These vegan cookies are free of the 8 most common food allergens, but they taste close to the real deal

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• Partake Foods, founded by a mom who has a daughter with multiple food allergies, makes cookies that are free from the top eight food allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, milk, soy, fish, and shellfish).
• Currently available in five flavors, including Birthday Cake, Double Chocolate Chip, and Carrot Oat, the crunchy mini cookies contain vegetable extracts and powders and have less sugar than traditional cookies.
• They're also vegan and non-GMO certified. All of these descriptors might make you think they're not a worthy substitute for traditional cookies, but they actually taste good.

When you have food allergies, it's hard to enjoy many of life's simple, sweet pleasures - like cookies, for instance. A treat that most people can reach for at the company potluck and not think twice about might have severe consequences for someone with a food allergy.

According to Food Allergy Research and Education, eight allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, milk, soy, fish, shellfish) are responsible for most serious food allergy reactions in the US. One in 13 children have food allergies, and 40% of that subcategory is allergic to more than one food.

Though food allergies are on the rise (and the reason why is still unclear), there hasn't been a proportional increase in allergy-friendly packaged food products. As the mother of a child with multiple food allergies, Denise Woodard learned firsthand how hard it is to find safe and delicious substitutes for common snacks such as cookies.

The best way to ensure her daughter was consuming safe snacks was to make them herself, so Woodard started Partake Foods, a snack company that sells allergen-free, non-GMO, and vegan cookies.

All of Partake Foods' cookies are free from the top eight allergens, plus they're also mustard-, sulfite-, and sesame-free. They comply with industry standards for allergen controls, which includes segregating allergens during ingredient storage, and they're produced in a certified gluten-free factory.

The cookies from this Chobani Incubator startup come in five delicious flavors that, on the outset, seem like your standard garden variety type of cookie: a classic Birthday Cake here, a sweet Double Chocolate Chip there. But they're also secretly packed with vegetable extracts, powders, and juices, including organic beet powder and organic carrot powder. The colorful sprinkles of the Birthday Cake flavor come from spinach, broccoli, carrot, beets, and shiitake mushroom.

Other flavors, like the Carrot Oat and the Sweet Potato Millet feel more obviously "healthy," but the taste factor is still there.

In addition to being allergen-free and packed with clean, organic ingredients, the cookies contain less sugar and calories than traditional ones. One serving (three cookies) of Partake Foods cookies contains 7 to 8 grams of sugar and 130 to 140 calories, compared to one serving (three cookies) of Chips Ahoy cookies, which contains 11 grams of sugar and 160 calories.

I don't have any food allergies, but I would still choose Partake Foods cookies over traditional cookies as a better-for-you, vegan alternative. They're crunchy, they taste close to the real thing, and come in a perfectly sized snackable form.

For anyone with food allergies or parents of kids with food allergies, they're a welcome addition to the pantry and lunchbox because they're safe to eat, but they also actually taste good.

All too often, those with allergies have to sacrifice some important component of food - often taste, nutritional value, texture, or all of the above - if they want to eat the safe, allergen-free version. Partake Foods flips those assumptions on their head, providing tasty and healthy cookies that anyone can enjoy.

Shop the Partake Foods Combo 4-Pack for $24.99 at Amazon here

Shop all Partake Foods cookies at Amazon here