How Do Martha Stewart's Online Desserts Actually Taste?
When it was announced that Martha Stewart teamed up with Goldbelly so that her desserts could be shipped across the U.S., my first question was: Will these treats actually taste like Martha Stewart made them? To get my answer, Goldbelly kindly sent me a few of Martha Stewart's offerings for a review.
(While I did receive the Martha Stewart x Goldbelly products in exchange for an honest review, all of the following thoughts and opinions expressed below are my own and are not influenced by Goldbelly or Martha Stewart, in any way.)
What Martha Stewart desserts can you order?
I received the following assortment of Martha Stewart goodies from Goldbelly:
- Martha's Favorite Pastry Assortment (12-pack), $79: Contains four of each of the following: all-butter croissants, apricot danishes, and Kouign-Amanns (a multi-layered small cake made with French butter, sugar, and flakey bread dough). These pastries come frozen and can be heated in the oven.
- Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies (6-pack), $59: Contains six giant chocolate chip cookies with a crispy exterior and soft interior. These come ready to eat, but can be frozen.
- Kitchen Sink Cookies (6-pack), $59: Contains six giant cookies filled with rolled oats, coconut, dried apricots and cherries, dark chocolate, and toasted pecans. These come ready to eat, but can be frozen.
Other products offered on the site (that I did not receive) include:
- Danish Assortment (12-pack), $79: Contains four of each of the following: apricot, cherry, and cream cheese danishes. These danishes come frozen and can be heated in the oven.
- Alexis' Cookies (12-pack), $59: Created by Stewart's daughter, Alexis, this pack 12 thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies. These come ready to eat, but can be frozen.
- Croissant Assortment (12-pack), $79: Contains four of each of the following: all-butter, chocolate, and raisin swirl croissants. These croissants come frozen and can be heated in the oven.
- White Chocolate Pecan Cookies (6-pack), $59: Contains six giant cookies filled with white chocolate and pecans. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. These come ready to eat, but can be frozen.
How do Martha Stewart's Goldbelly desserts taste?
To answer my earlier question: Yes, these desserts do taste like Martha Stewart made them. They are all incredibly flavorful and delicious.
The pastries were flakey and buttery — one of the best combos, in my opinion. My favorite item was the all-butter croissant, which is one of the best plain croissants I've ever had.
The apricot danish was also beautiful and each one came with a halved apricot on top. As for the Kouign-Amann, it is the definition of a sweet treat. It's the only one you have to do extra work to prepare — the instructions advise that you brush your own sugar-butter mixture on top and bake in a muffin tin — and while it was slightly too sweet for me, it was still tasty.
I was worried I wouldn't like the Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies because I prefer a soft texture over a crispy one. However, they were not as crunchy as I thought they'd be! It was as if the cookies weren't sent in the mail — they tasted fresh and didn't have a hard, stodgy exterior. The Kitchen Sink Cookies had a similar consistency, but were filled with more ingredients. I'm not a fan of a cookie with so many additions, but my partner loved it, so it really comes down to preference.
Were the Martha Stewart desserts difficult to bake?
Everything that isn't a cookie came frozen and had to be baked in the oven. To assist with this, each box came with a QR code that could be scanned for instructions. It was an easy process and I didn't find that baking the treats myself was annoying. It made my apartment smell delightful and the treats still tasted freshly baked.
How were the Martha Stewart Goldbelly items packaged?
First of all, "Martha Stewart" was listed as the sender on each package, which I loved. If you were to send one of these products as a gift, that would certainly be a fun surprise for your recipient.
Each of the baked goods came in a box featuring Stewart's signature blue hue. As for the frozen items, each type of treat was placed on an individual piece of cardboard and were wrapped in a ziplock bag. This made it easy to transfer the pastries from the box directly to my fridge.
How long does it take Martha Stewart Goldbelly items to ship?
Goldbelly recommends that you order items one to three days before you need them. You can also place your order up to eight weeks in advance. When you place your order, you are able to select potential delivery dates and see the fees that come along with them.
Martha Stewart Goldbelly Cons
Overall, I absolutely loved my Martha Stewart x Goldbelly experience. The only con I can think of is that I would love if these items came with less packaging. I understand that since these are food products, they need to be packaged carefully with padding and dry ice. However, I do think Goldbelly could do without sending various stickers and info cards along with the order. Since they already use a QR code for the baking instructions, why not include everything else there?
Verdict
You should order Martha Stewart's desserts from Goldbelly — either for yourself or as a gift. They tasted like they were made by a professional like Stewart, were easy to prepare, and came nicely packaged. 10/10 would recommend.