Product: La Vita Health Foods, LTD Strawberry All Natural Crunchy Cookies – $5.00+
I have been delighted to work my way through an array of gluten-free cookies out on the market over the past year since having to go gluten-free. Because, being gluten-free shouldn’t mean no cookies…ever. And as we know…when the cookie monster in me strikes, well, there best be a delicious cookie on the receiving end.
I was out with my roommate one day at a HomeGoods store, shopping for some throw pillows for our new couch. As we meandered through the aisles, however, we spotted some of their food items. Let me tell you, there was no hesitation when we grabbed a basket and started loading up some products into it. It varied from gluten-free sauces to gluten-free snacks to gluten-free mixes…and yes…gluten-free cookies.
The La Vita Health Foods, LTD brand of Strawberry Crunchy Cookies caught our attention immediately. Why? Because it’s strawberry and when strawberry is involved and I am around…it wins. So, into the basket and over to the checkout, spending way more than we intended and never getting throw pillows either. Such is my gluten-free life. Food takes precedence over decorating apparently.
Well, these have just sort of been sitting in the pantry waiting on me to bust them open. But I had made my own gluten-free shortbread cookies which needed to be eaten first, and then some gluten-free ice cream sandwiches beckoned to me. But last night, for dessert, I opened up the box and decided to make it a strawberry cookie night.
First things first…these smell awesome! It reminds me of when I was growing up and I would go to our little town garden market and go pick fresh strawberries. Yeah. They smell amazing. So, I was already feeling confident about my purchase. I handed one to my roommate, then settled in for my first taste.
While these are crunchy cookies, they also have a soft, chewy texture to them. While I much prefer soft cookies to crunchy, if it’s billed as crunchy, I want it to be crunchy. I don’t just want an initial crunch with the first bite and then have it sort of disintegrate the more I chew it. And that’s about what happened with these. But, as I prefer a softer cookie, I was okay with that. These also weren’t overly sweet…which is awesome. In fact, these cookies are sugar free. Yes! Sugar free! In addition, these cookies also gluten-free, lactose free, and dairy free. Woohoo!
And while that strawberry flavor is there, these cookies just didn’t stand up and wow me. I wasn’t smacked with the flavor or just dying to jump up and raid the pantry for another one (serving size is ONE cookie at 90 calories). They were…just okay. Strawberry flavor was bursting from them, but I didn’t like how the cookie would end up sticking to my teeth as I chewed it. Let’s face it…I’m a gluten-free cookie connoisseur. You have to really wow me to impress me with a gluten-free cookie. And this, while I’m more than happy to polish off the expensive box of 10 cookies…I probably won’t get again. I’d be willing to give other flavors a go, but right now, I’ll stick with the delicious gluten-free cookies I know are out there and constantly scarf down.
So…not bad. Just not cookie monster scarfalicious.
The Celiathlete 