Pepperidge Farm has come out with a new-to-me line of granola cookies. I suppose it is their “healthy” line of cookies? I’ve never seen these kinds of cookies with granola in them; usually it’s oatmeal, and you guys already know how I feel about oatmeal *shudder*. I debated over the $3.99 pricetag, which then led to the question of which cookie I should try:

As you can see there are 4 types: Trail Mix, Triple Nut, Dark Chocolate Almond and Fruit & Nut. I immediately went for the Dark Chocolate Almond I’ve decided to let the nutritional information influence my decision on cookies in this blog since it usually does when I eat them. Therefore it’s worth mentioning that all of these cookies except the Dark Choc Almond had 140 calories per cookie while the Dark Choc Almond had 130. However, the Dark Choc Almond was lacking the tiniest bit in protein. I also am a huge sucker when it comes to dark chocolate so I had to pass up on the nuts and fruit ones.

Is it just me or are the cookies from PF getting smaller..? I suspect that because these cookies are “healthier” they had to lessen the portion size so that they can keep the calorie count low:

Fits right into the palm of my hand. I took the cookie out and my mom asked me to help move the printer — agh, the agony of suspense! After I finally helped her move the printer (along with some books too) I hesitantly bit into this cookie, thinking it was going to be oatmealy. The word “crunchy” on the package also sent images of crumbs falling faster than I can catch them too. Unfortunately, it is a bit oatmealy , but much better than oatmeal :/. The texture is really in between a regular cookie and a cookie with oatmeal in it. Secondly, to my surprise, it’s really not crumbly for how crunchy it is! The taste is definitely different, but I might be able to get used to it. As the major ingredients include “rolled oats, whole grains and steel cut oats,” it’s a lot meatier for a cookie. I understand that my standard for the amount of chocolate a cookie contains is high, but if you reference the picture above, you can see that there isn’t actually that much chocolate in that cookie. The distribution of almond bits was perfect; they blended in great with all those oats.

Now, the big question: would I buy it again? At a non-sale price of $3.99 for 8 cookies, it comes out to $0.50 a  cookie. It doesn’t taste as good as Michelle’s Vegan Cookies (review to come soon!!) which are a comparable 135 calories a cookie but a much more expensive $4.69 for 6 cookies pricetag ($0.71 a cookie). I’m going to have to just say it and vote no. The oatmeal-y / granola-y taste is too much for me (even though I love granola) and the small / medium amount of chocolate they include on the cookie is not enough to make up for it. <3 PF, and I’m happy they are deciding to introduce some “healthier” (in actuality I really mean “not as bad for you”) cookie options. To those of you who can do oatmeal: I urge you to buy these!

• Taste: 7
• Crust and center moistness: Crunchy, but not crumbly
• Value: $3.99 for 8 cookies, that’s ok. 130 calories per cookie, that is GREAT! 8
• Overall: I hate oatmeal but I love granola; this doesn’t do it for me. If you like oatmeal, then you’ll be pleased with this cookie. 7!

What do you think of the idea of a granola cookie? Way to stand out apart from the oatmeal crowd, PF! Have you tried any of the other 3? What do you think?