Amaretti Cookie Nougat from Lidl - It's like it was made for me

Amaretti Cookie Italian Nougat - Lidl 

I'm weird. If you've ever been to this blog before you probably know that already. I am not a picky eater, but like many people I do have a few weird food hang-ups. One of which revolves around nuts. I love smooth peanut butter, marzipan, and pretty much everything almond flavored...but when it comes to actual nuts? Not a fan. I don't hate them, but I just don't see the appeal. I could never be one of those people who just eat a tin of almonds at their desk or buy nut-heavy trail mixes, or who sit at Five Guys eating the bottomless salted peanuts. It just doesn't appeal to me. 

That said, I do love absolutely everything related to almonds. In case you can't tell (because on a blog you're reading typed words and not watching me talk with my hands) I'm Italian, and Italians love almond everything. For Christmas we would get a big box of individually wrapped Ferrara's Torrone and slowly eat them as the holiday approached. (Turning the boxes backwards as they were eaten so there wasn't any sliding around. Does anyone else do that?) My mother and I love Italian nougat so much we even went on a tour through a factory in Italy to taste some fresh off the line. 

Long story short, it's been such a weird and difficult year, and I have such happy and positive associations with nougat, that I decided to treat myself. 

La Pasticceria Italian Soft Nougat (Mascarpone) - Marshall's - Marlton, NJ

La Pasticceria Italian Soft Nougat (Mascarpone) - Marshall's - Marlton, NJ

Another weekend has come and gone, and another season of Game of Thrones has ended. I won't spoil anything for anyone, but the finale almost made me throw up. I've never had that kind of reaction to a television show, it's like every episode this season was a sucker-punch to the gut. I like dark and depressing story-lines, but this season? It was just too much for me.

To make a long story short, after that season finale, I deserved a treat.

La Pasticceria Italian Soft Nougat (Strawberry) - Marshall's - Marlton, NJ

La Pasticceria Italian Soft Nougat (Strawberry) - Marshall's - Marlton, NJ

So I was at Marshall's wandering around in the hopes of finding some clearance jeans and, like always, I found myself in the gourmet foodie section. This specific Marshall's had just opened a month or so ago, and the place was completely ransacked! I guess they had an opening sale or something, because there was pretty slim pickings, but I managed to find a few foodie-gems to bring home and review. (Although no luck with the jeans. I just want skinny dark-wash jeans that cost less than my first born child.) Out of the two nougats I picked up I was most excited for the strawberry, so I'll be reviewing that one today and the Mascarpone will be up later next week.

On to the review!

Brand Name vs. Knock Off - Aldi's Titon vs. Mar's Milkyway

Brand Name vs. Knock Off - Choceur's Titon vs. Mar's MilkyWay

Since we just recorded a store-brand focused episode of Candyology101, which will be out relatively soon, I thought this would be a fun post to write up. I don't think I'll end up making this a regular kind of thing, I just happened to have both of these on hand and I thought this could be kind of interesting.

Normally I'm not a brand loyalist. (Which is why I love Aldi so much.) I usually go with the off-brand items to save money, and a lot of those items are comparable and occasionally better than the big name brand versions, but once and a while a name brand product shows that it's truly superior. MilkyWay has always been my favorite chocolate bar, and so far I haven't found a cheaper alternative. Can Aldi's Titon bar beat it?