So apparently chocolate brownie mince pies are now a thing. Two completely different desserts, originating from different countries, eaten on different occasions, now mushed together into one (apparently) glorious cultural melting pot of a sweet treat.
What next I wonder? Peach melba milk tart? Apple crumble koeksisters? Lemon meringue double chocolate salted caramel fudge cheesecake with crystalized pineapple chunks? Where will this madness and fashion for exceedingly-long food names end, I ask myself?
I can’t understand how people manage to eat these things and not feel guilty. Although, I actually think feeling guilty about food is just a British obsession and other nations (particularly not Americans!) simply don’t feel bad about eating things which ooze calories, carbs and the whole kit and caboodle.
Bill Bryson put it best when he said he’s never seen a British person be offered a plain biscuit without hearing them remark “Oooh I shouldn’t, oooh, go on then” as if a Tennis biscuit or plain shortbread was the biggest treat in the world. I know the feeling – I actually do this all the time too.
Food guilt is a big part of my dessert eating habits and customs and the current fashion for joining desserts together isn’t as bad – in my opinion – as the fashion for brand extensions. For example – a Kitkat is a Kitkat. It’s a wafer biscuit in chocolate (and by the way, I already have an issue with the four fingered version which has always seemed unnecessarily-indulgent) so you can imagine my horror on returning to the UK recently and discovering you can also get a Kitkat in the following formats:
– Bite size
– Ice Cream in a tub
– Ice cream on a stick
– Yoghurt
– Cheesecake
– Normal cake version
– Mini-bag of sweets kind of version
It’s the same for Bar Ones (or Mars Bars), Smarties, Crunchies – the list goes on and on. Is it just me that’s horrified at the opportunities to indulge that are now available on our supermarket shelves? Will we soon be buying Kitkat-flavoured chips or dessert sushi topped with sweet mayonnaise and Kitkat crumbs?
Or should I just shut up and ditch the guilt at loading these sweet treats with ALL the calories and ALL the options at once? Perhaps I should and on that note, I bet those chocolate brownie mince pies would taste great with Kitkat ice cream – excuse me, I’m off to the shops!
We’d love to know what two treats you think should be made into one? Tell us in the comments section below!