Gone Pie / Vegan Cuts / gluten-free

I've seen countless reviews of Gone Pie's fabulous treats here, here, and lots of other places, too, on the blog, A Soy Bean. You might say that Ms. Bean is obsessed with Gone Pie — and now I know why.  Seriously, reading Abby's Gone Pie reviews is almost (almost) enough to make me want to move to New York City. When Melisser from Vegan Cuts offered to send me some Gone Pie samples to review, I was more than delighted. Ha, Abby, I can have Gone Pie treats, too!

When the box arrived a couple of days ago (with a personal note from Barbara at Gone Pie, noting our mutual association with Abby) it was all I could do not to unwrap everything and start tasting immediately, but I was mostly restrained so as to take a few photos before devouring the lot. And I managed to share with others as well — though not as generously as I would have hoped. One taste of my bounty, and I became distressingly selfish. I wanted it all. Sorry, friends and family. As you can see in the photo, I received several varieties of brownies, cookies, and something that at first looked like a cupcake but turned out to be a chocolate-covered peanut butter caramel cup.

What you see here is a chai nut brownie, which I generously shared with my husband. (What you don't see is the oh-so-delicious-I-ate-the-whole-thing simply fudge brownie that I ate by myself.) These are fudge-y, not cake-y brownies, and though I don't think anyone would suspect, they are also gluten-free, as was everything else I received. Deep, rich, delicious, chocolate-y, satisfying  brownies with a chai spice flavor. Get some. Might as well get the simply fudge and coconut brownies, too. It would be silly to choose just one kind!

This is a sesame peanut butter cookie — large, soft, chew-y, yummy, with a hint of coconut. All three tasters, including a four-year-old who snatched the remaining piece after eating her own, approved. Get some.

This is the peanut butter caramel cup. It's the size of a small cupcake, with a thick rim of chocolate and a smooth, creamy peanut butter caramel filling. I probably wouldn't have chosen one if I were selecting my own Gone Pie treats, and in fact, it was the last thing I tried, probably because I'm not the biggest peanut butter fan in the world. I like peanut butter but it's not my favorite food.

But, talk about saving the best for last. Who knew? If this were the only peanut butter cup I tried, I'd be a p-b cup fanatic. First of all, the chocolate outside was quite possibly the best chocolate I've tasted, and the mellow peanut-butter caramel center was wonderful. Get some.

Gone pie uses the highest quality, fair-trade, vegan ingredients available. And they specialize in gluten-free treats. Abby was right!


Are you familiar with Vegan Cuts? It's the vegan version of the daily-deal. From their Web site:

At Vegan Cuts, our goal is to make it fun and easy for our members to discover new vegan products and shop vegan.

Vegan Cuts is run by a vegan couple, John and Jill, who really want to see more people shopping with vegan ethics. A commitment to buying vegan food is a great start, but you can also make a positive difference by choosing vegan options when purchasing clothing, shoes, accessories, body care products and everyday household items. This is why Vegan Cuts features a range of vegan products and encourages members to shop vegan by promoting opportunities to save money while eschewing animal cruelty.

You can join their Web site to receive email notices of special offers, and you can follow them on facebook to keep up with news and deals. They also have a blog.

Gone Pie Vegan Bakery has been serving the NYC area for more than 25 years. Its fabulous products are available in local natural foods stores and by mail.

Full disclosure: I was sent a sample pack of Gone Pie products by Vegan Cuts for the purposes of a review. All enthusiastic opinions are my own.