Maxine’s Heavenly Snack Cookies are Vegan and Gluten-Free

By the name, I initially expected Maxine’s Heavenly Cookies to be on the indulgent side. But they’re actually more like a wholesome snack than a decadent dessert. I wasn’t disappointed in the least, but definitely surprised. To ensure there isn’t any confusion for other cookie fans, I added “Snack” to the title above.

I gave Tony a heads up that these were more like breakfast cookies, and that’s exactly how he ended up enjoying them! He loves having a sweet carb-rich hit in the morning with his coffee, and Maxine’s Heavenly hit the spot.

All of Maxine’s Heavenly Cookies are made with a base of gluten-free oats, gluten-free oat flour, coconut sugar, and brown rice flour. They don’t contain any starches or refined flours. And aside from the sugar in the chocolate chunks of select flavors, they are refined sugar free.

They’re not as big as I expected for the calories (about 130 per cookie), but they are dense and fulfilling. They also have a nice balance of nutrients, with 5-7 grams of fat, 2-3 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and 6-7 grams of sugars per cookie.

Tasting Notes for Maxine’s Heavenly Snack Cookies

They currently have a seasonal Pumpkin Pecan Spice Cookies, but we sampled the four baseline flavors, which I believe are permanently available.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin

As you’ll see from the flavors that follow, Maxine likes chocolate chunks. But this chocolate-free variety was our hands down favorite. The Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies have an alluring cinnamon scent, but the spice is subtle and pleasant to taste. Each bite was hearty and a little crumbly, but had a relatively sweet brown sugar-y finish. Tony doesn’t usually like raisin cookies, and these were smattered with nice plump raisins. But he wholeheartedly agreed that these are quite tasty. They’re a little more dessert-like than the other flavors, but we still thought they were perfect for a breakfast or snack treat.

Ingredients: Gluten Free Oats & Oat Flour, Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Brown Rice Flour, Raisins, Organic Sustainable Palm Fruit Oil, Flaxseed, Sunflower Lecithin, Cinnamon, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (sodium bicarbonate, non-GMO corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Sea Salt

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk

These shout “breakfast cookie” more than the Oatmeal Raisin. They’re hearty, dense, a little crumbly, and just lightly sweet. But most of the cookies were packed with chocolate chunks for an extra little nudge of indulgence. This ranked as our second favorite flavor. Each bite was deliciously pleasant, but we did long for a little more peanut butter flavor.

Ingredients: Gluten Free Oats & Oat Flour, Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Semi-sweet Chocolate (evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor, cocoa butter), Brown Rice Flour, Organic Sustainable Palm Fruit Oil, Peanut Butter (dry roasted peanuts), Dry Roasted Peanuts, Flaxseed, Sunflower Lecithin, Pure Almond Extract, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (sodium bicarbonate, non-GMO corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Sea Salt

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk

I’m not certain if we got a bad batch, or if they’re just more intensely cacao than expected. This variety was very dry and tasted a little burnt rather than chocolaty. Sadly, these cookies were very sparse on chocolate chunks – some  didn’t have any! They also needed just a hint more sweetness and maybe another pinch of salt as they tasted a little too plain, in our opinions.

Ingredients: Gluten Free Oats & Oat Flour, Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Semi-sweet Chocolate (evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor, cocoa butter), Brown Rice Flour, Organic Sustainable Palm Fruit Oil, Flaxseed, Cocoa (processed with alkali), Sunflower Lecithin, Pure Almond Extract, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (sodium bicarbonate, non-GMO corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Pure Chocolate Extract (alcohol, vanilla extract, chocolate concentrate, water), Sea Salt

Almond Chocolate Chunk

These were more heavily on the breakfast cookie side, and were very crumbly. In our bag, we only had 2 whole cookies that survived severe breakage. Nonetheless, they were relatively tender in texture and had just enough sweetness. I could really taste the almond extract, which I’m not a huge fan of, but I think many will like the almond infusion. And the generous amount of chocolate chunks helped to offset that intense almond flavor. Tony actually said they tasted a lot like marzipan!

Ingredients: Gluten Free Oats & Oat Flour, Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Semi-sweet Chocolate (evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor, cocoa butter), Brown Rice Flour, Organic, Sustainable Palm Fruit Oil, Almonds, Flaxseed, Sunflower Lecithin, Pure Almond Extract, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (sodium bicarbonate, non-GMO corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Sea Salt

The Facts on Maxine’s Heavenly Snack Cookies

Price: $6.75 per 7.2-ounce bag

Availability: Maxine’s Heavenly Snack Cookies are available to order direct, via Amazon, and in select natural food stores in the United States.

Certifications: Maxine’s Heavenly Snack Cookies are is Certified Gluten Free, Certified Vegan, and Non-GMO Verified.

Dietary Notes: By ingredients, Maxine’s Heavenly Snack Cookies are dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian. Nonetheless, check with the company on their manufacturing processes for all varieties if potential allergen cross-contamination is an issue for you. Processes and labeling are subject to change at any time for any company / product.

For More Product Information: Visit the Maxine’s Heavenly website at maxinesheavenly.com.

What Others Are Saying ...

These are tasty!

5.0 rating

June 30, 2020

I love it when something relatively healthy also tastes great. I have only tried the 3 flavours that contain chocolate. The Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk are probably my fave, followed by the Chocolate Chocolate Chunk and then the Almond Chocolate Chunk In third place, but are by no means lacking- I am just not a huge fan of almond extract, but they were still very good with those deliciously soft chocolate chunks that all the flavours contain. Those chunks are seriously yummy! And the reviewer must have gotten a bad batch of the Chocolate Chocolate Chunk because the cookies in my bag were all intact, moist and contained plenty of those delicious chips. I will try the other flavours when I get the chance, for sure.

Paula Gardner

Wholesome snacking cookies

5.0 rating

March 4, 2019

These are wholesome cookies, meant for snacking, with a crumbly but addictive vibe. They’re completely whole grain, sweetened with coconut sugar, and do taste healthy, but that’s why we liked them. We were big fans of the Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin, and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk also won us over. Read the full post for more notes and info …

Alisa