I went through my blog list recently, and saw it's been nearly a year since I last covered a cookie. (On September 14, 2024, to be exact, and it was also from Italy.) Fortunately, a little while ago I bought and tried some cookies, so this problem was easily solvable. I sampled the dark chocolate flavored Quadratinis from the Loacker company.
Loacker just recently celebrated their centennial, as the company was founded on April 3rd, 1925. Alfons Loacker had worked at a local shop since he was a child, and in 1925 he was able to buy it, and run it as his own. By 1940 the company was selling its first packaged baked goods. In 1958 Alfons' son Armin took over as the head chef, while his daughter Christine handled the administration and distribution aspects of the business. In 1974 the main facility was moved upward, to the mountain community of Auna di Sotto, on the Renon plateau in the Dolomites, which in turn are part of the Alps. By 1975 Loacker products were exported to the Middle East, China, and Japan. In 1984 the ads for the company began using the characters known as the Gnometti. And in 1996 the third generation of the family took over, in the form of Andreas Loacker. Aside from various types of wafer, Loacker product categories include exquisite patisseries, choco snacks, chocolates, praline dreams, gifts and seasonals, and duty free. Currently the business employs well over 1000 people, and is exported to the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Israel, and China. The cookies I had, Quadratinis, were developed in 1994, and come in many flavors, such as hazelnut, tiramisu, peanut butter, gingerbread, and coconut. Loacker is also concerned with various causes and issues of the day. They're dedicated to using sustainable supplies and packaging, maintaining climate neutrality, practicing social responsibility, while also allowing for "mindful indulgences." Also, they do have another plant in Austria, which is where my cookies were made. Hence the mention in the title.
Loacker dark chocolate Quadratinis: They were squares, about 2 cm. (about .75 inch) to a side, layered, with 5 cookie/4 chocolate filling layers. The outer cookie had the typical latticed wafer pattern, and the color of the cookie layers was light yellow, and the chocolate filling layers a dark brown, obviously. They were crunchy, with a soft filling in the middle. They were okay. I probably would have liked them better if they were milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, but the wafers cut the dark chocolate bitterness decently. Otherwise they were very much like other wafers, except for the added layers, and the smaller square shape instead of a rectangle. So I would recommend these, especially for dark chocolate fans. And I'll look for other flavors, especially for flavors I normally enjoy, such as peanut butter.
The advertising campaign characters called the Gnometti have a fairly extensive back story and, well, fuller characterization than most of their kind. There are 13 named characters, each with their own specialty and skills. Mestolo is the leader, for starters. And Quadratolo is a wafer engineer, who invented the Quadratini cookies. Finally, if you're tempted to rip off the Quadratini concept, design, and the cookie itself, be forewarned--Loacker will come after you. In 2003 police raided facilities in Lebanon and Syria that were infringing on Loacker's trademark product.
