Cookie Bar

Oh my gosh; I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet! Best gluten free baking around. We had a cake from them for my birthday and my friends were happily enjoying it. They didn’t know it was gluten free until they saw me eating a slice. That’s how good it is. Also, the frosting isn’t too sweet, which great. The only downside is that they have some wonky hours, so plan ahead.

The vegan cookies and bars are amazing. It is so hard to find gluten AND dairy free baked goods that taste actually taste good.
The gluten free pumpkin pie was a hit at Thanksgiving dinner!

Being a celiac, finding out my new neighborhood has a gluten free bakery was music to my ears! I’ve been there twice so far and have tried: vegan chocolate chip cookies, raspberry bars, pumpkin blondies, brownies and apple cider donuts. Everything is so delicious! It’s great to know that I can pop in on Saturday and picked up some fresh baked goods for the week rather than having to buy boxed cookies from the store.

If I could give zero stars I would! Called on a Thursday to order a birthday cake for the following Tues. They are only open on Tues for pick-​ups of pre-​ordered cakes. Fine. I asked price of birthday cake. $ 55 plus tax= $ 59+. Okay. I asked for one layer of yellow cake and one layer of choc cake. They said they will only do one flavor, so pick one. Okay. So I order all yellow cake. Come Tuesday I picked up this $ 59 nine-​inch layer cake for my celiac-​afflicted granddaughter’s birthday. It was INEDIBLE!!! NOBODY ATE THE CAKE! It was heavy, dry and mealy. No flavor either. Worst cake I have EVER tasted! All of the family members said the same thing after one forkful! Nobody ate it. I would not recommend this bakery to anyone. Prices are exhorbitant (probably because so many people now need gluten-​free desserts that they feel they have a captive market and take full advantage of that). I would not have minded the price if the cake had been even modestly good. But this cake was like straw! I threw all the uneaten slices plus the balance of the uncut cake in the garbage. Worst part of all was that my granddaughter was REALLY DISAPPOINTED! They don’t even write on the cake because they haven’t made an effort to create a gluten-​free icing to use for writing. Instead they give you a paper Happy Birthday sign that they print from a computer and tell you to stick it on the cake. So go to Mariano’s and buy their delicious gluten-​free cakes or cupcakes and make your own sign! Cookie Bar needs some new recipes or a new baker! Don’t waste your money! Stay away! FAR Away!!!

I’m not going to complain about their hours and base a rating on that. They make their dough (no pun intended) on wholesale so they can set their store hours whenever they want as they see fit.
So there’s that. I did get in there when they were open and bought the sugar cookies, Nutella Salted Caramel Brownies and some cider doughnuts. Now here’s where there is merit for a review: ready?
–Cookies were a great texture; crisp yet tender. Flavor was odd; kind of artificial birthday cake-​ish, not a pure vanilla one. This is kind of an offbeat comment for a sugar cookie, but it was too… well, sugary sweet. If they’re going to adorn that much sugar (roughly a tablespoon) on a 6″ diameter cookie, use less in the dough. I couldn’t even finish one and ended up tossing the rest because it was too durn sugary. It would have sent a diabetic on insulin through the roof with one bite.
–Same with the brownies. Nutella and caramel are so sweet by themselves the brownies should have had less. I’m all about sweet desserts, but there should still be a balance. Sometimes I think bakers have this idea that if if it lower-​fat, gluten free that more sugar needs to be added. Nope. Flavors were great to their credit; salty caramel danced nicely with the Nutella.
–Cider doughnuts were so-​so. Not too much cider flavor but nice doughnut texture for gluten free and, this is a plus, not too sugary!
If they tone down the sugar their goods could be top notch. Hope they do.

Ok, so I’m not gluten-​free or vegan. We first stopped in because my relative from out of town is gluten-​free. There aren’t many gluten-​free free desserts near her. She absolutely love it!
That being said. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PLACE! I got the salted caramel brownies and the raspberry oatmeal bars. The raspberry bars were delicious… But the brownies… Oh my goodness… The brownies were up with the best brownies I’ve ever had! I literally can’t stop thinking about it…
Seriously people. It doesn’t matter if you’re gluten-​free or not. Go there! It’s absolutely delicious. The prices are a bit higher, but it’s because of the alternative ingredients, which are top quality (just fyi). This place is DEFINITELY worth checking out.

Holy $#!+ these guys are pros. We were nowhere near this place when my wife found it via search. We were so glad we took the time to visit.
We walked up to the super simple yet effective store front to be greeted by the owners. They have a great welcoming energy. We were immediately offered a sample of something that I immediately ate with no regard as to what it was… I simply trusted.
Then it hit me. I am extremely mesmerized by the taste and texture of something. All I knew at that moment is that we are buying a lot of it in the very near future.
Once I finally looked up from that welcomed punch to taste buds I realized I was surrounded by a whole lot of awesomeness.
Then like a second punch to my attention I realized this is all gluten free. My wife is alergic, and I would say I haven eaten a lot of substitute ingredients or products. And, I love to cook (not bake and I am no expert) who likes to find the best substitutes for gluten based recipes.
Suffice it to say I am picky and honest in my critique of gluten free.
These guys are masters. I dare you to call me a liar. ;)
Loved this place. Go there now… well, during business hours.

In town visiting and our friend told us about Cookie Bar. Our son has celiac and we walked out with a ton of yummy treats!

I adore this place. I happened upon it on the way to class, and eventually went to try it. My significant other has gluten and dairy allergies, so it’s really important for us to find places that are allergen-​friendly. These guys are so kind and really know their stuff — they’re always really helpful with answering any questions, and also are okay with me taking forever to decide what I want because there’s so MANY dang good things. Yum.
Prices are fair and totally worth it. Drop by!

I think most people can agree that gluten-​free baked goods are their own category of food, and are generally just pale imitations of the baked goods they are trying to emulate. Generally, in my opinion, the only edible part of gluten-​free cupcakes is their frosting. Cookie Bar breaks that barrier.
I’ve only tried the Mississippi Mud Cake from Cookie Bar, but it is pretty phenomenal, especially for being gluten-​free and dairy-​free. It can pass for a regular baked good, you basically can’t even tell that it adheres to these dietary regulations, unlike most gluten-​free baked goods… which is impressive and rare. And for $ 45, gluten-​free, large, delicious, and high-​quality, it is fairly reasonably priced.

Step one, make sure they are open. If you try to go when they are closed you’re gonna have a bad time.
The prices were certainly more than a non-​gluten free bakery and I posted a picture showing the prices. They did encourage me to try some small samples and even though I am a wheat eating person I found the samples to be very good, even when compared to wheat bakeries.
Everything is gluten free so there is no risk of contamination.
Some things are also vegan.
The two people there were very friendly and super helpful.
I will return to buy more goodies.

Yes, the hours are not «conventional»; this is an indulgence, a well planned out treat. I stopped in this past Saturday (their hours on Saturdays are 12 noon to 5pm). Loved, loved, LOVED the deeply rich chocolate brownies. Gluten free is a bonus. Looking forward to the holidays and ordering apple & pumpkin pies!

Fantastic place! I’m not Gluten Free, but my bf is, so I hit the Cookie Bar to get him some treats! I do appreciate all bakery items, in general, but find that GF items sometimes lack in texture and leave a bit of a gritty aftertaste. NOT here! The taste, texture and flavor of the items here are amazing. The donuts, cupcakes, cookies& brownies are all fantastic by any standard, not just as far as GF items go. As a plus, the staff was super nice and offered samples!

I recently stopped in for the first time and got a red velvet cupcake. Not only was the red velvet cupcakes by far the best gluten free cupcake I’ve ever had, but it was actually better than many non-​gluten free cupcakes.
I will definitely be back!

I’ve been here about ten times, only once were they actually open. The one time I was able to get something (Nutella brownies) it was delicious. However the hours are a complete joke: closed Saturday-​Tuesday and open from noon-​5pm on Wednesday– Friday. Seriously? A bakery close on the weekends? What’s the point? Just run your online business and save yourself the rent.

I though the place was really nice. The 2 guys were friendly and the cookies I got tasty. I read the ridiculous review by Ellen and I think she is just wrong. They post the hours very clearly. You can’t complain about the place not being open and also say they posted the hours. And she mentioned their competition (outside of the neighborhood) by name? That’s just being nasty.
I’m very glad we have in the area. We need a gluten free bakery in Chicago and I’m glad they are here. Thank you Cookie Bar!!!

Two of my favorite people in the world simply can’t have gluten, so I’ve become well-​acquainted with most of the gluten-​free options in our area. I was excited to discover a Cookie Bar, a gluten-​free bakery that could very easily be on my way to or from work.
Sadly, I’ve attempted to visit no fewer than 3 times, and every single time, they’ve been closed. Sure– their hours are posted, and it would probably be in my best interest to check their hours before stopping in, but good golly– how does a place stay open with hours like they have? They’re not open on my way to work, they’re not open on my way home from work, so this means there’s a single 5 hour window on my already busy weekend that I could stop in. It might be worth it if I knew their baked goods were amazing, but it looks like I may never find out.
The last time I tried to stop in, the lights were on… and someone was in the store. He saw me. We made eye contact. And then he went on ignoring me, doing whatever it was he was doing. No acknowledgement, no attempts at pretending to be sympathetic, never mind coming to the door and asking if he could help me.
I guess I’ll continue going elsewhere. Sure, Rose’s is a heck of a drive, but their hours are manageable and their people are friendly and attentive.

Finding out there is a bakery opening down the street from my work just about made my year. I waited impatiently all summer and they did not disappoint
Personally I have only tried their vegan options but I love every single one! I tried the chocolate chip jalapeño cookie and it was great, sweet with a kick. We got a dozen vegan cupcakes for our wedding last month and the people who ate them raved and asked where they could get them before taking the leftovers home.
Coworkers of mine have had non vegan baked good and they always enjoy them. From birthday cake to cookies, I think we have sampled a bit of everything
The owners are nice and cheerful. The whole place is overall awesome.
If you’re in the neighborhood you should stop in, if you are nowhere near it you should drive over and pick up some goodies.

So I have a friend that suffers from Celiac… so I get to hear all about how gross all the stuff is that she can eat and how she yearns for good pasta, bread and cookies.
I found this little place when I was looking for some gluten free options for her. Well let me tell you, if all gluten free things taste as good as the stuff in this place… I WANT CELIAC!
Here is the skinny… or the fat if you eat here enuf :) The place has pretty limited hours… but I think they take personal orders if you want.
They had tons of cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. The owner guy was there when we went and was SUPER helpful in telling us all about their products and giving us lots of samples to try before we bought. I also just saw a piece on the Cookie Bar on the Sandwich King! WOOHOO, I beat the crowd here!!! BONUS!
Seriously, everything that I tasted was amazing. I would have no clue that I was missing something. The kitchen sink cookies, the butterscotch brownies, the wow bar… soooooooooo freaking good.
The only other thing that I would say is that it is pricey. I got a six pack of kitchen sink cookies, three pack of butterscotch blondies and a wow bar and it was $ 24 and some change… eeekkkkkk…but you are paying for gluten free, quality, local product… so…its worth it. And honestly, probably the best baked goods I have ever had. I will most definitely be back… celiac friend or not.

SO excited to have Cookie Bar in the neighborhood, an all-​gluten free bakery!
Finally got a chance to stop by this weekend & the staff was really friendly and pleasant. They gave us samples of the whiskey infused chocolate cake & cinnamon-​sugar doughnut — SO GOOD!
The store itself is tiny but I was pleasantly surprised by how many products they packed into one case. They have a wide variety of cookies, brownies, blondies, bars, cake (whole or by the slice), donuts, and even bread rolls! In addition to all of their items being gluten-​free, I also saw several vegan options too.
Picking out what to get took me about 10 minutes — I wanted everything. Finally decided on a cinnamon-​sugar doughnut (can’t remember the last time I had one) & the variety pack of cookies which included flavors like chocolate chip, peanut butter and snicker doodle.
My favorite was the doughnut — it was amazing. So soft and delicious, you won’t be able to tell its gluten-​free! The cookies were good too — not brittle and dry like most gluten free cookies, but the ginger cookie in the pack did overpower the other flavors in the pack since they were packaged together.
I think the one thing that will stop me from gaining like 20lbs from eating here is that like all gluten-​free items, they are pricey. Be prepared to pay $ 3 for a small doughnut and $ 3 per cookie. Again, this is to be expected with the high cost of alternative flours to wheat which make everything so expensive.
Also, be sure to check their Facebook page for their rotating weekly menu!
It would be great if in the future they are able to offer coffee or other gluten-​free drinks to help wash down the delicious baked goods. There is also some room out front for perhaps an outdoor patio?
A few tips: For now, the hours are very limited. They are only open Thu — Sat: 12:00 pm — 5:00 pm, so be sure to plan your trip accordingly. I saw plenty of people picking up orders. Also, the bakery is tiny and there is no room to eat your delicious treats so plan to gorge elsewhere.