Namaste Foods Cookies Mix- all natural, gluten, wheat, soy, nuts, potato, corn, dairy, casein free
I have tried Namaste’s brownie mix, and since I loved it so much I was really excited to see if this mix was just as good. I purchased the mix at Nature’s Pantry for $5.99 (gulp!). At this price, I really hoped it would be worth it. This mix makes 2 dozen medium sized cookies.
Mixing the cookie dough was downright disastrous. Upon adding the oil, water and eggs, I found the dough to be very thick and oily, and hard to handle. I ended up using my hands to rolls small balls of dough since the drop cookie method was not an option. Ugghhh, what a mess! I had to keep washing my hands because the oil felt disgusting on my hands. I ventured a taste of the dough ( as always), and instantly regretted it. It tasted AWFUL- very gritty with a bitter aftertaste, like it had too much baking powder in it.
Ok, time for the ultimate test- baking. Initially I baked 6 cookies plain, with no added ingredients; and another 6 cookies with added bittersweet chocolate chips and walnuts.
Fresh from the oven, the plain cookies had a strange grainy texture and crumbled when I took a bite. The cookie seemed to be dry with a bitter aftertaste; the same taste as when I sampled the dough, only it was not as strong. The cookies with added chocolate and wlanuts were only slightly better in flavor, since the added ingredients masked the bitter aftertaste a bit.
Overall, I was dissappointed, and felt like I had wasted $6. I hope that others out there had a better expereince, because I really do like this company and many of their other products.
Pros: free from many common allergens
Cons: bad aftertaste, dough is messy to work with, higher price
Rating: 1 1/2 stars
Hoping you’ll have a better outcome?
Here is where you can buy this cookie mix:
Ingredients:Evaporated Cane Juice, Sweet Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour, Rice Milk Powder, Cream of Tartar, Baking Soda, Salt, Xanthan Gum and Vanilla.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Thanks for saving me the 6 bucks! I probably would have tried this since my son is allergic to many of the allergens that this is free of. However, now I think that I will pass.
August 6th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
It’s official. I refuse to try anything unless you review it first =)
I agree- this mix needs a lot of improvement.
August 7th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Ooh, yes I hadn’t tried that one yet, bummer. I had good luck with the cookie mixes from Gluten-Free Essentials, including their speedy-bake line. All turned out tasty, and everyone gobbled them up. They are at http://www.gfessentials.com. Not sure if you already reviewed these? Anyway, they are free of gluten, casein, tree nuts, peanuts, soy (some do have soy lecithin I noticed), etc.
August 8th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Yes, GF Essentials has some great mixes. I actually have reviewed the cocoa mudslide and chocolate chip cookies mixes last month( you can find them in the “cookies & biscotti category)and I have two cake reviews prepped from their mix line slotted for August. Do you have a favorite Gluten-free Essentials mix?
April 8th, 2008 at 2:57 am
I had exactly the same result with Namaste’s cookie mix and thought I did something wrong. My kids wouldn’t even help me make them, they were so greasy and spit it out when tasted. Thank you for reassuring me that it was the mix and not me.. I also just tried Namaste’s pizza mix. I never got to the baking part of the recipe since it was so loaded with herbs and spices it smelled over powering. I was baking this for my almost 4 year old who is allergic to wheat and eggs etc. The front packaging gives no clue that it is preseasoned. Of course the ingredient list does. Thank you for your site. It is wonderful.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:25 am
Welcome Anne! yes,k the cookie mix is less than great, isn’t it? I do like the pizza crust, but because it is so flavorful, my kids won’t eat it. Did your child like it?
October 16th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I just tried the Namaste Brownies. Yum…. I will stay away from this mix though. The Blondies are suppose to be good too.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
You know, I’ve found ALL the gluten-free lines to be a bit hit-or-miss, and although I do agree with the Namaste Cookies to be a bit less than wonderful, I still have to say in their defense that they’re MUCH better than a few others I have tried. Perhaps cookies are not the ideal “goodies” to bake if you’re trying to find the ultimate comfort food in a gluten-free- let alone all the other -free (casien, wheat, soy, nuts of any sort, etc.) which all products that Namaste has to offer are.
I am a longtime customer of theirs, and found nothing but rave reviews on many sites for their products, which first prompted me to try ordering; their Brownies, Spice Cake (with a Carrot Cake bonus kit enclosed), Blondies, Choc and Vanilla Cakes… the list goes on and on. My family (also pretty picky) ADORES all of these. So don’t discount how great they are just by one not-as-great product, ok?
Even their website, namastefoods.com, has everything from alternate recipes, all their other products, and their pasta stuff too. I think they’re even offering frostings, biscuit/pie crust and flour now too. And once when I couldn’t get the Brownies to bake right (I’m at high altitude) I called their 1-800 # for help and they were super nice- even sent me a free mix. How many companies would do that?
So even if the cookies weren’t that hot, please try some of their other stuff- you won’t be disappointed!