Stauffer's Lemon Snaps

Oops, it's another unintentional cookie era! These are made in York, PA, which is very close to both my hometown and my home town. Yet I can't find Stauffer's cookies anywhere (except for the boring plain animal crackers). Somehow in Ohio, there they are! So I had to try this lemon snap, since I like their ginger snap so much. I never met a lemon cookie I didn't at least find pleasant, and these are similarly pleasant. Same bright lemon flavor you expect, plus the nice firm, round, ginger snap texture. No ginger flavor though -- a lemon/ginger hybrid would probably be good!! Anyway, these too are good, nothing unusual or unexpected, but I do prefer the ginger snap for both comfort and flavor (and uniqueness).

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [3$ish]
Taste: 7/10 

Stauffer's Animal Cookies - Iced

After the delightful Stauffer's Ginger Snaps, I went to my store to restock, but they were not available! They had only these Animal Cookies. Now when I was a kiddo, pre-allergy-labels, I definitely ate and liked some animal cookies, but I don't think it was these, I think it was a more delicious frosted one with sprinkles. I probably tried these once and thought "ew". Well, the good news for product purists is, I don't think these have changed a bit in 25 years. I'm also much more desperate for cookies and sweets now, so I don't hate these, but I can recognize that they aren't particularly delicious. The cookie bit is fine -- tastes like a shortbread -- but the icing is thin, and serves only to contribute a vague "chalky" vibe. However, they are kinda cute, and I will totally eat them while I wait for better things. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Stauffer's Ginger Snaps

Ginger snaps! Of course! They're a delicious cookie without chocolate or raisins, and ginger is theoretically good for nausea (in practice it seems to have no impact on me, but hey, any excuse to eat cookies). I grew up in Stauffer's territory, but I remember at least the animal crackers having a nut warning. However, things have changed: according to their website* they are nut free since 2021! They're also owned by Meiji USA, which means Hello Panda is back on the table (teenage me would be very excited about this).

These taste great, but then again I've always been a ginger enthusiast. Good spice level, feels "not enough" at first but builds to a pleasant warm afterglow. Mainly clove and ginger forward, but the red pepper and cinnamon are definitely noticeable. There is nothing I would change about the taste, but the texture is just "eh" for me. They're firm, crunchy, but there is no "snap". I either want a fun bendy cookie or a fun snappy cookie, and this is just a rigid dry biscuit. That's OK though, texture is hardly the most important element of food (for me). They smell good and look nice, to round out the sensory repertoire. My dad's dad's mom had an excellent ginger cookie recipe which tasted very similar to these and I now have a renewed interest in tracking it down. (See? Sweets stave off depression!!)

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 8/10

*Their website FAQ is very charming, as it references other local St(o)uffer's and says kind things about them even as they clarify they are a different entity.