According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 21 million Americans have diabetes. Both my husband and my mother fall into that group. For that reason, my search for truly good sugar free and diabetic appropriate products has now spanned more than a decade. I have found some food products that I consider quite excellent. Others I must confess I cannot believe are actually on the market.
In the spirit of disclosure, I thought I would share what I have learned about sugar-free and other diabetic appropriate products over the last few years. I will share this information through a series of articles covering various types of food products. I am going to begin with sugar free cookies because one of the trickiest things to find for diabetics is a healthy “sweet” snack. Many of the diabetic cookies, candies, and ice creams on the market are unbelievably bad. While some are actually good, they are also very expensive. Still others are just plain difficult to find. This is the result of my research in the sugar free cookie area.
Murray’s Cookies
Murray’s makes some of the best sugar free cookies on the market, which probably explains why they are America’s favorite brand. Murray claims to be “dedicated to making great tasting cookies that fit with your desire to reduce sugar intake as part of a sugar-free lifestyle.” They aren’t kidding. These cookies are every bit as delicious as some of their sugary competitors.
John L. Murray and his son, John Jr., begin making vanilla wafers in 1940, when they founded Murray Biscuit Company. Therefore, they had a well-established history for developing new recipes and products long before they turned to making their sugar free varieties.
After nearly a decade of sugar-free delights, Murray continues to improve and expand on their product line, which now includes the following sugar-free cookies:
- vanilla wafers,
- fudge dipped vanilla wafers,
- gingersnaps,
- chocolate chip (with and without pecans),
- pecan shortbread,
- plain shortbread,
- fudge dipped shortbread,
- chocolate sandwiches,
- creme sandwiches,
- lemon sandwiches,
- double fudge,
- fudge dipped grahams,
- fudge dipped mint,
- lemon flavored wafers,
- oatmeal, and
- peanut butter.
I haven’t personally tried all of the various cookies in the product line, but I’ve tried quite a few. Their gingersnaps are my absolute favorite. I eat them for the taste and not just because they are sugar free. They are crisp and perfectly flavored. I actually prefer them to anything else on the market. However, I also like the peanut butter, oatmeal, and pecan shortbread. My husband loves the fudge-dipped grahams and the vanilla wafers while my mom is a fan of the double fudge and anything else with chocolate. The only one in the line that I’m not terribly fond of is the chocolate chip. They taste wonderful, but I like mine less crispy and a little more on the chewy side.
Murray’s can be purchased at most grocery stores for between $1.99 and $3.99 per 5.5 oz to 6-oz bag.
Joseph’s Sugar Free Cookies
Joseph’s Cookies currently manufactures eight flavors, which include chocolate chip, shortbread, peanut butter, almond, oatmeal, chocolate walnut, coconut, and lemon. They also make the Santa Fe Farm’s Fat Free (Honey Sweetened) Cookies. All of Joseph’s Sugar Free and Santa Fe Farms Cookies qualify for the Weight Watcher’s program where 4 cookies = 2 points.
Because of the quality of their products, Joseph’s has won numerous awards. These include:
- The American Taste Award;
- Superior Product Award;
- NFDA All-Natural Product;
- FDM All-Natural Award;
- Sugar-Free Award;
- Healthy Product Award;
- The Quality Hero Award;
- Senate Productivity Award;
- Governors Viva Award;
- Blue Chip Award;
- The Best Sugar-Free Cookie of the year 2002; and
- Grocery Product of the Month.
They also received the prestigious American Success Award presented by President George Bush at The White House Rose Garden.
I like the chocolate walnut cookies if they are fresh and chewy. However, I find the others much too difficult to chew. They easily get hard, making them difficult to eat for people with older teeth. Neither my husband nor my mother can this brand because of their hard texture.
Joseph’s Sugar Free Cookies average about $3.99 per 11 oz. bag. They can be found in some grocery stores and on Amazon.com.
Nabisco has made a brand of fat free cookies called Snackwells for quite a while. They now make one version of their Snackwell line, which is also sugar free. This shortbread cookie comes in a 7-oz box and prices for about $3.85 at a local grocery stores. I have not personally tried this cookie so I cannot speak to its taste or texture but I have eaten a lot of the other Snackwell cookies and love them.
Nabisco also makes a sugar-free version of their famous Oreo cookie. I have also not tried this one so I cannot tell you whether or not it is tasty either, but it has a decent price at $3.49 for a 6.75 oz bag.
Heavenly Desserts makes a sugar and fat free cookie in vanilla, chocolate, lemon, strawberry, and cappuccino meringue. My husband says they are pretty good and that is saying a lot because he doesn’t like a lot of the sugar free brands on the market.
I couldn’t locate this brand in local grocery stores so I’m not certain where you can purchase them other than Amazon.com. However, on that site a 6.75 oz bag costs about $3.99.
Sweet ‘N Low, a sugar-free brand that has been around for about 50 years, now also makes a variety of sugar free cookies. These include chocolate, lemon, vanilla sandwich, chocolate sandwich, and a dual vanilla/chocolate sandwich cookie. Each box is 5.5 oz and costs around $2.50.
I personally don’t care for the taste of this brand. In some foods and drinks, Sweet ‘N Low can leave a lingering after taste. That is the case with the cookies, at least for me. However, if you don’t mind the Sweet ‘N Low taste then these cookies might be a good choice for you.
Paul Newman’s food line “Newman’s Own” now makes a line of sugar free organic cookies which are also wheat and dairy free. They are called Newman O’s.
Newman’s Own product line was originally meant to be a tiny boutique operation in the beginning. The company expected to encounter a lot of problems and maybe only one or two successes. Instead, it has encountered success after success, resulting in earnings of in excess of $175 million given to charities in the last 20 years.
The line’s newest additions include cream filled, fig, and chocolate alphabet cookies. They range from 10 oz to 16 oz in weight and cost between $2.85 and $3.75.
I have not tried these cookies myself. However, I’m a big fan of Newman’s other products so it would surprise me if these are not equally as good.
Again, I could not find these locally but they can be purchased on Amazon.com.
Voortman Cookies is a family-owned business, which claims to be “committed to producing quality cookies at affordable prices.” They use quality ingredients and traditional baking methods passed down through several generations of the Voortman family.
Vortmann’s makes sugar free sugar wafers in both vanilla and chocolate. My mother loves both, as does my husband. I personally find them a little too sweet, so I suspect it is just a matter of personal taste. These 9-oz bags can be purchased at many grocers for about $2.89 each.
A Bountiful Harvest offers all natural sugar free, flourless cookies as a healthy treat for diabetics. Low carb dieters and individuals with fibro-myalgia or celiac disease will also benefit from this product line.
A Bountiful Harvest substitutes ground almonds for flour and sweetens their cookies with maltitol, making them taste unbelievably good. Their line of specialty cookies includes:
- lemon ice,
- key lime coconut,
- cinnamon almond walnut crunch,
- orange pecan crunch,
- iced orange pecan,
- lemon, pistachio chocolate chip,
- traditional almond,
- ice almond,
- almond Dutch cocoa,
- chocolate chip macadamia nut,
- iced chocolate chip macadamia nut,
- chocolate chip macadamia nut Dutch cocoa,
- triple chocolate macadamia nut,
- vanilla walnut,
- iced dark chocolate chip,
- triple dark chocolate chip,
- almond chocolate chip,
- peanut butter,
- dark chocolate drizzled almond crunch,
- white chocolate drizzled almond crunch, and
- milk chocolate drizzled almond crunch.
These can be purchased in standard bag packaging or in special decorator tins, boxes, and canisters. Standard bags average $12.95 per bag.
Fenwicks Cookies was founded by a type two diabetic who enjoyed quality cookies, but could not find ones available that were of good quality and suitable for diabetics. The company’s mission is “to provide a high quality gourmet cookie without the high levels of sugar and unhealthy fat found in most other cookies.”
The company’s master baker – – also a type two diabetic – – with 40 years experience in the fine art of baking and ingredient selection is responsible for some of the best no sugar added all natural cookies on the market, with 0% cholesterol and 0% trans fat.
Fenwicks offers three varieties of shortbread cookies in lemon, orange, and butter. They also offer two varieties of oatmeal in oatmeal raisin and oatmeal chocolate chip. Each 11 oz portion costs about $8.75 and can be purchased directly on Fenwicks website.
Carolina Cookie Company makes gourmet sugar free cookies. I personally have not tried them but my mother received some for a gift one time and she loved them.
They claim to bake their gourmet cookies in the tradition of Southern hospitality with every cookie baked, packed, and shipped by hand.
Cookies are baked fresh each morning with the finest quality ingredients including pure butter; chunks of rich sugar free chocolate, whole nuts, and real fruit.
They currently only offer chocolate chip cookies in their sugar free line. However, they offer them in a variety of specialty formats in decorator tins or leather boxes and chests.
Prices range from $14.95 for one dozen to $29.95 for three.
David’s – – another nationally recognized gourmet cookie company – – also makes chocolate chip cookies.
Back in 1979, David, a New York City chef with a winning cookie recipe, decided to start a small cookie-shop business of his own. Having trained in the finest French culinary academies, it didn’t take long for him to also develop a winning recipe for sugar free cookies; a necessary market in today’s world.
His delicious recipes, which are, kosher dairy retail for about $29.99 for two pounds and can be purchased on Amazon.com or on David’s website.
Jennie’s also makes sugar free macaroons in chocolate and natural at a cost $5.99 per box. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find these locally either – – only on Amazon.com and I know of no one who has tasted the snacks so I cannot vouch for their flavor or texture.
There are a few other miscellaneous products available out there. Some are much more expensive while others are just hard to locate. This list represents the best I have found thusfar.
A word of caution, however, a number of these treats are made with sugar substitute products that are not meant to eaten in excess. Too much of a good thing can result in stomach discomfort and/or diarrhea. If the product affects you more strongly than that, you should contact your physician right away.
Look for my next article in the sugar-free and diabetic product series.
