Giveaway & Review: KATZ Gluten Free Bake Shoppe

I have been blessed by another fabulous gluten free bakery find... Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe! They offer a wide range of delicious certified gluten free baked goods that are also dairy and nut free. All of the goodies that Katz Gluten Free sent me to sample exceeded my expectations. Each item you order from Katz gluten free is moist and full of flavor. Curious? Want to try Katz Gluten Free for yourself? You are in luck! I am GIVING AWAY $50.00 gift certificates to the Katz Gluten Free online store to (2) very lucky Gluten Free Taste of Home readers!

About Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe:

"Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe was established in early 2006 by F. Katz, with not much more than a home model kitchen mixer, some thoroughly tested recipes, and an unyielding quest for perfection. As word of our famously delicious confections rapidly spread, so did our base of operations.

Today, Katz Gluten Free operates out of a state-of-the-art facility, which has been Certified Gluten-Free by the Gluten Intolerance Group® (www.gluten.net), for our unmatched reliability in complying with strict gluten-free standards. Our facility is completely nut-free and dairy-free. All of our products are certified Kosher, and are under the stringent supervision of the OU and Rabbi Y. Gruber.

As the mother of two children who are gluten intolerant, Mrs. Katz knows firsthand the hardships and daily struggles parents endure in their attempts to maintain a thoroughly gluten-free diet for their kids. She knows - as only a parent could - that the only way to minimize and avoid temptation, is by offering a variety of products that are rich in flavor, texture, and taste. That is why she constantly strives to concoct recipes that are as luscious as they are healthy.
We feature an extensive, ever-expanding selection of products, to meet the culinary demands of every gluten-intolerant individual. Our products consist only of pure, all natural high-quality and fresh ingredients, with no preservatives added, and are thoroughly taste-tested to ensure absolute goodness in every bite.

At Katz Gluten Free, we are truly passionate about our products and we hope that so are you. Our entire staff is committed to earning your satisfaction. We therefore welcome and anticipate your comments and suggestions. It is, after all, your input and feedback that have helped us achieve our goal of creating the most sought-after baked goods in the gluten-free market.
Are you looking to break free from gluten foods?

If you answered yes then you are absolutely in the right place. Just like you, we also love the smell of freshly baked bread. We anticipate every bite of a decadent chocolate cake. We also can’t stop eating delicious cupcakes. The problem is that gluten just doesn’t get along with us. That means that all the yummy delights like strips, muffins, cookies and challahs are off limits. Gluten foods can wreak havoc with a gluten sensitive person. The reactions can be mild to life threatening. So, like the rest of you who can’t eat gluten foods or have kids that can’t eat gluten foods, Mrs. Katz was left with very little choices. That’s why in 2006 she went on a mission. Armed with traditional recipes and the belief that gluten free food can taste just as good as gluten foods, she started her own gluten free trading company.

Everything in our menu is gluten free. Not only do we also make sure that it is dairy free and nut free. This ensures our customers health and well being. We are also very proud of our dedicated factory that only produces products that are not gluten foods. This means none of our menu items is effected by cross contamination from gluten foods. This is something most manufacturers should also be aware of. When gluten foods and gluten free products are produced in the same facilities, gluten from the production line can easily contaminate gluten free food. This can be very detrimental to individuals who need to be on a strict gluten free diet.

So when you try one of our cakes, challahs, cookies, muffins, strips, rugelech, breads, rolls, loafs or pizza crust you can rest assured that every step has been taken to safe guard your health and please your taste buds. Katz gluten free makes sure that it is gluten free and full of taste."

I had the pleasure of sampling every item pictured in this review, and I can tell you that it was my absolute pleasure to do so! As you can see the goodies are tempting, and they taste as good as they look!

The Challah Bread and Challah Rolls from Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe are so tender and soft... like bread is supposed to be! Besides the fantastic homemade flavor of the Challah bread, it DOES NOT NEED TO BE TOASTED prior to eating! That's right... just defrost and enjoy this soft, delicious bread straight from the bag. This bread made excellent sandwiches for my children's lunch. Personally, I chose to indulge in soft slices spread thick with butter straight from the bag... what a treat!

The Katz Gluten Free Wholesome Bread is so full of healthy flours that I felt great about serving it. It made AWESOME toast that my kids and I gobbled up for breakfast. When toasted, it tasted just like I remember whole wheat toast tasting... it has been a long time since I experienced those flavors. The Katz Gluten Free White Bread was also tender and made great grilled cheese sandwiches!

The Katz Gluten Free Sprinkle, Chocolate Dipped and Chocolate Chip Cookies are perfectly sized for a child's lunch or a quick snack. My daughter was elated to be taking sugar cookies with confetti colored sprinkles in her school lunch. She asked me to pick which type of Katz Gluten Free cookie she would take in her lunch each day as a surprise. She loved them all and couldn't decide!

Something I loved was the convenience of receiving a box of unfrosted gluten free Vanilla Cupcakes that could be stored in the freezer. These delicate Katz Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes have proven invaluable for school celebrations, birthday parties, and potlucks. We simply pull one from the freezer, frost it, and my daughter is eating cupcakes like everyone else at the gatherings!

The Chocolate Strip, Chocolate Rugelech, and Cinnamon Rugelech were a very special treat. They were FANTASTIC served with coffee or tea. They remind me of flaky pie crust with chocolate and cinnamon goodness in every bite. They are beautiful to serve to guests with their rolled shapes.

The Marble Cake is a real show-stopper! When I served sliced of this tasty but not overly sweet dessert, everyone commented on the gorgeous swirled marble design. This cake is so special that you almost feel bad to eat it... well, maybe not (we ate it all in two days!)

I appreciated the Katz Gluten Free "fast-fix" Pizza Crusts for a quick meal on a busy school night! It was so simple to pop them out of the freezer, top them with each family members favorite toppings, and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Voila! Personal pizzas with out the fuss of making your own crust. We all agreed that the crusts had a good flavor. Next time, instead of making them on a baking sheet, I will try baking them directly on the oven rack for a crispier crust. This versatile crust can also be used as a flat bread; try topping it with olive oil, garlic, salt and fresh herbs... YUM!

Buy it:

Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe goodies are available at various retailers throughout the US, and for your convenience are also sold directly from their website (I love this option... the goodies ship straight to your door!).

Win it:

Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe is giving $50.00 gift certificates for use on their website to (2) Gluten Free Taste of Home FOLLOWERS.

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY (mandatory):

Become a Gluten Free Taste of Home follower (must follow PUBLICLY via Google Friend Connect in the side bar of this website) AND Visit the Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe website; LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me that you are now following Gluten Free Taste of Home PUBLICLY via Google Friend Connect, AND also tell me the name of the gluten free baked good you miss the most since going gluten free, and would like Katz Gluten free Bake Shoppe to consider making (IMPORTANT: The item you suggest MUST be something that is NOT currently for sale on the Katz Gluten Free website or your entry will not be valid). (1 entry)

BONUS ENTRIES: (each entry comment must be entered separately to be a valid entry):

1) Vote for my Gluten Free Pumpkin Doughnuts AND my Gluten Free Vegetarian Spring Roll Recipe in the Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest (click on the Foodista "Vote for me" buttons for BOTH recipes; you will find the buttons in the sidebar of this website, not far from the top.) LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me that you have placed your votes for BOTH of my recipes ON THE FOODISTA WEBSITE. (3 entries)

2) Grab my Freebie Fairy button and display it on your website/blog (copy the html code for my button from the sidebar of my Freebie Fairy giveaway website and paste the code into your website), and LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me you did it. (2 entries)

3) Follow Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe on Twitter and tweet the giveaway; LEAVE ME A COMMENT with the link. (1 entry)

4) Blog about this giveaway linking it back to my Freebie Fairy website AND the Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe website. Please LEAVE ME A COMMENT with THE LINK TO YOUR POST or it will not count. (5 entries)

5) Follow me on Twitter and tweet the giveaway; LEAVE ME A COMMENT with the link. MAXIMUM 1 tweet/RT per hour please! (1 entry PER tweet/RT)

6) Follow my Freebie Fairy blog PUBLICLY via Google Friend Connect in the right hand sidebar of my Freebie Fairy blog, and LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me you did it. (2 entries)

7) Grab my Gluten Free Taste of Home button and display it on your website/blog (copy the html code in the side bar of my Gluten Free Taste of Home website and paste the code into your website), and LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me you did it. (2 entries)

8) Leave a comment with the name of a gluten free item from the Katz Bread/Challah page that was not featured in my review. (1 entry)

9) Leave a comment with the name of a gluten free item from the Katz Cakes page that was not featured in my review. (1 entry)

10) Leave a comment with the name of a gluten free item from the Katz Cookies page on the that was not featured in my review. (1 entry)

11) Leave a comment with the name of a gluten free item from the Katz Miscellaneous page that was not featured in my review. (1 entry)

12) Leave a comment with the name of a gluten free item from the Katz Muffins page that was not featured in my review. (1 entry)

13) Leave a comment with the name of a gluten free item from the Katz Rugelech/Strips page that was not featured in my review. (1 entry)

*GIVEAWAY OPEN TO US ONLY*

Giveaway ends on Thursday February 4, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. PST (late entries will not be posted). Winners will be selected by random.org. I will announce the winners by February 6, 2009. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond before new winners are selected.

*REMEMBER... please leave your e-mail address with EACH entry so I can contact you if you win.

*“I received products for this review on behalf of Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe. All opinions are solely my own. Others who may use this product or service may have different opinions.”

Best of luck!