FIRST LOOK at the 2017 Epcot International Festival of the Holidays! (PART THREE)

Hey again, Disney Foodies!

     I managed to hop into Epcot again to catch more of Festival of the Holidays and tried a few more tasty treats, so I figured I'd share those reviews with you, right here! (If you need to catch up, click HERE for Part One and HERE for Part Two) Let's dig in!

The Cookie Nook

(The Odyssey Center)

• Warm Apple Fritter with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Warm Caramel Sauce – $4.75
• Snowflake Sugar Cookie – $4.00
• Snickerdoodle Cookie: Sugar Cookie rolled in Cinnamon Sugar – $3.50
• Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookie – $3.50
• Gingersnap Cookie with Cream Cheese Icing and Cranberry Jam, $4.50
• Sachertorte: Chocolate Cake with Apricot Jam and Dark Chocolate Glaze – $4.75
• Decorated Gingerbread Cookie – $4.00
• Holiday Tree Sugar Cookie – $4.00
• Chocolate Chunk Cookie – $3.00
• Brew Hub Pumpkin Spice Dunkelweiss – $4.25
• Playalinda Brewing Company Sparkling Christmas Coffee Blonde – $4.25
• Central 28 Beer Company Joy From the World Holiday Dubble – $4.25
• Cranberry Sprite Punch with Pear Vodka – $9.00
• Holiday Beer Flight – $9.00
• Specialty Red Wine – $6.00
• Specialty White Wine – $6.00
• Florida Orange Groves Sparkling Cranberry Wine – $6.00
• Nestlé Chocolate Delights Hot Cocoa with Crème de Menthe – $8.00
• Nestlé Chocolate Delights Hot Cocoa (non-alcoholic) – $3.00

• What did we try?   Snowflake Sugar Cookie
• How would I describe it?  A thin sugar cookie with lots of royal icing
• How was the portion/value?   $4 wasn't bad for the size of the cookie
• What letter grade would we give it?  B   If you like sugary, gooey icing, and lots of it, this is the cookie for you! The flavor was ok, but honestly, the thin cookie was lost in the mounds of icing. Too much for me, but The Hubs, a frosting connoisseur, would say he loved it. No matter what, it's a pretty cookie, topped with edible glitter!  
• Will we get it again, when we return to the festival?   Nah. 

Yukon Holiday Kitchen

(Canada)

• What did we try?   Maple Buche De Noel
• How would I describe it?  A rolled gingerbread cake with maple icing, meringue topping, candied nuts and cranberry drizzle. 
• How was the portion/value?   $4.95 was reasonable.
• What letter grade would we give it?  A+   Another festival favorite! We LOVED this cake! Most rolled cakes are dry, but this one was light and moist. It had a nice gingerbread flavor, and the maple tied in nicely. The toasted meringue topping was delicious and the nuts added a nice crunch. I wish they served this all year round! 
• Will we get it again, when we return to the festival?   YAS!

• What did we try?   Frozen Coffee (Non-alcoholic)
• How would I describe it?  A sweetened and creamed frozen coffee.
• How was the portion/value?   I believe this one was $4. It's not listed on the menu. No matter what, the portion was tiny, so the price was, I'm sure, too high. 
• What letter grade would we give it?  B+   This tasted more like a coffee shake to me than a frozen coffee. (A delicious coffee shake, but a shake nonetheless.) My 5 year old loved it! I thought it was good but I'd rather something full size from Joffrey's or Starbucks. 
• Will we get it again, when we return to the festival?   Nope. Going to Starbucks for my Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino. 

Alsace Holiday Kitchen

(France)

• Food
• Napoléon de Saumon Fumé, Brioche á l’aneth: Smoked Salmon Napoleon in a Dill Brioche
• Le Réveillon de Noël: Turkey Breast Stuffed with Mushrooms and Chestnuts with Sweet Potato Purée
• Bûche de Noël au Chocolat: Slice of Chocolate Christmas Yule Log

• Beverages
• Spiced Rum Punch Slush: Spiced Rum, Rhum Clement V.S.O.P., Orange and Pineapple Juice with Cinnamon
• Merlot & Cabernet Blend, Château de Bechuad, Saint Emilion
• Holiday Kir: Sparkling Wine and Monin® Cranberry Syrup
• Champagne Brut, Nicolas Feuillatte

• What did we try?   Turkey Breast with Mushrooms and Chestnuts
• How would I describe it?   White meat turkey rolled around a stuffing and covered in brown gravy. Served over mashed sweet potatoes. 
• How was the portion/value?   $6.57 was a lot for this small slice of roll and barely any potatoes. 
• What letter grade would we give it?  B-   The flavors in this were great... a nice, rich gravy over the meat and savory stuffing. It all tasted good, but there wasn't a whole lot of it! We got barely ANY potatoes at all. Bummer. 
• Will we get it again, when we return to the festival?   No. Too small. Not worth it. 

• What did we try?   Chocolate Buche De Noel
• How would I describe it?   A chocolate cake roll with chocolate mousse and a meringue cookie. 
• How was the portion/value?   $4.75 was pretty high for this little slice. 
• What letter grade would we give it?  B   If you read my PART ONE review, you saw that I was NOT a fan of the Buche De Noel that I got from Les Halles. It had orange flavoring in it, which I did NOT enjoy. I asked about this one before ordering and was happy to hear this was simply chocolate, with NO orange in it. The roll was rich and chocolatey, and the mousse on top went with it nicely. Again, my only complaint was that it was too small. 
• Will we get it again, when we return to the festival?   No. Too small. Not worth it. 

     That's it this time around, folks! I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season and that those of you celebrating Christmas are ready for the big guy in red to make his way to your house! Happy Holidays, everyone, and until next time, have a magical week!

- Jenn aka "Tink"