Local Product Taste Test: Liz Lovely Cookies

[Suzanne Podhaizer]

The Panel: Suzanne Podhaizer, Alice Levitt, Dan Bolles, Carolyn Fox, Judy Beaulac

The Product: Cookies. Specifically Liz Lovely's certified organic and vegan Peanut Butter Classics, Cowgirl Cookies and Ginger Snapdragons. Each flavor comes in a 6.3 ounce two-pack for $3.99.

Alice chose these cookies for our first local product review because she'd tried samples at an event last summer and was surprised at how much she liked them. Why? She's an inveterate lover of animal ingredients, and these cookies have none.

The Verdict:

Dan Bolles - Thumbs Up. I'm about as far from vegan as it gets. But if for some reason there happened to be an egg and butter famine, I'd eat these.

Judy Beaulac - Thumbs Down. I found the [Cowgirl Cookies] to be doughy and the peanut butter to be dry without much flavor. The ginger was a vast improvement, as it tasted more like and had the consistency of a cookie... The ginger on top gave it some zip.

Suzanne - Thumbs Sideways. I have to admit that I'm not really a cookie person. When I eat dessert, I opt for cream-filled Italian pastries, custards and fruit pies. Nevertheless, I liked the texture and flavor of the Ginger Snapdragons.

Alice - Thumbs Sideways. Vegan cookies. Bad idea, right? Not as bad as I thought. The molasses in the Ginger Snapdragons made for a very nearly buttery texture. The others were dry, with an odor that reminded me of the vegan dog food my childhood shih tzu adored. I didn't like them as much as he did, but they didn't alienate me as much as I thought they might.

Carolyn Fox - Thumbs Up. Though I wasn't a fan of the dry, crumbly peanut butter cookie, the raw cookie dough texture of the chocolate chip cookie and the slightly spicy kick of the gingerbread cookie made for a pleasant tasting experience. 

What do you think of Liz Lovely cookies?
 

[Undead Molly]

Why are vegan cookies a "bad idea"?

[Alice Levitt]

The main ingredients in most cookies are sugar, flour, butter and eggs. Trying to make them vegan leaves out half of those basics. Sounds like a bad idea to me. Of course, anything vegan sounds like a bad idea to me.

[Dani]

Well, anything vegan sounds like a good idea to me.  Liz Lovely is a great company but the cookies are hit and miss, in my opinion.  I stick to the Ginger Snapdragons, Chocolate Moosedragons, Cowboy cookies, and Lovely Ohs (the Lovely Ohs are heavenly).  The other flavors I don't really care for, although I haven't tried the large gluten-free cookies they have (the mini ones have a cardboard-like texture).
Thank you for taste testing Liz Lovely!

[mailgirl]

Vegan can be good.  I like Liz Lovely cookies.