Katz Gluten Free Vanilla Rugelech

Katz Gluten Free has released a new flavor of Rugelech! As I'm sure you guessed from the title to this post, the new flavor is vanilla :) I'm sure I must have mentioned how vanilla obsessed I am in past posts so you can imagine my excitement over this new snacking option.

Katz is doing a Winter Grand Prize Giveaway to help roll out this new product. The Grand Prize is a huge box filled with one each of the Katz goodies. To enter the drawing (winner will be chosen on Jan. 3, 2011) follow this link to the Katz Page :)

One more thing before we move on to the review stuff: Katz has also supplied GFPR with a free sample pack to give to one lucky winner! To enter, just read this post and leave a comment. A winner will be chosen at random from all available entries on Monday, January 10, 2011. Now on to the review!

Katz Gluten Free Hamantaschen

Katz Gluten Free made my daughter very happy this week when they sent a box full of goodies. Our favorite product, and the first up for review is the Katz Gluten Free Hamantaschen in raspberry and apricot flavors.

This gluten free, nut free, dairy free and kosher bakery has introduced a new addiction to my household that will not be leaving any time soon. On to the review!

Ease of Use

Katz Gluten Free Hamantaschen are incredibly difficult to eat. I had to open a box and lift one all the way to my mouth... Okay, sarcasm aside, they were really hard to share. From the first bite I wanted to hide the box in my "private stash" and keep them all for myself.

Appearance

I have decided that, fun though my descriptions are, a picture is worth a thousand words. Starting today, I will provide them whenever possible. One added note, this review covers both the raspberry (above) and apricot flavors. The main difference is that the apricot flavor has a golden filling. They look tasty, don't they?

Taste and Texture

Yummy yum yum! The soft cookie exterior has a soft texture that melts in your mouth. There is just the right amount of filling inside to make the flavors pop and roll in your mouth. The filling is pretty solid, which means there is no drippage on your favorite shirt.

The overall effect of Katz Gluten Free Hamantaschen is fantastic! There is no strange aftertaste or gluten free funk here, only sweet cookie goodness. My daughter, upon her first bite exclaimed, "You know what we have here? Gluten free Newtons!" From her that is high praise indeed.

Versatility

Eat them in the morning, eat them at night, for a snack, dessert... I really can't think of anything they could be used for besides the deliciousness that they are, but that's really all they need to be to make me happy.

Overall Value
Katz Gluten Free Hamantaschen goes for $5.99 a box. With eight in a box that comes out to 75 cents per cookie, they are well worth every penny.

Rating

I love it!

Kinnikinnick Foods Ginger Snap Cookies

I am happy to share this gluten free product review with you today, my friends. As I write this, I am sitting at my computer, drinking a cup of coffee and enjoying Kinnikinnick Foods Ginger Snap Cookies. Maybe I haven't made the healthiest choice for lunch today, but I can't stop eating them :)

Ease of Use

So easy that your two year old and your great grandmother could enjoy them together with no effort exerted between the two of them.

Appearance

These little gems are brown and about two inches in diameter. I really wish there were more to say here...moving on!

Taste and Texture

Kinnikinnick Foods Ginger Snap Cookies are what every gluten free cookie should be! They are sweet and spicy, even leaving a tad bit of heat in your mouth. The texture is even better than the flavor! They are light and crisp, without being hard. They are pure joy to eat.

Versatility

Kinnikinnick Foods Ginger Snap Cookies are great for ice cream sandwiches and pie crusts! When pumpkin season comes around again they will definitely be making the base for my pumpkin cheesecake! (They're really good to eat at the computer with a cup of coffee too)

Overall Value

Kinnikinnick Foods Ginger Snap Cookies come in a 24 pack for less than $4. I pronounce them a good value!

Rating

Since I am now out of cookies, I can honestly tell you that I'm thinking about buying a new package. I love them! (By the way, I didn't eat the WHOLE package today. They actually lasted a few days)

Pamela's Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today's gluten free product review is for Pamela's Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies. Pamela's makes a mix as well, but this review is for the premade cookies in the blue and black box.

Ease of Use

Easy Peasy! Just open the box and eat.

Appearance

Pamela's Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies are fairly large. They are not a flat cookie, but raised in the middle.  There are large chocolate chunks visible throughout.

Taste and Texture

The texture of Pamela's Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies is great. They are not hard, but not soft and chewy either. They have a nice bite to them. The chocolate is silky smooth and tastes wonderful.

The flavor of the cookie leaves something to be desired. There is an odd flavor that is hard to place, but it's not the best I've ever had.

Versatility

The versatility is limited in the same way as any other packaged cookie. You can use it as far as your imagination stretches.

Overall Value

Pamela's Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies cost about $3 for a box of nine cookies. The price isn't bad.

Rating

This is not a product comparison blog, but I have to say that I've had better. This product rides a fine line between being recommended and not. They fall into the category of foods that I would eat if they were provided for me, but wouldn't buy again. Since they are not bad, I recommend that you try them at your own risk.

Namsaste Cookie Mix

This gluten free product review is for Namaste Cookie Mix. I'm pretty fond of cookies. Each one is like a happy little bite of yum! Namaste Cookie mix managed to surprise me in spite of the plethora of cookies I've tried.

Ease of Use

No joke, this mix is so easy that my nine-year old daughter mixed up the dough by herself while I was doing other things. Once the dough was mixed, it was easy to grab rounded tablespoons and plop them on the pan. They only take about ten minutes to bake. From start to finish, the entire batch of cookies can take less than 45 minute.

Appearance

At first, the dough looked really strange to me. I had expected a light colored dough like sugar cookies. What we had was darker and speckled through with black dots. I wasn't worried about the dots, but when I found the big black chunk of what looked like potting soil, I did begin to wonder. A quick check of the ingredients assured me that what I had was ground vanilla bean, a good thing in cookies. The clump broke up very easily and I was able to redistribute the bean with a few stirs.

As for the finished product, gluten free cookies never had it so good! They had a slight sheen to the outside, almost like a glaze but not thick. They were really pretty!

Taste and Texture

Namaste Cookie Mix has an earthy, rich flavor that is just the right amount of sweet. The care it took to develop this recipe shows in the fact that all of the ingredients are natural and recognizable, but the gluten free cookies don't taste gluten free. They almost taste healthy, but not in a health food way. More that they are natural and you can tell.

The texture is unbelievable! They are crunchy, chewy and soft all at once. They are definitely on the must try list for any cookie connoisseur.

Versatility

Namaste Cookie Mix is very versatile. It has recipes for variations right on the bag. I made jam thumbprint cookies that were awesome! There is also a recipe for Blackberry Crisp with Streusel Topping which shows great promise. This mix has a complexity of flavor that will blend well with any dessert recipe.

Overall Value

A little over $5 gets you a 20 oz. bag of Namaste Cookie Mix. That is a great value when you consider that most gluten free cookie mixes are sold for the same price and only contain 12 to 15 ounces.

Rating

I love it!

Schar Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers

As promised, today is the second installment of the search for fantastic gluten free wafer cookies. This has been a great gluten free product review for me to do because I love these crispy delights! Okay, admittedly, all my reviews are fun, but this one is like a series...almost.

I started with Glutino Strawberry Wafer Cookies, and now am moving on to a vanilla wafer. Schar Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers to be exact.

Ease of Use

Usually here I insert a witty remark about how easy cookies are, but this time is different. Schar Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers actually have an element of difficulty to them. They are packed very tightly in a foil lined package that needs to be cut open. The tight package is a good idea in theory because it reduces breakage on the shelf, but try getting the first two cookies out without breaking them.

Appearance

These gluten free cookies are the perfect vanilla wafer color. Creamy colored wafers with sparkling white cream inside. They are covered with a fine dust of the crumbled corners of their package buddies.

Taste and Texture

Schar Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers are paper thin and crispy. They have a very nice texture to bite into. You could eat a million of these and not get full.

Unfortunately, the wafers themselves carry a bit of the "gluten free funk" that I am not fond of. The redeeming quality is the vanilla cream which is tangy, flavorful and delicious.

Versatility

No real versatility here. It seems like if you tried to crush or crumble these at all you will be left with nothing but powder. They are even a little too fragile to dip or use as garnish.

Overall Value

Schar Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers will run you about $4 for 16 cookies. I'm not sure that will make them my go-to brand.

Rating

I recommend Schar Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers as a sometime treat.

Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies from Enjoy Life

Gluten free cookies and milk anyone? How about a soft baked Snickerdoodle cookie from Enjoy Life? This bright and colorful box promises that the product contained within is free of just about every allergen known to man. I say that's great! Bring it on!

It did make me wonder, though, with all that's being left out, what's left to make cookies out of? Not chemicals, apparently. There was not one ingredient on the list that I couldn't pronounce. That, in itself, rates pretty high with me.

Ease of Use

Open mouth, insert cookie.

Appearance

These gluten free cookies are pretty small. Some would call them bite sized, though I prefer smaller bites. They are the delicious brown color of cinnamon.

Some of the cookies were a bit squished, though not reduced to crumbles. Initial impression: These smell pretty darn good!

Taste and Texture

Gluten free Snickerdoodle cookies from Enjoy Life taste pretty darn good too. They have a cinnamon sugar goodness spread throughout, not just an outer coating. The warm cinnamon taste is well balanced, not too much of anything.

They really are soft! Not the kind of soft where they crumble in your hand, the kind that holds together well and is nice to bite into. There are chewier bits spread through these gluten free cookies that have a texture like crystallized honey. It didn't detract from the taste at all and left me wondering whether the texture came from the date paste or the brown sugar.

Versatility

You can make these cookies as versatile as you want. Snack food, pie crust, ice cream topping- cookies are cool like that.

Overall Value

Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies from Enjoy Life sell for $3.65 for a box of one dozen cookies. They are more of a sometime indulgence rather than an every week buy.

Rating

I recommend these gluten free cookies. I will definitely buy them again.