A crunchy and crumbly review of a variety of cookies from Byron Bay in Australia. It’s always hard to resist a good biscuit.
First baked twenty years ago in Byron Bay, these cookies were the first to see the Australian sunrise each morning. Byron Bay being the most easterly point in Australia. They’ve come along way since the first batch of white choc chunk and macadamia nut cookies and have now migrated to Britain as well as other parts of the world.
The Byron Bay Cookie Company appear to have a good ethical stance. I was particularly attracted by this as they continually seek to reduce their carbon footprint. They use free range eggs and some fairtrade ingredients. Many of these, such as their flour, oats, eggs, butter and honey, are locally sourced.
Byron Bay Cookies
A goodly sized box arrived in the post from Beyond the Bean, the main UK distributor for the Byron Bay Cookie Company. My initial thought was yippee. I always get excited when a parcel arrives in the post.
But my first thought after unpacking the selection of chocolate cookies was, these aren’t ordinary cookies, they’re doorstops – I know size isn’t everything, but these are whoppers. They were all nearly half an inch thick and weighed in at 60g apiece. One per sitting is enough, unless like me, you are particularly greedy.
Apart from the Triple Choc Fudge, the cookies came individually wrapped. So ideal as a packed lunch treat. Indeed, they would make an excellent walking companion. Having done some walking around Byron Bay, a couple of these would have been very welcome when hunger pangs set in. We’ve spent quite a lot of time this week down at the plot harvesting, digging and tidying up, so I know that these biscuits also make good gardening companions. CT will definitely vouch for that one.
In addition to the biscuits featured below, the pack also included a couple of gluten free cookies, a triple chocolate Dotty and White Choc Chunk & Macadamia. Gluten intolerant cookie lovers will be pleased to know that there is a gluten free version for many in this range. These tasted particularly creamy, almost like shortbread and had a lovely melt in the mouth feel. They were however, rather crumbly – one was broken on arrival, the only one that was so, as the others arrived in perfect condition.
Byron Bay Cookies – Triple Choc Fudge
The wonderful smell of chocolate wafted upwards as soon as I opened the Triple Choc Fudge packet. Half biscuit, half cookie they don’t resist the bite, but are just the right side of crumbly. Unlike some chocolate chip cookies which can be quite sickly, these were not too sweet, but were very chocolatey. The biscuit mixture is liberally studded with chunks of white chocolate, dark chocolate and fudge which provide the majority of the sweetness.
Byron Bay Cookies – Milk Choc Chunk
The Milk Choc Chunk was my personal favourite as it has an almost creamy taste and texture with lots of chocolate studded throughout. You can see from the picture above that these are by no means chocolate in name only.
White Choc Chunk & Macadamia Nut
CT’s favourite was the White Choc Chunk & Macadamia Nut, which was the company’s original cookie and I guess has withstood the test of time. It didn’t last long with us though. He felt macadamia nuts would make anything delicious, but particularly liked the crunchiness of the nuts contrasted with the creamy chocolate.
Byron Bay Cookies – Dotty
Dotty is surely aimed at kids, both little and large. The tops are covered in colourfully coated chocolate beans that make for a fun look. So they’re especially appealing to children. And I’m pleased to report that Byron Bay use only natural colours in their beans.
The cookie itself is full of milk chocolate chunks. Dotty is sweeter than the others because of the sugar coated beans, but nonetheless tasty.
Byron Bay Cookies – The Verdict
I really like liked the uneven sizes and shapes of these Byron Bay Cookies. They’re obviously meant to be reminiscent of homemade cookies and I have to say – they are. Of course, I would now like to try their non-chocolate flavours.
Since I read The Ordinary Cook’s review, I’m keen to get stuck into the sticky date ginger and walnut. It sounds particularly appealing. But then again so does their limited addition strawberries and clotted cream. All in all, I would be more than happy to munch my way through a few more of these delicious cookies. I’m happy to do this in a either cafe (which is the primary intended market) or in the great outdoors. Or actually, how about both?
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you get to try any Byron Bay Cookies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like some homemade cookie recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
samantha_ripley says
these are my most favourite cookies ever!
Tracy K Nixon says
Great review! These sound lovely! Might get some for my dad for Father’s day!
JaynesDen says
I saw these advertised on Facebook. These look so good.
Ananda Rajashekar says
oh gorgeous cookies chocolate with white choc and macadamia nut my new found love ) am sue to try this soon 🙂
Choclette says
Thanks for all your comments. I was hoping for I’d get some responses from the Southern Hemisphere.
CityHippy – glad it’s not just me that approves.
celia says
Oh this is close to home! How funny, I’m reading your review about local cookies I’ve never tried before! Thanks for the pointer, Choc! 🙂
Kath says
Great review, and thanks for the link. They sound as if they have been very tasty allotment treats.
Jacqueline says
These look delicious. What a wonderful parcel to receive. I like the look of those dotty ones. What does that say about me, hehe 😀
Gill the Painter says
I’ve not heard of them before, but they look the right size to me!
Sushma Mallya says
Lovely cookies..looks yum
cityhippyfarmgirl says
Ha! Now there is a post I wasn’t expecting. Who knew that this company had spread so far- actually it shouldn’t surprise me as they taste so damn good.
We were in Byron for a week in March, and it was very, very easy to eat as a locavore in that area. A lot of really great food comes out of that area.
The Caked Crusader says
In my greed, I have to confess that the first thing I noticed was the size of these biscuits – awesome!
Lucie says
These look fab!
Bridgett says
Now I wish we lived in England! I love how huge these are, even though I wouldn’t be able to finish one. Sounds like you had a great time giving them a go.
Gillian says
Hi Choclette, I recognise the logo on the individually packaged cookies. I am sure they are stocked some of the good cafes here. I never bought them though … assumed, like lots of packaged cookies, they were sweet and dry. I won’t pass them up again! I’ll be ordering the Triple Choc 🙂