Tastykake Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - New Product Review

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I’m struggling with how to write this review or even if I should. I’m always happy when another gluten free / dairy free product is made available to us and since everyone’s tastes are subjective, I’d rather concentrate on reviewing the items I can rave about. However, since this product is brand new and a lot of people will be considering it for the first time I decided I would review them – especially since there hasn’t been very much buzz around them.

Tastykake Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had read a blog post a couple of weeks ago that Tastykake would be launching a Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie. I was pleasantly surprised when I rounded a corner in my local Shoprite this weekend and saw a shelf of them on the Tastykakes display. Since the original blog post didn’t note other allergens (and I always check) I quickly scanned the ingredients for milk or milk products (there are none).

A couple of things did stand out from the package though: 1) there is no “contains” statement. This is perfectly acceptable since the ingredients are clear but it is always a nice to have. 2) The primary ingredient is soy flour. Soy has a fairly distinctive taste and I know from experience that it is hard to conceal in baked goods. (This is why I switched from soy milk to rice milk when I bake.) 3) There is no statement about the facility or manufacturing equipment, nor any reference to testing. (I did eventually check their website and none of this information is there either.)

The box of eight cookies (7oz) was $5.99, and after some quick price per pound math in my head, I decided to try them (as I’ve certainly paid more than $13.69 per pound for GF snacks before)! After dinner that night, I cracked opened up the box. First off, the eight cookies come in two separate individually wrapped trays of four cookies each. I snapped the photo for this post and dove in. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either.

While I do greatly appreciate Tastykake’s efforts, the results just fall short. Soy flour does still have a taste to it (I do understand why they use it; it doesn’t dry out as fast as rice flour so you’ll get a softer cookie). Since it isn’t in a flour blend, that soy taste is easily detected in the final product. Also, gluten free / dairy free chocolate chip cookies aren’t exactly hard to find – Pamela’s makes more than one variety in the same large size, Kinnikinnick makes a smaller one, Amy’s makes a bite-sized, and you can bake your own large ones with Immaculate Bake House’s pre-made cookies. I would have been much more forgiving of an attempt at any of Tastykake’s other products – especially one that isn’t already duplicated on the market.