Now, more than ever, people are conscious about the types of foods and ingredients they put into their bodies. Which is great. We should be!
Many will be happy to know that I use mostly clean ingredients. Cage free eggs, Non GMO Flour, AA USDA (highest quality) butter, organic sugars, and chocolate made with fair trade cocoa. Below I’ll outline more about why each of these features of my ingredients helps make my cookies delicious, and can make you feel great about eating them when it’s time for sweets!
Why Cage Free eggs?
Cage-free systems provide hens with more space to move around, stretch their wings, and engage in natural behaviors like perching, nesting, and dust bathing. This can lead to improved welfare compared to conventional cage systems. Cage Free reduces stress and injuries from being confined, it is more humane treatment on the animals, and improves the overall health and nutritional value of the hens and eggs. While I am not sure this is related, I tend to think my cookies taste better with cage free eggs rather than caged manufactured eggs.
Why Non GMO Flour? This is the BIG question.
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. Non-GMO flour comes from crops grown using traditional farming methods. GMO crops may harm biodiversity, lead to the development of resistant pests and weeds, and more importantly, may result in increased pesticide usage. I choose Non-GMO flour for my business as a safer, more ethical, agriculturally sustainable choice. I want my cookies to be cleaner, more natural, and as safe to consume as possible.
Why AA USDA Butter?
AA is the highest grade of butter according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) butter grading system. When butter is assigned the AA grade, it indicates that it has met the highest standards set by the USDA in terms of quality and characteristics. Here are some features commonly associated with AA grade butter: Flavor, Texture and Body, Color, Aroma, and Quality Control.
-AA Grade butter possesses a rich flavorful creamy taste.
-It is smooth and uniform in texture making it easy to spread.
-It has a bright and appealing yellow color. It has a pleasant aroma.
-AA Grade butter has undergone rigorous quality control measures to ensure it meets the USDA’s standards such as low moisture content, absence of defects, and compliance with regulatory requirements.
What is not to love about quality and delicious, creamy butter when added to cookies?
Why Organic Sugars?
Using organic sugar ensures that no synthetic pesticides, promotes sustainable farming practices that prioritize soil health, no artificial additives, retains natural nutrients, and overall contains a better taste and flavor. Clean Taste,. All the more reason to use Organic Sugar for better tasting cookies.
Why fair trade cocoa?
Cocoa is such a hot commodity in the world market, that often, even today, it’s acquired from the farmers who produce it in unethical ways. Fair trade cocoa is sourced in such a way that farmers and their families get fair prices for the cocoa they produce. The chocolate we use is also monitored to ensure it’s high quality and grown in an environmentally responsible way. When you take a bite of one of my chocolate chip cookies, I know you’ll taste the difference, and you can feel good that the ingredients used to produce it are helping people and the environment in the places they’re produced.
With cleaner ingredients, my cookies are elevated with quality you can taste, consistency, and texture.
So the real question is, Why use anything other than quality, clean ingredients?