Product: Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Joe Joe’s Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies – $3.99
COOKIES!!
COOKIE MONSTER STRIKES AGAIN!!
It’s been a little while now since I spotted the Gluten-Free Joe Joe’s on the shelf of my local Trader Joe’s. At the time, I had so many cookies in my pantry that I couldn’t justify purchasing them. I’m a cookie monster, for sure, but even I know where to draw the line at times. HA! Or…so I like to tell myself anyway. I am she of no self control when it comes to certain things (Helllllllllllo….peanut butter!). I tend to behave, most of the time, when I know what still waits for me at home.
I was happy to have these though. When my friend, Stacey, threw a challenge at me to make a gluten-free and vegan grasshopper pie…I was short on my pie crust, so I pulled out six cookies, scraped out the filling (which Cathy then snacked on), and then threw them in the food processor…ultimately getting my pie crust amount right where it needed to be. Happiness and joy. But…now I had an open box of sandwich cookies.
Oh…I guess I forgot to mention that. In case you don’t know about Trader Joe’s and their products, they have their own version of an Oreo cookie…called Joe Joe’s. Well, I think around a year ago, they introduced a gluten-free version of these cookies. Sandwich cookies…are amazing. Growing up, I was an Oreo fiend. I would pour a giant glass of milk and grab Oreo after Oreo…dipping them in the milk and keeping it there while that delicious chocolate cookie would grow soft. That’s the ultimate and best (in my opinion…but honestly…it is) way to eat a sandwich cookie.
When I went gluten-free, I thought my cookie eating days were over. Until I realized that the gluten-free cookie industry is BOOMING! Really, if it’s an unhealthy snack, there is a gluten-free version of it somewhere. Some better than others, of course. And my first gluten-free sandwich cookie (of Oreo-like goodness) came from Glutino…thanks to my mom. There are other brands out there that I still need to try (K-Toos for one), but I have stuck it out with Glutino for the longest time. Because…they are flippin’ fantastic. For real! But…there came a moment of weakness during a quick Trader Joe’s stop…where a box of the Gluten-Free Joe Joe’s made it into my basket and then into my shopping bag…and then into my pantry.
So…last night…since the box was now open, I figured this would be an easy dessert. Besides, you give the option of milk (for me almond milk) and cookies to my roommate, and you have a happy roomie. HAHA! It’s the truth. She wanted to have nothing of the other dessert options that I listed off. I said milk and cookies and…that’s what she zeroed in on. And that…was what we had.
I poured her a glass of skim milk and me a glass of my unsweetened almond milk and pulled out two cookies each for us. Suddenly, I was feeling like a kid again. I felt like I was sidling up to the breakfast table at my friend’s house with the entire package and devouring most of said package in that sitting as we just kept dunking and eating and enjoying those tasty, delicious, amazing Oreo cookies. The instant I dunked that cookie into my almond milk and held it there, counting silently to the magic number that gets the cookie all soaked and mushy without it breaking off and pooling at the bottom of the glass (hate when that happens). I carefully lifted it to my lips…and that first bite…pure magic.
These…are fantastic. They are damn good. They might not be up to the level of Glutino, but they are also less expensive to purchase, and it’s been awhile since I even had the Glutino sandwich cookies…so perhaps the comparison is unfair. The chocolate cookie part itself is rich and dark and just…that right amount of crunchy and crumbly. Perfect balance. It didn’t take long for it to soak up that almond milk and get it to that level of sogginess that I love when I eat these sorts of cookies. The creme layer itself is…different. I found it to be a bit dry…and a little on the thin side. As in…I expect these cookies to have a good layer of creme (not double-stuff, but still a good layer!). So, that creme filling was a little lacking. I loved, however, that you could actually see the vanilla bean specks inside the creme. No fake and artificial vanilla flavor here. That’s the real deal. Too bad they sort of skimped out on that filling, eh? But…the cookie is the star and the cookie was amazing. The chocolate flavor just floods your mouth…and I think that’s where that creme layer needed to really be there…to sort of bring a balance. But…it’s something they can consider for the future. If a product is a cookie with creme…give me the damn creme!
Two cookies…gone way too soon. The temptation to get the package and just keep going was definitely there. Oh…to have the metabolism I had as a child…and no knowledge of what the hell a calorie was. Ignorance really is bliss. Sandwiched between two chocolate cookies. *sigh*
Let’s take a look at the ingredients that go into Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Joe Joe’s Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies, shall we? These cookies are made from: cane sugar, grain blend (corn flour, rice flour, cornstarch, potato flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, xanthan gum, arabic gum, and carrageenan), palm oil, cocoa powder, expeller pressed canola oil, invert syrup, cocoa powder, egg white powder, sea salt, baking powder, vanilla bean seeds, soy lecithin, natural flavors and ammonium bicarbonate. Not a fan of the canola oil, the carrageenan…honestly. But…I don’t eat these often, so as a treat…
As far as nutrition goes…these are cookies…keep that in mind. A serving size is 2 of the Gluten-Free Joe Joe’s Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies. I know it’s difficult…but try to keep to that serving size. This serving will provide you with 130 calories and 6 grams of fat. Additionally, you will be taking in 65 mg sodium and 11 grams of sugar. These cookies are cholesterol free. Finally, you will be provided with less than 1 gram of fiber and 1 gram of protein. Filling…it’s a cookie…it’s not going to be filling. It is going to be a nice sweet treat though.
So…yes…I know these are not clean eating, nor are they healthy. But, you can’t be 100% all the time. And since I can’t eat Oreos anymore…I have to find my alternative. Trader Joe’s does a decent job with their Gluten-Free Joe Joe’s Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies! They are packed with flavor…just not with filling. Which, might be a blessing rather than a curse (keeps that calorie count down!). However, let’s face it…the creme is one of the best parts of sandwich cookies…so I want to be aware of it when I binge on these addictive little treats (made even more addictive when dunked…I can’t explain it…but it’s true!). So, I’m not disappointed with this purchase, and would probably buy these again in the future. After all…sometimes you just can’t beat that Trader Joe’s price!
The Celiathlete 