The white thing at the bottom is rice paper.

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I recently tried these, too. One bite evoked styrofoam, with a hint of ginger and spice. Definitely odd, though we kept returning to them again and again to mull over their unique taste.

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These cookies are odd, but compelling -- not really tasty, but I eat them whenever they are around. I like that strange white crust at the bottom, too.

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Ah, this is a classic case of cheap mass-produced stuff versus high-quality baked goods. This is a very German speciality (and if they are to be totally authentic, the "white paper" has to be oblates) and they tastes brilliantly when you get the good ones. The factory ones however are overly sweet and cardboardy. Trust me, if you over have the chance to taste one that doesn't come in that kind of box, do it! You won't be sorry, they are sooooo much better!

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Oh my goodness, I thought I was the only one duped into buying these by the quaint European packaging. I expected a chewy, lovely, ginger-ey experience and was apalled by the arid texture. There were even bits of unrecognizable chewy things in there which, combined with the afore mentioned rice paper bottom just made for an unusual experience. Overall though, I do love TJs and this was a rare bad experience.

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i bet the thing on the bottom is rice paper. perfectly edible if not slightly odd tasting. for halloween as a kid if you went around my neighborhood you were bound to come home and end up with a bunch of these taffy like chinese(?) candies that had an inner wrapper of the rice paper. i think it lent them a unique flavor because even though you weren't technically suppossed to eat the rice wrapper sometimes you just couldn't get the whole thing off the soft taffy. i guess it's a bit of an acquired taste...

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