By Rabbi Rachel Esserman 

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. That’s what I thought after asking for samples of Mightylicious Cookies. Taste testing cookies so readers will know if they are any good is an important part of my job. (If you’re wondering if I’m finding it hard to keep a straight face while writing this, you are correct.) 

The Reporter’s e-mail is filled with press releases of all kinds. My favorites feature books that sound interesting. My second favorite are those that offer to send food samples. Call it a side benefit of the job, but writing about these samples serves an educational purpose; it lets people know about new varieties of kosher food. While canned and jarred kosher food is fairly easy to find nowadays, that was not always true so sharing this information can help people who not only keep kosher, but have dietary restrictions. 

This is true for Mightylicious Cookies since their cookies are not only kosher (they are certified by Kof-K kosher), but are also gluten-free. According to the press release, they are “100% free of gluten, wheat, rye, barley, and RBST. The entire line is made from all-natural, non-GMO ingredients.” (RBST means that dairy ingredients come from cows who did not receive the hormone recombinant bovine somatotropin.)

It offers seven varieties of cookies: brown butter chocolate chip, brown butter shortbread, oatmeal raisin, double Dutch chocolate chip, Grandma Arline’s oatmeal coconut, salted peanut butter and vegan chocolate chip. I didn’t want to be greedy so I only asked to test three kinds: oatmeal raisin, double Dutch chocolate chip and salted peanut butter. I also asked a friend who has celiac disease to help me do the taste testing since she is familiar with other varieties of non-gluten cookies. 

The first thing to note is that there are two types of cookie lovers: those who like crunchy cookies and those who like soft, chewy cookies. (OK, OK, there is a third type: people who don’t care what its texture is as long as it’s a cookie, but that’s not important right now.) I like chewy cookies, so I was pleased that the Mightylicious Cookies have a great chewy texture. The bags are divided into five packets of two cookies each, making it easy to put the cookies in lunch bags or take them with you on the go. It also helps keep them from going stale. 

As for our thoughts about the individuals cookies: 

• Double Dutch chocolate chip: We tried these first. They are very rich. My friend ate half of hers and was satisfied. I finished mine and, if I hadn’t had to taste two more cookies, could have easily eaten a second.
• Oatmeal raisin: My friend is not a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but she thought these were fine. I generally love oatmeal raisin cookies. While I enjoyed these, the flavor seemed different. It may be the maple syrup, which I generally like, but have never had in oatmeal raisin cookies before. 
• Peanut butter: These were my friend’s favorite. She liked that they were not super sweet, which was interesting because they contain the most sugar. However, they also offer the greatest amount of protein. I thought they were good too, but am torn about which cookie I like best.

I’ll be hearing more opinions about the cookies when other Reporter staff members taste them. It’s only fair to share the wealth (and the sugar and calories). Mightylicious Cookies are definitely good cookies and not only for those with celiac disease. In fact, if I hadn’t known they were gluten free, I would not have guessed.