Tim Tam cookies are coming to America

Arnott’s is sharing their famous Tim Tam recipe with their US sister-company Pepperidge Farm in hopes of getting Americans to love the chocolate cookie that Australians have been all over for the past 40 years. The Tim Tam packs in regular chocolate and caramel are to be sold exclusively at Target beginning November 2008 until March 2009.

I’m assuming that after March 2009, Campbell Soup Co., which owns Arnott’s and Pepperidge Farm, will take a look at how well the Tim Tam sales did and decide from there whether to make Tim Tam cookies a staple of American diets!

I cannot wait to go to my local Target to see if they’ve already got these in stock! The suggested retail price of each cookie pack is $3.39.

The TAM TAM collection

Tim TAMS

WHAT IS A TIM TAM?
Tim Tams are Australia’s favourite chocolate biscuit (chocolate coated Cookie with a creamy center).


HOW POPULAR ARE TIM TAMS IN AUSTRALIA?
Arnott's reports that "Around 30 million packs are sold each year - that’s nearly 300 million biscuits, or two packs for every Australian." That's a lot of Tim Tams! Yes, they're pretty popular with those Aussies!


HISTORY
Tim Tams were first launched in 1963. They were named after a horse that ran in the Kentucky Derby in 1958. A member of the Arnott family, Ross Arnott, attended the race day and decided ‘Tim Tam’ was the perfect name for the new biscuit he was about to launch. Since the launch of the Original Tim Tam biscuit Arnott's have now made eight different flavoured Tim Tams: Original, Chewy Caramel, Mocha, Double Coat and Classic Dark Chocolate, Special Edition Tim Tam Hazelnut, Limited Edition White Chocolate and new Special Edition Chewy Choc Fudge.

(Source: www.arnotts.com)


WHAT DO TIM TAMS TASTE LIKE?
Tim Tams were developed so that the chocolate has a slight hint of caramel in it. Where as the cream in the center is more a vanilla, butter and chocolate flavor. Whatever the combination, it works well and tastes great.


INGREDIENTS (Tim Tam Original)
Milk chocolate (38%)(sugar, milk solids, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifiers (e322: soy, e476), flavouring), wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oil, golden syrup, colours (e102, e110, e129, e133, e150), milk solids, cocoa, salt, raising agent(e500), emulsifier (e322: soy) and flavouring. May contain traces of peanut, other nut, egg or seed.


NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER BISCUIT (Tim Tam Original)
Energy 393kJ, Protein 1.0g, Fat 4.9g (Saturated 2.4g), Carbohydrate 11.3g (Sugars 8.2g), Sodium 31mg.


SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Australian Desserts: Try these yummy Tim Tam recipes...

NAKED
Eat an icy-cold Tim Tam all on its lonesome.

TIM TAM HEAVEN
Crush 3 Tim Tams up into a dessert bowl, pour 1 shot glass of Port or Muskat over them, top with sweetened cream and chocolate sprinkles.

TIM TAMS WITH BERRIES & ICECREAM
Tim Tams served with strawberry and vanilla icecream sprinkled with some fresh berries.

TIM TAM CHEESECAKE
Make your favourite cheese cake however use crushed Tim Tam biscuits and butter to make the crust.

TIM TAM SLAM
Also known as the TIM TAM Suck or TIM TAM Bomb. Grab a Tim Tam and a warm drink (coffee, milo or tea). Nibble both ends off the biscuit and use it as a straw for your drink. When its saturated, quickly SLAM it in your gob before it falls apart. It can get kinda messy, but who cares when it tastes that GOOD!

TIM TAM CHOCOLATE SUNDAE
Twiggy at www.geocities.com recommends the "Tim Tam Sundae". Get 4 Tim Tam Chocolate Biscuits (roughly chopped), add extra creamy Ice Cream, then 2 tablespoons Hot Fudge Chocolate and sprinkle on some Toppings to taste. Look at their photo of the final product (www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/2436/timtams/recipies.html):


TIM TAM CHEWY CARAMEL EXPLOSION
At Arnotts (www.arnotts.com) they suggest the Chewy Tim Tam Caramel Explosion. Get 1 pack Chewy Caramel Tim Tams roughly chopped, 8 generous scoops Vanilla Ice-cream & 8 tbs Caramel Topping with Chocolate sprinkles to garnish. Here's what they created:


TIM TAM THICKSHAKE
The Editors at www.coffeebreak.com.au recommend the "Tim Tam Thickshake". Mix a packet of Tim Tams, 8 scoops of vanilla icecream & 400ml milk in a blender. Rich, thick and full of chocolate. Hmmm. They even photographed their yummy creation (see their picture below).


TIM TAM CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
At www.coffeebreak.com.au they also have this awesome recipe for "Tim Tam Chocolate Mousse". Get 2 packets Instant Chocolate Mousse (Mocha flavour works well), 1 packet Arnott's Tim Tam biscuits and 2 tbs Baileys. Method: Make up Chocolate Mousse according to packet details. Place the Tim Tams into a food processor and process into fine crumbs. Stir into mousse mix, and add Baileys. Stir gently. Allow to chill (as per mousse packet details). Then serve!

TIM TAM FONDUE
I haven't been able to find a Tim Tam Fondue recipe yet, but I'm sure it must exist. Hmmm, just imagine dipping fresh strawberries, pineapple pieces, berries, banana and mango into a warm thick Tim Tam sauce. If anyone finds or creates this recipe please email it to me with a picture so I can load it here.

TIM TAM MARTINI
Make the Tim Tam Thickshake (above) but add nip of Baileys (Irish Cream Liquor), Frangelico (Hazelnut Liquor), Kahlua (Coffee Liquor) or Creme de Menth (Mint Liquor) to it.


Do you have any other good Tim Tam Recipes? Let us know.


RELATED AUSSIE SLANG
Bikkie - Short for Biscuit (Cookie)
Tucker - Food
Munchies - Hungry for snack
Nibbles - The food you eat for a snack

Arnott's Tim Tam Latte

Tim Tam Pack

A Tim Tam is a delicious cookie ("biccie" in Oz slang) made by Arnott's of Australia that is chocolate, or some other, cream between two chocolate wafer layers, all covered with milk or dark chocolate. There are some variations - Tia Maria filling, double coating, and the like.

But the true genius of the Tim Tam is its ability to be used as a delicious if somewhat limited use straw. This practice is known throughout Australia as the "Tim Tam Slam". I was lucky enough to get both some Tim Tams and some instruction from an Aussie at a recent social outing, so as a public service towards better International Understanding, I would like to present a pictoral guide towards enjoyment of this fine biscuit, which deserves to be far more widely known in this country.

If you do not have a merchant of Australian products nearby, or an Aussie friend to bring you some, the nice people at Aussie Products in San Jose, California, would be happy to mail order some to you without Customs hassles. They're on the "Arnott's Sweet Biscuits" page. (Try the Kahlua Slice, too, they're very good.)

The Tim Tam Slam

1. Prepare a suitable hot beverage. Coffee is mighty tasty with this, although many Aussies favor tea.

2. Take the Tim Tam and daintily nibble off two opposite corners of the rectangle.