COUNTRY MA’AM - the Best Store-Bought Cookie in Japan?!
Country Ma'am are one of the tastiest but also underrated Japanese snacks, in our opinion. These yummy cookies are produced by Fujiya, a Japanese confectionery company.
This month's ZenPop Sweets Pack contains a bag of Country Ma'am Vanilla Cookies !
When you see the name, you may wonder how a lady in countryside relates to the cookies.
Can you see a illustration of house on the package?
Don’t you feel a little nostalgia?
COUNTRY MA’AM cookies are like freshly baked ones, cooked in the countryside. This is the concept of this cookie brand. They have crisp texture outside, soft and chewy inside. When you want to reminisce about mom's cooking in your hometown, having COUNTRY MA’AM cookies is the easiest way (well, maybe not) since it’s available in supermarkets and convenience stores in Japan.
COUNTRY MA’AM has lots of varieties. Some are sold only for limited time, others are released locally. Here are some picks of COUNTRY MA’AM flavors!
Vanilla
The standard and most popular variety. Nice and simple vanilla cookies are the best when you want to feel nostalgia for your happy memories of your home town. With big chunks of chocolate contained, these vanilla cookies definitely fill your stomach. You'll get a bag of Country Ma'am Vanilla Cookies in July's Sweets Pack.
Cocoa
Cocoa and vanilla are the most popular flavors among the varieties, and people argue heatedly on this issue: which is the better. Some say cocoa cookies are too sweet, but for a sweet tooth, these are undoubtedly awesome and the best.
Cocoa for Adults
When we Japanese want to make a product name sound special, we add “for adults” at the end. Cocoa for Adults cookies are a bit bitterer compared to the original cocoa ones and have richer flavor of cocoa.
Rich Matcha
Good news for matcha lovers, this one is included in June pack, Flavor Adventure Pack! Deep, rich flavor of bitter matcha matches perfectly with the sweet chocolate.
Chocolate Mint
The combination of chocolate and mint is ideal in hot season. Chocolate sauce on the surface makes the cookies more flavorful, and the fresh mint creates fantastic harmony with the sweetness. Mint chips and chocolate chips give you a pleasant texture.
Chips
This one was included in Fruit Festa Pack released in March! Usually COUNTRY MA’AM cookies are soft inside, but this kind is thin and crunchy. Which do you prefer, hard or soft?
Regional Flavors
There are lots of COUNTRY MA’AM cookies that can be found only in certain areas in Japan. Matcha pudding one in Kyoto, Cheesecake one in Tokyo, Ankoro-mochi one in Hokkaido….They all sound delicious! Why don’t you try different flavors when you travel around Japan? You can see regional versions here.
Now, let me share nice and simple ways to enjoy these cookies!
Baked MA’AM
Bake the cookies in the toaster oven for a minute, and enjoy the texture of freshly made cookies! Melted chocolate chips are awesome, too ;)
Frozen MA’AM
If you prefer hard chocolate chips, put cookies in the fridge for an hour, and enjoy the crisp chocolate chunk cookie!
Jam MA’AM
Dip cookies into jam. Sour and sweet fruit jam would go well with vanilla cookies. As for matcha cookies, try dipping into chocolate sauce.
MA’AM & icecream
Crush the cookies and mix them with vanilla ice cream. You can make it nice dessert buy adding nuts.
Mashmallow sandwich
Sandwich a piece of marshmallow with cookies, bake it for two minutes in the toaster oven. I'm sure it tastes awesome!
Do you want more COUNTRY MA’AM in the future ZenPop Boxes? What flavor do you want to try? Let us know if you have any thoughts!
By Mina@ZenPop
Check out our current sweets pack with various おいしい (delicious) flavors! COUNTRY MA’AM are inlcuded from time to time, so you can try the recipes introduced above or find new ways to enjoy the cookies ;)
