Costco Cinnamon Chip Bisconie Bites (Kirkland) Review
Author’s note: These are my own slightly eccentric opinions. I wasn’t paid (or compensated in any way) to write this review, and I have no affiliation with Kirkland nor Costco.
I’m not like the other Bisconies!
Several months ago, I bought Costco’s Cranberry Orange Bisconies. They were wonderful, but I never got around to writing a review (sorry!). Folks on the internet were raving about these newer Cinnamon Chip Bisconie Bites, so I decided to give them a try.
I semi-regret it.
It’s not that these aren’t “good.” They’re just not “that good.” They’re not a purchase I would have made, if I’d had a sample first. Here’s why:
They were too doughy and soft, and lacked the crisp exterior of the other bisconies. The Cranberry Orange version had a mouth-watering, biscuit-like “butteriness” that is absent here. I am confused by this, because the sign at my local Costco described these as “All Butter.” More about the perplexing ingredient list later.
What is a “Bisconie”?
Where does the name “Bisconie” come from, anyway? I guessed it was a combination of “biscuit” or “biscotti” and “cookie” and “brownie.” But, according to Allrecipes, “bisconie” is a Costco invention, and is supposed to be a combination of “scone” and “biscotti.” Honestly, the Cranberry Orange version fit that description pretty well. But, these Cinnamon Chip dudes just taste like soft cookies to me. Nothing like a scone OR biscotti. I said what I said.
The Cranberry Orange Bisconies were made with butter, and had a wonderful crisp exterior that gave way to a softer inside. They were truly flaky and tender, like a biscuit or scone. These Cinnamon Chip Bisconie Bites are far, far softer, but lack that lovely butter-crisp exterior. They’re just soft. Period-t. In fact, mine were so soft, they’re almost doughy. Like, a mass-produced, pre-packaged kind of mushy soft. They tasted like they had been baked several days before I bought them, which may not have actually been true. They just had “that taste.”
(Do you love cranberries in cookies? Here’s my review of Aldi’s Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie.)
Texture and Flavor
I do love the cronchy, big sugar grains on the outside. The crunch helps ameliorate the sad doughiness of the rest of these cookies. Something to bite into that fights back!
I also (somewhat) enjoy the flavor of these little nuggets. It’s a strong cinnamon taste, and — although not entirely natural-tasting — it’s potent. It seems artificially strong to me, however. A little forced. Sort of like my smile on Monday mornings.
I also appreciate the slight crumbly-crunch from the tiny cinnamon chips. To be clear, these are not like caramel chips or white chocolate chips — they’re a little harder, and don’t have a melty smoothness. But they do have a strong, textured cinnamon kick.
(Are you looking for more spice-flavored cookies? Here’s my review of Winternacht Pfeffernusse Cookies from Aldi.)
Appearance
These Bisconie Bites look great. They don’t look mass-produced. They have a toasty-browned edge, like they just came out of the oven (even if they don’t taste that way). The crinkled tops and visible cinnamon chips peeking out are enjoyably flirtatious. The dusting of sparkling sugar crystals rounds off the presentation and looks satisfyingly homemade.
Bite-Sized
I also like how thick, but small these are — something to sink my teeth into. They’re called “bites,” but even so, I nibbled at them slowly. I’m just a nibbler at heart. I think a normal person would simply pop a whole one in their mouths.
I brought these Cinnamon Chip Bisconie Bites to work and offered them to some colleagues, who gladly ate them and came back for seconds. So, it’s not as though they were generally disliked. They’re not something I would purchase again, however.
How did I serve my Costco Bisconie Bites?
I served mine as a cookie platter with a variety of other Fall flavors, like these Maple Creme Cookies from Aldi, and White Chocolate Raspberry Truffles from Truffettes De France. There are also Dark Chocolate Fig Truffles from “That’s It” on this plate.
I actually liked my Bisconie Bites better chilled. I stored mine in the refrigerator, and I liked that they tasted firmer after refrigeration. Not as doughy.
Ingredients in Costco Cinnamon Chip Bisconie Bites
Here are the ingredients, from the label (see notes below, because this was mightily unclear):
- Creme Cake Base (Bleached Enriched Flour [Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil [Soybean Oil and/or Palm Oil and/or Canola Oil], Contains 2% or less of each of the following: Salt, Nonfat Dry Milk, Leavening [Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate], Emulsifiers [Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid], Sodium Caseinate, Artificial Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Egg Whites, Whey, Soy Flour…???
- Cinnamon Flavored Chips (Sugar, Palm Kernel and Palm Oil, Whey Powder, Ground Cinnamon, Nonfat Dry Milk, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Natural Flavor)
- Eggs
- Unsalted Butter (Cream, Natural Flavors)
- Invert Sugar
- Natural Flavor
So, I’m pretty sure someone made a boo-boo on the ingredients list and forgot a closing parenthesis after the end of the “Creme Cake Base” ingredients. I stared at these ingredients for a long time, trying to locate the end of that stream of information, and still couldn’t figure it out. In my list above, I ended it after “Soy Flour.”
I know it doesn’t ALL belong under “Creme Cake Base,” because the big sign above the cookies in my local Costco said “All Butter.” Butter is waaaaaaaaaaaay down this list of ingredients, barely a blip at the end. Otherwise, we’d have to assume that these cookies are primarily made with one of the mysterious “Vegetable Oils” — Soybean, Palm, or Canola — since these are higher up on the list.
Grrrrr! I hate sloppy ingredient lists! Stop it!
Anyway. Even IF butter is the “fourth” ingredient, I don’t see how Costco can call these “All Butter” on the store sign. I must not understand the rules of product/ingredient labeling. Or something. Because they’re clearly made with other fats/oils, as part of the “Creme Cake Base.” Someone explain it to me!
Price and Servings in Costco Cinnamon Chip Bisconie Bites
The tub says 1 pound, 5 ounces, but I weighed mine on my kitchen scale at 1 pound, 12 ounces. So 1.75 pounds.
The tub cost $8.99 at my local Costco. The label said there were 42 Bisconie Bites in the package. Did I count them? No. No, I did not.
Assuming there were exactly 42 in my package, each Bisconie Bite would cost about 21 cents.
This is a “Kirkland Signature” (Costco store-brand) product, and the item# is 1849092.
Shelf-Life
The sell-by date on my package was dated for 2 days after my purchase. I refrigerated mine when I got home and I ate them over a period of 7 days. I didn’t notice any significant changes to the taste or texture over that time span.
As a side note, these DO come in a handy-dandy air-tight plastic tub. The tub was so nice, one of my art-teacher friends asked if she could have it when it was empty. Art teachers loooove trash! We’re basically racoons.
Dramatic Conclusion
If you love strong (but slightly artificial-tasting) cinnamon flavors, these might make you happy. If you like soft, doughy, sweet cookies, you may also like these. For me, I hated the flaccid texture and lack of biscuity-butteriness. I’ll hold out for a more natural and butter-tasting versions in the future — regardless of how much hype the Internet serves up.
The End.
More Reviews of Costco Desserts You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews of Costco bakery desserts I’ve written:
