Established in California in 1993, Lenny & Larry’s offers an alternative to the standard protein bar. Their mission is to provide quality baked goods that not only taste great, but also contain protein and fiber. Their line of products include The Complete Cookie, The Muscle Muffin, and The Muscle Brownie. All of the flavor options for The Complete Cookie are vegan, while The Muscle Muffins and The Muscle Brownies are not vegan. Today we’re going to be trying the Chocolate Chip version of The Complete Cookie. You can get these on Amazon for about $2.30 a piece. You can find them HERE if you’re interesting in trying them now.
I’ve seen Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie on grocery store shelves for a few years now, but I never tried them because a protein cookie never appealed to me. I’m not sure why other than that I like my cookies to be cookies and nothing else. I’m also not a fan of large sized cookies and these Lenny & Larry Complete Cookies are big cookies. Big cookies are harder to eat without getting crumbs all over the place and I HATE crumbs. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Lenny & Larry thought about these first world issues and formulated their cookies to not crumble. Amazing! Let’s dive into the taste test.
Taste Experience – 6 out of 10
First bite and my taste buds are confused. I taste yummy soft-baked chocolate chip cookie, but I also taste something somewhat fake. There is something slightly manipulated here. The confusion ensues with bite two – I’m experiencing a great soft, chewy cookie texture, but the flavor has something off-tasting in it, almost like there is an artificial sweetener in the cookie. I tried several more bites and the cookie started to grow on me. The base dough is on point and surprisingly isn’t chalky like other protein based vegan products. I think it’s the chocolate chips that are the cause of the somewhat fake taste. The chocolate chips are incredibly sweet and I think there might be a sugar substitute in them. So, in summary, I love the no–crumble soft bake texture of the cookie itself, but I’m not a big fan of the chocolate chips. Even so, I still ate most of the cookie, hahaha. I’m definitely going to have to try Lenny & Larry’s other flavors (which are all available on Amazon). Let’s now talk about the nutrition in these “Complete” cookies.
Nutrition – 7 out of 10
Lenny & Larry claim that these cookies are “Complete”, meaning that they provide complete nutrition in a cookie, like what you would expect from a meal replacement bar. In addition to providing complete nutrition these cookies are:
- Vegan (yeah vegans!)
- Soy-free
- Non-GMO
- Kosher (for those Jewish family members, l’chaim!)
- Free of High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Cholesterol-free
- Free of Sugar Alcohols (debatable – see more below)
- Free of Artificial Sweeteners
- Made with Sustainable Palm Oil
For a cookie to be vegan is a pretty big deal. Most cookies are made with eggs to bind the ingredients together. The Complete Cookie uses emulsifiers like sunflower lecithin, distilled monoglycerides, xanthan gum, and guar gum to stabilize and bind the ingredients. Lenny & Larry also also include vegetable glycerin and palm margarine to help keep the cookie moist and crumble-free.
Let’s take a moment and talk about vegetable glycerin. As a registered dietitian, I put vegetable glycerin in the same category as a sugar alcohols. Glycerin belongs to a category of carbohydrates called polyols, which also includes sugar alcohols like sorbitol and erythritol. Glycerin tastes sweet but it is not metabolized as sugar in the body and doesn’t cause a rise in blood sugar. For that reason, it’s sometimes used as a sweetener in foods marketed to diabetics and low-carb dieters. Glycerin also has a moisture-attracting property, so adding glycerin to foods helps them stay moist. Vegetable glycerin is not a bad thing and I see why Lenny & Larry put it in their Complete Cookies. It does a great job of providing some sweetness, adding moistness, and also preserving the cookie. My only issue is that I think it’s a bit misleading to say their product doesn’t have any sugar alcohols in it.
Vegetable glycerin is not the only sweetener in The Complete Cookie. It also has good old plain sugar. There are 13 grams of added sugar in The Complete Cookie, which is over half the recommendation for the day. The American Heart Association recommends less than 25 grams of added sugar per day for women and less than 36 grams of added sugar per day for men. The Complete Cookie is better than the same sized homemade or commercially produced cookie, which easily has 15-25 grams of added sugar (even more if there’s frosting!), but you wouldn’t want to have more than one of The Complete Cookies in a day.
When it comes to protein, The Complete Cookie bakes in 8 grams of non-chalky protein from pea protein, rice protein, and vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten is most commonly seen in vegan packaged proteins (like sausages, bratwursts, and burgers) or in the popular meat alternative, seitan. Vital wheat gluten is the king of vegan proteins with a whopping 21 grams of protein in 1 oz or 28 grams. Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie would not be recommended for anyone with Celiac or a gluten sensitivity.
Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie also provides 5 grams of fiber from chicory root fiber which is extracted from the chicory root. Once extracted, chicory root fiber is added into highly-processed foods such as junk high fiber bars and deceptive ‘high fiber’ breakfast cereals and snacks that are often loaded with excessive sugar, artificial ingredients, and generally empty calories. The Complete Cookie however does not pack empty calories despite being a manufactured product. The Complete Cookie offers real nutrition. If you take into consideration that it’s marketed as a “cookie”, The Complete Cookie has tons more nutrition when compared to other processed cookies. Ready to try them now, click HERE to buy them on Amazon.
The Non-Vegan Review – Score: 4 out of 10
Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie. That’s a long freaking name if you ask me. No wonder this cookie is big. They needed the extra room on the package just to put their name on it. I don’t like the smell. There’s something artificial about the smell. I know it says there’s nothing artificial in it, but it still smells like a nail salon. Major thumbs down on the smell. Taste wise, The Complete Cookie is okay. It’s a bit fake tasting, but doable. I guess if you’re a cookie lover, you might as well get some protein and fiber when you eat a cookie. So, I can see why you would buy this cookie. I don’t know. I’m with my plant-killing wife. If you’re going to eat a cookie, eat a good cookie. If you’re going to eat a protein bar, eat a protein bar. The Complete Cookie is trying to do both, but doesn’t do either one well. Non-vegan husband out.
Parting Thoughts
If you have a hankering for a cookie, eat a darn cookie. Eating The Complete Cookie in place of a cookie is likely only going to feel like you’re depriving yourself of the real deal. However, if you are trying to increase your nutrient intake, specifically protein and fiber, the vegan Chocolate Chip Complete Cookie just may do the trick. The Complete Cookie ingredients will help stave off hunger longer (thanks to the extra fiber and protein) while potentially satisfying your sweet tooth. I say give them a try. You can buy them on Amazon by clicking HERE.
Thanks for checking out my review!