Lately, I can’t get enough of these:
I’m obsessed.
I discovered Tazo’s iced tea at Starbucks. I never buy coffee at Starbucks. I’ve tried. You know I love strong coffee and my favorite is Peet’s French Roast. Starbucks makes their coffee way too strong for this coffee lover and it has a somewhat bitter taste. But I do stop in at the mini-Starbucks when I’m at my neighborhood Target and get a little Tazo Passion flavored iced tea for the trip home. It’s so good!
On a Target shopping trip, I noticed a box of the same tea and it magically jumped in my cart. Now I can have my very own glass of iced tea here at the cottage.
But the big obsession, my downfall, my craving, is this box of cookies.
I’ve never liked Oreos. I don’t like the taste of the chocolate they use. I don’t particularly like the creme center. They taste fakey and too sugary to me. I’ve tried. They have not passed the Claudia taste test. I have strict rules, you know.
When I was a young girl, my mom would occasionally buy chocolate creme cookies. I can’t remember what company made them, but they were far and away my favorite cookies to munch on. As I helped her unload groceries, I crossed my fingers that somewhere in one of those bags was a box of chocolate cremes. Just for me. Well, I suppose I had to share them with the rest of the family. I couldn’t secretly hide them in my bedroom, could I? I wouldn’t stoop that low….
Fast forward many years. Many years. Every once in a while, I would scan the cookie shelves in the grocery store, hoping against hope that something other than Oreos or any of the other standard sandwich cookies would appear. Nothing. Until recently…..
I was at our local store, in the darned cookie/cracker aisle (I’m also addicted to Stoned Wheat Thins) and I glanced at the section with specialty cookies, which often seem to be made in another country. The still-hopeful-after-all-these-years-dream of a chocolate creme cookie in my head, I did a quick scan. Double take. Rubbing of eyes. Did I read that label correctly? Afraid I was seeing things, I grabbed a box like the one in the photo. Chocolate cremes. Made by Dare, which is a Canadian company. Hey, my mom is Canadian, 3 out of 4 of my grandparents were Canadian – I felt it was my duty to give them a try. I must be true to my heritage. So I bought one box.
EXACTLY like the cookies of my youth. You have no idea how excited this made me. I couldn’t stop yammering about them. I made Don try them. (He likes them a lot. Darn. Refer back to sharing issues mentioned in paragraph 6.) I ate approximately 6 or 7 or 8 of them. Believe me, I could eat more than that in one fell swoop.
Since then, I buy two boxes at a time. When they are out of stock, my heart sinks. Clearly, I’m not the only local shopper who loves these. Sometimes I am forced to substitute Dare’s Lemon Creme cookies (which are quite tasty.) I have yet to try their Maple Creme cookies, but I’m sure I will succumb at some future date. But these smooth, velvety chocolate cremes are my achilles heel. They are a happy connection to my childhood. They are scrumptious.
I need to make sure that my local store never stops stocking these. Or heads are going to roll.
I mean it.
Happy Tuesday.
Yikes, what am I gonna do? I have to try these now!! I am not sure if I should thank you or hit you over the head with a box of oreos! Lol!
Sounds like they’re a must-try! And this post brings back memories of my favorite cookie (which no one seems to carry these days), Keebler’s French Vanilla Cremes. They were wonderful! Way better than Oreos, and I can’t find them anywhere. Maybe the Keebler elves keep them for themselves!
Boy- You don’t often here that- It was just like I had as a kid- line. How wonderful that you found them. I have never heard of Dane cookies. I cannot stand oreos either- that is what I buy for MyHero (who loves them) because then I know I will NOT BE TEMPTED to eat them- Have a great day- xo Diana
The problem with trying to share a childhood food with your spouse is you taste the memory. They just taste the “cookie.” You may as well keep them all to yourself. Last week our RV caught fire ~ total loss. Not the issue. The insult to injury was after the commotion I found I was out of both wine AND chocolate. Happy Tuesday, Claudia.
Cookie Cookie Cookie Cookie with a C
Me like cookies :)
Are these available at Target?
xoxo Debbie
Ok, Now I want them! There is nothing and I mean nothing better than finding that childhood snack that brings us right back to that happy place! ENJOY!!!
Blessings, Joanne
Sounds yummy! Your words have a way of making us experience the taste and delight of your favortie childhood memory.
I think I will have to scan the cookie aisle in hopes of finding these Dare cookies! Enjoy them! Bringing back memories is wonderful. Hugs, Linda
Hey Claudia – you’ll have to try the maple ones – they are my favourites. My mum always bought them when we were kids (she’s not much of a chocolate person). I still buy them a couple times a year. Not good to keep them in the house as I eat them all! J
What a fun post, Claudia. I’ve noticed a few little references to Canada in recent posts and they are appreciated by this Canuck!
I am a cookies monster! I never met a cookie I didn’t like. I must find these!!!! The tea too!!
XO Kris
I need to find something good to drink besides coffee..Tea is boring now..I used to drink it all the time before I got hooked on coffee..
I’m not a fan of passion teas, but one I do like especially in the heat of the summer is Celestial Seasoning’s Red Zinger with hibiscus over lots of ice. It is yummy. I’ll have to look and see if I can find those cookies way out west.
This Canadian is going to be searching high and low for those cookies…haven’t seen them yet. Ah real cookies that taste like real chocolate? Do you remember Bourban Creams? They were made by Peek Freens, dark chocolate biscuits, creamy chocolate interior, rectangle shaped, and they had that flavour that no one else could make? You can’t buy them anymore, just a few in a mixed bag, so sad…
And the Tazo tea, oh my it’s addictive, that’s why I paid, and this is shocking, $12.99 for a little tin of tea bags at Starbucks, I though it would save my passion for buying those on days after work. But I can’t quite get the same flavor….
Enjoy your cookies, and your iced tea, I will be seaching for my own here.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
I’m going to have to look for them. Being Canadian and all it is my patriotic duty. Since I love tea the cookie aisle is one I frequent. I really love the tea cookies, too. My all time favorite is the Pantry Molasses Cookie. Mmmm Mmmm.
What a sweet story…I always waited with anticipation to see what goodies my mom had bought! I’ll have to look for these…you sound like an expert! :)
XO,
Jane
Oh my Claudia, those cookies look devine!!!
I have a headache because I have been moving heavy large furniture but you made me laugh. Thanks friend.
Oh yes, Dare Chocolate Cremes. Yum! When I was a kid, it was a big deal taking a trip to the US so we could stock up on all the goodies we couldn’t get in Canada. Had no idea a Canadian treat has made the trip south. Glad you found them and that they still have the same taste you once enjoyed (that doesn’t always happen).
Have a wonderful day!
Oh, Claudia! Those cookies are made right here in my home town, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Glad you love them – I do too, and don’t care about Oreos either. Love your blog – I knew we had a connection somewhere! :)
Barb
I like TAZO tea so much. Thanks Claudia. I agree with you that Oreos have excess amount of sugar and are not so unique in taste.
– Mehul
stone range hood
The few times we were able to travel to Canada we Always had to bring home as many boxes of the Maple Cream cookies as our luggage and pocketbook would allow. I will have to look for the chocolate cookies next time we go to the store.
I’ve been craving cookies. But can’t find any kind that really tastes good. Wish I could try these sometime.
Brenda
Oh I am very familiar with those cookies and they are uber-yummy. Have you tried “Pims”, the ones with the shortbread on bottom, chocolate on top and raspberry filling in the middle? Heaven!