I thought things were getting a bit exciting in the biscuit aisle when they put dark chocolate on the top of Gingernuts but nothing could have prepared me for the combination of Mallowpuffs with Mint Treats - my two favourite biscuits.
This range from Griffin's takes several combinations of Mallowpuffs, Toffee Pops, Krispies, Chocolate Chippies and Hokey Pokey Squiggles. A quick scan of the ingredients tells me there are no artificial flavours or colours.
MallowPuffs & Mint Treat Collisions
$4.89 for 8 biscuits
Sugar
Each one of these 23g biscuits will give you 10.8g or 2.5 teaspoons of sugar which is nearly half the biscuit. So this immediately puts this biscuit in the treat/occasional food category.
Cocoa mass
This is a paste which is produced when you grind cocoa beans up.
Wheat flour
Flour you would use in your baking.
Vegetable fats (antioxidant (306))
This doesn't tell us which kind of vegetable fat but the 306 refers to tocopherol concentrate which is Vitamin E and added in here probably to preserve the fat. It is a natural ingredient.
Cocoa butter
This is the pale yellow vegetable fat taken from the cocoa (or cacao) bean. Some chocolate makers have started replacing this ingredient with lower cost vegetable oils such as palm oil.
Glucose syrup
This fruit sugar is very sweet and made out of honey, tree fruits, berries, melons and some root vegetables.
Water Invert syrup
This mixture of glucose and fructose gives a sugar product that remains moist in a product like marshmallow.
Milk solids
Proteins and carbohydrates found in milk after evaporation.
Cocoa powder
The same as you use in baking to get a chocolate flavour.
Dextrose
Another name for glucose, which is a simple sugar.
Gelatine
Gelatine is used as a gelling agent and it is usually made from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones, most commonly pork.
Emulsifiers (soy lecithin, 476)
Soy lecithin is a yellow-brownish fatty substance which occurs in animal and plant tissues, in this case soya beans. 476 is polyglycerol polyricinoleate made from castor beans, a common ingredient in chocolate because it reduces the thickness of the product. These keep the fat and water mixed together.
Golden syrup
It is basically just an amber coloured version of invert syrup mentioned above.
Condensed milk
Cow's milk which has had the water removed and sugar added.
Salt
Raising agents (baking soda, 450)
Baking soda is a familiar raising agent to all home bakers and 450 is potassium pyrophosphate, a natural raising agent.
Natural flavours
Lovely to see that Griffin's are using natural flavours. In this case it could possibly be peppermint essential oil for the peppermint flavour.
Contains: 42 per cent dark chocolate, 19 per cent mallow and 14 per cent creme.
My recommendations
Five ingredients give these biscuits their sweet flavour so it is no surprise to find they are nearly half sugar. I am pleased Griffin's resisted the temptation to colour the peppermint part green with an artificial colour.
Highlights
* No artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.
* Nearly half the biscuit is made up of sugar.
* Uses natural flavour.