Gluten-Free: Ian's Chocolate Covered Wafer Bites (& a Metro-West PSA)

I admit to a fairly high level of dubiousness when I saw that Ian's was now making anything involving wafer cookies during a visit to Pierce's Pantry in Acton.  Wafers of the chocolate and vanilla variety were a regular snack for me as a child as well as a special treat as an adult during my pre-celiac life.  For starters, I imagined them to be too soft and of an unpleasant and perturbing texture.

Oh my god was I seriously wrong.  Ian's Chocolate Covered Wafer Bites are quite possibly the most addictive best gluten-free sweet snacks on the market right now.  It is virtually impossible to stop eating these things for adults and children alike.  Liberty can eat almost an entire bag by herself in one sitting... if I haven't already polished it off.  Twenty bite-size pieces in a five ounce bag is generous for a gluten-free product but it never seems like quite enough.

Gimme.

I don't know how Ian's can possibly make these taste so moreish.  There is no wheat, gluten, milk, casein or eggs.  What is in them?!?  How can they make such creamy and smooth dairy-free chocolate taste so right around layers of gluten-free yet also crunchy and flaky wafers?  I'm usually very good at figuring out how a company makes their gluten-free food, but I'm not sure on this one.  Is it the bicarbonate?  All the soy ingredients, particularly the roasted flour?  It's a gluten-free mystery!  Perhaps it's all the delicious calories, fat & sugar.  Just like the ones I used to eat from Voortman or Kit-Kat, except even better.  Even my non-celiac partner loves these.

To top it off, as per my promise to spotlight companies who do this, Ian's is a regular corporate donor to Pierce's Pantry and have donated whole boxes full of these.  It's a good thing we're limited to two a week or else my nutrition would go right out the window.  Social responsibility and yumminess.

These fabulous chocolate-covered wafer bites are available at in Massachusetts are available at Hannaford, Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Harvest Co-Op and several other smaller regional supermarkets.

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Also, a quick PSA about two benefits for Acton Community Supper which was part of my post about food insecurity last week:

Most people only think to donate to food pantries during the winter holiday season.  They run very low on all their stock at this time of year.  Acton Community Supper, where I obtain my food from Pierce's Pantry, are holding two upcoming local community events to bring in badly needed food donations and raise funds.  The first is a special Food Drive taking place at the Roach Bros and Stop 'N' Shop located in Acton next week.  Mass Bytes readers in Metro-West, please bring or purchase food at these supermarkets for your neighbors in need during the first week of June.

The boys below.

Then on Friday June 15th at 8pm, there will be a benefit concert.  The Brooklyn-based genre-busting duo Time Flies -- who got their start in Boston -- will be performing in NARA Park (North Acton Recreation Area) at 25 Ledge Rock Way in Acton.  Doors open at 7pm and the show will continue until 10pm.  Tickets are $15 in advance and available from Mktix; they will be $18 at the door.  Have a rockin' night and do something locally charitable at the same time!