Tested! Nonni's Salted Caramel Biscotti

A few months ago, I went on an amazing vacation to Italy. To my amazement, their breakfast ended up being my favorite meal, the foods I still rave about to this day. Among them was biscotti which I loved so much to dunk into my cappuccino. Right when I got back home, I was determined to create a breakfast every bit as delicious as the ones I ate while in Italy. This included cold cuts, various cheeses, pastries, cappuccino, and of course, biscotti. I went to the grocery store and was saddened when I couldn't find biscotti that resembled the biscotti in Italy (theirs was not sweetened and was basically like small pieces of toast). However, I stumbled upon Nonni's salted caramel biscotti, and since I am a fan of anything salted caramel, my sadness soon turned to elation.

While trying this product, I considered several things including cost, nutrition, appearance, portion size, and of course taste. I also tested it in two ways: eaten plain without anything else and dunked in a cappuccino (I used Hills Bros. French Vanilla which I also reviewed on a separate blog post).

Cost: About $4.39 (.80/oz) for a package of 8 individually wrapped biscotti's. This may seem a bit high in price, however, when you consider that these are about the size of a candy bar and cost about .55 cents each, it seems a bit more worth it. This is also somewhat of a specialty flavor and when you consider there are no other biscotti's available that are similar to this in flavor, it makes the cost more justifiable.

Nutrition: I am not gonna lie, there is really no nutritional value to these. Much like a candy bar, these are simply carbs and sugar. However, everyone at one time or another has had a sweet tooth. These are 100 calories and when compared to another sweet and convienient snack, lets say a Twix bar (both are somewhat cookie, have chocolate and caramel), this biscotti is about half the amount of fat, carbs and sugar of the Twix Bar. Yes, I am comparing one biscotti to two Twix, however, one biscotti is relatively large and is about as filling as two twix bars. Nutritionally, Nonni's biscotti (by itself) is a better option than a standard candy bar. However, that is assuming it can be eaten alone, as is, and not dunked in a cup of coffee.

Appearance: These look exactly as pictured on the box, and in my opinion, that is delicious. They are quite
pretty to look at actually and look like they would be a lot more unhealthy for you than they actually are. A thin strip of dark chocolate holds a firm and crunchy cookie which has hard caramel chunks throughout. It is coated with drizzles of chocolate and then topped with very visible coarse ground sea salt.

Portion size: The portion size is decent, as stated it is about the size of a candy bar, although it might be slightly smaller. It is definitely enough to satisfy a sweet tooth, however, this is obviously not a meal replacement and because it is made up of mostly carbs and sugar, it will not keep you full.

Taste: YES!!! The best part of the testing! As I said, I tested this product in two ways, as is and also dunked in a cappuccino. I can fully attest that Nonni's biscotti is absolutely delicious when dunked in a good cappuccino. It is decent by itself, however, it is a bit too hard to eat alone. That is biscotti though... it is really meant to be eaten after dunked in coffee. When dunked in a cup of coffee (or in my case cappuccino), the texture loosens up but leaves the caramel chunks hard for some much needed texture and the chocolate starts to melt. That little bit of salt on top makes for the perfect ending as you get that wonderfully sweet and salty flavor. Honestly, it is sinfully delicious.

Jenn Approved!

Overall Grade: I would give this product a B. I didn't feel it warranted the highest rating due to it almost requiring another product (coffee) to enhance the flavor and texture. However, when paired with your favorite coffee, this biscotti is simply divine. Yes, this will increase calories, carbs and sugar (especially if you chose a cappuccino as I did) but it makes a great dessert or would be a terrific snack to keep the sugar pangs away. For this reason, and because I am a huge lover of anything salted caramel, I would approve these.