The Surprising Reason Shoppers Love Costco's Tiramisu

If it's been five minutes since you've heard about a new Costco craze, don't worry, we've got you. Fans of everyone's favorite wholesale club are snapping up Dessert Italiano Tiramisu cups — not so much for the delicious dessert they contain, but for the adorable three-ounce reusable glasses. A funny Redditor and fan of the product posted: "Costco has some glasses on sale. It is nice of them to fill them with Tiramisu." 

Other Redditors replied in kind, offering great ideas for putting these little glasses to use once the pastry, mascarpone, and espresso are nothing but a sweet memory. Some suggestions included using them for: dipping sauces, beer tastings, snack cups, and "propagation stations for my houseplants!" Of course, they can be used as drinking glasses, too. One participant in the Reddit discussion said it's the perfect size for kids' drinks, and her offspring even use the cups to indicate they want a smallish serving of something, as in: "Just a tiramisu glass, please!"

As for the tiramisu itself, well, it had fewer raves on this Reddit thread than did the petite containers. One cheeky respondent wrote: "I replaced that tiramisu with whiskey." Another complained of an overpowering coffee flavor and strange texture.

Yet another advised readers to stick to the Costco bakery tiramisu. Others liked the tiramisu and pointed out they're not bad for having only 210 calories.

These tiramisu cups eschew the traditional soaked lady fingers and feature shortbread instead. No doubt this is to prevent the absolute mess that would result from packaging delicate cookies that have been soaked in liqueur or espresso. Still, it's something to be aware of if you are a tiramisu purist. Also note that if you like your tiramisu made with rum, amaretto, or coffee liqueur, the Dessert Italiano tiramisu is made with marsala wine. Natalie of the Costcuisine blog raved about the tiramisu, noting that it was reminiscent of tiramisu she sampled in Italy, in that it was not overly sweet, allowing the espresso and mascarpone flavors to stand out. YouTubers Tami and Kevin Dunn liked that the plastic lids pop back on the glasses, which is nice if you can't finish the whole dessert in one sitting. The Dunns also approved of the strong coffee flavor, but found the spongecake "squishy." The Costco Deals page on Facebook says, "I'll take 6!"

Costco Dessert Italiano Tiramisu? Mixed reviews, but maybe worth trying because, hey, who couldn't use some cute little glasses?