The One Tate's Bake Shop Cookie We'll Never Buy Again
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The cookie aisle at the grocery store takes up a decent chunk of real estate on the shelves and we're not complaining. Of all the cookie brands, Tate's Bake Shop is one of the more reliable on the market, coming in as the second-best chocolate cookie brand at the store in our Tasting Table rankings. The Southhampton, New York-born Tate's Bake Shop currently produces 16 different kinds of cookies, and we taste-tested every single one. It is with heavy hearts that we share there was one cookie that not only paled in comparison to the others but was a disappointment overall — Tate's Gluten Free Lemon Cookies where wholly unsatisfactory.
The lemon cookies — made with gluten-free rice flour — are pretty much a sandy, crumbly mess. Although the lemon was fragrant upon opening the box, the actual flavor was more bitter than refreshing and zesty. We were hoping for lemon and butter bliss but instead got a shirt full of crumbs and a strong lemon peel aftertaste. The only silver lining was the potential harmony that could be found between these cookies and an Earl Grey tea, but we're not exactly eager to test out the pairing any time soon. For a gluten-free cookie that really hits the spot, we'd steer you towards the highest-ranking one in the Tate's lineup and fourth-place overall, the Gluten Free Ginger Zinger cookies.
Where did Tate's Bake Shop go wrong with the Gluten Free Lemon Cookies?
One of the higher praises deserved by Tate's Bake Shop is its use of limited ingredients across its products. You won't find long lists full of seed oils, refined sugars, and artificial flavorings when you read the side of the bag. The ingredients for the Gluten Free Lemon Cookie seem quite straightforward, including rice flour, sugar, butter, liquid egg white, natural flavor, milk, lemon oil, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. All of the ingredients sound like the standard in any good cookie recipe, so it's unfortunate they came together poorly. The biggest culprit for this funky cookie is the lemon oil — An ingredient extracted from the rind of the lemon. The overpowering bitter taste that dominated any buttery cookie flavor is what ultimately threw our reviewer off.
It seems others feel the same, with one online review on the Target website stating, "Not recommended. Strong, chemical lemon taste that lingers for hours." Another said, "These cookies are neither thin nor crisp and taste like furniture polish." With that being said, there were several five-star reviews to be found, so some people really enjoy them. If you love a lemon cookie, you might just have to try them for yourself. If you find yourself disappointed like we did, take advice from one user on Reddit who said, "I don't love these plain, but they're great as a cookie crust for an icebox cake or lemon meringue pie."