Pamela's Products Review

Back in the day, when I first started on this gluten free journey, there were only a select few GF brands.  I would wander around the local health food store, which was the only store that carried anything gluten free; and search for those two little words on every package I passed. It was a bit exciting those first couple of shopping trips, trying to spot foods I could eat and buying them all up. Amongst these select food items, where Pamela's Products. I pretty sure actually, that it was the only gluten free flour variety that was available to me at that time. Back then, the products they had in their stock were a small variety of flour mixes, and prepackaged cookies. 

In fact, the Pamela's chocolate cake mix, was the first gluten free chocolate cake I ever ate. Look at me getting all nostalgic over here.

While there are so many other gluten free brands these days, I still can always count on Pamela's Products to provide me with a delicious product. I can also always count on eating an entire bag of mini chocolate chip cookies in one sitting. I try not to buy those anymore.

Because of my deep appreciation to this brand, I was thrilled to receive a package of products to test out for all of you.

The products I will be reviewing today are: Chunky Chocolate Chip cookie, Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut Whenever Bars, Artisan Flour Blend, and the Baking and Pancake mix.

Lets start with the cookies, because you should always start with cookies.

{And don't mind the sad little cookie in the window there, this photo was taken in the middle of a heat wave-thus the melted chips are the fault of my lack of air conditioning, not the manufacturer.}

Cookies are one of the greatest inventions in human history. Thats a fact.

Of all gluten free products, I get most excited over new cookie brands as I pass them in the grocery aisles. And believe me when I say, not all cookies are good. I have had plenty of bad cookies in my time, but this is not one of them.

These chocolate chunk cookies are soft, melt-in-your mouth circles of deliciousness. The cookie is not too sweet, but is filled with large chocolate chunks that are just as mouth melting as the cookie. I mean, it was not just the heat wave that made those chunks so soft. This whole cookie is like a fresh out of the oven experience. 

I may have eaten them for dinner once last week. Maybe.

The other days where reserved for popsicle dinners. 

Heat waves make me eat super healthy.

The next product I tried, were the new-ish Whenever Bars.

This is a product that I have never tried before as they are fairly new and because they have oats.

As most Celiacs do, my stomach struggles with eating oats. I did give in last week to trying some oat filled cookies, with out too much of a problem; so I figured I could go ahead and try these bars without pain and suffering.

And sure enough, no problemo! I'm starting to think maybe this oat problem was all in my head...

The bars I tried, where the chocolate chip coconut. I will advise, if you are not a coconut fan-this flavor is not for you. Go for one of the other three flavors, because this bar is very coconutty. I however do not mind coconut, so this bar was just fine for me :)

What I especially like about these bars is that they have some many different textures going on. Its foremost a soft, almost bread like bar; then there are bits of coconut, oats, and chocolate chips mixed throughout. The bars have a very slight sweetness that makes it delicious, but not too dessert like.

I will definitely be trying the other flavors in the future, as long as the oats and my stomach keep behaving themselves

Next up where the baking mixes; the tried and true Baking and Pancake mix, and the new Artisan cup-for-cup blend.

The cool part of the new Artisan flour blend, is that it is designed to fill in -cup-for-cup- with wheat flour. Meaning, a cup of this flour equals a cup of regular gluten filled flour in a recipe. Which is kind of a big deal if you've ever made a recipe that didn't work out for numerous times until you reached the proper flour adjustment. Its a pain in the behind.

The flour blend also had guar gum blended in, so there is no need to put in an additive such as xanthan gum.

I was really excited about this new flour. I have not tried it yet, and just knew that it would make my life that much easier. 

 *And this is where the downer side comes in, and it is not the flours fault-but purely user error.*

I am used to gluten free flours. I no longer know what the proper texture of wheat filled goods looks like. So my friends, my experience with this flour--meaning the recipes I tried to create with it-where a bust. Again, no fault of the flour. 

The first thing I made with this flour, where some soft pretzels. A snack that I have been craving recently, and a recipe that I wanted to put up on here.

They were a complete failure. 

They started out good though^^^

I have had a hard time making certain breads in the past with GF dough, due to the incredibly sticky texture they have. This dough was smooth and soft, and only slightly sticky. Perfect to work with.

The problem with this recipe,  I believe came in the par-boiling stage of creation; where you boil the pretzels slightly in a water/baking soda mixture before baking. What I ended up with, where pretzels that tasted like pure baking soda. Completely inedible. Although, my nephew did eat an entire one yesterday. I am starting to think that his taste buds can't be trusted...

Next, I attempted to make some monkey bread with this flour. It was good, but a little bit too dry. Which may have been due to the fact that they were completely vegan. But add some icing, and they are perfect!

I am going to keep playing around with this flour some more, and try it in some tried-and-true recipes. I am not giving up on this flour, and I do believe that it will be great; I just have to readjust my baking brain a little bit.

The finer points of this flour though, despite the tragic recipes it was in; it has a great texture, not grainy at all, and no odd flavors. I can definitely see this flour being my new go to in the future and I would for sure recommend it to any newly gluten free bakers.

Last but not least, the Baking and Pancake mix.

It worked out fabulously. 

What do you make with a pancake mix, thats not so cliche and obvious?

Chocolate Pancakes my friends. 

Yep, I did.

Besides that fact that they are chocolate, these little flapjacks are probably the best pancakes ever.

The flour mix is smooth, and moist without any gritty texture or yucky flavors. It contains baking soda and xanthan gum, to save you a couple steps, but it also contains some dairy. I did not have a problem with the dairy, due to the small amount I ate-but those who are highly sensitive should avoid this product.

Which may be hard, when this is staring you in the face.

Go here for a chocolate pancake recipe!

To see more products from Pamela's, and to try some great recipes; click here.
You can also use their handy-dandy allergen chart, to see what products are right for your personal diet.

Enjoy!

(Disclaimer: While the product tested today was provided for review, no monetary compensation was given in exchange for this post. All opinions on this site are my own, without further influence.)