Top Notch Macadamias - Sweet 'n' Salty product reviews

When I opened up my review package I was very excited to discover I had some of the TopNotch sweet and salty nuts to review. When it comes to snack foods, nuts are my snack of choice and Macadamias are my favourite. Salted caramel is also a favourite flavour for me so when they were advertised as a take on salted caramel I couldn't wait to rip into them.

The first thing I noticed was the packaging, I love the fact they came in a resealable package meaning it would keep the product fresher for longer. Not that it will be an issue because the second you start eating them it's hard to stop! Opening the packet I was greeted with a lovely sweet aroma which made them even more appealing. Trying my first one I was impressed they were coated in a thick, slightly sticky caramel, a little salt and a wee drizzle of chocolate. It was the prefect mix of sweet and salty, I let my husband try a couple and he agreed they were prefect.

I will admit I had great plans for the nuts and thought they would be prefect in my favourite cookies, white chocolate and macadamia. I honestly tried to save some so I could whip together a batch but once I started nibbling I kept going back and finished the bag before I knew it. Not that I minded it gave me a reason to buy some more. Of course I couldn't just buy one bag I needed to buy two, one for eating and one of baking with. I can confirm that they made my favourite cookie recipe even better, I will be making them again for sure.

Delighted to receive these Top Notch Macademia nuts, the first thing I did was hide them from my nut loving children (thank goodness for no nut allergies here!!) as I knew they would want to sample these with me also.

The packaging for these lovely morsels is great - foil - and nice and thick - keeping the nuts safely inside. They have different colours for each of the flavours - making them easy to distinguish between. The clear packaging at the front allows you a glimpse of the nuts - and the kiwi on there - I am so glad to say - this is a NZ made product - YAY!

Oh my goodness - these little morsels literally called my name - through the little window - they were teasing me! I gave in to them after the morning drop off, and my run was complete - rationing that they were nuts, and nuts are protein - right?! Opening the packet was easy - with a tear strip, and YAY a resealable closing also - thank you Top Notch - it helps with my portion control! I tipped a few out onto the bench for a closer look - amazing! These nuts are well coated in a beautiful caramell-y sauce, then milk chocolate bits on there too - and the zing of the chunks of rock salt - yum yum yum yum. I cannot do the flavour justice - it is so so good - and I urge you all to try them!!

For me, they are pricey - but, they are also a special treat rather than an every week kind of one - a rare date night at the movies - I would totally buy these to share - something different, incredibly flavourful, and finger licking good! I also tried these mixed through vanilla bean ice-cream - and that was delicious too.

Nuts covered in Honey Caramel, is there really anything better?! I'm a huge pan of cashew nuts roasted in honey but usually steer clear of the macadamias as they are too bland for me. This is why I requested to try these Sweet 'n' Salty Top Notch Macadamias. I was hoping they would give me a new appreciation for the humble Macadamia nut, and they sure did deliver!

I opened the packet without actually reading the ingedients and was surprised to see chocolate on the nuts. It looks like it was drizzled across the nuts after the honey mix was added. They weren't coated in chocoalte it but was just enough to give it a different look and taste to regular honey nuts. I didn't experience much of the "salty" flavour but my husband said he could taste it so I guess it depends which partiuclar nut out of the packet you try which does make for a little bit of "Sweet 'n' Salty" roulette.

My husband is a big fan of Macadamia nuts and was really happy to try these new ones, he said they were very moreish and I had to physically move the packet away from him so he'd stop eating them, they were some of the best Macadamia nuts he's tried apparently.

The ingredients state that it includes Macadamia nuts, butter, sugar, honey, salt, vinegar, chocolate and nothing else. The fact there are no words in this list that I can't pronounce or understand is a huge bonus to me. It's amazing how many simple products out there contain unrecognisable ingredients and it's a relief to find a simple list with everything you would expect to see and nothing complicated.

The only downside I have with this packet is the size, my husband could easily have finished the entire packet on his own if I didn't move it away from him. It would be nice if they offered a larger size which would be good for parties or small gatherings. As it is I think it would be a perfect addition to a fancy gift hamper or even just for an after dinner treat.

I like nuts but I have a set few that I like and macadamia nuts aren't on my yum list, however that's a fab thing about being a reviewer and I got a bag of these in my parcel. I love that these are not only NZ made but NZ grown as well, good to know that if I were to buy these, I'd be supporting a New Zealand company. It is also good to note that the bag is resealable so if, somehow, you have some left in the bag, you don't need to worry about it loosing its freshness at all.

So I tentatively bit into one of these and I am so glad that I requested these, they are delicious, I opened the bag and have already eaten half a dozen pieces on my own. The macadamia nuts seem to have soaked up some of the flavours, it's not too salty and not too sweet. I handed the packet over to my mum to try and she agrees that these taste and fabulous and if she was looking for a nutty treat, she would buy these for sure. My nine year old isn't a fan of nuts so I simply told him to try it and he did, and then promptly spat it into the bin and rinsed his mouth out with water... So not a win there. My eight year tried one and declared its deliciousness and a 'must have more!!!'. My six year old had one and went, well, nuts, over it, yelling that it was sooooo yummy and 'I love it, I love it!!!'. Comparatively, these are a good price to its plain counterpart, doing the maths we worked out that you're only paying between $0.50 - $1.50 for the ingredients beyond the nuts, depending on which brand of macadamia nuts you buy.

I keep snacking on these and love them, I will be buying some again for sure.

Macadamia nuts are a huge favourite in our household and have been for many years now. Caramel and indeed salted caramel are another utter favourite of mine so you can imagine how excited I was to see this product on the market. I had never heard of Top Notch before trying this product but my goodness I do now and it is not a brand I will be forgetting any time soon! This product really is Top Notch and I am looking forward to purchasing more of these declious nuts in the very near future!

As soon as my parcel from KIWIreviews arrived I picked this packet up, I immediately thought that the packaging was good and that I would recognise it again, whether it be at the supermarket, online or a local market. This is something I really appreciate as there is nothing worse than loving a product and then not being able to find it easily again. I also liked the ease of a resalable packet and could trust the nuts would be kept fresh. I really appreciated the fact that while the caramel was sticky and the chocolate soft the nuts were still crunchy which somehow made the combination of this product even more special and something I definitely wanted to keep as fresh as possible.

Although this product is expensive I feel that it is inline with other brand's of macadamia nuts and considering the work it takes to get these little morsels out of the shell (and even more of a miracle kept whole) then I don't mind paying the extra money. It sure beats trying to crack them open yourself! Being that they are a 'gourmet' treat, I also think these would work perfectly as a gift for others in a hamper or similar or even just as is for the utter nut lover.

The pink Himalayan rock salt adds just the right amount of saltiness to this product and balances it out from being to overpowering and sweet. The caramel is utterly delicious and you will without a doubt be licking your fingers clean after eating them! I added some of these to my ice-cream (cookies and cream flavour) along with some home made salted caramel sauce. My goodness this was probably one of the most luxury home made puddings I have had in awhile, even though the description and photo of it probably doesn't sound/look that way, it really was heaven in a bowl!

When I buy more of these I am looking forward to trying it in other baking as well! I really do 100% recommend you try this product, I can't believe the superior quality compared to others on the market and the taste of this treat is quite simply the best

KIWIreviews you have done it again! Introducing us lucky reviewers to some amazing NZ products. And this one has to be one of the best. I absolutely love nuts but don't get to eat them very often as I work in a child care centre that is nut free. I have recently said to myself however that I should still buy some as I can have them as snacks in the afternoon at home, or in the weekends. It was very fitting for me then when the Top Notch Macadamia Nuts were listed as a review sample. I jumped at the chance and was excited to find not one but two different flavours in my recent review parcel.

I really do love the packaging that Top Notch have used for this product. It is simple, eye catching and I love that they have a little window at the bottom of the bag to be able to view what is inside. If I was picking up this product off the shelf in a supermarket or shop I would certainly be confident in what I was buying as I could see the quality and quantity of the product and not have to guess just what I was buying.

Upon opening the bag I was met with the most amazing sweet smell. I couldn't wait to take a bite so I picked up one of the nuts and got right to it. Even though they are covered in a caramel coating, they certainly didn't feel as sticky as I thought. Reading some reviews that have been written prior to mine people warn of how sticky they are, but I certainly didn't notice it and when I had finished eating my fingers felt fine. I certainly didn't feel like I needed to wash them from stickiness that can often happen. Maybe because I live in Dunedin and it is far colder down here at the moment it has meant the coating is well set - who knows!

Trying to figure out the flavour on my first bite I decided that they remind me ever so slightly of golden syrup. A nice rich caramel flavour without too much of a hint of salt. For me this is great as I am not a fan of salt and don't quite understand the craze of salted caramel. This was until I tried these nuts. Some of the nuts did have a little bit more of a salt flavour than others, but there was enough of the sweet to balance it out. It wasn't until I was about a 1/3rd of the way into the packet that I realised there was chocolate on them. Obviously the chocolate had fallen off of the nuts at the top and it was a nice surprise as I made my way down. Thankfully the main flavour comes from the coating on the nut so the first nuts didn't taste any worse because they didn't have chocolate.

Top Notch have mastered the flavouring process and have used not too much and not too little on each of the nuts. I do love that they have a homemade type feel to them, with each nut being quite different and coated differently, especially with the chocolate. This says to me that whoever has made the product has put love and care into what they have produced.

Top Notch will certainly be getting an order from me in the future. I have a new favourite snack and can't wait to try more of their flavours and other macadamia products. At $12 I initially thought these were quite pricey, but after I enjoyed them I decided it was about right. Macadamia nuts aren't cheap, and these are NZ grown and there is a lot of work in getting them to us as they are as Sweet 'N Salty macadamias. The label on the back of the packet states that the whole packet is one serve, and as much as I think I could make my way through this much, I managed to make my bag last three serves, which makes it far more worthwhile cost wise.

I have never bought Macadamias on their own before, they arent really a nut that I've tried in any great number as I tend to go with habit and purchase the tried and true such as peanuts, cashews and pistachios.

TopNotch Sweet and Salty Macadamias sounded so very interesting that I had to try them and when the resealable bag arrived, my children and I eagerly tore open the bag. I wasnt really sure what to expect, I thought the nuts would be sticky but they werent, they were indeed coated in a toffee-like caramel drizzled in chocolate yet they were somehow all individually separated in the bag, quite a feat in itself.

When we tasted the Macadamias, they were absolutely yummy, the coating was very "now" - salted caramel like, but I must say probably the best salted caramel I've ever tasted. The caramel perefectly complimented the nut centre. Those macadamias were certainly 'Top Notch', fresh and even juicy, which a really strange description for a nut but that's totally how I would describe them. I think all the macadamias I've ever tasted in the past have had the freshness sapped out of them by the mixture of nuts that I've bought them in, so I decided that I was really tasting a true fresh macadamia and jeepers they were good!

I checked the price of the bag and at $12 a 120g bag could make a person reluctant to purchase, but I believe they are such a unique polished treat that this price is pretty reasonable. I implore people to try to these flavoured nuts, you will not regret it.

I've always been a fan of the sweet and salty combo and pairing it with Macadamia's sounded like a match made in heaven! Before I received these I expected that they would be somewhat similar to honey roasted peanuts, covered in salt and sugar. I should've expected more with a brand name of 'Top Notch'.

They certainly were Top Notch. Covered in sticky, salty caramel and drizzled with chocolate. They far exceeded my expectations. Before you think 'sticky' sounds super messy they're really not! Somehow they've mastered the art of having the deliciousness of caramel without them being actually sticky. I guess the great thing about Macadamia Nuts as well is the fact that they're so rich. You really only need to have a handful of nuts to feel like you've had an indulgent treat.

So when you're looking for some nuts to snack on, say no to honey roasted peanuts or any other nut for that matter! Go straight for the cream of the crop, something that is 'Top Notch' and you won't be disappointed. I'd recommend this one if you're into the health benefits that nuts provide but you also like to treat yourself every now and again. This one would be fabulous if you were making up a gourmet hamper for a special occasion as well. Enjoy, my nutty friends.

Sweet 'N Salty are a match made in heaven when it comes to food, so it's no surprise these little morsels didn't make it long out of the box before being ripped into by the family. I did however have just enough time to take a sneak peak at the packaging which oozed "NZ" (I love seeing the little kiwi on things we buy), had a lovely overall look and feel and gave you just a sneak peak of the goodness within through the small clear window at the base of the packaging. Macadamia Nuts, Honey, Caramel, Salt & Chocolate - the ingredients list reads like my heaven.

My expectations were high of a crunchy Macadamia Nut with a lovely crunchy outer "shell" of sweet and salty goodness, but my hopes were dashed just a little upon first bite. There was an absence of the crunch I had so hoped for and one could have forgiven that for the outer shell which had a more sticky texture / consistency, but unfortunately this ran through to the nut which was also on the "soft side".

The saving grace for me was the flavour which I couldn't fault; just the right amount of salt really drew the sweetness out and the flavours popped in my mouth. Along with the nutty flavour from the Macadamia the overall taste was lovely, such a shame for me it lacked the crunchy character I had hoped for, and not sure I would pay the $12.99 price for a 150g bag, seems on the pricey side.

The Topnotch Sweet 'N Salty macadamia nuts were the second packet of nuts that were included in my review box. Just like the other packets in the Topnotch macadamia nut range, it was silver with a large black label and a little peep window so you could see all the yummy nuts and flavour. This packet is also 150g and $12. The macadamia nuts that Topnotch use are proudly NZ grown. After tasting the Roasted Salted macadamias and being very impressed with the quality, I was very eager to rip into the packet and sample them.

After I opened the packet I could instantly smell the gorgeous aroma of the yummy caramel that the macadamias were covered in. I picked up the first macadamia from the packet and instantly realized how sticky they were hehe. The nut was covered in just the right amount of caramel and the Pink Himalayan rock salt was not too overpowering. All my family members enjoyed these nuts just a bit more than the Roasted Salted, as the combination of caramel, salt, and a small amount of milk chocolate was pure genius. Unsurprisingly the packet didn't last us very long and there was even an argument over who was going to get the last of the flavouring that was in the bottom of the packet.

I am looking forward to purchasing some more of these nuts in the future and I think they would be fantastic for eating while entertaining guests. Finding a craft beer to go with them will just make a perfect match. I am very impressed with how fresh all the macadamia nuts I have tried from Topnotch are and I am hoping to try the Smoke 'N' Spice variety at a later date. Anyone that chooses to try these macadamias will not be disappointed.

The combination of combining sweet and salty ingredients or the flavour of salted caramel seems to be the new big thing over the past year or so, and I must admit it is a combination that I do quite like. SO when I was chosen to review the sweet 'n salty macadamia nuts from Topnotch I was quite excited, especially after having tried the other 2 delicious flavours in the range smoke 'n spice and roasted salted. For someone up until now who hadn't really even tried macadamia nuts before it didn't take much to convert me over to becoming a fan of these tasty morsels.

Out of all of the Topnotch flavours I had received the sweet 'n salty were the ones I was most looking forward to trying as I have quite a sweet tooth. Looking through the clear part of the resealable pouch I was delighted to see just how yummy these looked, the nuts appeared well coated in a thick sticky looking caramel shell with a tasty chocolate drizzle over them.

As I tried my first macadamia nut from the pouch I was in heaven they definitely were Topnotch as far as gourmet nuts go! My mouth was full of amazing flavours, smooth silky chocolate, sweet and sticky caramel all combined with a slight salty flavour that worked incredibly well together. I was happy to find that after reading others reviews that these nuts did not seem to be stuck together nor did they get all sticky or melted in my hands, maybe I ate them too fast?

I decided to chop some of the nuts up so that I could use them in a bit of baking. I was making a caramel slice and so after preparing this as usual, before adding the final chocolate topping to my caramel centre I scattered over a generous amount of the nuts. The taste that these added was delicious and was so worth it, everyone who tried this loved it and said it took the caramel slice to a whole new level, it really was amazing.

This is one product I will be buying again in a heartbeat as it is amazing. My nana loves macadamias and caramel so as her birthday is coming up soon I plan to buy her a packet of these to go along with her present, I think i'll have to order 2 however to ensure she gets her ones!

I love snacking on nuts and macadamia nuts are among my favourites so I was looking forward to trying Top Notch's Sweet 'n' Salty nuts. They are sealed in a foil bag with a small clear window at the front so you can see what you are getting! The front label also states that these nuts are NZ grown which is an added bonus! The pack is resealable but oh my goodness, once you have tried these there won't be much left to seal!

I thought I would sample one or two but that quickly turned into three, then four! Willpower made me put these tasty morsels away as I could probably pig out on a whole pack (my waist line wouldn't be too impressed though!) I had friends that came round later that evening and after dinner and dessert, in a fit of goodwill, I thought I would offer these around. This was a huge error in my judgement as they were all gobbled up! Between the seven of us, every single person loved them and was keen to eat more.

The ingredients consist of macadamia nuts, butter, sugar, honey, salt, vinegar and chocolate. I didn't taste any vinegar but the honey, chocolate and salt combo was heavenly. Although a little pricey, the fact that you are buying NZ grown/ made and they are a premium nut which taste divine, make it worth it!

Top Notch claim on their packaging to be 'A nut above the rest' and I can honestly say with this product that they are. My only regret was sharing them!!

I was a bit worried when I saw that this product contains milk chocolate because this is one food I don't tolerate well, but there was no cause for concern - there was actually very little chocolate in the pack, and what was there had tended to fall off the nuts and lurk at the bottom of the packet. The caramel-style coating was the big thing, and although it was quite sticky (hint: wash your hands before you indulge in this product because you will end up licking the drips off your fingers!), it somehow reminded me of the frosted nuts you could buy years ago.

The whole effect of the dressed-up nuts was one of total decadence. I had rung in six people to help me test them, and I was very glad I did because I might otherwise have eaten the lot myself. They are seriously yummy and it would not be hard for one person to scoff the lot. Luckily, my helpers saved me from overdoing it and in fact were amazingly keen to help me out.

One of the adults thought it was a bit too sweet for his taste, and also commented that it was softer than he would have expected a nut to be. In fact he likened it to popcorn. However, he was the only one who thought it was too sweet. Everyone else, adults and children alike, loved it and thought it would make an ideal special-occasion snack. I had served some of it in a bowl straight from the packet and the rest on top of ice cream. Personally, I preferred it with the ice cream as it froze slightly and became brittle like toffee.

Another adult said she would like it in a pecan pie, either alongside the pecans or to replace them altogether, and would also use one to decorate a cup cake and make it more interesting. She is going to look for them in the shops as she does a lot of baking and can think of plenty of other ways they could be used. She pointed out that, despite the sweet coating, you can still taste the nut itself. She actually preferred macadamias this way as she liked the combination of the salt and sweet - in her opinion, it made them more palatable.

The price is quite high, but macadamias are pricy anyway even when you are just buying the plain fresh nuts. As an everyday item they would be costly, but for an occasional special treat I don't think the price is too bad. I am already planning to serve them on top of a pavlova I have in mind for a potluck I will be attending in a few days' time, and am sure that dessert will go down a treat.

As I said in my review of Top Notch Macadamia's Roasted and Salted I absolutely love Macadamia's they are by far my favourite nut and I could quite happily eat them as a snack food regularly as they keep me full in between meals and are a convenient and easy snack. I can have these in my handbag or pantry to just grab and go when the occasion arises.

Although I do like salted nuts a bit of sweetness is always good too and the chocolate coated nuts are a real treat. I was curious to try these as they had the sweetness too and the hint of chocolate sounded appealing. I did enjoy them and would buy them again but I found them a little bit odd at first so I would probably only have a few at a time as I found the combination of the sweet and salty together was a little strange after a few.

I wasn't sure I could taste chocolate but I could definitely taste the vinegar and the salt and something that made it sweet but it was more of a cinnamon taste to me I really wasn't sure. It wasn't like honey roasted nuts where you get the sweetness it was a different combination that I wasn't sure of but kept going back for more. After a few I put them away but did go back again and eat the rest bit by bit and they were a hit with other members of my family.

I likened the taste almost to movie theatre popcorn, which has the sweet and salty flavour although I think I prefer the nuts to popcorn. Finding gluten free snacks is often a challenge so finding new products is important to me and being able to have a little bit of variety in my choices is great so these will definitely be a great pantry item for me and my family.

TopNotch sweet and salty macadamia nuts are totally amazing and I absolutely love the flavour and everything about them. On my first macadamia nut I was hooked as these seriously crunchy and gooey sticky nuts explode in your mouth. All I can say is give me more please, which is bad since it is easy to eat many in one sitting. I had been good though and only eating a couple at a time when I crave that sweet tooth craving. It is great how you get the hit of all the flavours, the sweet and the salty, a caramel hit and a chocolate hit as well as the salty goodness.

I love the packaging and it is very simple yet stylish which is an eye catcher. I think having the NZ grown sticker on the package is fantastic as it shows that the product is local and I find it makes food more trustworthy. I also like how the expiry date in not a year out, the expiry date was within a 6 month time frame I a guessing from when they were batched.

I really enjoying trying these amazing sweet and salty macadamia nuts, and even though the price is out of my normal price range I would spend on a snack food, I feel these would be something I would treat myself with every now and again with as the flavour is super amazing and you would not be disappointed with this treat. I look forward to trying the other flavours now I have finished this bag of so quickly and sneakily. Hiding the packet in my top draw so my son did not get his little hands on them as I know he would have eaten them all up in one go.

When I saw these available to review on the KIWIreviews website I was intrigued, I'm not the biggest macadamia nut fan but I was keen to give these a go! A few nights later my sister came over for dinner and she is a massive macadamia nut fan so the right thing to do was to pull out the nuts and share them with her. We both fell in love! The flavours are just amazing and on point. I loved the sweet of the caramel and chocolate with the salt and the nuts, absolutely delicious! My sister told me to pop them away before she devoured the whole bag, and before long they were all gone. But what a treat! The yummiest nut's I have tried. The flavour point is definitely bang on and there is a perfect mix of sweet and salty. The best part was getting to the bottom of the packet and finding all the crumbs of caramel and chocolate bits at the bottom of the bag.

I loved the packaging, all the nutritional information and ingredients were clearly stated on the back of the packaging. The bag was resealable, meaning the nuts were kept fresher for longer. I also loved that the packet stood up well where it was placed. These would be a perfect treat to take to a potluck dinner or a barbeque, and will leave everybody wanting to come back for more.

Price point isn't too bad, you really do get what you pay for and you would not regret buying these for a treat or to take along as a shared plate. The 150g bag lasted me a couple of afternoon snacks and then there was still enough left to share with my sister. I will be keeping an eye out for these in stores in the future.

Out of the three variety available to review, this was the product I was least interested in. As someone who is trying to eat healthier, something named 'Sweet 'n Salty' sounds the opposite of healthy. Surprisingly, however, the product only has around 521 calories per 75g serving (compared to 562 cal in the Roasted Salted and 1100+ in the Smoke 'n Spice variety) which makes this the "healthiest" product of the range.

As with the smoke 'n spice variety, the nuts themselves were smaller than the roasted salted variety, and so the flavours are much stronger, due to a lower surface area to volume ratio; much more flavouring compared to nut. Flavour-wise I was suitably impressed. The nuts looked caked in something and when you bite into it you get a hit of caramel. The consistency does vary between soft, gritty, or brittle, but I think caramel fudge is the closest way of comparing the coating flavour. It definitely reminds me of the caramel popcorn, and I'm genuinely unsure how the calorie count is so low.

There is a salty element to the flavour profile, however, and it seems a little bit inconsistent. In general, it's nice and complements the sweet elements well, but sometimes you bite and get a concentrated patch of saltiness, which is a tad off-putting (to be clear, it's not a bad taste, but it's very different from the proper sweet 'n salty combo, that you become very aware of it).

The coating does make the nuts rather sticky, and makes it just that little bit harder to maintain portion control as you may get multiple nuts coming out all stuck together (and it's really easy to just eat them all). The sticky coating actually makes them easier to eat as the flesh of macadamia nuts can often become flaky, and will get stuck in any gaps in the mouth. The coating will cause the nut to stick together during consumption. The downside of this is that being easier to eat means I'll eat more of it, and again I suck at portion control, but it's a good problem for a product to have.

Suffice to say, this flavour that I was least interested in trying is the product that I have most enjoyed. Of the three varieties, this is the one that I would recommend the highest, and it definitely earns it's $12 per pack price tag.

I have to admit that due to sensitive and fragile teeth - an unfortunate genetic inheritance - nuts are not my favourite things to eat despite loving the flavour of many varieties. Despite that, these sounded too good to pass up, and having tried a small nibble of them at a recent expo, it was something I had been brainstorming ideas about for a while before they arrived. The final decision however, was made at the last moment when I realised I had a pile of feijoas and some apples that really needed to be used up before they spoiled... so, fruit crumble it was!

Carefully breaking the nuts up without damaging the bag and risking bits flying everywhere was a bit tricky, but by rolling the bag with a marble rolling pin the task was accomplished with no waste and I got a far more even sized chunk than if I had taken to it like a baseballer with the wooden rolling pin. I ended up with a bit of 'sand' but mostly got small chunks about 3-4mm across, giving me a really nice sized piece that went well in the crumble topping.

I won't go into the recipe here - it's not far off a standard crumble recipe with the addition of the nuts to the topping - but I will mention that the flavour of the caramel really enhanced the crumble topping, and the added chocolate gave it a nice sweetness and helped bind chunks of crumble together to give those really awesome crunchy little clusters that are the highlight of a good fruit crumble for me.

I did keep a few of the whole macadamias aside to nibble on during the baking, and as a snack they are dangerously more'ish. I'm very glad I smashed up the majority for the crumble before I started snacking, or I seriously doubt ANY would have made it into the dessert, and that would have been a real shame, as it turned out.

Overall, while the price may seem high, keep in mind that these nuts are HUGELY labour-intensive to produce, even without the extra flavour treatments required for this delectable snack treat. As a difficult nut to work with, and the extra time and expense of turning them into this product, the price is actually quite reasonable. I would even be willing to pay a little more for a more even distribution of the chocolate. As a variant I am sure would do well, if not better - dark chocolate!