By Contributor Carrie Morrison
As soon as we went Gluten-Free, my 7 year old son Logan’s first concern was if he could he still enjoy cookies, and Udi’s did not disappoint. We had the unique opportunity to sample Udi’s line of cookies and brownies and we all said, “YUM!”. We tried all 4 varieties and they all received thumbs up from almost every thumb in the house. Some cookies were gone within minutes, while others lingered a little longer (24 hours, tops). None of the cookies stuck around long enough to require freezing (as Udi’s suggested) because Gluten Free (GF) foods have a much shorter shelf life due to the lack of preservatives. We’re going to be grading the cookies on a scale of 6 (each family member gets a point). (Read More after the jump).
Hands down, the Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites were the favorite here – 6 out of 6 of us LOVED them. Each bite was moist, fudgy, and absolutely decadent. At 180 calories for 2 brownies, I had to remind myself that gluten-free doesn’t mean calorie free and force myself to walk away from the container. Hubby even loved them and he isn’t a big “sweets guy”.
The Chocolate Chip Cookies were so soft and chewy, the label did not exaggerate! It is worth noting that I was out when the package arrived and the kiddos and hubby absolutely attacked and inhaled all of theses within minutes – I didn’t even have a chance to try one! I had to buy another container to test these cookies and I was glad I did. I was so pleasantly surprised by the big chocolate chips and the soft texture of the cookie. There wasn’t any of the graininess I have come to expect from gluten-free flour and the flavor was absolutely perfect. Another 6/6 from us with Logan declaring them the best part of his day! They pack a punch at 210 calories for 2 cookies, but the taste is SO worth it.
The Oatmeal Raisin and Snickerdoodle cookies weren’t as popular here. In all fairness, their original gluten-full counterparts were never very popular here either. The biggest kid was happy that the little ones weren’t as excited about these cookies, declaring “more for me”. The Oatmeal Raisin were my favorite of the two – moist and chewy with lots of plump raisins. 4 out of the 6 of us liked these cookies, but I think only because of the raisin boycott over here. We used to make Logan eat lots of raisins in an effort help him”go”, but he still hasn’t forgiven us. His little sister boycotts raisins too (as a show of solidarity).
The Snickerdoodles had tons of vanilla and cinnamon flavor, but were a little drier than the other Udi’s varieties. I enjoyed them and so did 3 of the kiddos. We’ll give this a 5.5 out of 6 for these sweet little treats, with Logan giving not quite a full thumbs up. He couldn’t give me a good reason why, he just said he liked the chocolate chip ones better (and asked me to get more at the store next time I shopped).
We were all pleasantly surprised at how good the Udi’s cookies and brownies are. All 4 of these gluten free varieties are also soy and nut free which is great for those with other dietary restrictions. I was able to find all of these treats at my local Kroger Supermarket and was not surprised to see they were almost $6 a box as GF foods tend to be more than their traditional counterparts.
If you cannot find them locally, Udi’s has these available for purchase on their website www.udisglutenfree.com. They ship via FedEx and your order arrives quickly and well packaged to protect all your delicious treats.
Thank you to Udi’s for sending samples for review purposes. No cookies or brownies were harmed in the course of this review.
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