Lenny and Larry’s Complete Cookie

Lenny and Larry make ... healthy cookies.  Basically, nutrition bars, but as cookies.  I assumed, that like most nutrition bars, I'd dislike them, greatly.

And then I tried one.  And I was blown away.

But let's rewind.  Who are Lenny and Larry?  And why are they making these cookies?

"Two gym rats named Benny and Barry get tired of eating the same boring things to get their protein."

Well there you go.  They started their company in 1993 making protein muffins, got involved with Whole Foods and Gold's Gym just a year later, and, well, evolved (including Benny leaving the company in 2001, and coming back in 2007).  In 2013 they reached real success and fame when they introduced the The Complete Cookie®, and things really took off.  You can now find them nationwide, in places like 7 Eleven and Walmart even. 

The product line now focuses on cookies, and in addition to the signature Complete Cookie, also includes a crunchy cookie line, "creme" filled line, and, keto version.  I've only tried the Complete Cookie, but honestly, would love to try more.

The Complete Cookie®

"The cookie just got upgraded, BIG time! With up to 16g of plant-based proteins and 10g of fiber, our dairy-free, no egg, vegan and NGP Verified cookie will not only satisfy your tummy and sweet tooth but also your peace of mind. No excuses needed for this non-cheat treat with incredible taste and none of the things you don’t want! 

With tantalizing flavors like chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, PB chocolate chip, and more, you're sure to find a cookie you love. Throw away those inedible protein bars you can't stand and try the Complete Cookie instead. Satisfy your protein and fiber needs while enjoying a delicious treat -without the usual stomach ache you get from other protein bars."

Yeah, ok, healthy cookies.  Vegan.  Loaded with protein.  Yeah, right.  I'm never that into cookies to begin with, and certainly had no hope for a vegan one.  I assumed the protein came from all sorts of isolates, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't.  I was also happy to see they actually use real sugar, and don't try to use dates or something like that to sweeten.  Still.  I had no hope for these.


The flavor lineup does sound great: "chocolate donut", salted caramel, birthday cake, apple pie, white chocolate macadamia, peanut butter chocolate chip, among many others (yup, and even a seasonal pumpkin spice).  But you know what?  Many nutrition bars have great sounding flavors, and leave me very, very disappointed.

Again, zero expectations of goodness.

Chocolate Chip.

"When you hear the word “cookie”, what’s the first flavor to pop up in your head? Since 1936, chocolate chip has become the most iconic cookie flavor in America, thrilling both kids and adults alike.


At Lenny and Larry’s, The Chocolate Chip Complete Cookie has been a crowd-pleaser since the day we set up shop. Satisfyingly firm and chewy, our delectable plant-based protein chocolate chip cookie is lovingly sprinkled with sizeable semi-sweet morsels of chocolate throughout. Keep with tradition by pairing your vegan cookie with a tall glass of ice cold milk."

I honestly don't remember where I picked this up, but I wound up with one in my stash.  I pulled it out, kinda half-hearted.  Meh, a cookie, meh a healthy cookie.  And if I had picked a flavor, chocolate chip wouldn't have been it (I mean, its fine, but so many better options).

The cookie is ... kinda huge.  The package says 2 servings per cookie, which, I kinda understand.  It is large in diameter, it is thick, and it is heavy.  It is a very, very hearty cookie.  And considering the protein load, it probably should be 2 servings, but, I didn't realize that when I tried it.  My cookie had been a bit crushed somewhere along the way, but I still had reasonable size chunks.

I took my first bite.  Well, huh.  It wasn't anything like I was expecting.  The texture was great, soft, slightly crumbly in a good way.  The flavor?  Not a classic cookie flavor for sure, and it had a hint of something interesting going on, but, it certainly wasn't a bad, funky thing.  It was, honestly, just kinda enjoyable.  It tasted a lot like peanut butter to me, and that was only a good thing.

It was sweet in a normal way, again, because they used real sugar.  The chocolate chips were great, and nicely distributed, but I would have loved even more of them.

It really was, simply, good.  And strangely addicting.  I finished the two serving cookie, even though I tried to stop at about 70% done.  It was just too good.  It left me uncomfortably full though, after a regular sized lunch, and, unexpected bonus plethora of protein.

So what was it made of?  Obviously not milk, butter, and eggs.  It still uses wheat flour as the base, hence, the fairly normal texture I think.  No gluten-free sacrifices here.  The protein content, as I mentioned, doesn't come from isolates, nor whey protein that bothers my stomach, but rather pea protein and rice protein. Well, huh.  I think the slightly nutty flavor I detected was pea protein, which I often really do like (Ripple milk is my favorite non-dairy milk, made from pea protein).

I'd gladly get another (and only eat half!), and I'd really like to try other flavors, including the real peanut butter chocolate chip one, which I'm sure tastes more like peanut butter than this one ...

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Sift Dessert Bar

Update Review,  October 2019 Visit

I was quite excited when I happened upon a box of goodies from Sift Dessert Bar in my office.  Free for the taking.

Box of Cruffles.

I expected to find cupcakes, but found Cruffles instead.  It turns out, I've had cruffles before.  I just didn't remember it at all, which surprises me reading my previous review from 2016, as I really did like them before.

Cruffles come in 6 varieties, half of which are coated in dark chocolate, the other half in white.  I tried one of each this time.

Pink Champagne.

"Raspberry Cake, Champagne Buttercream, Dipped in White Chocolate."

I didn't know what kind this was when I picked it up, but it turned out to be Pink Champagne, the same flavor as the very first cruffle I had years ago.

I loved it then, and I loved it now too.  It was nicely enrobed in sweet white chocolate, very sweet, but creamy, and totally what I was in the mood for.  I don't think the pink sprinkles on top were really tastable, but they gave it more visual appeal.

Pink Champagne: Inside.

Inside the sweet creamy shell was the raspberry cake + pink buttercream mix, just like a cake pop.  Dense, sweet, and it really did have both a fruity and a sparkly nature to it.

I loved the textures of the shell and filling, and really appreciated the flavors.  I'll gladly have more of these!

Sky is Falling.

"Chocolate Cake, White Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Frosting, Dipped in Dark Chocolate."

Another one that I selected without knowing which it was, but this turned out to be the one I'd have picked anyway, of the dark chocolate dipped options, as it promised white chocolate mousse.


The dark chocolate shell was my favorite part, drizzled attractively in white chocolate too.  Good thickness, snappy.

Sky is Falling: Inside.

I never found that promised mousse however.  I guess it was blended in?

And the base of the cruffle was just kinda "eh" too ... chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, but neither that intense, even though it was quite dark.  Kinda gummy, and just not great.

I expected more flavor, and I really wanted that mousse.  I wouldn't get this again.

Update Review, May 2016

A while ago, I reviewed some fairly mediocre cupcakes from Sift Dessert Bar.  I was not impressed.  I didn't seek Sift back out, but, I was at an event recently that was catered by Sift.  I avoided the cupcakes given my past experience, but was pleasantly surprised by everything else.

Sometimes, giving a place a second chance is a good thing!  I'll gladly try more of their creations now.

Cupcakes, Whoopie Cookies, Macaroons.

The array of choices at this event was impressive.  Cupcakes in an array of flavors.  Macaroons in every flavor Sift makes.  Whoopie cookies.  Rice crispy treats.  Even a few cruffles hidden amongst the macaroons.

Since I remembered not liking the cupcakes much before, I skipped right past them, and moved on to the other goodies.  I also skipped the macaroons, because, well, I never generally care for macaroons, although, I'll admit, some of the macaroon flavors did sound interesting, like churro, margarita with salt, and  piña colada.

Rainbow Sugar Whoopie Cookie. $3.

"2 Rainbow Sugar cookies filled with vanilla buttercream frosting "

The first item I grabbed was a cookie sandwich, dubbed a whoopie cookie, basically a play on a whoopie pie, but made with regular cookies rather than standard fluffy cake-like whoopie pie cookies, and filled with regular frosting.  I grew up with whoopie pies, so, I was a bit skeptical of a "whoopie cookie".

I also realize this is a bit of an add move in general, since I don't generally like cookies all that much, but, it caught my eye.  Perhaps because it was so colorful, you couldn't help but notice the rainbow sprinkles.  But really, I wanted it because it was stuffed with frosting.  My general aversion to cookies isn't that I don't like cookies themselves, it is just that they are so boring that way.  Why would I ever want just a cookie?  But I also don't generally like cake.  Its dry and boring.  The only reason I eat cake is for the frosting.  I could easily do without the cake part.

Enter the cookie sandwich.  Do away with the dry boring cake and still get the frosting.  Jazz up a cookie significantly.  This has potential.

Sift makes 3 varieties of cookie sandwiches: classic chocolate chip, rainbow sugar, and salted caramel white chocolate chip.  The later sounded the best to me, but, when I approached the display, they only had chocolate chip and rainbow sugar cookie sandwiches out.  Of course, just a few minutes later, the ones I wanted came out, but I had already taken this one and felt rude going for another.

Rainbow Sugar Whoopie Cookie: Inside.

So, how was it?  Well, it was about what I expected.  A decent sugar cookie, not too hard, not too soft, and sweet.  The rainbow balls were a fun touch for color and crunch.  The filling was just plain white frosting, also sweet.  Sweet on sweet, which I guess is to be expected.  The frosting made the cookie more exciting, and the cookie served as a vessel for the frosting.  But, still not that amazing.

The salted caramel white chocolate chip whoopie cookie uses salted caramel buttercream, which certainly sounds more flavorful.  And the chocolate chip one uses cream cheese frosting.  Had I realized the frostings inside were different, I certainly would have gone for a different one.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it, and I certainly liked it more than I would have liked a plain cookie or a piece of cake.  But, not really my dessert of choice.

Cookies are $1.25 each, and whoopie cookies are $3, basically, $0.50 for frosting.

Pink Champagne Cruffle.

"Cake and frosting blended together.  Hand dipped in chocolate."

I also managed to grab a cruffle, one of very few, mixed in with the macaroons.

It took me a little while to figure out what a "cruffle" was.  The answer?  Cupcake + truffle = cruffle.   Cruffles are basically cake pops, without the stem.  Sift makes them in the same varieties as the cupcakes.

I had no idea what flavors I was getting, but this one turned out to be the cruffle version of their Pink Champagne cupcake.

Limonatta and Pink Champagne Cruffles: Inside.

Pink Champagne (right):
"Moist raspberry cake with a delicious champagne frosting."

It was ... pretty awesome.  The raspberry flavor was sweet and flavorful, really quite delicious.  I loved the texture of the inside, dense from the frosting blended with the cake.  While I don't really like cake, um, I do like cake pops, or, in this case, cruffles.

The white chocolate shell was sweet and the perfect thickness.  It had a nice snap to it.

Overall, the cruffle form factor was great, and honestly, makes more sense than a cake pop anyway.  Everyone knows its more fun to eat with your fingers!

Limonatta (left):
"Lemon cake, lemon curd filling topped with Meyer lemon buttercream"

When I circled back through a while later, I saw a few more cruffles set out.  Given how delicious the first one was, I grabbed another, again, not knowing what it was.

It turned out to be the limonatta.  Darn.  I don't really like lemon desserts.  But, I still loved the texture and the sweetness of the shell.  For a lemon treat, it was a good one.

Cruffles come in boxes by the dozen for $24.

Original Review, January 2015

My office does funny things to motivate us sometimes.

For background, we have the most incredible pastry team, who regularly churn out desserts that rival, and generally surpass, those of top restaurants.  This is impressive in its own right, but even more insane given that they never repeat a dessert from day to day, offer up multiple desserts every day, and produce them for 1000+ people at a time.  Our pastry chefs are my heroes.

But this isn't about them.  This is about our "reward" for being good during a fire drill.  Yes, for real.  In the past, to encourage us to properly exit the building during fire drills, they set up a Ben & Jerry's stand at the designated meeting point across the street.  People did leave, but I think they generally grabbed ice cream, and then kept on going, not returning to the office.  So this time, they did something a bit different: the gave us cupcakes, but, they didn't give them to us until we came BACK to the office.  Doh.

Cupcake Display.

They didn't bake the cupcakes in-house, rather, they sourced from Sift Dessert Bar in San Francisco.

Sift has several California locations, plus they ship nationwide.  Sift's main focus is cupcakes, including gluten-free or vegan options if necessary, although they also make a few other standard items like macarons, cookies, brownies, pies (including a kahlua chocolate pie that I'd love to try), and cakes.  They also get creative, offering up cupcakes a la mode, cupcakes blended into ice cream shakes, and fascinating sounding frosting shots.

We had an assortment of four cupcakes waiting for us: Berry Good Cheesecake, Ohh La La, All for the Cookie, and Snickerdoodle.  I tried all except the Snickerdoodle.  None were very good.

Berry Good Cheesecake.

"Vanilla graham cracker cake, filled with raspberry jam and topped with cream cheese frosting".

This one was the most pretty, so I started with it.

Berry Good Cheesecake: inside.

In the base of the cupcake was graham cracker crumbs, as you can see here.  They were just crumbs, not bound together by anything, which was a bit strange.  If you took off the wrapper, it would have crumbled apart everywhere and made a mess.  Protip: do not fully unwrap this cupcake!

The cake was very dense, almost ... gummy.  I didn't care for it.

The jam inside was clearly raspberry flavored, but not particularly interesting.  I did like the cream cheese frosting.

Did this remind me of a cheesecake though?  Besides the cream cheese frosting ... no, and besides the frosting, I didn't really want this.

All For the Cookie.

"Chocolate cake topped with cookies n' cream cheese frosting".

I got the chocolate offering for Ojan, named All For the Cookie, but obviously tried it myself first.

It was also a very dense, moist cake.  Again a bit gummy.

The frosting was ok, sorta Oreo-tasting.  But very meh overall.

[ No Photo ]

Ohh La La

"Our famous red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting".

Unsatisfied with the other choices, I also tried the Ohh La La, even though I never like red velvet much.

I didn't care for the cake, as it was all homogenous.  I like a moister interior and a crunchy top, and this was all just the same, and a bit dry.

The cream cheese frosting was the same as in the Berry Good, very sweet, a bit too sweet, but good enough.  Overall, meh, but I liked the frosting.

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Waffling Leftovers: Salad

Update Review, March 2020

It was only a year or so ago that I discovered the perfect way to salvage leftover salad that was past its prime: waffle (or grill it!).  I've since repeated that trick several times, always to great success, but, I just haven't actually frequently had much soggy salad on hand, or, I've just been busy and eaten it limp and all in a rush.  Until, well, Shelter in Place time, when I had more time on my hands, and needed some way to be creative.

Like, you know, grilling my leftover salad.  I was again pleased with the results, and I encourage anyone with some lackluster lettuce to give it a shot.

The Original: Ceasar Salad from The Melt.

The original was a perfectly fresh, crispy, ceasar salad, with shredded parmesan (and grilled cheese croutons!) from The Melt.  It was great fresh.

Leftover Ceasar Salad.

The leftovers however, were ... not as great.  I packaged them up to save for the next day, sans dressing and croutons, thinking it would hold up fine, but, alas, it did not.  I think the generous amount of shredded parmesan in particular was the problem, as it made it moist, and the entire thing got pretty soggy fast, even without dressing.

But I knew how to save it.  I had grill plates in my waffle iron/grill, so, into the grill it went.

Into the Grill!

After just a minute it was steaming, and the parmesan was melting.

It was looking goooood!

Grilling Away.

Another two minutes, and it was getting slightly charred, exactly as I wanted.

Grilled Ceasar Salad.

I could have let it go longer to get more crispy, more akin to kale chips (er, lettuce chips), but I pulled it at this point, scraping it all into a bowl, and topping with a spicy Korean sauce.

It was delightful.  The shredded parmesan cheese turned crispy like a frico, the lettuce was juicy and crispy at the same time.

Best way to save a salad!

Original Review, January 2018

By now, you know that I like to waffle random leftovers.  I've found it to be a remarkable way to actually reheat leftovers, often transforming unappealing items into something totally salvageable.  Plus, obviously, I have fun with it.

Sometimes, I'll admit, I throw something into the waffle iron mostly for the novelty aspect.  Like, when I waffled pudding.  I didn't exactly expect that to work.  Or this time, when, uh, I waffled leftover salad.

Bear with me for a minute.

Have you ever seen a caesar salad with grilled romaine?  It shows up on menus from time to time.  The waffle iron is mostly like a grill.  I wasn't expecting it to magically turn lettuce into a waffle, obviously, but, I thought it would grill it.

The other reason I did it though?  I had some extremely wilted, soggy, unappealing, leftover salad, that there was just no way I could eat as it was.  I could throw it out, or I could have some fun.  I sorta thought that perhaps it would be a bit like making kale chips too, and the moisture would get sucked out of the soggy leftover lettuce.

It didn't transform into lettuce chips, but, honestly, it was a breakthrough.

Put simply, Leftover Salad: Will it waffle?  Yes, yes, yes!

I encourage you to consider it when you have leftover salad too.  Don't just toss it.  It also really makes me wonder why grilled salads aren't more a thing (I understand that waffling salads isn't, but, why don't we see more grilled salads?).  This not only transformed items destined for the trash, it was really legitimately good.

Waffled Salad Transformation, v1.0.

In the first version of this (yes, spoiler, I innovated further), I only waffled the lettuce, leaving the other ingredients out.

The Original: Heirloom Tomato Salad with Cucumber and Pickled Onions.

The original was a very tasty salad, huge leaves of assorted lettuces (red leaf, little gem, etc), slices of fresh cucumber, totally delicious heirloom cherry tomatoes, and tart pickled onions.  The dressing was even more amazing, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, thai basil.

Soggy Leftover Salad.

We had a ton of leftover, so I saved it.  The salad was undressed, so, I thought it would keep fine for a day, but unfortunately, the moisture from the tomatoes and onions did it in.

By the next day, the lettuce was limp, wilted, soggy, and really not good at all.  No matter how tasty the dressing was, or how amazing the heirloom tomatoes still were, there was just nothing appealing about this salad.

But I didn't have anymore fresh lettuce.

A normal person would just extract the tomatoes and onions, mix them with some tasty dressing, and have a little tomato salad.  But I am not a normal person.

When I have lackluster leftovers, only one thing comes to mind.  My waffle iron.

Lettuce: Into the Waffle Iron ...

So yes, into the waffle iron the lettuce went.  I did keep the tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions out of it (at least, this time).

I literally just spread the wilted soggy leaves into the iron, 350 degrees, and let it go.

Waffled Lettuce?

I pulled it out after it started looking "done".  It was not waffled exactly, more like grilled, but, it worked, really.

It was warm, slightly wilted, slightly grilled lettuce.  The moisture was sucked out, as I hoped.  It reminded me of roasted escarole actually.

I failed to take a photo of the final creation, but, I topped it with the tomatoes, pickled onions, and tasty dressing.  It didn't have the crispness nor freshness that regular raw lettuce salad has, but, it totally worked, and I enjoyed it, and was inspired.

Waffled Salad Transformation, v2.0.

Inspired for round 2.  I knew I could do better.  And I had a lot more salad to play with.

The lettuce alone was good, but, why not just waffle the whole thing?  It would be just like grilling, right?  Grilled onions and blistered tomatoes are delicious.  So, why not?  Waffling would be just about the same as grilling, right?

Entire Salad: Into the Waffle Iron ...

This time, I put the whole salad in.  Super soggy greens, halves of tomatoes, onions, and all.

I mean, why not?

I closed the lid, pressed down, and walked away, a bit giddy with myself.

Salad: Cooking Away ...

And, as expected, everything started looking grilled after a few minutes.

The tomatoes got beautiful char marks, turned blistered, just like they had been slow cooked.  The onions started looking grilled.  The aroma was lovely.

"Waffled" Salad Success!

I plated it all up, drizzled the dressing over it after.  I loved it.

Was it a waffle?  Of course not.  But does a waffle iron work perfectly well as a grill?  Absolutely.

Just like in the first batch, the waffle iron saved that wilty, soggy, totally gross lettuce.  It was warm, slightly charred, and actually good like this.  The tomatoes got a bit of char, split open, and acted like they had been slow roasted for hours.  I don't think I need to convince you that grilled onions are a great thing.

This was a remarkable transformation, and I'll clearly do it again.

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Astronaut Ice Cream

Update Review, March 2020

Remember when I discovered astronaut ice cream a few years ago? (No? Go read my review!).  I kinda loved the mint chocolate chip.

So during the recent Shelter in Place restriction, I decided this was an ideal time to break into my pantry, and, well, pretend I was on a spaceship.

"Savor the goodness of ice cream and the crunch of chocolate wafers with this Astronaut Ice Cream Sandwich."

I was pretty interested to see how an ice cream *sandwich* would turn into a freeze dried item, after the success of the regular ice cream.  Alas, the sandwich didn't work out nearly as well.

The "ice cream" was actually still decent - crazy crispy texture that somehow is creamy on your tongue, but the flavor was just plain vanilla, which paled in comparison to the mint chocolate chip I had before.  Still, that part worked.

But the chocolate wafer cookies were just crispy, not chocolately, not really flavorful in any way, and had a "stale" feeling about them.

I salvaged all the ice cream out of this, and discarded the cookies.  Fun idea, but, I'll go back to the regular ice cream next time (uh, next time? Let's hope I get off this spaceship soon!)

Original Review, September 2019

Astronaut ice cream  Something I haven't thought about since ... elementary school?  Basically, whenever the last time I visited a planetarium and its gift shop was.

I think I always assumed it was just a gimmick.  I mean, I love ice cream, but ... yeah.  How could this be actually tasty?

Somehow, I honestly don't remember how, I wound up with astronaut ice cream in my pantry.  It is shelf stable for a very long time.

Eventually, I tried (spoiler alert: and loved!), it.

Packaging.

"Freeze-Dried ice cream and other freeze dried foods have been used by NASA since the early days of the Apollo space program and are still used by Astronauts today on the Space Shuttle. If you're looking for an out of this world snack or party treat, this fun treat can be eaten anytime, anywhere. No refrigeration needed ever!"

The outer packaging reveals very little about what will be inside, and I wasn't quite sure what format to expect inside the foil bag. 

Mint Chocolate Chip.

"This is a new twist on the classic freeze-dried space delight. You get a double hit of flavor in one great freeze-dried treat. Truly a unique culinary experience, this delicious freeze-dried ice cream is sure to make ice cream fans happy. Official Freeze-Dried Astronaut Ice Cream is a delightful dessert anytime whether on the trail or outer space!"

Ok, this was downright fascinating, far more than I expected.  I kinda assumed this was cool for kids, and slightly novel, and I'd quickly move on.  It turned out to be fun to me too, and quite delicious.

Inside the outer bag it was wrapped in another wrapper, and then, the product itself was a solid block, or, at least it used to be, before it got all broken up.

The texture is, well, freeze dried.  Super crispy.  If I just bit and chewed, I found my brain got confused very quickly, as I was biting into something crisp, yet the sensation in my mouth was, well, creamy ice cream.  It tasted like ice cream, quite rich.  It even left my mouth coated like ice cream.  But ... it was crispy.  I was drawn in immediately.

Next I let it dissolve a bit more slowly on my tongue, rather than biting.  This was even more addicting, as it spread out into ... um, melting ice cream? Seriously.  It melted in my mouth.  But it was crispy to start, and most certainly wasn't cold.

In addition to all the fascinating textures and experiences going on, it also had flavor.  Really excellent flavor.  Minty.  Rich ice cream.  Little chocolate chips studded it, well distributed throughout.  The flavor was on point with any good mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I really truly enjoyed eating this, and I'd gladly have more.  Good for a day when it isn't "ice cream weather", but you want creamy goodness?

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