Tag Archives: gluten-free desserts

Kozy Shack Gluten-Free Flan

Posted in Dessert by

kozy-shack-flanI like flan. It tastes good. And this Kozy Shack Flan has everything a good flan should have: perfect flavor and consistency. It melts in your mouth. It’s just right as an after-dinner pick me up. Cool, sweet, and refreshing. It’s also very light. So light that I always feel like I could eat a second one. So I recommend it more for after you’ve eaten a really full and satisfying dinner and you just want that one light, sweet treat for afterwards. This won’t make you explode, by any means. It makes a great summer dessert, or in-between meal snack, since it is so light and cool.

You can get this flan pretty much anywhere in your grocer’s refrigerated pudding section. The picture on Kozy Shack’s website looks a lot nicer than mine. It didn’t exactly slide out of the cup for me. I guess practice will make perfect on that, and I’m willing to sacrifice eating a bunch until I get it right.

As in all Kozy Shack products, the flan contains natural ingredients: Reduced fat milk, sugar, caramel syrup (sugar, natural flavor, xanthan gum), eggs, contains less than 2% of carrageenan, locust bean gum, salt, natural flavor, annatto extract (color).

Next time you need a light, gluten-free dessert, try out Kozy Shack’s flan. You’re welcome.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

More Goodies at Cole’s Fine Foods

Posted in Food/Cooking by

Here’s a round-up of some more of the delicious menu that you’ll find at Cole’s Fine Foods. Don’t mind if the photos don’t exactly match the specific items. I’m a little disorganized at the moment! Trust me, it’s all good.

coles-perfect-chocolate-cupcakes-032715German Chocolate Cupcake: If you love chocolate, these cupcakes will knock your socks off. The cake part of this treat is bursting with chocolate flavor. It’s so good, it doesn’t even need icing. But it gets icing, and man, this icing is smooth, decadent, and delicious. The coconut filling adds just a hint of creamy sweetness to the center. Honestly, cut this guy in half; don’t eat it all at once. Just wonderful.

coles-pizza-032715Pesto Pizza: It’s what’s for lunch, or what should be. Wonderful flavor, excellent consistency, and one of the great pleasures of eating this pizza is the amazing aroma that fills your senses before each bite. And it tastes exactly how it smells – which isn’t always the case with food.

coles-fine-foods-lemon-bar-img_20150327_171407221Dairy-free Lemon Bars: Yes, the orgasmic lemon bar now has a dairy-free sibling, and without putting them in a taste-test side-by-side, I couldn’t tell the difference. So all you non-dairy folks, get on over to Cole’s and enjoy one of those.

Cole’s now also has even more vegetarian offerings, and an awesome new take-out freezer where you can buy prepared pizza, desserts, pie crusts, and more, and cook them up in your own house. Personally, I’ll leave the cooking to the talented Jeanine, but either way, you’ll always find something excellent at Cole’s.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Cole’s Fine Foods
521 E. Holland, Suite 20
Spokane, WA 99218
Place an order: 509-419-1739
www.colesfinefoods.com

Cole’s Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Posted in Food/Cooking by

Coles Cinnamon Roll IMG_20150416_142237587OMGFG (Oh My Gluten-Free God – and frankly, I can’t believe I even had to explain that), this cinnamon roll from Cole’s Fine Foods needs to be eaten slowly and savored.

Jeanine at Cole’s told me this cinnamon roll might be a little dry because it had been frozen. Whether it was or not isn’t really pertinent. What is? To think of how dreamy these must be fresh out of the Cole’s oven. The icing is delicious, the cinnamon tucked into each crease perfect, and the bottom is gooey with awesomeness like regular wheat cinnamon rolls. And the center? Tender, moist, and laden with spice and sugar and everything that makes the Pillsbury DoughBoy go running because he knows this cinnamon roll will kick his ass with one hand tied behind its back. That final, last bite is a burst of cinnamony awesomeness. (Yes, I can make up words, I’m a writer!)

Wowza. If you miss feeling like a kid enjoying big, gooey cinnamon rolls, give Cole’s a call. You can always ask them to ship them to you if you don’t live near Spokane. Now,  pardon me whilst I go lick my plate.

RECOMMENDED

Cole’s Fine Foods
521 E. Holland, Suite 20
Spokane, WA 99218
Place an order: 509-419-1739
www.colesfinefoods.com

Cole’s Fine Foods: Gluten-Free Heaven Dessert

Posted in Food/Cooking by

coles angel tiramisu IMG_20150413_212947729Sometimes, there isn’t really one word to describe something. In the case of this dessert – Jeanine at Cole’s called it her version of tiramisu since she uses angel food cake instead of ladyfingers. I wasn’t really certain what to expect.

Now we finally know exactly what Sally (Meg Ryan) was having in the restaurant scene during Harry Met Sally.

Chunks of chocolate; thick, rich, sweet, creamy filling; light, fluffy, delicious angel food cake; and the bottom layer of the cake was soaked in something yummy. I don’t know what else was in there… But I do know that if heaven had an official dessert – this would be it.

I think this should be renamed Heavenmisu or Angelmisu.

Just wow. Now pardon me while I go get a spatula to scrape every bit out of this to-go container.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Cole’s Fine Foods
521 E. Holland, Suite 20
Spokane, WA 99218
Place an order: 509-419-1739
www.colesfinefoods.com

Cole’s Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Posted in Food/Cooking by

coles gluten free carrot cake 032815Well these things just look too pretty to eat. Yet again, Cole’s is perfect on presentation. But how do they taste?

Yum.

After sitting in my refrigerator overnight, I can tell you it’s not as moist as it would have been yesterday. But it still held together well, unlike many gluten-free products. The consistency is hearty and it’s nice to get shredded carrots in each bite. The cake itself has a very delicate flavor which is complemented – and in fact, enhanced – perfectly by the “blow-you-away-awesomeness” of that cream cheese icing. Definitely the best cream cheese icing I’ve ever had, gluten-free or otherwise. And these little cakes are very generously iced. Seriously. this icing is died-and-gone-to-heaven good. The perfectly balanced and exceptionally smooth blend of cream cheese, sugar, and I’m not sure what else, makes for umami nirvana. That’s right, I said umami nirvana. You’d better used that fast, because I’m going to trademark it.

Once again, I have a happy, satisfied feeling after eating one of Cole’s gluten-free treats. Well done.

Cole’s Fine Foods
521 E. Holland, Suite 20
Spokane, WA 99218
Place an order: 509-419-1739
www.colesfinefoods.com

Cole’s Fine Foods – Gluten-Free Goodies

Posted in Food/Cooking by

coles gluten-free scones 032715Have you ever eaten something that tasted so good that you did not want to eat anything else for hours afterwards so you could keep that taste in your mouth? That is how good the gluten-free angel food cake is at Cole’s Fine Foods. In fact, while I was there, a man who is not gluten-free came in to buy one for a cookout because he said it was better then regular angel food cake. Can’t get there to buy your own cake? Get their angel food cake mix and you can make it at home whenever you want.coles angel food cake mix 032715

coles angel food 032715I am regretting not buying that last piece of angel food cake. I wouldn’t have eaten it, no – I would have built a shrine to it at home. A little crown, a little throne, some gold coins – I don’t know. I’ve never done this shrine thing before (as far as you know). Why a shrine? Because one thing the folks at Cole’s have down pat that I have not experienced in all my years of eating gluten-free is an amazing and superior consistency that makes it indistinguishable from food with wheat flour in it.  Jeanine, the proprietor, must have thought I was nuts, because honestly, when I bit into the lemon bar, it brought tears to my eyes. No, not because it was too tart, but because, in nearly 4000 days, I have not tasted something that incredible that was gluten-free. (No, I’m not an emo. I used to be a foodie. Then food allergies came.) The dinner rolls and bread also had phenomenal consistency not usually found in gluten-free food. The flavor and consistency of the Italian herbed bread knocked my socks off. Continue reading →

Cole’s Fine Foods: Gluten-Free Lemon Bars

Posted in Food/Cooking by

coles fine foods lemon barI’m in love. Seriously. I want to marry this lemon bar. Do they allow that in Washington State? I don’t care. I’ll be an outlaw.

I just do not know how Jeanine at Cole’s Fine Foods does it. This lemon bar – the consistency and flavor – rival and surpass that of any gluten-mongering pastry I’ve ever had. How. Does. She. Do. It? </Shatner>  The pastry-style bottom has just the right amount of flakiness yet has a wonderful sort of shortbread consistency and taste to it. Most gluten-free shortbread I’ve had has been like sweetened sand. Not this. It’s perfect. As is the filling. I am in awe.

On a scale of 1-10, I give this infinity.

Run, do not walk, down to Cole’s in North Spokane and get yourself a gross of these things.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Cole’s Fine Foods
521 E. Holland, Suite 20
Spokane, WA 99218
Place an order: 509-419-1739
www.colesfinefoods.com

I’ll be writing more about Cole’s next weekend. You don’t have to wait for that, though. Go try them out for yourself.

French Meadow Bakery Fudge Brownie

Posted in Food/Cooking by

152 french meadow brownieMmmm…chocolately. French Meadow Bakery knows how to use chocolate, that’s for sure. I also had their chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and man, oh man were those good. I found the cake part to be just a little bit dry, but the icing made up for it. That, and a cold glass of milk.

The brownies are moist in the middle but just a little dry and crumbly on the outside. Dry, you say? I fixed that with 15 seconds in the microwave and a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream. Definitely a treat. Good consistency. Good flavor.

You can learn more about French Meadow Bakery – which was actually the first Certified Organic Bakery in the USA – at their website: http://frenchmeadowcafe.com/

This one was purchased at the Tripoli Bakery which has quite a few locations in northeastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire. (Thanks, Mom!)

RECOMMENDED

Dannon Creamery Lemon Cheesecake

Posted in Dessert, Food/Cooking by

905 dannon creameryWell, this was a surprise, indeed. One of the things I miss about being gluten-free is cheesecake. So many recipes have flour in them as a thickener, and if not, they have a glutenous crust. So, when I saw this Dannon Creamery Lemon Cheesecake flavor Dairy Dessert was gluten-free, I grabbed it.

Since it contains active yogurt cultures, and – it’s Dannon, I was expecting … well… yogurt: running, tangy, yogurty. When I peeled back the metal cover, it looked like I was right. Kinda yucky looking, isn’t it? But the smell of lemon wafted up to me and it was just lovely. So I gave it a shot. It’s thick and creamy like cheesecake!

The flavor is very subtle on the cheesecake end – the lemon isn’t that strong, but it does overpower the mild flavor. If you take a bite without the lemon, it’s really delightful. Either way, I’m just happy to be eating something that is like cheesecake, yet healthy at the same time.

180 calories, 6g of fat, 8g of protein, and low everything else. Nice. For more on these yummy treats, check out http://www.dannoncreamery.com/

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Liberte Gluten Free Coconut Yogurt

Posted in Dessert, Food/Cooking by

476 liberte coconutIf you love coconut but hate yogurt, this is the snack for you. That’s right, you can hate yogurt, but that’s okay – because this is not like any yogurt you’ve ever had. This is quite possibly one of my best discoveries so far.

For starters, this doesn’t taste like yogurt. It’s smooth and creamy and light – with none of that nasty yogurt tang. There’s lots of real coconut mixed in with it – no need to stir. It’s not a gross fruit on the bottom kind of deal.

Since it’s not like regular yogurt, and in fact – more like a dessert, Liberte is a bit higher in calories and fat (doy, that’s why it tastes so good!). Still healthy, however: no added color, no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives, and it contains 8 grams of protein and 5 different strains of live and cultures – it’s totally worth it.

I got this single-serving cup at my local Safeway – 50% off for quick sale – and it ended up being like 60 cents. Again, totally worth it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.