I tried 5 different gluten-free cookies, and the best one is perfect for dunking in a glass of milk
I tried five different kinds of prepackaged gluten-free cookies to see which is the best.
Oreo's new gluten-free cookies taste as good as regular Oreos, but they weren't my favorite.
Tate's Gluten-Free Ginger Zinger was the weakest, and my favorite was from Pepperidge Farm.
Gluten-free options are everywhere nowadays - especially at the grocery store.
From gluten-free crackers to bread to pretty much every cookie variety you can think of, finding a variety of options that actually taste good is a lot easier than it used to be for those who have a gluten allergy or sensitivity.
I've been gluten-free for about three years now. While I've never been one to crave desserts that often, sometimes a girl just needs to satisfy her sweet tooth with a good old fashioned cookie, you know?
Before I started following a gluten-free diet at the recommendation of my doctors for a variety of health issues I deal with, I would grab a small pack of Oreos from the gas station whenever I wanted something sweet, crunchy, and creamy. I loved them - especially dipped in peanut butter, "Parent Trap"-style.
So when I heard that Oreo was finally releasing a gluten-free version of its classic sandwich cookie, I was elated. Sure, I'd seen store-brand gluten-free "chocolate sandwich cookies" in the cookie aisle, but they weren't Oreos. They couldn't taste the same, could they?
Read on to find out how the new gluten-free Oreos stacks up against other prepackaged gluten-free cookies on the market - including its more widely available store-brand rival.
The first cookie I tried was the Kroger store-brand chocolate sandwich cookie.
The Gluten-Free Chocolate-Flavored Sandwich Cookies from Simple Truth, Kroger's store brand, were first up in my gluten-free cookie taste test.
The cookies came in a small box which only contains 16 cookies, and although they're gluten-free, they're not certified-gluten-free, which means that if you have celiac disease, these cookies may not be an option for you.
Unlike the gluten-free Oreos, which I struggled to find in nearby stores, this generic brand was much more widely available.
The Simple Truth chocolate sandwich cookies certainly looked like Oreos, and they contained "Double-Stuf" levels of cream.
These babies were stuffed to the max.
The first bite pleasantly surprised me, as these cookies tasted pretty much like what I remember a chocolate sandwich cookie tasting like.
However, the cookie left behind a grainy, almost sand-like texture in my mouth, and while it wasn't as unpleasant as it sounds, you may not appreciate the first-bite aftermath if you have issues with food textures.
Next, I tried the gluten-free Oreos.
As I was unable to find the cookies in a store, Oreo provided Insider with a package for review.
The gluten-free Oreos came in the classic Oreo bag. But instead of the bag being blue, it's white.
Unlike the store-brand chocolate sandwich cookies I tried, gluten-free Oreos are certified-gluten-free. They also come in a pack of 28 cookies — 10 more than their store-brand rival.
The Gluten-Free Oreos looked and smelled exactly like their gluten-full counterpart.
I had the Double Stuf Gluten-Free Oreos, and there certainly was an ample amount of cream sandwiched between the two circular chocolate cookies.
Flavor- and texture-wise, these tasted exactly like regular Oreos. They were creamier and more chocolatey than the Simple Truth version, and hands down, I would pick the Oreo brand over other chocolate sandwich cookies any day.
While the Gluten-Free Oreos were my favorite of the two chocolate sandwich cookies, I wanted to see how they stacked up against other gluten-free cookies.
I tried the Pepperidge Farm Thin & Crispy Gluten-Free Milk Chocolate Chip cookies next.
I love chocolate-chip cookies, but I'm pretty biased when it comes to judging them — especially store-bought ones.
I'm a baker, and one of my most-requested cookie recipes is my browned butter chocolate chip Cookie. I'm admittedly a chocolate-chip cookie snob, and I think mine are the best. Period.
I'll be honest — I haven't had a store-bought chocolate-chip cookie in probably fifteen years, and my hopes that this cookie would even be palatable were pretty low.
Immediately upon opening the box and cellophane bag the cookies came in, I was disappointed.
These cookies are tiny. The photo of the cookie on the box is probably 1.5 times bigger than what I actually got.
They're thin and crispy, which is to be expected, and they were pretty flat.
Taste-wise, they're actually pretty good. Obviously, I'm missing the warm, gooey center I'd get with a freshly baked chocolate-chip cookie, but these are pretty tasty.
The Pepperidge Farm cookies would be perfect to dunk in a glass of whatever your preferred milk of choice is, or you could even crumble them up to make your own cookie cereal.
Next up: Simple Truth Gluten-Free Animal Crackers.
When I was a kid, I loved animal crackers. I was a picky eater up until my mid-twenties, and often ate relatively plain foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, so this simple treat was very much my jam.
Simple Truth's Gluten-Free Animal Crackers are made in a peanut-free facility and are non-GMO. They're also made without high-fructose corn syrup, and come in a convenient resealable bag.
The first bite brought me straight back to my childhood.
If anything, these Simple Truth Animal Crackers are little bites of nostalgia.
They're buttery, not too sweet, and taste like a classic shortbread cookie.
However, there's a bit of a gluten-free flour aftertaste. But if you can get past that, then these are truly a hit.
Last, I tried Tate's Bake Shop Gluten-Free Ginger Zinger Cookies.
I'm a big fan of anything made with ginger, whether it's straight gingerbread, ginger ale, or savory dishes with a ginger component. I think it's a wildly underrated ingredient and it should be used in recipes more often!
The Ginger Zingers come in a cute, old-timey lunch sack-type bag, and the packaging is simple and classic. Definite A+ on branding.
However, I was disappointed to see that many of the cookies were broken when I pulled the plastic sleeve out of the bag.
To be honest, this concerned me because I immediately thought that the texture was going to be too crispy and too hard.
After all, if they had just gone from my grocery cart to my kitchen counter and shattered like fine china, how would they hold up when I crunched them in my mouth?
I found one of the fourteen cookies that wasn't broken and grabbed it from the sleeve.
While the Ginger Zingers smells good — like a regular cookie — there's not much of a zingy ginger scent.
To my surprise, there were little chunks of candied ginger in the cookie. The rest of the cookie was extremely crunchy, but unfortunately, it didn't taste anything like ginger.
Is it still delicious? Yes. Would I call it a Ginger Zinger? Probably not.
All of these cookies had their strengths and weaknesses.
The Simple Truth Gluten-Free Chocolate Sandwich Cookies had a little bit of a texture issue, but the taste was pretty comparable to Oreos — which is a good thing if you're unable to find gluten-free Oreos at your local grocery store.
The gluten-free Oreos tasted exactly like regular Oreos. The only con, in my opinion, is that they may not be readily available at a store near you.
I was delightfully surprised by how much I liked the Pepperidge Farm Gluten-Free Thin & Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I wish they were bigger.
The Simple Truth Gluten-Free Animal Crackers were buttery and nostalgic, but had a slightly floury aftertaste.
Last, the Tate's Bake Shop Gluten-Free Ginger Zingers were tasty, but they didn't have that ginger taste I was looking for.
The gluten-free Oreos were delicious, but my favorite cookie of the bunch was the Pepperidge Farm Gluten-Free Thin & Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Maybe I'm more of a cookie purist than I thought I was, but I found that the Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chip Cookie took the gold medal in my race for the best gluten-free cookie on the market.
That's not to say that the gluten-free Oreos weren't a hit, though.
I would absolutely demolish a few of these bad boys anytime someone offered them to me. They're definitely comparable to the original Oreos and if you can spot them at your local grocery store, then I highly recommend grabbing a bag (or two) before they sell out.
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