There’s a particular comfort to a cookie. A small, familiar square of calm in the day. Something you reach for not because you are hungry, but because you want a moment to soften the edges of life. Brisbane has always leaned into this kind of food, the gentle, unpretentious, handmade treat. But in recent years, something else has shifted. People want their treats to feel more thoughtful. They want to feel cared for. They want treats that welcome more people to the table, whether they are avoiding gluten, choosing plant-based eating, or looking for food made slowly and intentionally.

This shift is part of a larger movement happening in Brisbane’s food culture: an embrace of makers, of craft, of small kitchens with big hearts. People here love supporting local artisans. They love knowing where their food comes from. And they love discovering treats that feel both beautiful and inclusive. Our Gluten-Friendly Vegan Cookie sits perfectly within this rhythm, a biscuit designed not just to delight, but to include.

At Dello Mano, inclusivity isn’t a marketing angle. It’s part of handmade culture. When you bake in small batches, you naturally think about the people you are baking for. You think about their needs, their preferences, their comfort. This cookie was created from that mindset: handmade luxury that feels generous, calm and welcoming.

These small-batch treats are our signature gluten-friendly vegan cookies, handmade in Brisbane to bring inclusivity, calm luxury and beautiful flavour together in one thoughtful bite.

There was a time when gluten-free or vegan cookies were treated as “alternatives.” Something added to the menu because it felt necessary, not because it was beautiful. They were often dry, crumbly, sandy or lacking warmth. But today, people expect more — much more. They want to enjoy a dietary-friendly cookie that is indistinguishable in pleasure from a traditional one. They want depth of flavour. They want tenderness. They want texture that feels satisfying, not compromised.

This shift has exposed a truth we’ve always felt in our kitchen: dietary-friendly baking thrives in small batches.

It thrives where a baker can adjust dough by touch.

It thrives where moisture can be corrected one gram at a time.

It thrives where science and intuition work together.

Handmade environments are uniquely equipped to handle the fragility of gluten-free textures and the delicacy of vegan structure. Machines cannot make these adjustments in real time. But a human hand, a baker who knows the dough, can.

Remove gluten, eggs and butter and you remove:

• Structure
• Binding
• Tenderness
• Moisture retention
• Crisp-soft balance

That’s why generic gluten-free vegan cookies often crumble or dry out.
But in a small-batch kitchen like ours, we don’t try to replicate these ingredients — we rebuild the texture from the ground up.

We develop structure through a blend of gluten-free flour and nut meal.
We create tenderness with plant-based fats chosen for firmness and melting point.
We build chew through caramelisation.
We hold moisture through balance, not excess.
We rely on sensitivity, not shortcuts.

This is why our cookie feels like a Dello Mano cookie, not a substitute, but a deliberate creation.

If you love our handmade philosophy, you may also enjoy:
→ Brownie Collection
→ Cake Collection

Gluten-friendly vegan baking is a delicate interplay of starch, fat, sugar and moisture. Each ingredient must be chosen for performance, not convenience. Our blend of gluten-free flour and nut meal is calibrated to create a soft interior with just enough structure to hold shape. Our plant-based fats mimic the behaviour of butter, melting slowly, supporting crumb, and enriching texture.

Sugar level is carefully managed. Too little and you lose caramelisation. Too much and the cookie becomes brittle. The hydration ratio is adjusted according to Brisbane’s humidity, a subtle but crucial step in ensuring consistency throughout the year.

Every step follows a scientific approach, driven by the desire to craft something that is not merely “free from,” but full of texture, flavour and integrity.

Science gets us to the threshold; artistry takes us the rest of the way. In our Brisbane kitchen, dough is folded, not whipped. Each cookie is shaped gently by hand, not portioned by machine. Batches are baked on small trays because large racks can cause uneven heat. Dough rests until the baker, not the timer, decides it is ready.

This handmade approach gives the cookie its signature softness. It ensures the edges crisp just enough. It ensures the chocolate melts gently into the structure. It ensures the cookie remains cohesive, tender and indulgent.

When science and art align, dietary-friendly food becomes more than suitable. It becomes beautiful.

Brisbane shapes our baking. The warmth of the air, the slower pace, the appreciation for craft, it all filters into our kitchen. We bake with windows open to natural light. We work in calm rhythms. Brisbane has a way of reminding you that speed is not the measure of success; attention is.

This city values makers, not mass production. It values connection, not excess. The Gluten-Friendly Vegan Cookie was created in this environment, a place where food is meant to be shared, enjoyed, and felt.

Our cookies reflect Brisbane in subtle ways:

• They are warm but gentle in flavour.
• They are indulgent without heaviness.
• They are simple in composition yet rich in experience.
• They echo the small-batch culture Brisbane embraces so strongly.

They feel like Brisbane, soft, warm, calm, considered.

The most surprising moment for many people is the first bite. They expect dryness. They expect crumbling. They expect a compromise. Instead, they discover:

• A lightly crisp edge
• A soft, tender centre
• A cohesive structure
• A subtle chocolate richness

It’s a cookie that feels indulgent without relying on butter or eggs. This balance is the product of dozens of micro-adjustments, moisture levels, resting times, folding technique, baking temperature, tray size. In dietary-friendly baking, every detail matters.

Our flavour profile is designed to unfold gently. Vanilla opens first, warm, authentic, not artificial. Next comes the chocolate, subtle but present. Finally, a light sweetness rounds the palate without overwhelming it.

This is not a sugary cookie.
This is not a heavy cookie.
This is a balanced cookie built for moments of quiet enjoyment.

It pairs beautifully with coffee, tea, or simply a pause in the day. It also pairs naturally with gifting, partly because it is inclusive, and partly because it feels so thoughtfully made.

Food gifting is about thoughtfulness. It’s about acknowledging someone with care. Dietary-friendly gifting takes this further. It removes the uncertainty, the “will they be able to enjoy this?” worry.

This cookie is ideal for:

• Offices with diverse dietary needs
• Corporate gifting
• Teachers’ gifts
• Christmas hampers
• Birthday additions
• Family gatherings
• Thank-you gestures
• Care packages
• Sympathy gifts
• Welcome packs

Because it’s gluten-friendly and vegan, it suits more people without calling attention to itself. It’s simply a beautiful handmade cookie that happens to include more people.

The shelf life and structure also make it reliable for Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast delivery, another reason it works so well for gifts.

See our seasonal options: Christmas Collection

If you’d like to explore other handmade treats:
→ Brownie Collection
→ Cake Collection

Before reaching your hands, this cookie went through months of testing. Not large experiments, small trays, quiet adjustments, thoughtful refinements. The kind of iterative craft only a small kitchen can sustain.

We tested different flours for tenderness and structure.

We compared melting profiles of plant-based fats.

We trialled resting and hydration levels across humid and dry weeks.

We tasted, recalibrated, and tested again.

What emerged was not simply a gluten-friendly vegan cookie, but a cookie that carries the Dello Mano signature: softness, warmth, balance, and a texture that feels comforting and handmade.

This cookie represents our belief that dietary-friendly food can be luxurious, calm, crafted, and created with the same care we have brought to our brownies and cakes for almost two decades.

Handmade luxury is not about extravagance.
It is about intention.

It is about care.

It is about the feeling behind the food.

This cookie exists because we value:

• Thoughtfulness
• Inclusivity
• Craft
• Time
• Quality
• Calmness

Small batch is more than a production choice; it is a creative philosophy. When food is made slowly and intentionally, it carries a certain presence, a quiet dignity. That is the essence of our Gluten-Friendly Vegan Cookie.

If you’d like to explore other handmade treats:
→Brownie Collection
→ Cake Collection