Pamela’s Products provides pecan shortbread perfection to gluten-free cookie lovers everywhere

Product: Pamela’s Products Gluten-Free Pecan Shortbread – $4.39+

Butter.  Pecans.

It doesn’t get much better than that.  Just ask my mom, who would always share one of her favorite cookies with us when we were growing up – Pecan Sandies.  She loved those cookies.  And they traveled well in the summer, so those car trips we took to Minnesota in the hot summer meant no gooey chocolate chip mess.  We’d have Pecan Sandies on hand.  I grew up with that rich, buttery, yet salty flavor and grew to love it as much as my mom did.

And then the whole gluten-free thing happened…

For awhile, I went without any cookies, treats, snacks aside from vegetables and fruits.  And I truly felt like I was missing out.  So, when I started to purchase some here or there…I had to budget it.  These aren’t inexpensive little treats.  Gluten-free often means bigger grocery bill.  But at least I know the food won’t cause me any sort of problems.  Peace of mind.

Well, as stated over numerous entries…cookies are sort of my thing.  I love to bake them as much as I love to eat them.  But when my life gets a bit hectic and that urge to have a cookie strikes…sometimes you just have to find one at the store.  Thankfully, most stores around here carry Pamela’s Products.  And one such journey brought me to one that happened to have Pamela’s Products Pecan Shortbread Cookies.

I had to have them.

And then…over the course of me putting them in the pantry, they got lost in the gluten-free goodies shuffle.  Up until last night.  Because I needed dessert and the last cookies I had didn’t do it for me.  I climbed up to the goodie shelf and there, happily anticipating their time to shine, was the box of Pecan Shortbread from Pamela’s Products.

Starting with the basics here…a serving size is 1 cookie.  And these cookies are really decent sized.  None of this bite-size, gone in two nibbles stuff.  Each cookie delivers 130 calories and 8 grams of fat.  Keep in mind that these cookies do have nuts in them, so that at least means some of that fat is the healthy kind…and not just from the butter.  These cookies only have 5 grams of sugar, which is awesome, and are low in sodium and cholesterol.  It just makes dessert a little less guilty when you look at those facts, yes?  And these cookies have six ingredients: the cookie flour base, butter, evaporated cane sugar, pecans, xanthan gum, and vanilla flavor.  I recognize everything listed there.  WIN!

But…how do they taste?

Remember that lead-in I gave about the Pecan Sandies?  I think these are better than those cookies.  I haven’t been able to eat Pecan Sandies in years, but these crumbly, buttery, nutty cookies really took me back to the way those cookies tasted.  The texture is awesome…just like shortbread…crumbly, buttery, and soft on the inside.  The walnuts add just the right amount of saltiness to go with the sweetness of the vanilla.

In a side-by-side nutrition comparison, Pamela’s Products Gluten-Free Pecan Shortbread has fewer calories, less fat, less sodium, and less sugar than Pecan Sandies.  These are, definitely, a healthier option if you love that type of cookie.  And, as I stated, I think they taste better.  They definitely avoid any sort of preservative or chemical, unlike Keebler.  And Keebler has a slue of ingredients as opposed to the six in Pamela’s Products cookies.  I’ll take less ingredients, better taste any day of the week.

These cookies are rich, tasty, and amazing.  And I’m hooked on them.  I need to add more to my pantry next time that cookie craving hits.  Because these definitely hit the spot.  Delish!