Cookie Review: Chocolate Chip Cookies — Home Free

So in my second installment of Home Free cookies which follows my first tasting of Home Free's mini chocolate chocolate chip cookies, I tasted a sample of their chocolate chip cookie: This was a full-sized cookie as opposed to the mini sized ones. Average sized cookie. If you hadn't read my last post on the Home Free cookies, Home Free makes these cookies without using common allergens: there are no eggs, nuts or dairy ingredients and emphasizes whole grains. This cookie looks like a regular cookie, but there is defintely an "off" taste to it. I blame the barley flour. Not nearly as bad as Real Food Daily's use of buckwheat flour, though! If you're used to eating regular dairied/egged cookies like I am, the taste will hit you as a little odd at first but it only detracts from the overall taste in a minor way. I was very happy with the cookie to chips ratio. It's not sweet, nor is it soft; eating this cookie gave me one of those experiences where parts of the cookie that I didn't bite into (but were adjacent to parts of the cookie that I *did* bite into) broke off. One cookie at 140 calories made with whole grains and sweetness derived from fruit juice = again, a healthy not-as-bad-for-you cookie (come on! It's still a cookie.). This cookie and the mini chocolate chocolate chip cookie have almost the same nutritional content and my assessment can be viewed here.

• Taste: 7
• Crust and center moistness: very crunchy, a little dry
• Value: These individually wrapped regular-sized cookies for $1.79 a cookie or $16.90 for a dozen ($1.41 a cookie). 30 mini cookies go for $4.99 in select Whole Foods, Shaw’s and some institutions like schools and sports venues or $5.69 + S&H at www.homefreetreats.com. I think the price of each cookie in a dozen and the minis are a good price for a cookie that people with food concerns can eat.
• Overall: If you are picky about your food choices, or want a not-as-bad-for-you cookie, pick these up, totally worth it. This is one of the better cookies that I've tried that do not contain eggs, dairy or nuts. I personally would not buy this if there were other choices, but if they were in front of me I'd eat them. 7