Fat Pants Friday: Boomtown Bakery's Mint Oreo Cookie

Technically, what you see above cannot truly be said to hold the Fat Pants Friday designation: at present time, it's only available on the weekends. But some things are worth getting excited about one or two days in advance, and Boomtown Bakery's spin on the mint Oreo cookie certainly fits that description.

Boomtown's version of a mint Oreo ($3) is the sort of loving tribute that any mass-produced snack food should be so lucky to earn, and what makes it even more remarkable is that it's both vegan and gluten-free. Those two adjectives still strike fear and loathing in many a baked-goods lover, but if any one food item can quell such misgivings, it's this.

The chocolate cookies, which are of the semisweet variety, have the deep, rich flavor of barely adulterated cocoa, and a moist, slightly cakey crumb pebbled by chunks of chocolate. They're complemented perfectly by the mint filling, which gets its fluffy, satiny texture from a combination of tofu and cashew butter. The green hue comes from spirulina, another word that inspires antipathy in otherwise mild-mannered individuals, but its presence is felt here in color only: the taste is pure, unadulterated mint.

Taken together with the chocolate cookies, it's almost less like eating an Oreo than a grasshopper pie, so rich and vibrant are the flavors. It's a chocolate-mint orgy, completely free of the weirdly tinny aftertaste that afflicts many a vegan, gluten-free baked good (we're looking at you, BabyCakes). And best of all, it's surprisingly light, meaning that it's easy -- and advisable -- to eat two in one go, making it a true Fat Pants delight. One rates a pair of skinny jeans; two still rate a pair of skinny jeans, but unbuttoned.

As previously mentioned, the one downside to the Boomtown Oreo is that it's available only on the weekends, specifically at the Hester Street Fair. But the bakery, which is located in Greenpoint, does take orders through its website, guaranteeing Oreo consumption any day of the week.