The benefit of a gluten-free flour mix or a gluten-free boxed mix for cookies, muffins and more is that some of the guesswork is done for you. Oftentimes, a good gluten-free baked good is based upon a blend of flours. With a commercially blended product, you don’t have to go out and buy four different flours and mix them up just so. The downside, of course, is that not all packaged gluten-free products are worth writing about.
We were sent an array of products from Moon Rabbit Foods, a company out of North Carolina. They have a broad line, from pie crust to cookies, muffins, scones and even a pancake/waffle mix. We dove into the simple packaging and whipped up oatmeal cookies and muffins and liked the results very much.
Looking at the labels, you can immediately tell that each mix is created with the right blend for that product, as opposed to having one standard flour mix for all. Here are the ingredient breakdowns for the two we tested:
- Certified Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookie Mix: Certified Gluten-free oats, brown sugar, rice flour, potato starch, unrefined organic cane sugar, rice starch, premium cassava flour, sea salt, baking soda, xanthan gum.
- Certified Gluten-Free Muffin Mix: Potato starch, unrefined organic cane sugar, premium cassava flour, rice flour, aluminum-free baking powder, sea salt, xanthan gum.
We followed the directions on the packages; both used butter and egg, but there are dairy-free versions on their website. The muffin mix said to add up to 2 cups of fruits or nuts. We added a full 2 cups of mixed raspberries/blueberries/blackberries and we ended up with 14 muffins as opposed to the 16 they quote. Other than that, we were very pleased with the taste and texture. The muffin was soft and moist, not crumbly like so many gluten-free muffins. If anything, it was a tad too moist and we would make it next time with 1 ½ cups fresh fruit. They look very “white” and lack a visual character that some standard muffins have, but we would buy this mix and make them again.
We should note that we did use the optional cinnamon, and they recommend up to 1 cup raisins, dried fruit, nuts or seeds. We used 1 cup of mixed dried fruit: apricots, cherries and raisins. The first thing we noticed was the great texture. This is a textbook-perfect old-fashioned oatmeal cookie – a tiny ring of crispness around the edges and the perfect chew. They are exceptional in this regard. They also spread perfectly into nice rounds and retain their thickness. Their sweetness was the other prominent aspect, and since sugar is part of the mix, you cannot control it. Everyone has their own preferred sweetness level and if you like sweet desserts, you will love these.
Our initial experience with this small brand was very positive. We are going to take the pie crust into the kitchen to try that out sometime soon. You can order through their website and they have superior customer service. We emailed them a question and got a very personal and helpful response the same day.
Bakepedia received this product as a gift for review. All opinions are the reviewer’s own.
HI,
We are very pleased that you liked our mixes. That you for the great review. I’d like to note that gluten free products generally do not bake with the same color as products with gluten. Because of this, we will generally use egg or milk wash and sometimes a sprinkle of sugar on muffins, or the edge of pie crusts just to give them the same look people are accustomed to.
We are continually adding recipes on our site that can be made from our current mixes. One of my favorites is the gluten free pumpkin bread pudding. The pumpkin bread is made from our pie dough mix and the bread pudding is made by drying out the pumpkin bread cubes and baking with a vanilla custard.
Again thank you for your kind comments.
Regards,
The Moon Rabbit Team
Great tip about the egg or milk wash on top! I should also add that I froze the leftovers and they were great defrosted at room temperature and gently warmed in the microwave – Dede
i recently was gifted a bag of corn bread mix, and i was very surprised as how well it came out, maybe just a little dry but i didn’t add the cheese just the frozen corn, anyway i will buy more of it, and will try other of your mixes as well, please keep them coming!
Great to hear! Love the way you personalized them. That’s the perfect way to make a mix your own.