Category: Sweet Stuff

Product: Kinnikinnick Foods Chocolate Coated Donuts – $6.99+

It had been about nine months since I last ate a donut.  I went gluten-free back in February, and on a trip to visit my parents, I had my amazing last meal of donuts from a local shop nearby.  What a way to end a run with one of my favorite guilty pleasures.  I mean, who doesn’t like a donut every now and again?  There are so many varieties out there to try, each with a different texture, different flavor, glazed, sugar-coated, jelly-filled, etc.

Now, I like to eat healthy as much as anyone, but when you are constantly being bombarded with donuts at the office, of which you know you can’t even take a small sample of one, or splitting one with a co-worker…you begin to crave.  Well, this happens a lot at my office, so you can imagine how much I really, really, REALLY wanted a donut after nine months going without even a taste.

I knew there were gluten-free options out there, found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.  The variety is limited.  Normally they have one or two kinds from one or two brands out there.  I have found Glutino and Kinnikinnick brands at a few stores nearby.  But the craving was never worth the steep price on these boxes of six donuts.

Then, while hunting down an ingredient I needed at my local natural foods store, my roommate spotted the Kinnikinnick brand in the freezer…on sale!  So, she surprised me by grabbing a box of the Chocolate Glazed Donuts (the store also had Vanilla Glazed and Cinnamon Sugar) and purchasing them.  For blog purposes, of course!

That Sunday, we decided we would give them a nosh for breakfast.  Oh yeah…nothing says Sunday like treating yourself to a sinful breakfast consisting of a gluten-free donut.  And yes…we did keep to only one each!

Kinnikinnick really, really does good work when it comes to their products.  I put the donut on a plate and warmed it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  That’s all it took.  The glaze heated and warmed and the donut thawed out into cake-like perfection.  I served them up and we each took a bite.

Blew me away.  It was like treating myself to Dunkin’ Donuts without the gluten!  Seriously.  These cake-like, chocolate-dipped delights might be small, but they pack a whollup when it comes to serious flavor, texture, and yum-factor.  I mean, you gotta have the yum-factor when it comes to donuts, right?  I wasn’t expecting these to be so good.  But, damn…I was going back to my childhood when we would get treated to Dunkin’ Donuts every now and again.  Chocolate is always a good choice.

The chocolate each donut is dipped in melts a little and then cools down and becomes a glaze for these donuts.  It pairs very well with the cake-like base that is hidden beneath the dark chocolate, sweet topping.  Like…eating the top layer of a Boston cream pie.  No…really.  This was more of a dessert than breakfast.  But breakfast can be a treat sometimes, yes?

Being healthy doesn’t mean you have to give up treats.  It’s okay to indulge in something bad for you every now and again.  I am so glad that Kinnickinnick produces these donuts.  And it’s probably a good thing they retail at such a high price, because I would probably stock my freezer with them.  When something is so reminiscently good…well…it’s worth raving about.

Need a gluten-free treat for the office that everyone will love?  Next time the boss wants to bring in donuts, point him toward the freezer section of the grocery store.  One little heat in the microwave and it’s like getting them hot from the oven.  Mmmm…sometimes it’s so good to be bad.

Product: 1-2-3 Gluten Free Roll-out & Cut Sugar Cookies – $6.99+

Sugar cookies are the bane of my existence.  I love them.  I do.  But it’s a love-hate relationship.  Mostly because of what has to be put into them to get them to come out just right.  It’s a lot of time and a lot of uncertainty.

Sugar cookies and I have a long history of epic fail.  I try to make them and they come out wrong.  I’ve made them from scratch, from mixes, and then I’ve cheated and bought the refrigerated stuff.  For one of the most simplistic looking cookies, sugar cookies can be a royal pain in the ass.

But, while shopping for deals one day at the grocery store, some boxes of 1-2-3 Gluten Free Roll-out & Cut Sugar Cookie mix on manager’s special.  As is normal for me…gluten-free + sale = sold!  My roommate and I grabbed three boxes.  I happen to have a couple cookie cutters in the kitchen, so finding a good excuse to bake these up wouldn’t be an issue.

A good reason came about at the end of October when my office had its monthly office lunch meeting.  This time…a pot luck.  Since I’m a vegetarian in an office full of meat-eaters (save for one vegan), my choices at the potluck are already limited.  Throw in the added complication of having to be gluten-free as well, and that means whatever I make is my meal.  But I also could showcase some delicious gluten-free and vegan products while I was at it.  So, along with my gluten-free southwest soup and gluten-free cornbread, I pulled out one of these boxes and mixed it up (with egg replacer instead of egg to veganize it for our office vegan), ready to get to work that night on baking.  What I forgot was, as with most sugar cookies…the dough needs to be refrigerated beforehand, normally overnight.

With the potluck being the very next day, that meant that I’d have to get up early in the morning and get baking.  Small sacrifice for some gluten-free sugar cookie treats.  I have to say, the dough mixed up beautifully, and worked really well with the egg replacer.  I wrapped it up in cling wrap and into the fridge it went to stiffen.

The next morning, I was up early and pulling the very refrigerated dough out.  It was pretty solid, which was a challenge when it came to rolling it out so that I could use my Halloween cookie cutters on it.  But, once I got it to loosen up some, it rolled out easily, and didn’t stick to my rolling pin.  Success.  The shapes didn’t crumble either when I plucked them from their nests in the dough to put them on the pans and stick them in the oven.  Another sugar cookie success.  I poured a few decorations over the top and baked them according to the instructions on the box.

As they emerged, they looked every bit a sugar cookie as if I had done them from scratch.  So, I moved them from the pan onto the cooking rack and got started on the next batch for cooking.  But the real test came when I tasted them.  I mean, you have to taste what you cook or bake before serving it to anyone.  Quality check.  It’s important.

These did not disappoint.  They were crisp, yet soft in the center.  So you got that bit of snap from the baking in the oven, and then a chewy softness.  The flavor was sweet without being too much.  I was quite happy to wrap up plates of these to take to the office.  And, as an added bonus, I took some to the nice people at my bank, and the lovely people at the local gas station I frequent when I need to pick up a caffeinated beverage.  Everyone raved about the cookies, including the office.  And, the vegan loved that I had prepared cookies that he could eat.  Much like me, often at these meals we are the ones left without a dessert.  That’s okay, but I wanted to be sure it didn’t happen this time.  Also, this mix isn’t just gluten-free, but it is free of wheat, soy, corn, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and treenuts as well.  So…for those with certain food allergies, these are a safe bet in the end.  Bonus – they are made of yum!

1-2-3 Gluten Free’s dough was not only easy to work with, but baked up perfectly, even with egg replacer.  The dough didn’t crumble or pull apart when I was rolling it out or cutting out the shapes.  And the cookies held up beautifully during transportation.  These are marketed under a subtitle of “Lindsay’s Lipsmakin’ Roll-out & Cut Sugar Cookies,” which, according to the Web site, is because this mix is named after the company owner’s 14-year-old neice, who loves to help in the kitchen and decorate cookies.

With gluten-free sugar cookies this good…it’s no wonder.  Want easy and delicious cookies that you can bake instead of pulling them straight out of a box?  Give 1-2-3 Gluten Free’s Sugar Cookies a whirl.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, cut them up into festive shapes for the holidays, share with others, give them as gifts, or enjoy them on your own.  Know this…one box makes a lot of cookies.  But…’tis the season to be sharing, right?

Product: Gluten-Free Rice Krispies – $3.99+

Snap.  Crackle.  Pop.

You remember growing up with Rice Krispies, right?  From a cereal that “talks” to those delicious, marshmallow-y treats that mom made, Rice Krispies are engrained as a delicious part of growing up.  And I loved them.  Even as an adult, I devoured the cereal.  But when I had to go gluten-free, like most of my cereals, Rice Krispies had to drop off my radar.

But then, Kellogg’s did something brilliant.  They did something amazingly smart and great for their brand.  They developed gluten-free Rice Krispies.  And the first time I saw these on the shelves at the grocery store, I had to do my best to resist purchasing them.  The only reason for that is my grocery stores sell that at over $4.15/box.  When I wandered into department store that also had groceries (Wal-Mart, folks, don’t judge!  I am on a tight budget!), I found it at $3.99 and it came home with me.

So, what was the first thing I did with these little puffs of rice?  I made gluten-free Rice Krispie Treats, of course.  And, since I’m also a vegetarian, I used Marshmallow Creme instead of marshmallows.  But, naturally in the baking process, I had to swipe a few puffs to taste on their own.

These Rice Krispies are made out of whole grain brown rice and are made minus the barley malt (which is the source of gluten in original Rice Krispies).  What I found was these little puffs of rice were less sweet than the original brand.  But they were still very full of flavor and in no way bland.

As for how the vegetarian and gluten-free Rice Krispie Treats turned out…well…they were fantastic.  Chewy, gooey, soft with that initial crunch…and safe for someone like me to eat.  The perfect (and easy) dessert to make.

With the leftover cereal in the box, I used it as my breakfast cereal.  And it brought a smile to my face when I poured my almond milk over it and the cereal began its signature snapping, crackling, and popping.  I had to carry it over to my roommate to let her listen.  Yeah, sounds stupid, but I was really that happy about it.

I wish more companies would take on the task of creating a gluten-free version of their cereals (Cheerios, are you listening?).  This 12oz box (YES!  You get the same size box of gluten-free cereal as you do the regular…what a concept!) brought me so much joy and made me able to not only eat a cereal from my past, but whip up a delicious dessert that was safe for me to eat and that I could share with others.  I mean, everyone loves Rice Krispie Treats, yeah?

Don’t fall into a cereal slump.  When Kellogg’s developed and produced this product, they did the gluten-free community a favor.  A product of my childhood, now children who could never before eat actual Rice Krispies (gluten-free knock-offs are all around!) now get their day in the sun.  So, fill a bowl, pour on your milk of choice, and have a conversation with your cereal again.  For old time’s sake.