now.

Blueboy Pie a la Mode.

The crust is actually flaky.  Buttery.  It isn't stale nor dry, it isn't strangely moist, both problems that often happen with frozen pies.

The crumble top is excellent.  Slightly sweet, buttery, great texture.  I love it.

The filling is the weakest element, and also the part that seems not consistent.  Every time I've had the pie, I've really enjoyed the crust and crumble.  But the filling varies.  Sometimes it seems far too sweet, and sometimes far too tart.  I guess it depends on the fruit?  On how much extra sugar they add?  Plentiful whipped cream can help correct this, but, I wished they would do a better job with balancing the filling.

I appreciate the mix of berries, but, the other issue I have with the filling is the amount of seeds.  The little blueberries are great, but, the boysenberries just contribute way too much seediness for me.

So, great crust, great topping, but I don't generally care for the filling.  It makes me want to try some of their other pies ...

Pumpkin Pie.

"A traditional creamy filling with just the right balance of seasonal spices."

This was a pretty standard pumpkin pie.  The filling was creamy, pumpkin-y, spiced with classic pumpkin pie spices, but not too aggressive.

The fluted edges looked great, and it really had a "home made" appeal.  The crust wasn't particularly good though, not buttery nor flaky, just really, throwaway crust.

Overall, a very solid, standard, pumpkin pie, not offensive in any way, and a good looker.

Tarts

The pie lineup is quite small, but is augmented by a few tarts.  They were more unique.

Cranberry Mascarpone Tart.

"Chocolate 10" crust with a mascarpone cream base and a lemony cranberry top." - Sweet Things

"Chocolate crust with mascarpone custard and cranberry/ginger on top." - GourmetXpress, Distributor

From the top, this tart didn't look great.  It really looked like someone had dumped a can of cranberry sauce (a la cherry pie filling) on top of it and smeared it around.

It was much better than it looked.

There was a lot of the topping, and, it did taste like it looked ... really, just take cherry-pie-filling-from-a-can and pretend it is cranberry, and that is what this was.  Soft stewed berries, pleasant to bite into, covered in goo.  The cranberries were a bit tart, but, this was pretty sweet on top overall.  It wasn't a bad thing, really.

I didn't taste "lemony cranberry" as the manufacturer called it, which made me happy since I don't care for citrus desserts, nor "cranberry/ginger" as the distributor said.

Cranberry Mascarpone Tart: Side View.

From the side you can more clearly see the layers: chocolate crust, creamy white mascarpone filling, cranberry topping.

The filling was tasty.  Not as dense as a cheesecake, lighter than a custard, somewhat like a kinda thick mousse?  I didn't necessarily taste mascarpone, but it was creamy and I enjoyed it, and it helped offset the sweet/tart topping.

The crust was a chocolate crumb crust, decently chocolatey, and well formed, not too hard, but it gave some texture and didn't just crumble like some graham cracker crusts.  Basically ... Oreo crust, which when combined with the cream layer, really did remind me of an Oreo.  It also went well with the fruit.

Overall, this was pretty good, a good seasonal treat, but certainly sweet.

I've had it a few more times since, and always really enjoyed it.  Cranberry oreo pie is what I call it.

Apple Cheese Tart.

"Sweet crust with fresh apples on top of a sweet cheese filling with a pierced top crust.  " - Sweet Things

"Scalloped buttery pastry crust filled with sweetened cream cheese and layered with fresh apples, brandy, and cinnamon." - GourmetXpress, Distributor

Another seasonal "tart", but unlike the previous one, this one looked great!

This base was a sweet butter crust, somewhat like sugar cookie crossed with pie pastry, if that makes any sense.  Not quite as flaky as pie crust, but softer than a cookie.  It was good, not dry, not stale.

On top of that was a layer of creamy, sweet, cream cheese filling, like you find in a cheese danish.

Then, spiced apples, seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, other fall spices (and I guess brandy?).  Not too mushy, not too firm, good, for apple (not my favorite fruit).

The top was the lovely decorated top, made from more of the good pastry, with plenty of pearl sugar for extra crunch.

Overall, this was really quite good for a frozen, not homemade, product.  We had it served at room temperature, but I think it would be better warm.

Apple Cheese Tart: Side View.

Here you can see a bit better the way the layers were done.

The cream cheese filling in particular was a decently thick layer, enough to really add a creamy component, so whipped cream wasn't *necessary* ... although of course I still used it.

Lemon Meringue Tart.

"Beautiful, traditional sweet and tart dessert made with fresh lemons." 

I don't generally like tarts.  I don't generally like lemon desserts.  This ... no different.

Lemon Meringue Tart: Close Up.

I really, really didn't like this.

The tart shell was perhaps the best part, fairly sweet and buttery, but, still, just a tart shell.

The curd was, well, lemony.  It was a good custard texture though. The meringue was fairly impressive for a frozen item, lofty, generous.  But it was extremely eggy.  I didn't like it.

Not the dessert for me.

Lemon Chess Tart.

"Toasted almond crust filled with fresh lemon custard & decorated with lemon slices."

Yeah yeah, I hate tarts, I don't like lemon desserts, what am I doing?  It did look so pretty though, right?

The lemon custard was as bad as I feared.  Eggy, lemony in a way I dislike, basically, everything I was worried it would be.

The sweet lemon slices on top though were really fantastic, tart and sweet at the same time.

The crust was gritty from almonds which wasn't a bad thing, but it also had a strange taste that I didn't care for, I guess that was just the almond, like almond butter that I never like.

I liked this less than the lemon meringue even.

German Chocolate.

"Chocolate crust filled with coconut cream, coconut shavings and chocolate."

This wasn't quite when I expected when I ordered it.

The chocolate "crust" was at least 50% of the base, not the thin shell I was expecting.  The "coconut cream" um, wasn't cream?  I was anticipating coconut cream pie style, actual, cream.  There were actually coconut shavings and chocolate as advertised at least.

Once I got over my sadness that I didn't have a coconut cream pie with a chocolate tart crust, and treated it like the product it actually was, I was able to appreciate it a bit.

The base was better than a tart shell, actually.  It was basically a rich, thick, brownie.  Nothing tart shell like about it.  But a dense brownie wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I ordered it, and it wasn't a particularly good brownie.

The topping, clearly not coconut cream, was classic German chocolate cake filling, gooey coconut, pecans, in a very very sweet gooey base.  There was plenty of shredded coconut in it, and more on top.  Good texture.  It, however, was extremely sweet.  There was nothing to balance it  out.  Too sweet for me.

So, really, this was chocolate brownie with german chocolate topping, and wasn't great as it came.

Adding whipped cream to cut the sweetness was an improvement.  But really, what it needed, was to be entirely decomposed.  Which, of course, I did.

A warm chocolate brownie base.  Vanilla ice cream.  And then coconut-pecan topping.  A German chocolate brownie sundae.  That worked.

Other

Raspberry Almond Torte.

"Moist almond torte made with blanched almond paste, sweet butter and triple sec. Topped with a red raspberry puree and decorated with whole almonds."

This was actually pretty tasty, and torte style desserts aren't generally my favorite.

The raspberry puree on top really surprised me.  I expected it to just be a generic sweet goo, but instead it was actually really fruity, although, yes, it was quite sweet.  I liked the almond on top too, very simple, but a nice soft crunch in that bite.

 Almond Raspberry Torte : Side View.

The almond flavor was lovely, and the texture was fairly unique, like a firmer frangipane, almost like a crazy moist cake, but not quite.

Overall, still not the thing I go running for, as it is a cake, but nicely done.

Chocolate Decadence (Gluten-Free).

"A chocolate lovers dream!!!" -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Flour-less chocolate torte with a touch of brandy." -- Sweet Things Bakery

I ordered this for the gluten-free members of our group.

I didn't care for it.  It was a thick, dense chocolate cake, with a sorta ganache on top.  But it tasted a bit like chocolate sawdust, and lacked any enjoyable richness.

I tried warming it a bit, I tried adding whipped cream, but, I never actually liked it.

I was no alone, of our pie lineup, this one was the one no one wanted to take home the extra slices of.

Mini Pies/Tarts

I usually dislike mini pies and tarts, as the crust is often quite lame.  If real pie crust is used, it never is as good as larger size pies, and worse, I just hate tart shells.

But the Sweet Things mini pies had a really unique crust.  It seemed to be a shortbread crust, soft, buttery, and really not bad.  I wonder if it is the addition of rice flour that makes the texture like this?  Probably the first mini pie crust I haven't hated.

Packaging.

I got a chance to see how the pies arrive!  Shrink wrapped and frozen.

Mini Cherry Pie (2017).

The cherry pie filling I didn't love, but it had whole cherries in it, in a sweet enough goo.

I really liked the crumble top though, buttery, well spiced, generous.

Tiny Cherry Tart (2018).

The next year, the same item was rebranded slightly, "tiny cherry tart" rather than "mini cherry pie", which, actually, does set expectations better.

It again had the same soft, shortbread like crust, not a pie crust, but not a bad thing.  I again liked the crumble on top.

This time however, I even liked the filling.  Whole cherries, some goo, pleasantly sweet.

Overall, a fine little pie.  At room temperature it wasn't remarkable, but once I heated it up in the toaster oven, and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a crown of whipped cream, a drizzle dulce de leche, and a shake of rainbow sprinkles ... I really enjoyed it.

Mini Pecan Pie (2017).

The filling for the pecan pies was not classic gooey pecan pie as I am used to, but more like a caramel.  A bit chewy, which wasn't a bad thing, just, different.  It had a deep flavor, and was pretty good.  Lots of pecan bits inside.

So overall, very good, just not standard at all.  Shortbread crust, chewy caramel-like filling, but, it was good, and everyone liked these.

Pecan Tassie (2018).

The next year, the mini pecan pies rebranded as tassies, but totally the same product.

I again was fascinated by the shortbread crust, and the caramel like filling, but this time, I detected something in the flavor I wasn't quite into.  It is what gave it the deep flavor, but ... it wasn't quite what I wanted.  When I looked at the ingredients it was immediately clear: dates!  Why did they put dates in my pecan pie filling!!!

I tried this warmed up as well, and with ice cream or whipped cream, but, the date flavor, once I tasted it, really ruined it for me.

I don't want more of these.

Petit Rustic Applestack.

"Tart shell filled with fresh apples, cinnamon and custard topped with an oat streusel."

After the Apple Cheese Tart, I thought this would be good.  And it sounded right up my alley with oat streusel on top.

But ... I didn't really like it.  It wasn't horrible, but, it was very blah.

The shell was a quasi-crumbly, quasi-caramelized tart shell.  Not horrible, not good.  Inside was decently cooked, decently spiced apples in a kinda strange grainy custard.  The texture was odd.  On top, oat streusel, good amount of it, but it too just somehow fell flat.

Maybe they would have been better warm, or with ice cream?  I really wasn't excited by these at all.

Bars

Lower down in my list than cookies even, are bars.  Just, why?  Why ever pick a bar.  That is how I feel.  But Sweet Things makes a number of them, and I eventually tried a few.

Cranberry Coconut (Seasonal Special).

"Moist coconut and juicy cranberries make a delightful and refreshing bar."

This was almost really good.  The problem?  Well, I don't like cranberry.

But the shortbread base was decent, and I adored the sticky coconut layer above it, almost like the goo in pecan pie, but, with coconut mixed in.  On top of that, the tart cranberries that made me a bit sad but were juicy and flavorful, and flaked coconut.

If this was made with pecans instead of cranberries, I would have loved it.

Raspberry Shortbread.

"Shortbread crust filled with raspberry preserves & topped with brown sugar & oatmeal streusel."

Although I'm not one for bars, and all the previous bars I've tried from other vendors have really been lackluster, the near success of the cranberry coconut bar made me eager to try one made with ingredients I prefer, like, raspberries and streusel.

It was a decent bar.  Again, a nice buttery shortbread crust.  Topped with just raspberry spread, not particularly amazing, and just goo, but, sweet and fruity.  Oatmeal based streusel on top, scattered a bit thinly for my taste, but, decent.

So, for a bar, it was good.  Not my go-to dessert, unless, uh, warmed up and served a la mode or a la whipped cream, but, decent.

Gooey Blondie.

"Made with brown sugar and a gooey browned butter layer filled and topped with pecans."

Eh.

A very mediocre blondie.  The blondie itself was actually just plain, no nuts, no goodies.  Pecans seemed to only be on top.  No real rich flavor from the browned butter either.  And not gooey in any way.

Update: I tried it again, just to be double sure.  I think I liked it even less.  The texture, not gooey, the flavor, not brown butter.  Just ... a blondie, a very boring one at that.  #pass

Breakfast Pastries

I wish, wish, wish my distributor carried more of Sweet Things breakfast goodies.  Bread pudding muffins.  "Dirt bombs".  Buter pecan rolls.  Fruit galettes.  But alas, they only had the coffee cakes, so I ordered them all.

Hungarian Coffee Cake

"Featured in Bon Appetit magazine, this sour cream coffee cake is swirled with cocoa, brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. A great cake you can serve throughout the day." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Sour cream cake with chocolate, cinnamon and walnuts." -- Sweet Things

This looked like a boring bundt cake, but turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

It was extremely moist, the sour cream flavor was great, just enough to give it some interesting complexity.  

Hungarian Coffee Cake: Side View.

But what really set it apart was the filling.  Really thick, slightly gooey, cinnamon-chocolate-brown sugar goodness.  I loved it.  And the a few scattered walnuts for crunch?  Yes!

This was very good, certainly a winner and far more exciting than it looked. 

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake (Gluten-Free)

 "Cinnamon Coffee cake. Made with rice flour."

The gluten-free version looked only slightly different from the outside, perhaps a bit shinier.

It too had some faint sour cream, but was more dry, made with rice flour.  It was still good, just, not as moist and rich as the regular version.

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake (Gluten-Free): Side View.

But what made me really like it less was not the gluten-free texture, but rather, the filling.  This filling was only cinnamon-brown sugar, no cocoa, and much less generous.  It did have walnuts too.

Overall, don't get me wrong, this was still good, but not nearly as good as the previous one.

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