Sunday, January 25, 2015

Food Review: Hampton Creek's Just Cookie Dough


I have been looking forward to Hampton Creek's new Just Cookie Dough ever since I heard about it way back in 2014. Vegans already have the delectable Eat Pastry line of vegan cookie dough (which is freaking fantastic!), but I can't complain about having MORE options when it comes to vegan desserts! I finally spotted the Just Cookie Dough at Whole Foods in their refrigerated section, though there were only a few packages left (that's a good thing, though!)! I quickly grabbed a Chocolate Chip tub and couldn't wait to get home to enjoy some raw cookie dough (ah, another perk of eating vegan!).

Reminder to self: don't eat the whole tub if you plan on baking cookies!

The label states that the cookie dough is non-GMO, cholesterol-free, egg-free, dairy-free, kosher and has no artificial colors or flavors. There is no mention of the product being vegan, but this is pretty standard for Hampton Creek, the company that makes this product along with the rad Just Mayo. They believe the "vegan" label scares off mainstream consumers and therefore they try to avoid using the term. Hey, if this marketing trick works to get more vegan products into American homes then I'm all for it! And despite missing a "vegan" label, this product is indeed vegan. When I posted the a photo of the dough on Instagram, there were some people that were unsure whether it was vegan, questioning everything from the logo to the palm oil/sugar sources and possible hidden milk ingredients in this product. Rest assured, it's vegan!


Why yes, I did continue eating the dough as I was spooning it onto
the baking sheet! It was just too good not to!

The Just Cookie Dough can be enjoyed straight out of the tub raw, or baked up into cookies! The raw cookie dough is a light brown color and speckled with generous amounts of chocolate chips. The consistency and texture of the dough is spot on and similar to the cookie dough laden with eggs and butter. In fact, it took me back to childhood and baking chocolate chip cookies with my sister. It was thick, moist and spooned up nicely! A spoon proved a dangerous tool, as I kept taking more and more bites of the cookie dough, and I nearly ate half of the tub before I stopped myself so I could bake up the rest as cookies! Oops, but at least it was a delicious mistake!

Perfect little Just Cookie Dough balls.

Ready for baking! 

The dough rolls up nicely into little balls, which I placed on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and stuck into the oven, which I had pre-heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After about 10 minutes, I pulled out some heavenly smelling cookies! They were ooey-gooey, but after a few minutes they firmed up and were simply scrumptious! I'm pretty sure that no one would be able to pick these out as vegan cookies in a blind taste test - their texture and taste are incredibly similar to what I remember the cookies made from Pillsbury cookie dough tasting like!

A peek at the gorgeous, chocolate chip laden mid-section of a fresh
baked cookie.

These are straight out of the oven and a little puffy, but after a few
minutes they deflated a bit and developed into the perfect crispy
but still soft in the middle cookies!

Now, how do these stack up against the vegan gold standard of cookie dough, Eat Pastry? I think that if you are eating the cookie dough raw, they are very similar. They are both delicious, though as far as texture Just Cookie Dough might have the slight edge as it feels closer to "traditional" cookie dough and is a bit more moist/oily than Eat Pastry's. However, as for baked cookies I have to give the definitive edge to Just Cookie Dough. In the past, my Eat Pastry cookies came out kinda blah and too crispy. I didn't have this problem with Just Cookie Dough, and the cookies came out a lightly toasted brown with the perfect amount of softness in the middle! They really DO taste like the cookies you used to buy in the tube and make at home!

Just look at that perfect, crinkle-y cookie filled with chocolate chips!

Mmmmmm...these are all for me!

Besides the chocolate chip flavor, Hampton Creek offers Just Cookie Dough in Sugar, Oatmeal Raisin, and Peanut Butter flavors. I can't wait to try those, because their Chocolate Chip Just Cookie Dough was a big hit! Right now, you can find it at Whole Foods and it should also be rolled out to other stores. One thing I really dig about Hampton Creek is that they try to keep their products accessible to everyone, which is why you can find their vegan Just Mayo in places like Dollar Store, Walmart and Target (and it's cheap!). I'm hoping they will also do this with their Just Cookie Dough so more people can enjoy it and discover just how easy (and delicious) it is to be vegan!

Stacks of cookies that won't last long in this household!

For more info, visit Hampton Creek's website!

5 comments:

  1. I made the grave mistake (pun intended) of reading this post during lunch time. Ugh. These look delicious! I've been thinking about investing in premade cookie dough because as much as I like to home cook everything, I sometimes don't feel up to it or have the time. I definitely have to check these out for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is an awesome alternative when you want it then and there and don't feel like baking! It is seriously so good!!!

      Delete
  2. Maybe just eat it with a spoon?

    http://haymarket8.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. This tasted like icky prepackaged cookies from a gas station and gave me heartburn.

    ReplyDelete

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