Goldilocks Goodies Makes Vegan, Gluten-Free Desserts

Goldilocks Goodies gets it just right

Once upon a time, it was hard to find vegan, gluten-free pastries that tasted good.

Some were too dry; others too bland. Some didn't taste like treats at all.

So Emily Robins launched Goldilocks Goodies and started mixing her own. The local baker began with seasonal stabs at cookies, muffins, cakes and more, all made without gluten, and most without eggs or dairy.

And, happily, they taste just right. Robins relies on nut butters for many of her cookie batters. Peanut butter-chocolate cookies are satisfyingly soft and gooey under a dusting of of coarse salt ($1.25). Peanut butter and almond butter form the base for double-chocolate cookies ($1.25), though chopped pecans are the best foil to the rich dark chocolate.

Pumpkin muffins ($3), baked with chocolate chips or apple bits, taste even better alongside hot cider. Chocolate whoopie pies sandwich a fluffy, dairy-defying peppermint filling ($2.50) that tastes unmistakably of Christmas.

And as a fitting fairy-tale finish, Robins has just debuted snappy gingerbread men as a special ($3), dressed in tiny chocolate buttons.

Available at Pleasant Pops Farmhouse Market & Café, 1781 Florida Ave. NW (at 18th St.); 202-558-5224 or goldilocksgoodies.com