Snickerdoodles

This summer my grad school program decided to offer classes in 2, 5-week summer sessions. I decided to stick with one class during the first summer session, (please don't ever make me take a research methods and statistics class in 5 weeks again...) which means I actually have the rest of the summer to chill... and bake!

I started the weekend by making a traditional flan recipe for a dinner party. The hardest part to me was caramelizing the sugar (I tried the recipe twice and it's gonna take some practice)... however it was delicious and devoured at the party, so win win.

After the dinner party, we were sent home with leftovers of chicken ropa vieja and scratch black beans. Such good food! Send your guests home with leftovers and they'll love you forever!

However, when you're sent home with leftovers, it means you have a dish to return. And being raised with good southern manners, I like to return a dish filled with treats.. Which gave me a good reason to crack out the mixing bowls and make cookies!

I debated what kind of cookies to make our friends. I thought about the classic chocolate chip, my favorite peanut butter... but for some reason snickerdoodles kept coming to mind. Snickerdoodles are old fashioned simple vanilla cookies that are coated with cinnamon and sugar.

They were some of the first cookies I learned to make as a child, and there's just something cozy and warm about them. They are the perfect cookies to pair with a hot cup of tea and a good book. Cliched maybe, but a good "librarian" cookie!

Snickerdoodles
free of gluten, dairy, and soy
adapted from the recipe in Southern Living Christmas Cookies c. 1986, pg. 62
makes 24 cookies

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Coating Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Line a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
3. In a small bowl mix together the coating ingredients and set aside. 
4. In a medium mixing bowl cream together the shortening with the sugar. Add the egg & vanilla extract and stir until smooth and creamy. 
5. In a separate bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. 
6. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. The dough will be firm, but not dry. 
7. Roll the dough into balls by teaspoons. Roll the balls into the coating mixture and place on a baking sheet 1" apart. 
8. Flatten the cookies into circles with the bottom of a glass. 
9. Bake 6-8 minutes until cookies are golden. 
10. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY before removing from the pan. They are fragile and will break if you don't allow them to cool completely!
11. Enjoy with a cup of hot tea or a big tall glass of milk! 

Afternoon Coffee, Procrastination, and Peanut Butter Cookies

Don't judge... Yes, that's instant coffee! I'm the only one who drinks coffee in the GLG household, I don't like the environmental impact of K-cups.. and let me tell you, Nescafe is darn better than Sanka (well, Sanka circa 1990 which tasted like charcoal.. I haven't tried it lately though... ;-) 

It's a quiet Sunday, I was enjoying a small afternoon cup of coffee and I pulled out my "Introduction to Library and Information Science" to begin reading chapters 8, 9, 10  for my assignment next week and then it dawned on me, it was a great time to make cookies.  I know, I thought it was brilliant timing too! 

My favorite peanut butter cookies are the ol'  "1 cup of peanut butter + 1 cup sugar + 1 egg" recipe... but I didn't want to use THAT much peanut butter (do you know how expensive peanut butter is these days?) or THAT much sugar... or really...let's be honest...do I need THAT many cookies?

Probably, I don't need any cookies...

A few months ago I bought a used hardback copy of the 1974 edition of the Joy of Cooking. I wanted to get a copy I could actually use since the beloved paperback that my Dad had when I was growing up, is literally falling apart.

I love that cookbook. His favorite chocolate chip cookies came from Ms. Irma Rombauer and probably a bunch of other meals we used to eat growing up like meatloaf, oyster stew, and chicken a' la King. I wonder where Irma learned to make chicken a' la King.

These are basically the peanut butter cookies in Joy of Cooking (1974 ed.), but I made them gluten-free (of course) and halved the recipe. You could easily make this recipe egg free, If you choose to do that I would replace it with 1 tablespoon of water mixed with 1 teaspoon of ground flax seeds. Stir that mixture together and allow it to 'gel.'

If you decide to double the recipe below, just use a whole egg instead of an egg white (or double up on the flax seed substitute.)

Basic Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from the 1974 edition of 'Joy of Cooking' by Irma Rombauer
gluten-free, soy-free, easily egg-free, vegetarian
yields 30 - 1.5" cookies

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine of choice, (or even extra peanut butter if you're a big fan)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (we like chunky, all natural)
• 1 egg white (or 1 tablespoon water mixed with 1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch (or starch of choice -- potato starch, cornstarch, tapioca starch, etc...)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl cream together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and peanut butter, until creamy and fluffy.
3. Stir in the egg white and vanilla. 
4. In another bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. 
5. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until you have a sticky, slightly wet cookie dough. 
6. Drop batter by small spoonfuls (about a teaspoon and a half per cookie) onto the cookie sheet. Placing a few inches between each cookie - we make 12 cookies per batch. 
7. Flatten cookies by gently pressing with the back of a fork in a criss-cross pattern. To keep the fork from sticking to the cookie, dip in granulated sugar between criss-crosses. 
8. Bake for 11-14 minutes until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. 

Product Review: Cybele's FREE-to-EAT Oatmeal Raisin Gluten-Free Cookies

Product: Cybele's FREE-to-EAT™ Oatmeal Raisin Vegan & Gluten-Free Cookies

I bought a box of these cookies at my local Food Lion grocery store a few weeks ago. I bought it on a shopping trip to replenish my desk drawer at work. I always try to keep a few gluten-free options in my desk for that inevitable 3 pm snack attack!

I was excited to find Cybele's cookies in my local grocery store. We don't exactly live in a gluten-free abundant area, so whenever I find a new snack that fits my dietary criteria it's fun to give it a try.

My first thought about these cookies was the box was quite small (which really isn't that unusual for gluten-free baked goods). It has about 12-13 cookies in it and suggests 2 cookies per serving. The box of cookies cost $4.59, which in my experience really isn't too bad a price for gluten-free products. This means the cookies were about .38 a piece.

Nutritional Info: 

• Calories: 110 (for two)
• Total Fat: 4 grams
• Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
• Sodium: 85 milligrams
• Total Carbohydrates: 20 grams
• Dietary Fiber: 1 gram
• Sugars: 11 grams
• Protein: 1 gram

Ingredients:  Gluten-Free Oats, Raisins, Brown Sugar, Organic Palm Oil Shortening, Gluten-Free Flour (Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour), Evaporated Cane Juice, Water, Fructose, Golden Flaxseed, Brown Rice Syrup, Grap Juice, Rice Dextrin, Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Cinnamon.

I have to tell you that when I tried the cookies, I wasn't sure what to expect. MOST packaged gluten-free cookies are very hard and crisp... which generally I don't mind. I like a crisp texture now more than I did in my pre-gf days... however it's nice to find a soft cookie.

THESE cookies were truly fabulous! 

They were soft and chewy! The texture was really good for a packaged cookie! The cookies were perfectly moist and the raisins, big and delicious. I felt like the company didn't skimp out on the fruit, which was nice. You had a bite of raisin with nearly every bite! You can taste just a hint of cinnamon in each cookie and they were definitely sweet, but not overly sweet.

I love that Cybele created this recipe using oats and flaxseed, along with being dairy-free AND egg-free! Quite a feat for a GOOD gluten-free cookie! These cookies are ideal for kids with food allergies because they are "top 8" free, so no peanuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, tree nuts, fish, or shellfish. SO a great option to take to school functions and for weekly lunches! They are also baked in a dedicated gluten-free facility so you can rest assured they are free from cross-contamination!

If you wanted too, I think you could easily microwave the cookies for about 5 seconds to give them a warm, "fresh - out - of - the - oven" flavor.

They were really pretty cookies and they looked homemade, not like a store-bought cookie.

I will definitely buy these cookies again, I think they would be great to have at home in the back of the cabinet for a time when you have unexpected company and need a nice dessert!

GLG Disclosure: 

I purchased these cookies on my own dime because I wanted to try them out. I was not compensated or given free product by Cybele's FREE-to-EAT Inc or asked to do a review.  

The opinions and photography in this post are completely my own.

Recipe Review: Gluten-Free Goodness' Divine Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cheryl is a dear friend. a wise counsel, and a darn good cook! She shared these cookies last week on her blog and I had to try them! I love using lower glycemic, gluten-free (or even grain-free) flours for making baked goods for myself. My husband prefers "regular" gluten-free baked goods, but I need to keep an eye on my carbohydrate intake, so I enjoy making treats like this that I can enjoy and not feel guilty about eating! 

These cookies were SO easy to make and they are just so tasty. 

Cheryl's recipe is unique for several reasons:

• Instead of using butter, palm shortening, or even coconut oil or butter... Cheryl gets creative and uses homemade macadamia nut butter for the fat. It works just beautifully and adds a rich and creamy and even BUTTERY (with no dairy!) texture to the cookies! Check out how to make the macadamia nut butter on Cheryl's blog post!

• Instead of chocolate chips (which I did use, just because we had them), she suggests using a 70% or higher content chocolate bar chopped up for the chocolate bits in the cookies. I have to admit, I prefer cookies made with a chopped up high quality chocolate bar, than using chocolate chips, they just seem to have a more gourmet flair and seem to taste better! 

• NO refined sugars! Cheryl uses maple syrup to sweeten the cookies and I have to say, I was skeptical at how well that would work. And I can tell you, it works perfectly! I loved the sweetless level and amazingly it doesn't really impart a "maple" flavor to the cookies. 

• Cheryl also suggests using ground vanilla beans, or vanilla bean paste to create the cookies and I WISH I had some on hand, because both give SUCH an amazing flavor to cookies, much more deep and vanilla-y, than just extract! If you have ground vanilla beans or the paste on hand, definitely use them!

So please hop over to Cheryl's blog and check our her recipe! Tell her I sent ya and let me know what you think about these cookies! Cheryl additionally has a great collection of recipes, along with wonderful posts about self-care and learning how to become who you really are. I value her friendship and her guidance more than she'll ever know!

(And if you have time to make her red lentil dal, cinnamon apple millet, celery in chestnut sauce, OR her sweet potato pie... oh you MUST! They are wonderful and just a few of my favorite recipes from her lovely site!) 

Review: Pillsbury Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Pillsbury contacted me several weeks ago about working with their new promotional campaign for their brand new line of gluten-free baking doughs. To be honest, at first I was slightly hesitant. I know many of my readers prefer to make things from scratch. And generally I do too... 

BUT the longer I've been gluten-free, I've realized the more I long for shortcuts. Not all the time, but for those times when company's coming over unexpectedly, or when you just want a chocolate chip cookie! Shortcuts can be really helpful and when you're gluten-free they are not always readily available. So I agreed to participate in the paid campaign. This is my first compensated review and I can tell you, that no matter what I agree to review, the food will be reviewed with utmost honesty and integrity.

Also once I have reviewed all three products, I will have a baking set & Pillsbury product giveaway, sponsored by Pillsbury. So stay tuned!

So last week I received the 3 Pillsbury gluten-free doughs in the mail.  It's been a busy week and I wasn't sure when I was going to get a chance to try them. If you've been reading this blog very long you know my husband Michael loves chocolate chip cookies. Today I thought I'd give them a whirl.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the plastic container of dough is how much it actually looked like MY cookie dough! Same color, similar consistency. I do recommend taking the dough out of the fridge and allowing it to come to room temperature before baking. It's much easier to handle that way.

The dough was very easy to work with and we got right around 2 dozen small cookies (about 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie). We baked them for around 11 minutes and allowed them to cool on the parchment paper for several minutes before trying them.

Really, I was skeptical. I honestly didn't expect these cookies to be ANYWHERE near as good as my homemade cookies. But in spite of my reservations, I really liked them. I mean I really liked them! I went back and looked at the ingredients and told Michael that I thought they must have borrowed MY gluten-free cookie recipe! The cookies are really good. Michael really liked them too (although he would NOT say they were better than mine... I think he was just being nice though! lol)

The cookies end up being a bit more greasy than the cookies made from my homemade dough, but I absolutely would not hesitate going out and buying this Pillsbury gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough.

Charlie was really intrigued by the aroma of the cookies as they came out of the oven... I had to stop him from climbing on the table a few times.

**************
UPDATED: 8/7/2013, 10pm
Jenny G. a reader on facebook requested the ingredient list on the cookies, which I meant to include in the post.

Ingredients: Brown Sugar, Rice Flour, Semisweet Chocolate Chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural flavor), Water, Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Sugar, Corn Starch, Modified Potato Starch, Contains 2% or Less of: Eggs, Modified Tapioca Starch, Salt, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor.

CONTAINS: EGG AND SOY; MAY CONTAIN MILK INGREDIENTS.
***************

So overall, I'm really impressed with these cookies. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. They are soft and have a chewy crumb. They were honestly much better than I thought they would be. And I kinda hate to admit they were just about as good as my homemade version. A neighbor stopped by to drop off a dish while these cookies were baking and she loved them too. She even took a few home with her... and she's not even gluten-free!

Pros:

• Easy to make, you don't have to add ANY additional ingredients
• Resealable container, which makes the dough easy to save for later, you can easily just make a few at time, if desired. 
• Tastes great! DOES NOT "taste" gluten-free!
• Would be great for parents to make with kids, super easy to assemble and bake. 
• Perfect for travel or to make when visiting friends or family. Easy to suggest to friends & family to have for you when you come to visit. 

Cons:

• A bit more greasy than homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
• High sugar/starch/calorie content -- but this is generally the case with just about any gluten-free processed sweet treat

Good job Pillsbury!

GLG Disclosure: 

Full disclosure: this article is financially supported by Pillsbury®.

The product samples and product stock photos were also provided by Pillsbury. 

However, the opinions in this post are completely my own.

Giveaway: Gluten-Free Baking with Betty Crocker and Joseph Joseph

One of the fun things about being a food blogger is getting to try new products and equipment. A few weeks ago MyBlogSpark sent me this cool baking kit which includes a rolling pin, a pastry brush, a small rubber spatula (I happen to LOVE spatulas!) and a super cute kitchen timer in this JosephJoseph baking gift set. To be quite honest I haven't had the time YET to try out these nifty tools, but I can tell you they are super cute!

Also included in the gift set was really nice non-stick 8x8 baking pan which is perfect for brownies or 1-layer cakes! Betty Crocker (the lovelies who provided this nice set) have brand new packaging for their gluten-free products ALONG with a few new gluten-free baking mixes. I decided to go out and purchase chocolate chip cookie mix. My husband is quite the connoisseur of chocolate chip cookies...

But instead of making cookies (I'm lazy, what can I say?) I decided to use the 8x8 pan and make a batch of chocolate chip cookie brownies! TO make the brownies all I did was add the required 1 stick of butter, but instead of one egg I used two, and then added 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup of milk. This made the brownies more cake-like, but Michael loved them. I baked the batter in the pan for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. That's it. Super easy, super quick.

While I'm not a huge fan of gluten-free prepared baking mixes... it is fun to have these on hand for last minute chocolate chip cookie emergencies. Michael really enjoyed the mix and said he liked the brownies as much as he would have actual cookies... so win win!

But my favorite thing about companies like "MyBlogSpark" and Betty Crocker? 

They not only send me goodies to try, they offer bloggers an additional set to giveaway as well! SO Here's your chance! Want to win your own set of baking supplies?  

Here's how you can enter to win: 

This contest is now over.
Congrats to Shannon F. for winning the baking set! 

The Giveaway Nittygritty:

• 1 prize pack of a JosephJoseph Gift Baking Set + a brand new 8x8" baking pan will be provided from General Mills and MyBlogSpark. 
• This giveaway is open to everyone. 
• One entry per person.
• Enter by leaving a comment below on this post AND please include a way for me to contact you -- your email address preferably.
• The giveaway begins June 24, 2013 and ends on June 29, 2013  at 11:00 pm eastern daylight savings time.
• No purchase is necessary.  Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  
• The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.  The winners will have 24 hours to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.

GLG Disclosure: 

I was given a free gift baking set and an 8x8" baking dish from MyBlogSpark and General Mills. This is not a sponsored post and I did not receive monetary compensation. The opinions in this post are completely my own. The giveaway prize pack and baking pan have been provided by MyBlogSpark and General Mills. 

Easy Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookies

I really need to keep my "good" camera around my neck at all times.. because when I don't you are forced to suffer through my terrible phone camera pictures...

But you know what's funny? I really like the imperfection of the phone camera pictures. I love the grainy quality. It's like adding some cool instagram filter, minus instagram.

At any rate, here are some cookies for you. And this imperfect, grainy picture... it's comfortably fitting for these tasty treats. They aren't amazing bakery cookies. They are easy, simple 4-ingredient cookies for a sweet tooth fix. They are low glycemic, so they won't spike your blood sugar and then send you sinking down, down, down on a Tuesday afternoon.

They are easy, kid-friendly, snack-size little gems of almond flour and coconut palm sugar... and will make you smile.

Who needs perfection? Have a cookie instead!

Easy Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookies
free of gluten, dairy, soy, grains, and easily egg-free
printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or: honey, sugar, maple syrup, date sugar...)
1 egg (or egg replacer, 1/4 cup applesauce would work just fine)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. In a large bowl whisk together the almond flour and coconut palm sugar. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg (or egg replacer) and the pure vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a very stiff and sturdy dough. It should be stiff enough to stir into a ball. If it's too crumbly (and it could be, depending on the humidity levels where you live), add water a teaspoon at a time, until the dough will stir into a stiff ball. Scoop the dough out with a cookie scoop and place 1" apart onto the cookie sheet. I usually get about 12 medium-size cookies. Shape them with your fingers into circular cookies and flatten them slightly with your palm. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies are a bit puffy and are golden brown around the edges. Allow cookies to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating... if you can wait that long!

Gluten-Free, Vegan, Cane Sugar-Free, Chocolate Chunk Cookies -- Adapted from Real Sustenance

YUM, right?! They really are. I rarely get so excited about making SOMEONE ELSE'S recipe... but this time I genuinely am. And well, like with nearly all recipes, I have to tweak them and change them along the way. I'm not really sure why... I think it might have something to do with having a rebellious personality... my grandmother always called me defiant... so maybe these are defiant chocolate chunk cookies.. who knows!

At any rate, Brittany Angell... the amazing author of the blog "Real Sustenance" and books: "The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guides" (Part 1 and Part 2) shared these cookies on her blog a few days ago. They reminded me of cookies I had seen on Elana's Pantry several years ago, sort of combined with chocolate chunk cookies from Lauren of Healthy Indulgences, also quite a few years back. I've made both of those cookies as well and hubs (the cookie monster at our house) thought both versions were pretty good (not as good as THESE chocolate chip cookies) but ate them all regardless. He's really not that picky when it comes to cookies.

So I played. I loved that Brittany made them vegan and offered a cane sugar-free and an agave-free version... But I remembered when I tried Lauren's version I threw in a hefty few tablespoons of ground flax seeds, because I love them. Love all that extra fiber, omega-3-fatty-acid-goodness, and the tiny bit of nutty flavor they add. So I added them. And because I went a little wild and crazy with the flavor extracts (ADD the almond extract -- TRUST ME -- it doesn't make them taste like cherries, it makes them AWESOME), I had a really wet dough and decided to throw in some arrowroot starch to thicken it up.

For the chocolate, I had 70% dark chocolate (3.5 oz) Lindt bars which I chopped into chunks.(These Lindt bars do not contain gluten ingredients, and the company uses stringent manufacturing practices to avoid cross-contamination, but it is a possibility and they are honest about it -- so use the chocolate you like best, if you're not a fan of Lindt.) One bar provided about 1 cup's worth of  "chocolate chunks" so it worked perfectly for this recipe!

I've made these cookies 4 times now... and they ARE really, really, REALLY awesome. I can't believe how delicious they turn out with no eggs, no gums, and no cane sugar. Right out of the oven they have an incredible crunch on the outside and a perfect chewiness inside. I can totally see why Brittany named them "Worlds Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies" --  cuz' they TOTALLY live up to the name, especially if you are limiting sugars and trying more lower glycemic, lower carb recipes! Try Brittany's awesome recipe, try my version... either way... MAKE THEM!

Gluten-Free, Vegan, (Almost) Grain-Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Adapted from Brittany Angell's recipe
free of gluten, dairy/casein, eggs, soy, and options for grain-free
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients: 
2 cups packed, blanched almond flour
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
3 tablespoons arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon baking powder (this brand is corn-free or make your own -- it works SO much better than storebought!)
2 heaping tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients: 
3 tablespoons Spectrum Palm Shortening (or butter, if you can tolerate dairy)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3-4 tablespoons almond milk (start with 3, then add 1 more if you need additional moisture)

Add In's:
1 cup gluten-free, vegan chocolate chunks or chips (I used a 3.5 oz, 70% dark chocolate bar, chopped up)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. Cut in Spectrum Palm Shortening or butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or a knife and fork until the shortening resembles very small peas evenly throughout the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and 3 tablespoons of almond milk. Using a little elbow grease, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a very thick, batter (it might be a bit crumbly). This may take several minutes to be incorporated well. If necessary, use an additional tablespoon of almond milk. The batter WILL be VERY thick though, DO NOT add tons of extra milk, or the cookies will not turn out right. Scoop the dough into golf-ball sized mounds and place on cookie sheet about 2" apart. Flatten lightly and shape with your hands into round cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on how crispy you want your cookies. The edges should be golden brown when done. Makes 12-15 cookies depending on how large you make them. I'd tell you to store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter or the fridge for 2-3 days and then freeze them for up to 1 month.. but seriously, there won't BE any leftovers!

Carrie's Notes: 

• Almond pulp, leftover from making almond milk will NOT work in this recipe. I tried! It's just too moist and it makes a pile of mush for a cookie. You may be able to make it work with a dehydrator, but in the oven, it just didn't work. 
• You can probably use another nut flour/meal to make the cookies, but I haven't tried it, so I don't know how it works. If you don't want to use a nut flour see the note below: 
• If you are allergic to nuts, just make my regular ol' gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, they are awesome too!
• Use your favorite non-dairy milk in the recipe if you don't like almond milk -- it will work. 
• If you don't have coconut palm sugar: use regular sugar or even brown sugar. I don't know how it would work with liquid sugar substitutes, if you have agave nectar, try Elana's cookies. 

My 10 favorite gluten-free Christmas Cookies

1. The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are my husband's absolute favorite cookies ever. I make them throughout the year, but even at Christmas, these are the cookies he wants. Last weekend we added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts to them and they were delicious! I love the toasty, nutty flavor the walnuts added!

2. Chocolate Pinwheel Refrigerator Cookies
Super easy refrigerator cookies that are really fun to make. They don't have to be perfectly rolled to be pretty and tasty! The kids in my neighborhood love these!

3. Cream Cheese Meltaways or perfect Gluten-Free Roll-Out Cookies
I have no idea how to make them dairy-free... so we haven't eaten these in a while, but one of my best friends and a sweet neighbor makes them every year for her family and she makes them into little decorated boy-scout cookies. She declares them the best sugar cookies ever!

4. Double Fudge Walnut Cookies
A variation of the chocolate chip cookies, these are one of my very favorites. Rich, fudgy, super chocolately... if you have chocoholics in your life this would make a great gift! They also hold up well to being frozen and being shipped!

5. Gingerbread Boys & Girls, or Gingerbread Roll-Out Cookies
Based off of a Paula Deen recipe, I created these several years ago and they are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. Super easy to roll out and really delicious. You can't go wrong with gingerbread cookies!

6. Gluten-Free, Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
You could also make these peanut-free by using almond butter or sunbutter or cashew butter... use whatever nut or seed butter you like. I love this crispy, chewy version of a classic peanut butter cookie.

7. Preacher Cookies or Stove-top Oatmeal Fudge Cookies
A favorite cookie from childhood! I first learned how to make these in 7th grade home economics and I've been making them ever since. Easy, no-bake, super quick to throw together. If you need cookies fast, these little babies will work! They were always a favorite at Sunday night youth group!

8. Snickerdoodles
Another favorite from childhood. These may have been the first cookies I ever learned how to make! The simple vanilla cookies coated in sugar and cinnamon are a toddler favorite and fit easily in little hands.

9. Classic Gluten-Free Spritz Cookies
These cookies are buttery and delicious. Almost like a short-bread and super delicious. They remind me of the butter cookies my parents always had around the holidays in a big round metal tin. We'll be making these again this year and serving as a dessert at our holiday meal! If you don't have the spritz cookie "machine" you can simply roll them in a log or in a square shape, refrigerate the dough for easy slice & bake cookies!

10. Vanilla Sandies
These cookies were an accident... but an absolutely yummy accident! They remind me of gluten-filled pecan sandies which were once a favorite cookie! They are soft and light, yet buttery with a wonderful crumb! You could also easily crumble these cookies for a lovely cookie crust. Would be wonderful for a banana pudding or a chocolate pudding pie!

This Week's Menu - Beginning of December

December 2012 ALREADY.... 21 days until Christmas! How are you handling the stress of the holiday season? Make sure to check out the December Sanity Retreat 2012, begun by Cheryl Harris and hosted by several wonderful gluten-free bloggers. This past week's post was written by Valerie of City Life Eats. Iris of The Daily Dietribe also wrote a fantastic post about the event in which she shares her own personal goals for the month.

Do you make lots of cookies or candy for Christmas? Generally I don't, but I'm working on a new project so I hope to test a bunch of recipes in the next few weeks, and my plan to try out some new gluten-free Christmas cookies! What are your favorite kinds? The theme of the Gluten-Free Menu Swap this week is gluten-free christmas cookies, so share your favorites over at Lisa's blog "Extraordinary Life." She is hosting the menu swap today!

A few cookies I definitely want to make this year:

• Refrigerator Pinwheel Cookies
• Spritz Cookies
• No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

This Week's Menu: 

• Monday -- Big ol' batch of slow-cooker beef stew, this will probably last for 2-3 meals throughout the week. (Will freeze leftovers in portion size containers.) This beef stew was made with about 1 cup of frozen leftover beef stew from another batch  added to: 1 pound browned, grass-fed ground beef + 3 diced carrots, about 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans, 1 large chopped sweet onion, 2 chopped potatoes (yes, it's a starch heavy stew... lol), and about 3-4 cups of beef broth + salt, pepper, and fresh garlic. All added to the slow cooked and cooked on low for about 9 hours. 

• Tuesday -- A big salad plate with mixed greens & raw veggies, shaved ham, poached eggs, with an oil & vinegar dressing. PS... GF Rice Chex make awesome croutons! 

• Wednesday -- I'm still in Thanksgiving mode, so I am going to slow cook turkey chops (thick slices of turkey breast) and serve with Cheryl's Celery in Chestnut sauce with steamed broccoli and my favorite apple-cranberry sauce on the side. 

• Thursday -- Dinner out since we have errands -- Hibachi stir fry with no sauces -or- leftover slow cooker beef stew!

• Friday -- Homemade GF pizza using this vegan pizza crust, it's a super easy, super crispy crust! I'm thinking of making a BBQ chicken pizza with caramelized onions. 

• Saturday -- Leftover slow cooker beef stew from Monday, as I'm having a gluten-free baking class that day. 

• Sunday-- We've made this crustless kale & bacon quiche from Jenna's Everything Blog at least 3 times and we love it so much we're making it again... really delicious and hearty meal! 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes Recipe

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary!! It's hard to believe that 8 years ago we were walking out on a sandy beach with about 10 of our closest family members and getting married on a beautiful October day. Every year we do something special for our anniversary. Some years it will be a little vacation or an overnight trip to the beach... but other years (especially if we're into super budgeting mode) we just spend the day together. No major plans. Nothing set in stone... just a day together...

This year we took the day off of work. Went out for a leisurely breakfast. (My favorite meal out is breakfast!) And I spend the afternoon cooking and baking. We had homemade beef tacos for dinner but I wanted something super special for dessert.

Michael's favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies. (This recipe in particular!) My favorite dessert is cupcakes. I wondered if I could merge the two into one diabetic-coma-inducing sugary treat. (Okay, not really... lol) I read lots of different recipes on the interwebs and finally went with an idea from Kevin & Amanda  that seemed much less complicated than other recipes: basically just plopping good 'ol chocolate chip cookie dough right into the cake batter.

And it worked. It worked really well. The cake rose up beautifully, even with the cookie dough being in the middle. In Amanda's cookies, the cookie dough sank to the bottom of the cupcakes and she topped them with a homemade cookie-dough flavored frosting. In my cupcakes, the cookie dough just sat on top and baked sort of in the middle, so you get a surprise bite of cookie inside the cupcake!

Want to make these cupcakes? 
Follow Amanda's directions for making and assembling the cupcakes. 

• For the cupcakes I used my basic homemade yellow gluten-free cake mix recipe. 
• For the chocolate chip cookie dough: Michael's favorite chocolate chip cookies -- chilled for about 30 minutes, I plopped about a tablespoon of dough into each cupcake. 
• For the frosting, I followed Amanda's recipe (scroll to the bottom of the recipe ingredients!)
• For the cookie toppers: using the remaining cookie dough, make a batch of really small (using about a teaspoon of dough or less per cookie) cookies. Once they are baked and cooled, cut them in half and stick a half cookie in each cupcake!

{gluten free review} caveman cookies

A couple of months ago this little company called "Caveman Cookies" reached out to me and wanted to send me samples of their "paleo" cookies. At the time I hadn't changed my diet and I was incredibly skeptical about the cookies.

My friend Heather was already eating "paleo" and I decided to give her a bag at dinner one night. The next day I tried the cookies. They are chewy, spicy, and I liked them a lot! But I didn't find them very sweet since I was still eating a lot of sugar and carbohydrates at the time.

I took the rest of the cookies to work and stashed them in a desk drawer. I sort of forgot about them.

Then I started the paleo diet. I ditched the starches and flours and gluten free pastas and baked goods.  I started eating lots of lean meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits and baked goods made from almond flour. And one afternoon I was really jonesing for a snack. A sweet snack. I remembered those caveman cookies.

I tried them again and now they tasted like pure sweet honey-filled joy! I needed to kick the sugar habit to truly discover how awesome these cookies were. They are very hearty & chewy cookies. (I love chewy!) You only need one cookie to kick the urge for a sweet craving. I love the spices used in these cookies, especially the 'Tropical' kind. I'm sort of hooked on anything with ginger. Imagine that.

These cookies aren't cheap. For the smallest package you'll pay about $1 a cookie, but if you buy a larger quantity each cookie is much cheaper. The cookies have no artificial ingredients and because honey acts as a natural preservative the cookies have at least a 1 year shelf life. The cookies are also made in a dedicated gluten free factory and are CERTIFIED gluten free! So you can trust these folks. If you are gluten free and/or following a paleo type food plan I highly recommend keeping a batch of these caveman cookies around. They would be perfect to have in your purse for emergencies or to keep in the car for road trips.

And who says you can't have a treat when you're paleo? These cookies are the perfect healthy, naturally gluten free treat!

Have you tried them? What flavor of Caveman cookies would you want to try? And their company slogan -- "Just like your great-great-great-great-great.... grandma used to make." It makes me giggle every time!

To the folks at "Caveman Cookies" (who didn't pay me or influence my opinion in any way) -- Thank you for sending me these goodies to try. I think they are great! I'm not sure how you knew I'd be changing my diet in the months after I received the cookies... but I'm sure glad I had them around for that inevitable 3pm snack attack!

Reader Favorites - Carol's Gluten Free, Mostly Grain Free Heath Bar Cookies Recipe

Photo courtesy of Elise Bauer author of Simply Recipes.

Carol B. sent in today's recipe for gluten free Heath Bar cookies. She said her husband absolutely loved "regular" Heath Bar cookies and she wanted to make a gluten free version for herself. Carol's recipe uses almond flour as the base, so they may not look exactly like Elise's "wheat" flour version of Heath Bar cookies in the picture above, but I'm SURE they are just as tasty!

Using almond flour in gluten free baking is such a great alternative to wheat. It's so easy to use and you only have to keep one flour on hand for your baking. Plus, it's a low glycemic, high protein flour, so it's easier on your blood sugar. However Carol's recipe does contain a lot of sugar... so it's definitely not a health food! Make these cookies on special occasions and really enjoy them! For all the leftover almond flour you have, here are a few of my favorite almond flour recipes.

Have you made Carol's cookies? Send me a picture! Do you have a favorite family recipe you'd like to share on Gingerlemongirl! Email me and let me know the story behind your recipe and how you've made it gluten free! Carol, thank you for sharing your awesome recipe with me! I love using almond flour in gluten free baking.

Carol B.'s Gluten Free (Mostly Grain Free) Heath Bar Cookies
free of gluten, dairy, and soy (and mostly grain free)
printer-friendly version

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup organic 10x (confectioners) sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 frozen Heath Bars - smashed to smithereens

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter, all three varieties of sugar and mix with the vanilla and egg. Stir in the almond flour and salt. Fold in the broken Heath Bar bits. Drop the batter by tablespoons onto the parchment covered baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees until the cookies are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from parchment paper. Store in an airtight container on the counter.

Carol’s Notes:

• For those sensitive to tapioca starch or cornstarch, please be aware that most 10x confectioners sugar does contain one or the other of these starches -- also, the cookies will not be completely grain free if the sugar contains cornstarch. 
• Sometimes Carol uses “vanilla sugar” instead of adding in vanilla -- which means she makes sugar that has been mixed with the scrapings of a vanilla bean -- this makes the sugar very flavorful and super “vanilla-y.”

{Gluten Free Review} Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies

A few weeks ago Enjoy Life contacted me again to see if I wanted to try one of their newest product lines, an allergen free crunchy cookie. They also have a line of "soft" gluten free, allergen free cookies and to be honest I don't really like most of them. They are a bit too soft, kind of mushy, and the flavor is odd.

So with a bit of hesitation we tried the crunchy cookies. They come in four flavors, Crunchy Sugar Crisp, Double Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip, and Vanilla Honey Graham. So far, Michael and I have tried the double chocolate chip and the sugar crisps. Michael loved the double chocolate chip. As a matter of fact, I had two cookies from the box... he ate the rest of them. These have a distinct "oreo" type flavor to them and they are definitely crunchy & crisp. We loved them. The other flavor we've tried are the sugar crisps. I really like these a lot. Michael hasn't tried them because they don't have chocolate in them. However, my vanilla loving self has really enjoyed the crispness and flavor of these cookies. I would definitely buy either of these two flavors. I don't know what the retail prices for the cookies are (most likely, much more expensive than you would pay for a box of Chips Ahoy)... but I'd probably pay up to $5 a box.

These are very tasty cookies, but don't expect health food here. After a gluten free flour mix, the 2nd ingredient in nearly all of these cookies is evaporated cane juice (that sneaky "healthy" name for sugar). The serving size is 2 cookies and they average 110 calories a serving. So be mindful of your serving. I have to say, while I generally could eat a whole box of anything sugary and crunchy, I am satisfied after eating 1 or 2 of these cookies. They have a great crunch and a satisfying sweetness.

A few other products by Enjoy Life that I like quite a bit: their new chocolate granola and their allergen free chocolate chips & chunks!

To make the lawyers happy: These cookies were provided to me free of charge from Enjoy Life for review on my blog. I was not paid or endorsed for this review. My unbiased opinion of these cookies were not in any way influenced by the Enjoy Life company.

A frugal gluten free gift idea

Here's a super easy & frugal gift idea for you.

For Father's Day I decided to give my Dad a bunch of my homemade gluten free chocolate chip cookies. It may seem silly since he doesn't follow a gluten free diet himself... but he loves these cookies! Why not make a gift out of them? I also gave him a jar of homemade pickles I canned last summer and some of my favorite cooking seasoning.

I found an old tin that I was about to recycle and I colored a label on white paper with cookies on it. I glued the label to the tin. Taped an additional label on top and made a batch of my gluten free chocolate chip cookies. I made the cookies super small -- bite size really -- so the whole batch would fit in the tin without being smashed or broken. It worked great.

Michael and I also made homemade cards to go along with all the other homemade treats and I think for my Dad it was one of the best gifts I had ever given him.

So when you can't think of anything to give, or if you need to give someone a gift but don't have a lot of money to spend... make a batch of bite-size gluten free cookies! The people you love will be so impressed at how much time & thought you put into their homemade gift.

What are your favorite types of frugal, homemade gifts?

Gluten Free Master Baking Mix/ Homemade "Bisquick" Recipes

In this gluten free journey I've created quite a few recipes over the years. One of the most popular on this site is my gluten free master baking mix. I revised the original recipe last year to create a healthier, whole-grain, soy-free, and dairy/casein-free version. Since then I've used it for countless recipes... dinner recipes...dessert recipes...snacks...you name it! It's so easy to use. It's much healthier than the Betty Crocker version, it's a more frugal option, and it's incredible easy to make.

Today I'm sharing the Revised Whole Grain Gluten Free Master Baking Mix recipe again, along with 5 additional SUPER easy recipes that you can make with the master baking mix.

I would really love your feedback on these recipes. I love the biscuits. I love the cakey-cookies. I love the easy muffins. And mostly... the pancakes just rock.

What are your favorite OLD Bisquick recipes? What would you make using this mix or the original mix? If you have a recipe you'd like me to try & feature on the blog using this mix, please email me your suggestions!

Soft & sweet chocolate chip cookies made using the GF Whole Grain Master Baking Mix. 

Flaky,  Buttery Drop Biscuits made using the GF Whole Grain Master Baking Mix. 

Ginger Lemon Girl's Gluten Free/Casein Free
Master Baking Mix (Like Bisquick)
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
Created by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe

3 cups brown rice flour
2 cups sorghum flour -or- millet flour
1 1/2 cups arrowroot starch -or- tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup brown rice protein powder -or- almond flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (optional - great for a whole grain texture & extra fiber!)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil or spectrum palm shortening (I used spectrum)

Whisk all dry ingredients together thoroughly. Cut in shortening, until it is thoroughly mixed into the dry ingredients and looks like tiny peas. Store in a tightly-sealed container in fridge or pantry. Makes about 7 cups.

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Half Recipe: 
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour -or- millet flour
3/4 cups arrowroot starch -or- tapioca starch

1/4 cup potato starch

2 tablespoons brown rice protein powder -or- almond flour

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (optional - great for a whole grain texture & extra fiber!)

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup coconut oil or spectrum palm shortening (I used spectrum)

Whisk all dry ingredients together thoroughly. Cut in shortening, until it is thoroughly mixed into the dry ingredients and looks like tiny peas. Store in a tightly-sealed container in fridge or pantry. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

A Few Gluten Free Master Mix Recipes: 

1) Easy Muffins: 
1 cup MASTER MIX
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
⅓ c. blueberries, chocolate chips, chopped apples, etc...

Mix all ingredients. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Fill ¾ full of batter. Bake 350 for 17-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of muffin comes out clean. Makes 6 muffins.

2) Pancakes: 
1 cup MASTER MIX
¾ cup - 1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together, you can add additional milk if necessary depending on how thick or thin you like your pancake batter. Grease pan (with butter, oil, or non-stick spray) and heat until droplets of water will sizzle. Pour about 2 tbsp. batter per pancake onto preheated hot skillet. Cook on med. high heat until bubbles form & pop on top of pancakes -or- until edges look dry. Flip cook an additional minute or so. Serve hot. Makes about 9 (2") pancakes.

3) Drop Biscuits: 
1 ¼ cup MASTER MIX
3 tablespoons palm shortening, crisco, or butter
1 egg
2-4 tablespoons cold water

Cut shortening or butter into master mix until it looks like small peas. Stir in egg. Stir in1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have a stiff dough. (You may not need all 4 tablespoons of water.) Drop batter (2-3 tbsp. at a time) on greased baking sheet, each biscuit about 2” apart. Shape each biscuit into a circle. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Place a pat of butter or margarine on top of each biscuit in the last few minutes of baking. My oven underheats, so things tend not to brown -- you may need to turn up your oven to BROIL for 2-3 minutes to brown the biscuits. DO NOT allow to broil for longer or they will burn.  Makes 6 biscuits.

4) Basic Cookies: 
2 ¾ cups MASTER MIX
½ cup palm shortening, crisco, or butter
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
2-4 tablespoons water
ADD IN'S -- 1 cup of any of the following (or mix of the following): chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, raisins, coconut flakes, macadamia nuts, rolled oats, chopped candied oranges, etc...

Cream sugar with shortening or butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in master mix. If needed, add 2-4 tablespoons of water until you get a stiff (not crumbly) batter. Fold in any additional flavorings/spices/additions. Drop by tablespoons onto baking sheet.  Flatten cookies slightly with the bottom of a glass or the palm of your hand, as they will not spread. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen 1" cookies.

5) Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb. ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (dairy free version -- shredded daiya vegan cheese)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup MASTER MIX
1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" pie pan or a large baking dish. In a large skillet brown ground beef and chopped onions. Spread browned ground beef & cooked onions in the greased baking dish. Sprinkle ground beef with cheese or daiya vegan alternative. In a small bowl mix together the salt, master mix, milk, and eggs. Pour over the ground beef & cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and/or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Makes 8 slices. Serve each slice with the option of being topped with mustard, ketchup, chopped tomatoes, and dill pickles!