Lesley Stowe’s New Raincoast Cookies

Two weeks ago Lesley Stowe Fine Foods, which is famous for its Raincoast Crisps crackers, launched a collection of all-natural cookies called, you guessed it, Raincoast Cookies. I received some samples and I thought I’d share my thoughts here.

First of all, you should know that I’m not a health-conscious eater, so healthy food isn’t my strong suit. I was interested in trying Lesley Stowe’s new cookies because I have enjoyed its Raincoast Crisps. I wanted to find out if the cookies are just as good as the crackers. And I do snack sometimes, especially at around 3pm on a work day, so in a way I felt that I fit within its target market.

Raincoast Cookies

There are three varieties of Raincoast Cookies. Each of them is packed with ingredients like chicory root, flax seed and chia, as well as dried fruit  and nuts. Therefore they are high in fibre and protein and are positioned as a healthier alternative to your afternoon snack that carries you through the rest of your day. At the same time, they are high in carbs and sugar; each cookie is individually packaged, weighs 75g and has somewhere around 300 calories.

The Apricot, Ginger and Slivered Almond cookie has more than what the name suggests.
I also found prunes in the cookie. In fact, the flavour of prunes were overpowering the taste of dried apricot and candied ginger. At times I could taste the candied ginger and it was quite interesting to get a little kick from its spiciness. Probably my favourite of the three.

Dark Chocolate, Tart Cherry and Pecan is a close second, but not because of the chocolate (despite I’m a huge chocolate fan). It uses 70% dark chocolate but for some reason when I ate the cookie I couldn’t taste the chocolate, not its sweetness nor bitterness. What was dominating the flavour profile was the tart cherry. I even bit off a piece of dark chocolate to eat on its own, still couldn’t get much out of it.

Dried Cranberry and Toasted Hazelnut is my least favourite of the bunch. The two other cookies rely on the dried fruit for flavouring. The cranberry in this cookie doesn’t do much for me. Overall the cookie was kind of bland.

The recurring theme is the chewiness of the dried fruit and coarse texture of the high-fibre ingredients. I was quite impressed that the cookies remain moist in their packaging. Good quality cookies as a whole. I also canvassed my coworkers’ opinion, who are all fans of Raincoast Crisps, by sharing the cookies with them. They were a bit surprised by the high carbs and sugar content, as well as the high calorie count. Taste-wise they think it’s not bad, but definitely not as exciting and unique as Raincoast Crisps.

Final Thoughts

When I went to grocery store the other day, I saw the Raincoast Cookies on the shelf and it was sold at $2.79 each. I personally think it’s a bit pricey for snack food. It would not be my choice of snack food (again, not a health-food buyer), but I certainly understand its appeal. I would probably grab a donut or double chocolate cookie to get my sugar fix.