Let’s be real, there’s hardly anything better than snacking. Sure, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all delicious, but there is something magical about eating for pure and mindless joy. What’s the perfect food to munch on, though? Some go for sweet and grab that secret sleeve of cookies hidden in the back of the cupboard. (Don’t worry we won’t tell.) Other people tend to dive elbow deep into some salty chips. And whatever snack you fancy, it’s safe to say the U.S. has no shortage of options.
But, we have to admit we may have found a country that has us beat – Australia. Their snack game puts ours to shame. We found foods there that leave us with some serious cravings. We just need to know when these Australian snacks are coming to our stateside grocery stores.
1. Iced Vovo’s
These are quite possibly the most beautiful treats we’ve ever seen.
Iced Vovo’s are biscuits topped with pink icing, raspberry jam, and then sprinkled with coconut. The treat has been around since the early 1900s, and is usually a staple of children’s birthday parties. If you ask us, we think they should be a staple at adult parties too in America.
2. Cheezels
It’s a snack with a name that is equally fun to eat, as it is to say aloud.
Who doesn’t love a good cheese puff? Australia took the classic snack to the next level with Cheezels. They have all the savory cheese flavor of U.S. versions but come in a fun ring shape so playing with your food is even easier. Oh come on, you know you would love to put a ring on it.
3. Tim Tams
Meet your new favorite cookie.
Sorry Oreo’s, but we have fallen in love with a different sandwich cookie – the Tim Tam. They are made up of two biscuits filled with creme and then dipped in chocolate. The snack is one of the country’s most popular treats, and it comes in a variety of flavors including chewy caramel, peanut butter, and mint. The good news is the company is slowly becoming more global. So fingers crossed Tim Tams make their way to cookie aisles everywhere.
4. Cherry Ripe
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This is for a mature palate.
Cherry Ripe is manufactured by Cadbury Australia and is now the country’s oldest chocolate bar. The candy is made up of shredded coconut, cherries and coated in dark chocolate. If you like cherry cordials, think of Cherry Ripe as their much cooler cousin from down-under.
5. Meat Pies
Okay, so this is something that tastes a whole lot better than it sounds.
Some of the most popular takeaway snacks in Australia are hand-sized meat pies. Typically they are filled with minced meat and gravy. Though sometimes they also include ingredients like cheese, onions, or mushrooms as well. You might be new to the world of savory pies, but trust us once you try one, you might never go back to sweet.
6. Shapes
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No this isn’t a children’s game, it’s just a very popular line of biscuits produced by Arnott’s in Australia.
The brand prides itself in having a wide range of flavors that include everything from Nacho Cheese to Margherita Pizza. The snack became popular with its original flavors, barbecue, chicken crimpy, cheddar, cheese and bacon, savory, and pizza. According to the company’s site, 53 million packets are sold a year in Australia.
7. Caramello Koala
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While we are lucky enough to have Cadbury in the U.S., we still don’t have access to Caramello Koalas.
*Sigh* The candy is made from Dairy Milk chocolate and then filled with a gooey caramel filling. As an added bonus, they come in the fun shape of the classic Australian animal, a koala. Chocolate, caramel, and cute animals – need we say more?
8. Fairy Bread
Fed up with boring old toast as a last minute snack? Try fairy bread.
Fairy bread has a magical name and an even more dazzling taste. It’s buttered toast with rainbow sprinkles. Yes, really! It’s popular in Australia as a snack for kids, but we will take any excuse to eat rainbow sprinkles on the daily. We’re also pretty sure this is what unicorns live on daily.
9. Mint Slices
Arnott’s Mint Slices are here to give Thin Mints a run for their money, and luckily they are available all year round.
The cookie is made with chocolate biscuits, pure mint filling, and coated in dark chocolate. According to the company’s website, all of the milk ingredients are locally sourced. Minty, refreshing, and a label you can read. Win, win!
10. Fantales
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These might be tricky to pronounce, but they are very easy to eat.
Fantales are another candy we are dying to add to our sweet tooth repertoire. They are the classic staple of chewy bite-sized caramel pieces covered in chocolate, and we could probably polish off an entire bag in one sitting. Also, each morsel wrapper has a trivia question on it making them a perfect party staple.
11. Jaffles
Jaffles’ name is coined after the jaffle iron that makes them.
They are grilled sandwiches that are closed at the ends. They can be filled with any number of ingredients, but normally they are filled with cheese or even spaghetti. We don’t know about you, but closing off the ends to leave all the warm filling inside sounds like the best idea since, well, sliced bread. Mark us down as official grilled cheese converts.
12. Twisties
Tired of getting Cheetos dust on everything you’ve ever cared about?
Well, Twisties might just be here to answer your call. The cheese flavored corn chip pack all of the savory flavor without most of the mess, plus they’re even bigger in size. Bonus! They also come in a chicken flavor, which sounds weird, but admittedly we’re pretty into it.
13. Violet Crumble
While there is no shortage of candy bars in the U.S., we have to admit that there is a surprising lack of honeycomb-flavored ones.
Australia’s Violet Crumble is fresh honeycomb and toffee covered in chocolate. The bars provide a perfect level of crunch that makes a candy bar so much more mouth-watering. To say we are counting down the minutes until these make it over to our shelves would be an understatement.
14. Anzac Biscuits
Sometimes there is just nothing better than curling up with a warm drink and a warm cookie.
Anzac Biscuits are made with oats, flour, butter, sugar, and coconut. They have been around since World War I because they travel and store well on naval ships and military bases. Because of their long history, they are made around ANZAC day and are sold to fundraisers for Service Associations around Australia and New Zealand.
15. Killer Pythons
You know the saying that every animal is bigger and deadlier down-under?
Well, so are their snacks. Instead of gummy worms, Australia has Killer Pythons, and they are no joke. The gummy candy comes in a rainbow of fruit flavors and is just as chewy as its U.S. counterpart, only much, much bigger.
16. Minties
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Minties are a type of saltwater taffy made with cane sugar and mint syrup.
Unfortunately, they can rip your fillings out if you down an entire bag. The upside, however, is that each candy is wrapped in an “embarrassing moment” to help remember why you’ll always need the sweet snack.
17. Burger Rings
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Similar to Funyuns, but packing in way more savory flavor are Burger Rings.
The corn-based snack really does taste like a cheeseburger. We think that officially means you can snack on a bag of these, instead of grabbing McDonald’s at lunch. Or, who are we kidding, have a bit of both.
18. Pods
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This snack is taking American candy to the next level, and we couldn’t be more jealous. Pods are crispy wafers filled with famous Mars candies like Snickers and Twix bars. Basically, this treat brings together everything we love about cookies and candy and rolls it into one. Talk about the best of both worlds. So, uh Twix, Snickers, why are you holding out on us?
19. Lamingtons
Lamingtons are easily Australia’s most quintessential snack cake. The sweet treat is made of squares of sponge cake filled with strawberry jam or cream, then coated in a thin layer of chocolate and coconut. This dessert is perfect for tea time, an afternoon snack, or an after-dinner dessert. Personally, we vote all three.
20. FruChocs
Dried apricot, peach filling, and milk chocolate come together to make FruChocs. They have been around since the mid-1900s and were originally used to get rid of excess fruit in the region. We like to think these treats count toward our daily servings of fruit, and we will eat as many as it takes. What? It’s healthy.
21. Vegemite
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You didn’t really think we wouldn’t put Vegemite on here, did you? Yes, the snack is controversial, but keep an open mind. The spread is made of brewers yeast, vegetables, and spices. According to the locals, not only does the savory flavor grow on you, the trick is to use the right proportions. We suggest two parts butter, to one part vegemite.
