Alternative Cookies

The Alternative Baking Company sent your Chocolate Priestess two samples of the vegan cookies they make. Do these cookies offer enough taste and chocolate for non-vegans as well?

The first cookie I tried was their "Colossal Chocolate Chip" cookie which is 4.25oz and 4.5in diameter -- two servings worth in each cookie according to the nutritional information on the back firm waxed paper insert into each plastic sleeve it came sealed in. The nutritional information on each package is for one serving only or one-half the cookie, keep this in mind whenever you eat chocolate, Sisters and Brothers.

There are at least 20 bites in this cookie so it is big. There is immediate sweet smell when I open it up, the plastic is very secure. The cookie is firm but flexible, it does not crumble at my touch. It is a light tan color with mini chips not evenly distributed across the cookie but a glance at the bottom says these are throughout the cookie. It breaks in half easily revealing more chips inside, very solid to hold, has a good weight to it.

The cookie tastes a lot like what I’d expect from a good chocolate chip cookie. Having had many, many vegan and fat free, low fat, healthy cookies, this has a sweeter taste than I expected without being overly sweet. The slight bitterness of the chips is there but the rest of the cookie is more powerful. This is superior to many similarly marketed cookies I've tried in the past so I'm pleased.

The "Double Chocolate Decadence Cookie" weighs the same but is only 4in in diameter, it is thicker than the previous cookie however, and feel heavier in my hand. It is a bit crumbly but overall firm and moist, the cocoa smell hits me immediately when I open the package.

This is truly a lot of cocoa, the cookie is dark in color and the chips are dark as well. It’s a bit like a devil’s food in texture and taste, a rush from the cocoa happens right from the first bite. This rush certainly urges me to keep eating while the previous cookie I could have taken or left after a few bites. But I exercise self control and eat only one serving’s worth as I should since I practice moderation with my chocolate.

As the Protein cookies' big promise was more protein, these Alternative cookies have no animal products in them, not even eggs, so I think they qualify as vegan by all general standards. Each serving has 3+g sat fat, 200mg sodium, 20g sugar, 3g protein, with some vitamin A, iron, and calcium; the "Colossal Chocolate Chip" has 0 fiber while the "Double Chocolate Decadence Cookie" has 2g fiber. The amount of saturated fat concerns me especially since these are vegan but again you have to make a choice, Sisters and Brothers, to use chocolate in a way that fits with your ethics and morals and vegan may outweigh other concerns for you.

Overall these are slightly more tasting and more moist than the Protein cookies reviewed last week. However, only one of these, "Double Chocolate Decadence Cookie," honestly had a good chocolate buzz while both Protein cookies had that buzz. That's simply a matter of the amount of cocoa in each cookie. Balance what type of chocolate cookie fits best into your life and chose wisely.

Sisters and Brothers, may you too take the time to slowly appreciate what the Divine and human ingenuity have offered you in chocolate.