Mi-del Gluten-free Sandwich Cookies

Mi-del produces a range of gluten-free cookies, but the ones that are probably of most interest to those with celiac disease are their various sandwich cookies which serve as replacements for Oreos, mint Oreos, chocolate Oreos and Vienna Fingers (I think there are now vanilla Oreos too that are essentially the same, but I'm not sure). These are, to my knowledge the only gluten-free sandwich cookies on the market the resemble existing wheat-based brands.

And they're not bad. Actually, I think the mint ones are awful, but that's because they taste artificial �â'¬" the wheat-based mint sandwich cookies revolt me for similar reasons. As for the rest of these gluten-free sandwich cookies though, both taste and texture is pretty good, although not perfect. The vanilla flavour, which is the one I prefer has a slightly lemony tang to it, for reasons I'm unsure of. And in general, I find the cookies slightly difficult to bit into (dense, but not quite crisp enough) and the cream neither as soft nor as fluffy as in their more common counterparts. That said, the ingredients in Mi-del gluten-free sandwich cookies are less troubling and synthetic. Don't however, be fooled, Mi-del gluten-free sandwich cookies are still absolutely junk food at 170 calories per three cookies.

Mi-del cookies present an interesting conundrum for those with celiac disease. Unlike many gluten-free products they are not made in a dedicated bakery. Rather, they are processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts and wheat. Mi-del does regularly test all of its gluten-free products using the ELISA method to conform to gluten-free status as determined by the World Health Organization. That said, I have occasionally have mild gluten-poisoning symptoms when snacking on these cookies all day long (I know, I know my bad), and generally recommend that those with celiac disease eat them sparingly or are sure to just try one or two at first.

Celiacs with other food sensitivities should also be aware that Mi-del gluten-free sandwich cookies contain egg and soy. Additionally, Mi-del does make a line of wheat-based cookies as well, so gluten-free shoppers should also make sure they are buying the right product -- Mi-del's gluten-free products all come in striped packaging.

Mi-del gluten-free cookies are not a perfect replacement for Oreos, but they make a valiant effort and are head and shoulders above the Glutano version. Glutino (yes, just a once letter difference, isn't that confusing?) also makes a sandwich cookie called Zebras, which gets the texture of the filling right even if the cookie part is unsatisfactory. They're much more expensive than the Mi-dels however (I think this is the only affordable brand on the gluten-free market) and as such I don't strongly recommend them.