Doves Farm Gluten Free Hazelnut Cookies are a delicious and nutritious treat; ideal for anyone who is either coeliac or just enjoys a gluten free biscuit. I am the latter, but do try to keep my gluten intake low as I have ME and some experts believe it helps with the symptoms.
Coeliac disease is a serious gluten allergy and is something which has to be diagnosed properly as lifelong gluten avoidance is mandatory to avoid certain cancers, and therefore needs to be taken seriously. These biscuits are however perfectly acceptable for anyone who has been diagnosed a coeliac as they are made in a separate bakery.

Doves Farm Foods are based on the border between Wiltshire and Berkshire and were established in 1978 by Michael and Clare Marriage. The company advanced from its genesis in 1958 when the family started farming the land. It was during the 1970's that they really decided that they had to steer a clear path into the future by ensuring they farmed in a sustainable and organic way, and today they have over 350 acres all certified organic by the Soil Association. The fields are all surrounded by grass which provides homes for birds and beetles, and these really ensure that any insects which try to feed on the plants are a valuable food source for the beetles and birds, thus negating the need for chemical sprays and cocktails of unknown poisons, which so often find their way into our food chain.

During the winters they leave areas uncultivated to allow ground nesting birds to stay and of course they use crop rotation to ensure they do not need to use any artificial fertilisers or chemicals at all.

To me they seem very similar in their ethics and beliefs to the Jordan family who make all the cereals our family love. They are part of a group of what I like to call "the original pioneers" of farming this way, by this I mean they haven't just decided to do it to be current, it was always who they were and what they felt was right.

The hazelnut cookies I am reviewing are one of their new ranges of delicious biscuits, and they are sold in a lovely pale sunset orange packet. I paid £1.38 from Waitrose but you can also buy them in health food shops and online from Ethical Superstore (www.ethicalsuperstore.co.uk). For this you will get about 9 cookies.

The main ingredient is rice flour and they also contain hazelnuts, orange zest, lemon juice and potato, maize, and buckwheat flours, and coconut.

They press all my buttons as they are and fair-trade, vegan, organic, wholegrain, wheat free, gluten free, and contain no hydrogenated fats and each biscuit comes in at just 72 calories.

The first thing that I felt about them when I bought them was the home made look. They actually look and smell like you have just got them out of the oven. The surface has the tell tale just baked crinkles and the aroma is beautiful, fresh and delicious with a hint of Seville marmalade. You could even cheat and pretend you cooked them!

The taste is simply divine. A citrus favoured nutty cookie which melts in your mouth and really is as good as any I have ever made in my own kitchen. This is really amazing as so many gluten free foods are actually dreadful, and at last here is something as good as a biscuit made in the traditional way. They don't have that weird gluten free powdery texture.

They store really well in an airtight tin and stay crisp and tasty for ages. I think these are one of the nicest biscuits I have tried in ages and I would certainly buy them a lot more if I was coeliac. Yes they are in the luxury end of the biscuit market for sure, and you are paying a premium for the care they take over the environment, so maybe not a good time to be selling these little gems of crunch. However if you have one now and again they are a real treat, and you are certainly helping to preserve a tiny corner of Britain so that future generations can enjoy the birdsong and the butterflies in the English Countryside.