I love cinnamon. Like seriously love cinnamon. I mean, give me cinnamon buns, cereal, cookies, cakes, with apple in a crumble? It makes my heart sing, does it do the same to you? It might shock you, given my chocolate addiction, that oatmeal raisin cookies take precedence over any chip varieties in my house, something I already mentioned in my FlapJacked cookie review. I also love cookie sandwiches (albeit normally filled with peanut butter or ice cream) and so the Mrs Freshley's Oatmeal Creme Pie appealed to me -especially at 99p and given my recent success with Mrs F's cinnamon donuts.
The Creme Pie consisted of two bakery-size cookies filled with creme. Now Creme tends to be something more favoured on the other side of the Atlantic, you certainly don't see it so often here (unless we're talking Oreos, but then again, they're American expats really anyway. The cookies had crumbled in transit, revealing the white coloured centre. I could also smell the cinnamon. Mmm.
The cookies were fairly moist considering the distance they've travelled (they obviously don't suffer from long-haul flight related dehydration in the same way us humans do). The cinnamon spice was every bit as prominent as the aroma had led me to believe, however I was a bit disappointed that the creme pie doesn't contain raisins -although according to the packaging it does contain raisin paste... something I've never seen referenced before.
If you're accustomed to eating Twinkies, you'll get the gist of what the creme was like. Indeed it was that similar, super-sugary buttercream-y filling. To be honest, I found it made the cookie creme pie overwhelmingly sweet, but I imagine if you ate it in two sittings (or shared, shock horror) that it wouldn't become so sickly. My bad.
I'm glad I've tried the Oatmeal Creme Pie. It's not my favourite Mrs F product to date but I did enjoy it and would have it again. The Oatmeal Creme Pie is available to buy from A Taste of The States, where you can get a huge 20% discount across the site using the code AMYSEEKS20. Go, shop!
7/10
If you follow me on Instagram or have indeed read the reviews on here you'll know I'm a big fan of the FlapJacked range. I often have their pancakes for lunch -just yesterday I enjoyed banana flavoured ones and mashed fresh banana into the batter, which I highly recommend!- and regularly treat myself to a Mighty Muffin before bed.
With this in mind you can just imagine how excited I was when I saw that FlapJacked had released packets of cookie mixes and single serving smoothie mixes in the USA (where the company is based). Ok, so I might've been a tad more excited about the cookies than the smoothies, but I hoped that FlapJacked UK would soon start stocking both products. At BodyPower on Sunday I thought I'd take the opportunity to say hello to the FlapJacked gang and grill them about when I might be able to get my greedy mix on the cookies...
But I didn't need to. There, sat on their table was all of the goodies. The Mighty Muffin line-up, the pancake mixes I know so well, as well as the new cookie packs and smoothie sachets! Fortunately for me, the lovely team at FlapJacked gave me some samples to review, hurrah!
"FlapJacked Protein Cookie & Baking Mixes are a delicious, nutritionally balanced alternative to traditional cookie mixes. Made with non-GMO, gluten-free and artificial-free ingredients, these delectable cookies taste like a homemade treat but without the guilt. Each power-packed serving (2 cookies) contains 10 grams of protein to keep you feeling fuller longer, but with less carbs and less sugar than traditional cookies."
I was looking forward to seeing how the FlapJacked cookies compared to the existing products on the market. Most of the protein cookies I've tried to date have been very dry and crumbly (Oatein and Dr Zaks I'm looking at you) or thick and cakey (Lenny & Larrys and Buff Bake). None have come close to fresh or homemade cookies.
Each FlapJacked cookie pack makes up 12 cookies, and the suggested serving size is two cookies (none of this 1/2 a cookie nonsense that so many of the protein companies seem to cheekily suggest). To make up the pack you use the entire mix, 6 tbsp of butter and two eggs. I awkwardly made up just a single serving of each mix using 15g of butter and 1/3 of an egg -my dog had the rest on his kibble -it's great for his coat! Each portion of the mix is between 160-170kcals, but I'll include the macros of the mix when made up (including the egg and butter).
Oatmeal
Of all the things I've baked over the years (and I used to bake a lot, I'm a trained chef) oat & raisin cookies are Bert's favourite. I love a good oat cookie too, but I'd probably choose something chocolatey over something fruity as a favourite. But I digress.
The mix smelt wonderful, and I couldn't help but add a few raisins as per the serving suggestion. Despite my cinnamon addiction I refrained from any adding extra, just to see how it would fare without my meddling. The method suggested beating the eggs and butter together before adding the cookie mix -which I couldn't really understand as butter and eggs curdle together. Instead I mixed the whole lot at once. Damn they looked good, and I couldn't help but lick the spoon as I popped them in the oven to cook. Errmegoodgod. I could've just eaten the bowlful of raw dough, it was so damn tasty. I actually couldn't taste the difference between this dough and and the normal non-protein stuff.
The method tells me to remove the cookies once the edges had set, and after about 8 minutes they were done. They had expanded slightly but hadn't turned into monsters (I once made side plate sized cookies by accident). I chose to sandwich them around some chocolate chip gourmet edible Cookie Dough*.
I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. They tasted like normal cookies! Now the macros may not be as good as some of the protein cookies on the market, but the mix does deliver 10g of protein per serving -and to be honest, I'd rather have something that tasted delicious. The cookies were well spiced with a lovely oaty texture; soft with a slight chewiness. Honestly, I could've eaten them all day, everyday. Seriously impressive stuff FlapJacked!
10/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter, eggs & 15g of sultanas: P:13/C36.5/F:15.6
Double Chocolate
Like chocolate cake, I'm never too trusting of double chocolate cookies. I was pleased to see a plentiful supply of chocolate chips in the mix. Again the dough was easy to make up and tempting to eat raw.
I served this flavour with mint chocolate Oppo. The chocolate flavour was good: rich, dark and sweet -what more could a girl ask for? I found this flavour to be soft and cakier than the oatmeal mix -they're certainly not chewy like supermarket bakery cookies- but they're moist and utterly moreish.
9/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter and eggs: 307kcal P:12.6/C:25.1 F:18.5
Chocolate Chip
As with the double chocolate, this mix was chock full of chocolate chips. Unfortunately they sunk to the bottom of the cookies whilst baking, but that's only an aesthetic issue.
Again the texture was soft and fluffy. I was concerned that the whey protein flavour might be more evident in a less flavoured mix, but I still couldn't taste any difference to a normal cookie batter. Nom nom nom.
9/10
Macros per 2 cookie serving made with butter and eggs: 307kcal P:12.6/C:25.1 F:18.5
Summary
As you can probably tell, I'm super impressed with FlapJack's new cookie mixes. Yes, they're not the most macro friendly of the protein cookies on the market, but I really don't care when they taste so good. I love the fact that I can whip up some freshly baked tasty cookies in less than 15 minutes. They're perfect for anyone on a gluten free diet, those looking to top-up their protein intake, as well as any fellow lazy bakers! I do hope that FlapJacked bring out a peanut butter flavour soon too, they would be marvellous!
If you fancy giving them a try, please pop on over to FlapJack's website where you can get 10% off at checkout by entering the code: AMY10.
*made by Gookie Dough, review of which will be coming soon!
Quest: one of the most famous and popular protein bar manufacturers. I first discovered Quest long before I returned to fitness, through my usual forum of food discovery -instagram. I remember being baffled by the amount of users (mainly young women) who ate Quests in place of chocolate bars instead of the sports supplement which I assumed they were. These women praised Quest for their deliciousness, which confused me at the time because I wasn't working out either, and therefore couldn't understand the need for additional protein in the diet. Anyway, fast forward a year and one of my favourite methods to wind down after a stressful day is to hit the weight section at the gym. As such, protein bars and supplements have been added to my diet to protect my muscles and fuel their growth. I've now tried many protein bars (although its seemingly an infinite market) and one of my favourites brands is Quest. Why? They're high in fibre and protein, whilst being low in sugar. The range also contains a huge number of flavours, many of which are famous for their "chunk porn" (large lumps of chocolate flavoured chunks/biscuit etc). Quest's biggest downside is their price however, and at between £2-£3 per bar they've become more of a treat than a diet staple.
If you're involved in fitness (or perhaps eat Quest in place of chocolate) then you're probably aware of the two new flavours which were released in the USA a couple of months back, and are now gradually making their way to British shores. I haven't been able to get hold of the Blueberry Muffin flavour yet, but yesterday my local sports nutrition shop received a delivery of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Quests, and I stumped up the money to try one. They're also available to order from Protein Pick & Mix here.
"Decadent chocolate chunks, chewy bits of oatmeal, and 20g of protein transform the oatmeal cookies of your cheat day fantasies into an every-day protein-packed reality!"
I was pleased to see plenty of 'chocolate' chunks dotted throughout the bar. I've learned from experience that Quests are pretty grim cold, and are much improved by a quick blast in the microwave -or 10 minutes in a warm oven. I did sample a bit off the end at ambient temperature, and was instantly taken back by the strong cinnamon flavour. It was a pleasant surprise given my love of the spice, but I imagine it would be a shock if you're not a cinnamon lover.
The warmed Quest was as yummy as most of the others in their range. The cinnamon and chocolate both came through in equal measures, although the Stevia did render the flavour rather sweet. My biggest gripe was the lack of oats, which was particularly noticeable to me given how regularly I munch on Reflex's R-Bar Flapjacks. Come on Quest, if you're going to call it 'oatmeal' then please deliver! For those interested in the chunks, they weren't evenly distributed, but there was an ample enough supply of them, which had melted nicely thanks to my trusty microwave.
The new Oatmeal Chocolate Chip is a lovely new addition to the range -even if it should be called cinnamon choc chip instead. It's not my favourite Quest though; White Chocolate & Raspberry and Cookies and Creme still reign supreme in my book!
7/10
