I’m super excited to kick off a new series on my blog: Allergy-Friendly Bakery Features! For the very first installment, I’m sharing about one of my all-time favorite bakeries located in Houston, Texas… Awesome Bites Company! I’ve been visiting Houston frequently over the last year, and every visit is not complete without at least one trip to their bakery to enjoy some allergy-friendly treats! In these bakery features, I’ll be sharing background on the bakery, what allergies they are able to accommodate, and a review of all the treats they offer and which ones are my favorite! Without further adieu, here is the very first allergy-friendly bakery feature on Awesome Bites Co.!
Where is Awesome Bites Co.
Located in Houston, Texas in Sawyer Yards at 2313 Edwards Street, Awesome Bites Co. is an artisan shop offering allergy-friendly bakery items and health-conscious treats. Their treats are free of refined sugar and are sweetened with fruits and vegetables rather than eggs, butter, and sugar. Awesome Bites Co. is owned by a family who manages severe food allergies, so they are well-versed in cross-contamination. They are currently the only dedicated nut-free bakery and ice cream shop in all of Houston, TX! Their shop in Sawyer Yards is open Wednesday through Sunday, and you can preorder treats ahead or just pick out from the display when you arrive. Awesome Bites also offers nation-wide shipping for a select number of their treats including their cookies, muffins, and beanie bars!
What food allergies can they accommodate?
Awesome Bites Co. is dedicated free from: peanuts, tree nuts (not including coconut), dairy, egg, and soy. All of their ingredients are sourced from suppliers that are also dedicated free from these allergens. The following statement is directly from the Awesome Bites Co. allergen FAQ. “All of the ingredients used in our treats must be sourced from a supplier that does not also produce dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts (except coconut) along with their ingredients. We contact each supplier to verify how ingredients are manufactured.” Knowing this information always gives me such peace of mind when visiting their shop!
You may be wondering what if I’m allergic to gluten or wheat? I have a severe gluten intolerance, so I was initially curious as to whether they could make me a safe treat. Awesome Bites Co. goes above and beyond to accommodate gluten allergies! While they sell a handful of treats with gluten, including some of their muffins and a few of their cupcakes, they have a completely separate kitchen for items that contain gluten! According to their allergen FAQ, this kitchen stores the only ingredient in the shop that contains gluten: organic all purpose flour. They bake gluten items in that kitchen with separate equipment and at a separate time. I have visited Awesome Bites Co. dozens of times and have never had an issue with gluten cross-contamination.
What treats do they have?
The real question should be: what do they NOT have!? Awesome Bites Co. rotates their baked goods by the day of the week, so you can stop by for Donut Wednesday, Cookie Thursday, or Cupcake Friday depending on what you’re craving! They usually offer 3-4 flavors of each treat, and switch up the flavors from week to week. On Saturdays and “Surprise Sundays”, there’s a variety of different treats and flavors! The only thing they don’t sell is cinnamon rolls, but they have so many other options, you won’t even notice! You can always stop by for a scoop of n’ice cream, a hot drink or coffee, a banana split or sundae, or one of their beanie brownies.
Another thing I love about their shop is that they have a mini market of allergy-friendly packaged items. They have allergy-friendly chocolate bars, 88 Acres seed butters, nut-free spreads, and other vegan items. They even sell their own granola, caramel sauce, and sunflower seed butter that they make from scratch in the store! You can also order cookie cakes and n’ice cream cakes for special celebrations. Their chocolate chip cookie cake was the highlight of my 20th birthday!
Donuts
Arguably my favorite day of the week at Awesome Bites Co. is Donut Wednesday! Awesome Bites Co. is a day you do not want to miss! Their donuts are insanely delicious, are all gluten-free, and come in dozens of unique and creative flavors! Of the donuts I have tried, the chocolate glazed, banana pancake, and the thin mint cookie donut are my top three favorites! However, there isn’t a donut that I haven’t enjoyed! With flavors like coffee toffee, apple cider, suntella, homer (pink with sprinkles), chocolate caramel, lemon raspberry, black and white, and their newest flavor, Neapolitan, there is a donut that everyone will like!
Cupcakes
Cupcake Friday at Awesome Bites Co is always so fun! Their cupcakes are adorable and have the perfect combination of creamy vegan frosting and fluffy cake! Most of their cupcakes are gluten-free, but double check before ordering, as they occasionally have some gluten-containing flavors. My two favorite cupcakes are the caramel stuffed chocolate and chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes pictured above! However, they offer other more unique cupcake flavors, including their “hostess” cupcakes, cookie dough stuffed cupcakes, and donut cupcakes (complete with mini gluten-free donuts!)
Ice Cream
Being 100% honest here… the donuts were so captivating, I didn’t realize they made ice cream until the fourth visit! Their n’ice cream is INCREDIBLE! It’s extremely creamy and light and doesn’t have any aftertaste that can sometimes come with vegan ice cream! They offer classic flavors like vanilla bean, mint chip, and olive oil chocolate, which is my favorite! But they also have fun ones like maple sunflower butter, lemon raspberry, caramelized banana, and lavender! They usually have eight flavors available, but sometimes offer limited edition ones during the summer months, like cookie monster and orange dreamsicle!
I highly recommend getting your ice cream in either of their house-made gluten-free waffle cones. They come in chocolate and vanilla! They also have a wide variety of allergy-friendly ice cream toppings. Choose from sprinkles, vegan chocolate sauce, strawberry preserves, sunflower seeds, mini chocolate chips, and homemade caramel sauce! I also recommend trying some of their sundaes and other ice cream desserts, such as their banana split, brownie a la mode, or my go-to, the s’mores sundae (pictured above!) It’s complete with chocolate sauce, vegan marshmallow fluff, and a chocolate drizzled gluten-free graham cracker!
Cakes
Another treat I didn’t know about until later on were their amazing cookie and n’ice cream cakes! With multiple food allergies, finding safe cakes for birthdays and celebrations are often challenging. I was so excited to find an allergy-friendly bakery that offered TOP 8 FREE cakes! Their cookie cakes are available in brownie (chocolate) and blondie (chocolate chip) and can be decorated with icing to celebrate any occasion. We picked up a blondie cookie cake for my 20th birthday, and it was delicious! I haven’t yet tried their n’ice cream cakes but hope to have an occasion to order one later this year. They have a variety of cake flavors that rotate seasonally, but some of their most popular are suntella & vanilla, strawberry funfetti, and mocha toffee.
Seasonal/Holiday
I’ve been able to visit Awesome Bites Co. during Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day, and I love picking up their adorable holiday-themed treats. The week before most major holidays, they offer festive flavors of their donuts, cookies, and cupcakes and sell extras in the store on the day of the holiday. They also have special holiday preorders available, so you can choose out of a large variety of treats and pick them up in store. Some of my holiday favorites were the Halloween donuts and cupcakes (including the adorable mummy donut), the Christmas cake-in-a-jar, the Valentine’s Day mini heart cake, and the allergy-friendly chocolate truffles! Occasionally, they offer shipping for their treats during select holidays, so definitely check that out if you are not located near Houston!
Coffee & Drinks
Safe coffee for nut allergies is an extremely rare find, but I’ve been lucky enough to find some almost every time I visit an allergy-friendly bakery. Awesome Bites Co. is no exception, and they offer iced and hot coffee year-round! All their coffee is made with either rice or oat milk, so it’s completely safe for nut and dairy allergies. They often have fun latte flavors (like lavender!), as well as other warm drinks, like my favorite hot apple cider! But one of my favorite things to get are their hot cocoa packets! They are top 8 allergen free and made with coconut milk and mini chocolate chips. I love buying lots of their packets to bring back home and have on hand during the winter. I always add mini marshmallows to mine!
Other Items
I mentioned earlier that Awesome Bites Co. has a market where they sell a variety of products from vegan and allergy-friendly brands. However, they also sell some of their own products! Their most popular are their sunflower seed butter, caramel sauce, pancake mix, and many flavors of granola! They make all their products from scratch in their bakery, so they are allergy-friendly and free of cross-contact. You can order these products on their website, including some of the other allergy-friendly items available at their market. I tried their cocoa coconut granola last fall and LOVED it!
Thanks for reading my first allergy-friendly bakery feature on Awesome Bites Co.! Whether you live in Houston, TX, or plan to visit in the future, I hope you found this post fun and helpful! For more bakery recommendations, make sure to check out my Instagram where I share my most up to date bakery and restaurant finds! If you have any questions, have a request for something you want to see on the blog, or just want to say hi, DM me on Instagram @emsnutfreeeats! Let me know in the comments which spot I should pick for my next allergy-friendly bakery feature!
