June 20, 2020

Pure Love Bakery Review

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WILL DRIVE FOR GLUTEN FREE FOOD.

If you are not from around here, you might not know that you can pretty much drive across the entire State of Connecticut in less than 2 hours. So, when I find a new gluten-free establishment in the State, you bet I will be there! I came across a post from a fellow CT blogger about donuts they got from Pure Love Bakery and I knew I needed to get some immediately. The next morning, my son and I hopped in the car and off we went, an hour drive North for gluten-free baked goods.

Pure Love Bakery is a dedicated gluten-free bakery that also caters to other dietary specialties, such as vegan, soy-free, nut-free, keto and paleo. It is currently still in the time of COVID-19, so the bakery is operating with curb-side pickup only. The way they have it set up is genius, you check out their social pages that morning for the flavor offerings of the day, call them to place your order and text them when you pull up. They then put your market items on a pick up table for you to grab, ensuring zero human to human contact. It's genius.

I followed the directions, checked social media, called to place my order (almost one of everything) and drove up there. I texted them when I arrived, donned my mask and grabbed my bag and box off the table before returning to my car to dig in! My son was not amused that he had to wait for me to photograph everything before he could devour his selected treat. Which, by the way, was a chocolate Nutella cookie. I decided to try the coconut chocolate chip blondie. We could have sat there and ate everything, but we needed to get home to share.

What did we get and how was it? Ok, so like I said, we pretty much got one of everything. We got a coconut chocolate chip blondie, sprinkle brownie, fudge brownie, chocolate "oreo" cupcake, strawberry cupcake, caramel cupcake, funfetti cupcake, oatmeal cream pies, chocolate chip cookies, nutella chocolate cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, magic bar, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip muffins and lemon poppy seed muffin. I told you, EVERYTHING! Now, this was just what they were offering that day, every day is different. I think it's fantastic, you could try something new everyday. If I lived closer, I probably would.

As far as, how was everything? Overall, excellent. My top three favorites were, in order, the coconut chocolate chip blondie, the magic bar and the cinnamon roll. All three were out of this world. I would have never been able to tell they were gluten-free. Not only that, but they were far superior than most regular options of their kind. Also very good, was the chocolate chip cookie, oatmeal raisin cookie and the oatmeal cream pie. We found the cupcakes to have a very "corn muffin" like texture, we didn't hate it though, just not what we expected. The flavors were great, especially the "oreo". The nutella cookie was a little dry and very hard to eat with the huge dollop of nutella in the middle, but my son loved it, so to each their own. The muffins were just ok, the chocolate chips fell to the bottom and the top half of the muffin was very plain. The lemon poppy seed didn't thrill me either. Really though, 80% of the items were outstanding! That's an excellent percentage in my opinion! Not everyone is going to like everything, that's why their variety is great! Something for everyone.

I would HIGHLY recommend anyone making an hour drive, heck even a two hour drive to visit Pure Love Bakery. Their selection of, not only gluten free, but also vegan, paleo and allergen friendly options are outstanding. I did not have to worry about any cross-contamination, as they are a dedicated gluten-free facility. The peace of mind alone was worth the drive. I really cannot wait to see what options they offer next week and what new flavors I can try. I would even go as far to say, I recommend this bakery to anyone, even people who eat gluten, it is that good!

To learn more, please visit their website.