Let’s face it: From time-to-time we all suffer from occasional stomach bloating, pain, diarrhea, constipation and — dare I say it? – gas. But can you imagine not being able to eat some of your favorite foods knowing all that will happen? No bread, no pancakes, no cookies! Anyone who suffers from a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease lives with that every day. 

In a nutshell, gluten is a natural protein that can be added to foods to increase protein levels, create texture (think of thickening gravy) add flavor and hold foods together. It’s why dough is stretchy. Gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye. Yeah, it’s in all the good stuff — pasta, bread, baked goods and cereals.

And like so many other health conditions, this one requires a dietary change. Does that mean no more baked goods? No more pasta? No more (gasp!) cookies? Good news – absolutely not.

Let’s Meet Carolyn Haeler

Carolyn Haeler, a celiac suffer, cookie lover and my new hero, came up with a solution after being disappointed time-and-time again with store-bought gluten free cookies. Her mission: Create a gluten-free, healthy and delicious cookie, with all the flavor and texture of a “regular” cookie. Let me tell you, she succeeded.

As one who suffers from gluten sensitivity — and being a cookie monster — I was beyond thrilled to receive two packages from Carolyn’s company Mightylicious. When I opened the boxes, I found a bag of All-Purpose Flour, Vegan Chocolate Brownie Mix and — ready for this? — seven (yes I said seven, all different wonderful varieties) packages of cookies. With all that said let’s get on with the review of the Mightylicious lineup (but understand I am going to save the best for last!).

Pancakes Anyone?

The All-Purpose Flour came in a very durable pink and blue bag. No worries about it not being airtight. To test it out I decided to make a batch of my special homemade pancakes instead of using the recipe on the back of the bag. The results were interesting.

I combined all my ingredients and put the batter in the refrigerator. I have found over time if you refrigerate your batter for about an hour or so, pancakes cook up lighter and fluffier.

This batter came out of the refrigerator very thick. I diluted it with more buttermilk and was barely able to get it off the spoon onto the skillet. The pancakes took forever to cook and they just kept getting thicker and thicker!

But the interesting part is they ended being light and fluffy and the taste was amazing! Honestly, I don’t really understand this at all. My husband, son, 6-year-old grandson, and 3-year-old granddaughter — none of whom have gluten issues — loved them. I was really impressed and totally dumbfounded.

It’s Brownie Time!

I decided to bake the brownies for my granddaughters’ birthday.  As my son put it, the brownies had a “deep chocolatey taste and are rich and gooey.” My husband and I agreed with that assessment. In fact, my son took another large piece and the rest home. Kids… what can I say — we could have snacked on those all weekend!

The Best For Last!

Ah, cookies! Like I said, I am a cookie monster and it was difficult not to just gobble them all up quickly. But with seven bags — and the help of a several other people — I was able to pace myself, and the results are in.

Up first – Oatmeal Coconut cookies. We found them to be “not your typical oatmeal cookie.” They had a delightfully sweet taste that did not overpower and a mild coconut flavor.

The Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookies were interesting. I found them to be on the sweet side and maybe just a bit greasy. Another reviewer felt like they “left a film” on her tongue. Our editor and host of the show thought they were absolutely delicious and didn’t notice any of that. 

Ah, and now the Shortbread cookies, lovely, lovely, lovely shortbread, maybe my all-time favorite. These cookies had a wonderful buttery flavor and did not fall apart when I bit into them. Honestly, I did not want to share these at all, but I let my husband taste and his reaction was, “Huh!” I’ll let you figure that one out.

Fun fact: Did you know 53% of adult American’s prefer Chocolate Chip cookies over any other variety? Our reviewers found Mightylicious Chocolate Chip cookies to be, “soft textured and not overly sweet or thick.” Nicely done, a virtually perfect chocolate chip cookie indistinguishable from gluten-laden varieties.

Up next — the Double Dutch Chocolate Chip cookie. One reviewer found them to be “too gooey” and two felt they were “a bit greasy.” I enjoyed the cookie but would not eat more than two in one sitting. But what’s wrong with that?

So, what about the Salted Peanut Butter cookie? One reviewer said, “These were pretty good as flavor goes, more or less tastes like a peanut butter cookie.” Not being a fan of peanut butter cookies, I passed, but I’ll take everybody else’s word for it.

Last but not least, Oatmeal Raisin cookie. This and chocolate chip are kind of the litmus test of cookies — if those two varieties aren’t good, it all falls apart from there. One reviewer said, “First bite impressions: Without milk dunk, really good. I really like it, a lot. Good mix of crunchy and chewy, and there is a neat spice to it. With milk, just as good.” I enjoyed the cookies’ soft texture and the spicy kick.

Mightylicious pride themselves on using clean ingredients. They use palm oil – which is actually a fruit oil, not a seed oil, so should be consumed in moderation, which is the key to everything, especially cookies — and pure cane sugar, believed to be healthier than refined white sugar.

Let’s face it, baked goods, pancakes, and cookies are some of life’s little pleasures.

And if you are gluten-sensitive, you can’t go wrong with any of the wonderful products made by Mightylicious. This is not a paid promo and this is not a plug (but I really wouldn’t mind a bit if they sent me another batch.)

Oh, in case you are wondering here are my top three cookie picks: Shortbread, Oatmeal Raisin, and Oatmeal Coconut cookies. Yum!