Product Comparison: Commercial Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

We decided to have a cookie taste test this time around, but wanted to choose a variety that is somewhat healthy (so chocolate covered macadamia nut cookies were out of the question). The one that came out on top was oatmeal & raisin cookies. They are somewhat healthy, as consuming oats has been proven to lower the risk of heart disease. Plus, when you hear the word oats, it does bring out the idea of a “healthy food”.

The Food Geeks had a mélange of people come out for the taste test this time around. So along with the Peppers and the Shortcakes, we rounded up four friends to give us their opinions on the following products:

1. Christie’s Dad’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Kraft Canada)
2. President’s Choice Organics Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
3. President’s Choice Raisins First Oatmeal Cookies
4. Voortman's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

And the moment you have been waiting for...here are the results:

The Health Factor

Christie’s Dad’s Oatmeal Raisin

Per cookie (15g):
65 Calories
2.25g Fat (.75g saturated fats, zero trans fats)
1g Protein
10.5g Carbohydrates
95mg Sodium, 0mg Cholesterol

President’s Choice Organics Raisin Oatmeal

Per cookie (13.5g):
65 Calories
2.5g Fat (1.25g saturated fats, zero trans fats)
1g Protein
9.5g Carbohydrates
50mg Sodium, 2.5mg Cholesterol

President’s Choice Raisins First

Per cookie (13g):
60 Calories
2.5g Fat (1.5g saturated fats, 0.15g trans fats)
0.5g Protein
9g Carbohydrates
40mg Sodium, 7.5mg Cholesterol

Voortman’s Oatmeal Raisin

Per cookie (19g):
80 Calories
3.5g Fat (1g saturated fats, zero trans fats)
1g Protein
12g Carbohydrates
90mg Sodium, 0mg Cholesterol

The food industry has been on a quest to lower or eliminate trans fats in processed foods to comply to the requests of the consumers for healthier products. For example, Kraft was able to do this before the deadline for nutrition labeling changes requiring companies to list trans fats on their labels. (For Canada, the deadline was December 2005). From these products, all of them have none or minimal amounts of trans fats in their products, and are low in saturated fats – quite impressive! Voortman’s even toots its own horn by being the first major cookie company to eliminate trans fats from their product line.

The bottom line is that all these products are on par with one another nutritionally. Voortman’s is a larger cookie, so in theory you would be content eating just one versus the other products where you can easily consume two in one sitting. Christie’s Dad’s are higher in sodium content compared to the other three, but the amount is not too significant. These would all be good choices for when you are craving a treat to satisfy that sweet tooth.

They would all warrant a 3.5/5 rating on the health scale. These are the healthier of the bunch out of the cookie family, but still need to be consumed in moderation.

The Taste Factor
Christie's Dad's Oatmeal Raisin
At first glance, these cookies looked appetizing - they looked homemade, like a bowl of lumpy oatmeal in golden, baked cookie form. They even smelled like a warm bowl of oatmeal, with hints of cinnamon in the aroma. However, everyone felt the cookie was a bit too dry and even salty to the taste. Some even found the cookie to be too sweet, and most agreed that the raisins were imperceptible. The aftertaste was described by some as "chalky", and one person even said it was bitter. Overall, the taste test results for this cookie was rather lacklustre - Ms. Shortcake even lamented that she remembered them tasting better as a child.

Average Taste Test Score: 2.75/5

PC Organics Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
Appearance-wise, this cookie was fragile. Most of the tasters got cookies that were missing bits from the sides, and one even got a cookie that was broken into several pieces. The cookie was thin, but the raisins were much larger than what was in Dad's cookies, although they were more sparsely distributed. The cookie was very light and some described the taste as nutty while others thought it tasted more burnt than nutty. No one thought that the cookie was too sweet, though some mentioned that it didn't taste like much of anything. So while this cookie was the "healthiest" in terms its use of organic ingredients, the panel was split on the merits of its taste.

Average Taste Test Score: 2.75/5

PC Oatmeal Raisins First
Despite the name, most agreed that upon inspection, there weren't many raisins at all. However, the aroma was universally praised as being a combination of buttery, nutty, and sweet. And by all accounts, it tasted the way it smelled, with butter being a prominent flavour note. Some felt the cookie's texture was a bit too dry, but most were content with the balance of crunchiness to chewiness. A pleasant cookie experience, overall.

Average Taste Test Score: 3.63/5

Voortman's Oatmeal Raisin
These cookies were quite large in comparison to the others but unlike the others, these definitely looked the work of a machine, and lacked the homemade, lumpiness of its competition. But what it lacked in appearance, it made up in texture. These cookies were soft and chewy, and did not suffer from the dryness that its competition did. Tastewise, most agreed that it lacked any real raisin flavour and many thought it simply tasted sweet without any complexity in flavour. A few noted hints cinnamon in the aroma and the aftertaste, however.

Average Taste Score: 3.25/5

And the overall winner is...
PC Raisins First, with a total score of 7.13/10, although Voortman's cookies came in a close second with 6.75/10. The remaining two cookies tied for a disappointing third place, with significantly lower scores.