Costco Kirkland European Cookies Review
Author’s note: These are my own unbiased opinions. I was not paid to write this review, and I have no affiliation with Costco. Which is probably a huge relief to Costco. Ha.
Definitely on the “nice” list.
If you’re looking for 176 chocolate-covered holiday cookies, this might just be the product for you. Yes, I said “one-hundred-and-seventy-six” cookies. Yes. That’s a LOT of cookies. More than 3 pounds of cookies.*
Or, if you’re looking for a new “stealth sewing kit,” this may also be the product for you! These cookies arrive in a snazzy metal tin with a snug-fitting lid. Let me make it easier by giving you the dimensions of the metal tin: approximately 11 x 8 x 4 inches. Imagine the notions that would fit inside this bad boy!
OR, if you are looking for more than a dozen different cookie flavors, this may ALSO be the product for you. There are 15 different cookie varieties in this “collection.” I was impressed that none of the cookies types seem to repeat the same texture or flavor.
Inside the sewing kit (errr, I mean, tin) are two individually wrapped plastic trays, with the cookies organized by style.
Although all of the cookies are very crisp and crunchy, they are not monotonous — each of the 15 varieties seems to be made from a distinct batter base. There are butter-flavored cookies, and cookies made from chocolate batter, and cookies with minced hazelnuts inside, and even some with ground espresso bits. I personally enjoyed the butter-flavored cookies the best. There weren’t enough of these. More about that later.
Unfortunately, there is less variety in the chocolate coating. There are a few cookies with white or dark chocolate, but the vast majority have milk chocolate. It’s a pretty consistent “Belgian Milk Chocolate” taste. I’d describe the chocolate as wonderfully creamy, smooth, and crisp. It doesn’t taste like cheap or tacky chocolate. The cocoa butter aroma is strong, and there’s a quality “snap” to the chocolate when broken.
Because there is so much milk chocolate, these cookies take on a fairly “sweet” taste. If you are more of a dark chocolate/less sweet dessert lover (like I am), you may be slightly disappointed. These are great cookies for folks with a strong sweet tooth, however.
Aesthetically, these are fancy-schmancy little cookies. None of them are “plain” — they all feature some kind of specific design or pattern.
I love all the different shapes and textures. Some of the cookies are super thin, like a delicate wafer, and some are thick with layers or filling inside. Some are long, narrow sticks, and some are rectangular, and some are round. There’s even a heart-shaped cookie.
I appreciated the menu, which helped me select the right cookie for my mood. I did, however, find the descriptions overly vague. For example, the Mocha Milk doesn’t mention that the crisp cookie base has ground espresso bits mixed into it, which imparts a delightful coffee flavor and surprising texture. The menu just describes it as “delicious cookie.” Here’s a picture of that “delicious cookie.”
My biggest disappointment in these cookies is the lack of butter. It’s not a total absence — “butter” is listed in the “2% or less” portion of the ingredients, but it’s not a lot of butter. Most of the crispy cookies seem to be made with vegetable shortening, instead of butter. This does not impress me. I am “Team Butter” forever!
I am also saddened by the meager use of dark chocolate. And, minimally disappointed by how few nuts are present. There are no garnish nuts, but there are hazelnuts ground into some of the cookie batters or inside the cookie filling. I think it would spice up the presentation to have more nutty cookies.
I am, however, impressed by how “perfect” these cookies look — none of them are broken or damaged in any way, and there are no ugly crumbs or weird cookie dust muddying up the presentation. These are pristine and lovely objects. All one-hundred-and-seventy-six of them.
Nutrition Facts in Kirkland European Cookies
Ingredients in Costco Kirkland European Cookies
As previously mentioned, I was disappointed to find these are not “butter cookies.” Vegetable Shortening is the primary fat. I am pleased to see there are no artificial flavors listed.
Here are the ingredients:
- Sugar
- Wheat Flour
- Cocoa Butter
- Vegetable Shortening (Palm Fat, Sunflower Fat, Palm Kernel Fat, Coconut Fat [tree nuts])
- Chocolate Liquor
- Skim Milk
- Contains 2% or less of: Butterfat, Butter, Glucose Syrup, Wheat Starch, Vegetable Oils (Sunflower Oil, Colza Oil, Palm Oil), Dried Whey (from milk), Soy Lecithin, Sunflower Lecithin, Rapeseed Lecithin, Mono-and-Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Lactose, Cocoa, Dextrose, Leavening (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Potassium Acid Tartrate), Cocoa processed with Alkali, Caramelized Sugar Syrup, Milk, Salt, Whey Product (from milk), Hazelnuts (tree nuts), Egg Whites, Natural Flavors (Vanilla, Coffee, Caramel, Hazelnut, Butter, Lemon), Coffee, Fructose, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Eggs, Dried Egg Whites, Invert Sugar Syrup, Dried Egg, Sugar Syrup, Hazelnut Paste (tree nuts), Dried Egg Yolk, Lemon Peel, Spices, Citric Acid, Barley Malt Extract, Dried Cream (from milk).
These are made in Germany. The palm oil is “Certified Sustainable” by RSPO, and the chocolate is “Rainforest Alliance” certified.
I totally googled “Colza Oil.” You know I did. Anyway, it’s just Canola oil. Bah.
Price and Servings
The Kirkland European Cookies tin costs $14.99. Since there are 176 cookies, each cookie is 8.5 cents.
The Costco item # is 181679. This is a “Kirkland Signature” (store brand) bakery item. Since this is a seasonal item, I found it in my local store in November and December.
*No, I didn’t count the cookies in the tin. I’m not that weird. I multiplied the number of cookies per serving (4) times the number of servings per tin (44), which is 176. If you actually counted them and got a different number, let me know.
Shelf Life
My tin has an expiration date approximately 8 months from my purchase. Because the two trays are individually plastic wrapped, I can open one and eat it all now, and eat the other one 6 months from now, if I want. Because these cookies are crispy, they are vulnerable to the evil Florida humidity. My preference would be to have 3-4 shallower trays with individual plastic wrapping. But two is still much better than one! I’ve been eating the first cookie tray for about two weeks now, and the cookies are not even slightly soggy yet. Hurray.
The End.
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