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

…a brand of organic, ready-to-eat, whole grain cookies that solve the debate of nuts in schools as they are free of common food allergens including peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and eggs.

My favorite parts about these cookies:

• they’re organic
• they contain no common food allergens (there is soy lecithin in here though) and are vegan
• they are made with whole grains
• they are sans trans fats (and cholestorol but I don’t have to worry about that too much) and corn sweeteners

I first tried the mini chocolate chocolate chip cookies, because I could eat 6 of them for only 130 calories

They’re crunchier than I wanted, and by “crunchier” I really mean they are a bit dry. I couldn’t really taste the chocolate chips, but there is definitely a chocolatey taste all around. I would have liked to differentiate the chocolate chips from the rest of the cookie in my mouth, but I kept reaching for more quickly, one after the other, which says a lot. For some reason, for me, the law of diminishing returns didn’t apply; each cookie I ate was better than the last. Despite the lack of raw sugar in this cookie (sweeteners include cane juice crystals, 3rd ingredient listed) it still is really sweet and satisfied my after-lunch sweet tooth. Couldn’t tell that it was made from whole grains, although I will note that this cookie is “heavier” than other cookies (might be the barley flour).

Since this is a “healthier” cookie I will go into the nutrition facts. As mentioned above, it’s 130 cals for 6 minis — actually really good compared to regular cookies at 170+ calories a cookie. Only 20 carbs, but they’re whole grain, so that’s almost moot. Same with the 11g of sugars, most of which comes from the fruit juices and cane juice crystals. The rest — 1g fiber, 2g protein, 0% of all vitamins and minerals except for the 6%DV or iron, is negotiable with other cookies. I hesitate to say that these are healthy cookies since, they are, after all, cookies, but I will say that I know a thing or two about nutrition and these cookies are definitely not as bad for you as other cookies.

**UPDATE** I also sampled their regular chocolate chip cookie! Take a look at my review here: Home Free Chocolate Chip Cookie.

• Taste: 7
• Crust and center moistness: very crunchy, dry even
• Value: 30 mini cookies which is 5 servings for $4.99 in select Whole Foods, Shaw’s and some institutions like schools and sports venues; pretty darn good for a cookie with organic ingredients and few allergens. but if you can’t find them in store, they go for $5.69 + S&H at www.homefreetreats.com. They also have individually wrapped regular-sized cookies for $1.79 a cookie. That price is a little steep for me — I’d go with the minis, they’re more fun to eat too!
• Overall: If you are picky about your food choices, or want a not-as-bad-for-you cookie, pick these up, totally worth it. If not, they’d be good to try if you’re not craving a chewy chocolate chocolate chip cookie and they were convenient to obtain. 7