Old Post 13: Gluttony at Gluuteny!

While at Sweet Tammy's last week, a young girl ran in looking for the gluten-free bakery in Squirrel Hill. The friendly staff pointed her two blocks up the street, just before the Giant Eagle on Murray Ave.  Not one to squander a drive on 376 near the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, as soon as the Sweet Tammy's research had been purchased, it was off to the gluten-free bakery up the street.

Gluuteny is a small store that you could easily pass while driving by, but for those in search of GREAT gluten-free sweet treats, Gluuteny is a must-have.  Their model is to sell gluten-free, casein-free baked goods.  The in-store selection is quite decent, with an array of fresh baked cookies, muffins, brownies, cupcakes, bundt cakes and different sweet loaves such as lemon.  Beyond the everyday selection, you can also special order pies and cakes when you give them at least 24 hours notice.

One of coolest things Gluuteny is doing is selling their gluten-free flour mixes, making gluten-free baking more accessible to the home cook. At $14.49 for 3lbs, it's competitive with Market District and Whole Foods prices for gluten-free flour mixes (plus you support local small business when you buy at Gluuteny!). 

Now, in an attempt to be fair, Sugar Love tries all baked goods, without regard to special dietary needs, and ranks each on Taste, Texture, Appearance and Overall Experience.  However, when you are trying a baked good for a special dietary need, you are looking for it to taste as good as the original despite the necessary ingredient substitutions, which puts the bar a bit higher for that treat. You don't want it to have a completely different texture or be lacking that buttery flavor that makes sweet treats so irresistible.

Gluuteny clears the bar with ease.  The sugar cookie was one of the best sugar cookies you'll taste- period.  Not one of the best gluten-free, dairy-free sugar cookies, just one of the best sugar cookies.  The cranberry walnut cookie had a great, moist texture with a rich flavor that was really quite complex and balanced.   It almost tasted like they used butter, but knowing it was dairy-free, they couldn't.   The apple cake was also incredibly flavorful, although it was a bit light on cake and a bit heavy on apples.  Regardless, it was certainly tasty, and though it might have been sacrilege to the dairy-free gods, it was finished with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. 

The next time you are seeking a gluten-free treat, make the drive to Gluuteny  It's well worth the trip because one dessert from this bakery will please your gluten-free and non-gluten-free audience alike.

Gluuteny's Sugar Cookie on the Sugar Love Scale:

Taste ♥♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥♥♥
Appearance ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥♥1/2