The first time I saw Partake Cookies was on @traderjoeslist, who was re-posting several positive customer reviews on the crunchy flavored cookies offered at Trader Joes. The adorable packaging, the satisfying customer reviews, and overall of story of how CEO Denise Woodard found the perfect combination of ingredients for those with food allergies, while tasting delicious AND including a healthy twist (especially compared to the average cookie) all caught my attention. That was when I knew I had to try these gluten-free, vegan, and allergen-free cookies right away. Read more about Denise's story here.
Among the all the Partake flavors offered, I simply could not choose only one to try. Trader Joes offers the crunchy Chocolate Chip and Birthday Cake flavors, and perhaps your local Target might sell a few others. With flavors ranging from Carrot Cake to Triple Chocolate, I knew I had to try them all. After trying both the crunchy and soft-baked flavors of cookies offered, I definitely had a strong ranking for them. These cookies were my go-to for guilt-free snacking, and for sprinkling on top of my morning yogurt bowls.
Crunchy Cookies (5 Flavors)
I ordered this variety pack before trying out the soft cookies. I was particularly excited to try all of the different flavors, as they encompass a few of my favorite desserts: birthday cake, carrot cake and basically all ginger-flavored things. Also, the cute, bright and colorful packaging definitely matched the taste of their respective flavors.
#1 Favorite: Crunchy Birthday Cake
Birthday cake has always been a favorite of mine. From ice cream to chocolate bars to actual "birthday cake that tastes like birthday cake", there was something about the colorful sprinkles and angel cake that just reminded me of confetti at a childhood party. These cookies had a super strong birthday cake flavor to them, and the sprinkles looked absolutely adorable on the small cookies. They had the perfect crunch to them, and contained just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth.
#2 Favorite: Double Chocolate
This cookie wasn't TOO chocolate-y like a chocolate mousse cake or something super decadent and rich, it contained just the right amount of chocolate. This was my favorite cookie to sprinkle on top of my yogurt bowls, as it reminded me of the chocolate granola I loved eating (before I realized how much sugar and artificial ingredients were in it). I also felt a lot better eating these cookies compared to that sugary granola, especially knowing how clean the ingredients in these cookies were.
#3 Favorite: Ginger Snap
Honestly, I thought the ginger taste could have been a lot stronger. I love ginger-flavored things, so I was particularly excited for this flavor, but it tasted more like a crunchy sugar cookie with a slight hint of ginger to it.
#4 Favorite: Chocolate Chip
Chocolate chip is always a classic, and the popularity of this flavor from Trader Joes' fans had caught my attention from day one. Undoubtedly, this cookie tasted a bit too basic for me, I thought it was good but there was nothing extremely special compared to the Double Chocolate or Birthday Cake flavors.
#5 Favorite: Carrot Cake
Among all of the 5 crunchy cookie flavors, this was probably the most disappointing out of all. Likewise to Ginger Snap, I am a BIG carrot cake fan, as it has always been one of my favorite types of cake. That being said, there wasn't really much carrot cake flavor in this cookie.
Soft-Baked Cookies
As a lover of soft-baked cookies, I was pretty excited to try these, since I had really enjoyed some of the crunchy flavors and already gotten a gist of the Partake brand was. The cookie butter flavor particularly caught my attention, since it wasn't offered in the crunchy set of cookies.
#1 Favorite: Triple Chocolate
I was never a fan of desserts that were overly chocolate-y, but this Triple Chocolate cookie was absolutely perfect. The chips in it contained the perfect amount of sweetness, and they complimented the delicious crunchy nature of the cookie itself. By the time these cookies arrived, the semester had ended and I was back to working 9-5 again, so these were the perfect snack to get me through the work day!
#2 Favorite: Cookie Butter
I've seen jars of cookie butter sold at Trader Joes (and heard nothing but amazing reviews about it), so this flavor got me particularly excited. After the first bite, my excitement was still pretty high, as it certainly did not disappoint. Compared to the other two soft cookie flavors, this one didn't contain chocolate chips, but I certainly had an appreciation for the plain buttery cookie.
#3 Favorite: Chocolate Chip
Soft, warm and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies have always had a place in my heart so I guess I set my expectations a little too high for this flavor. That being said, this cookie was a still a delicious snack!