Monday, March 31, 2008

Reetsy Reviews: Cooqi

At some point this past winter, Alton Brown (Food Network) did an episode about gluten-free baked goods.

Not having a gluten allergy myself, I've never gone out of my way to seek out the gluten-free goods. But then I heard Alton say that gluten-free brownies are possibly better than traditional flour brownies because they are gooier.

BETTER?!!?! Color me interested.














(Photo from MarysBlueBook.com)

We live a hop, skip, and a jump from Cooqi (Gluten-Free Delights) on Marshall in St Paul. The place has a eye-catching window art, and I had been curious about it for awhile. So when Alton suggested that their brownies might be better than traditional brownines, I just had to check it out.

Plus, Cooqi has a commitment to sustainable foods:
"We source local and organic ingredients, we limit the packaging we use, and we strive to minimize our use of non-renewable earth resources....We ardently support local economies, local communities, and local distances for our suppliers and customers to travel."

I sampled the Outrageous Nut Butter Brownies (Zebra Stripes)














Ingredients: Gluten-free organic dark chocolate (contains soy), sweet cream rBST-free butter, organic evaporated cane juice, gluten-free flour mix (organic brown rice flour, organic millet flour, organic sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch), free-range eggs, unsweetened chocolate, organic cashew butter, organic tahini, organic sunflower butter, fair trade organic coffee, pure vanilla, gluten-free baking powder, xanthan gum, sea salt.

Single -- $2.75
½ Dozen -- $14.95
Dozen -- $29.00

The brownie was insanely gooey with stripes of cashew butter over the top. I will say this; if you like your brownies insanely gooey, you will like this brownie. If you do not, sample at your own risk.

The gluten-free granola from Cooqi is da bomb, using McCann's Irish oats as the base ingredient.
1-lb bag -- $8.95

Concocting a gluten-free baking base can be a bit complicated, so Cooqi makes it easy for you by selling pre-made gluten-free cookie dough and baking mix.

Feel like giving gluten-free products a try? Interested in an insanely gooey brownie?

Cooqi
2186 Marshall Ave.

St. Paul, MN 55104

phone (651) 645-4433


[where: Local Food, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]