The Wholesome Inspiration Behind Tim Tam Cookies

When you decide to explore the origins of your favorite snacks, you'll find yourself inundated with a flood of fascinating stories. Some of them have been around for a surprisingly long time, and it's always fascinating to learn how their clever names were thought up.

For example, did you know that M&M's were invented during the Great Depression, and that the name is derived from the last names of chocolatiers Forrest Mars and William Murrie? Or that Smarties first appeared during World War II, and were an attempt to make a candy for soldiers that wouldn't melt? According to Mental Floss, milk duds were invented in 1926, and got their name when the factory equipment, which was supposed to churn out spherical sweets, instead made irregular mounds of chocolate and caramel — these "duds" were anything but, and the candy remains lumpy to this day.

Mental Floss also tells us that the Snickers candy bar was named after a horse that belonged to the Mars family. The Tim Tam, a popular Australian cookie, has a similarly equine origin story.

According to The Museum of Lost Things, the beloved Australian cookie was first introduced in the mid 1900s. Its invention is credited to Ian Norris, who was the head of Arnott's food technology division. In 1958, Norris traveled the world to expand his confectionary horizons, and, soon enough, he discovered an English cookie called a Penguin, which was a sandwich of chocolate cookies and sweet cream coated in milk chocolate. Several years later, in 1963, the Tim Tam was born, which adapted the Penguin recipe by using lighter cookies and chocolate flavored cream.

The Museum of Lost Things also explains where the cookie got its alliterative name. It was actually the great grandson of company founder William Arnott, Ross Arnott, who came up with the moniker. While Ian Norris was out in search of cookie inspiration, Ross Arnott was in America, where he attended the Kentucky Derby. The 1958 Kentucky Derby winner was named Tim Tam, which Arnott felt would be a perfect title for the newly introduced cookie.

Tim Tams have been a beloved treat in Australia ever since their inception, and, today, Arnott's Sydney production facility churns out 3,000 of the chocolate cookies every minute, per SFGate.

Taste tells us that the original, chocolate cream-filled flavor of Tim Tam is still the most popular, with a whopping 37% of Australian survey respondents ranking it number one. However, there are many flavors of the cookie available to the public. Some of the best Tim Tam flavors are the multiple caramel options, dark chocolate mint, and double coat, which features another layer of delicious chocolate on the exterior of the cookie.

According to Culture Trip, the method by which Australians enjoy this chocolate cookie is known as the "Tim Tam Slam." To perform this rhyming routine, you need to bite the ends off of both sides of your Tim Tam, then you dip the Tim Tam into a cup of coffee and use the exposed wafer-like biscuits as a straw.