GF Cookies
As you may have noticed from my blog and from numerous social media posts, I LOVE cookies. Home-made are always the best – made with love and those beautiful passed down recipes.
Unfortunately, life has a way of making things busy. You know – kids, kids’ activities, holidays, work, family, significant others, and the list goes on and on. Thankfully, there are ways to get a cookie fix other than homemade.
And thankfully, there are store-bought cookies that are better than others.
Now there is a caveat. Many of these store bought cookies go to extremes trying to suit everyone – so they are GF, Nut Free, Soy Free, Dairy Free … thankfully after all that they aren’t taste free! Rather than the typical restaurant review, I will be talking about different kinds of cookies that I have tried and potentially do some comparisons as well. After all this is all about store bought cookies and what I like. It’s my opinion and like the extreme Allergy Friendly (AF) cookies – if you like ’em, eat ’em!
Oreo Sandwich-Style Cookies
When I could eat any old cookie out of a bag, I would literally devour a row of Oreos without a second thought. Sure it’s not healthy, then again, have you seen my recipes?! I love food and I love cookies. So AD, I had to change my ways and I intentionally or unintentionally started hunting for Oreo-style cookies. And I’ve tried two types of these cookies – Kinnikinnick KinniToos Chocolate Vanilla Sandwich Creme Cookies and the Wal-Mart brand Good Value GF Chocolate Sandwich cookies.
Kinnikinnick KinniToos Chocolate Vanilla Sandwich Creme Cookies
Allergy Alert – GF, Nut Free, Dairy Free (though they are processed in the same factory as eggs), and Vegan
Texture – These are the closest cookie I have found to an original that was not homemade! I think anyone who loves Oreos would be hard pressed to tell the difference if they were blind-folded despite the fact that they are so AF. Typically an AF cookies like this would have a bit of a granular feel to it, but not these little morsels!
Taste – What can I say? While I can’t go back and try it myself, I really do think people wouldn’t be able to taste the difference between a real Oreo and the KinniToos!
Price/Availability – While in Canada, the chocolate variety is a little harder to find for some reason than the Vanilla cookie version. As for the price, they are not as cheap as the Wal-Mart brand, but you pay for what you get.
Good Value GF Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Allergy Alert – Gluten Free
Texture – These cookies are almost as good as the KinniToos, but not quite. They’re a little harder, which might be closer to the OG Oreo.
Taste – However, that doesn’t mean that they taste as good as the OG. Like most imitations, this one is just found lacking.
Price/Availability – There are three Wal-Marts within a 20-mile radius, you do the math! And yes, they are more expensive than regular Oreos, but less than the KinniToos – for a reason.
Drop-Style Cookies
There are a number of different styles of cookies, both on shelves and in cookbooks. Another favourite of mine is the other classic – Chocolate Chip. Unfortunately there has never been a store-bought version that can beat homemade – either GF or not. So we will talk about other types of drop cookies – such as chocolate cookies or these next delectable morsels.
Udi’s Salted Caramel Cashew Cookies
Allergy Alert – Gluten Free
Texture – They were soft, chewy, crunchy – delicious. Just how a drop cookie should be – not some rock hard discus that’s only good for skeet.
Taste – OMG! If I could figure out how to make these at home, I would! They are fantastic and should not be shared with anyone else – except me if I’m at your house for some reason! The combination of the cashews and caramel is really inspired and makes an amazing flavour, especially for someone like me whose go-to cookie has chocolate as the main ingredient.
Price/Availability – I have only been able to find these once – at Costco. And they were a little more expensive than your other average store bought cookies, but so, SO worth it.
Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Allergy Alert – I don’t know what they make these things from … they’re GF, Peanut, Tree Nut, Soya, Potato, Wheat, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Sulfites, Dairy, Egg and Casein Free.
Texture – While they are soft and chewy, they do have a bit of that granular texture to them.
Taste – Despite the granular taste, they are tasty. There’s a rich chocolate flavour that you would expect in a brownie cookie and it’s a worthwhile alternative to chocolate chip cookies.
Price/Availability – I’ve found these in a few different supermarket chains. And they’re still GF, so they’re still more expensive than non-AF food.
Cookie It Up Gluten-free Chocolate Chip
Allergy Alert – While these cookies are GF and nut free, they do contain milk and soy.
Texture – Very grainy. If you look at the ingredients for these cookies, you will see that only one type of flour (rice) is used. So far in my two years eating GF, it seems like that is a recipe for granular baking – not using a mix that mimics regular wheat flour.
Taste – Even without feeling like I was eating sand, these cookies were not worth the price I paid for them.
Price/Availability – There was only one place I’ve seen these in Canada and that is at Indigo. Hopefully the non-GF cookies are better quality than these.