Taste Test: The New & Improved Enjoy Life Cookie Line

Enjoy Life Foods decided to do a complete makeover of their entire allergy friendly cookie line, and I was one of the bloggers fortunate to receive three boxes as samples for review.  We take both cookies and taste testing pretty seriously around here, so my family was quite excited when the Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate Brownie and Lively Lemon Cookies arrived.

Not only the cookies, but also the packaging was redesigned with no detail overlooked.  I especially enjoyed the sly humor which turned the UPC code at the bottom of the boxes into a cookie jar.  Each package contained a dozen cookies.  They weren't large, but I've found that baking without eggs or gluten makes it difficult to create a larger soft and chewy cookie that still retains its structural integrity.  (I included a quarter in the photo above for reference.  All the cookies are the same size as the Lively Lemon in front; the ones on the plate simply appear smaller due to foreshortening.)

For the actual taste taste, we had four adult members of my family without food allergies and my seven year old son with multiple food allergies try all the cookies, plus an adult friend with celiac disease try just the Snickerdoodles.  All of them are definitely cookie enthusiasts.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, especially since most of us were using cookies that hadn't been adapted to be allergy friendly as our baseline.  The Snickerdoodle cookies were, quite frankly, a revelation.  I've never had a gluten free cookie so chewy and with such great texture before.  My mom, who doesn't like regular snickerdoodles, said these cookies could change her mind, while my friend with celiac disease simply inhaled them.  These were the favorite for both my son and me.

The Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies were also well received.  These were my mom's favorite, though she said she would have preferred larger chocolate chips in the cookie.  Considering how many other double chocolate brownie cookies have been tried and tested at my house, this is no small achievement!

My husband liked the Lively Lemon cookies best, but I was somewhat disappointed.  These had been my favorite of the Enjoy Life cookies before the recipes were reformulated, and I had been looking forward to trying them the most.  They seem to have lost some of their zing, and the lemony bits in the cookies now provide more texture than taste.  All the adults who hadn't tried the older version gave them a thumb's up, but they were still too tart for my son.

Overall I highly recommend the Enjoy Life cookies.  Their efforts to create yummy cookies free of the "Big Eight" allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, milk, fish and shellfish) have paid off.  Not only do they taste good, but Enjoy Life uses dedicated suppliers for their ingredients, as well as batch tests them for allergens to ensure their safety.

Disclosure:  I was provided free samples, but not paid for this review.  I did win the Cookies for Everyone Sweepstakes several years ago and am a huge fan of Enjoy Life Foods, but I like to think I managed to squeeze out an honest review, despite my fangirl tendencies!

I just found out that my blog has been nominated to Circle of Moms list of Top 25 Most Inspiring Families.  I'm not quite sure what my family would inspire, but I am honored to be included and would be greatly appreciative if you'd take the time to vote for The Allergic Kid!