Gluten Free Peanut Butter Honey Cookie Recipe (Casein Free, Soy Free, Egg Free)

Is there anything better than a good peanut butter cookie? My husband doesn't think so. He actually asked for these over chocolate chip cookies the other day. I checked his forehead to make sure he didn't have a temperature. No worries, he's okay...

These cookies are another venture into egg free baking. As I've found so far, cookies are extremely forgiving... and honestly it's so easy to make them without eggs. Plus when you use a ground flax seed "egg replacer" you get some amazing benefits from the wonderful fiber and the healthy omega 3 fatty acids that are in the natural oils of flax seeds. For more information on the benefits of adding ground flax seeds into your diet, please visit this site.



Peanut butter cookies were one of the first cookies I learned how to make as a child. I remember bringing them to many a church potluck. This version is actually modified from the recipe that I used as a girl.

Spring is here and I'm planning on featuring a delicious array of easy recipes using fresh summer fruits and vegetables. What are your favorite things to make during the spring and summer? Do you have any recipe requests? Please share your thoughts in the comments on these cookies and on recipes you'd like to see this spring and summer.


Gluten Free Peanut Butter Honey Cookies
Created by Carrie @ Gingerlemongirl.com
(Gluten Free, Soy Free, Casein Free, Egg Free)
Printer-friendly recipe

Wet Ingredients
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 4 tablespoons hot water, set aside to let gel

Dry Ingredients
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl mix coconut oil, peanut butter, sugar & honey together until very smooth. Add in the gelled ground flax seed mixture. Set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir well. Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into your hands and roll the dough into a ball. Place balls onto the cookie sheet. With a fork flatten the peanut butter cookies. Place in preheated oven and bake for 7-9 minutes until cookies are golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5-10 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack. Eat & Enjoy!
Store cookies in an airtight container, if there are any left to store! :-)

Soft, Chewy, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve been experimenting with creating a lot of egg free recipes lately. I like being able to have the flexibility to bake egg free. Gluten free can be a challenge, but I think egg free is an even greater challenge and it’s fun to see what can happen in my kitchen without using eggs.

Today’s chocolate chip cookies are a little edgy. They are soft, chewy, and prone to be overeaten.

I’ve been using honey a lot in my baking lately and one truly nice thing about honey is that makes cookies soft and delicious.

Honey is a humectant. It help to keep baked goods moist naturally. I like that.

I adapted this recipe from a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe in the old Betty Crocker standby. The thing I love about converting “regular” recipes is that you have to be creative. Try what works. Use what’s in your pantry. See what happens.

I think you’ll like how these cookies turned out. They are not super crunchy on the outside like my favorite chocolate chip cookies, but these are perfect for those of you who want a chewy, soft throughout cookie!

The combination of using a “flax egg” (1 tbsp. ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp. HOT water & set aside to gel) + the addition of honey in these cookies creates the chewy texture and soft mouth feel.

Feel free to substitute raw honey, agave nectar, or even molasses in place of the honey used in this recipe. I think molasses would add a raw kiss of spunk to your cookies!

Enjoy!




Gluten Free Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten Free, Casein Free, Egg Free, Soy Free, Corn Free
Created by Carrie Forbes @ www.gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-Friendly Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl add:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
  

Thoroughly mix the above ingredients until they are “creamed” together using the paddle of your stand mixer or by hand, using a fork.

In a small bowl mix together your "flax egg" (or use 1 large egg):

• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 3 tablespoons HOT water (I generally use boiling water, I think it helps the flax to “gel” better)
  

Let this mixture set aside for 5 minutes to “gel.” Once “gelled” mix into your wet ingredients.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the following dry ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 1/3 cup brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup arrowroot starch
• ¼ cup potato starch
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Slowly add the whisked dry ingredients into your wet ingredients.

Lastly fold in:

• 1 cup allergen free chocolate chips
• *Optional: 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
  

Drop cookie batter by teaspoons onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies have spread into a 2-3” diameter and are golden brown on the edges. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on pan for 2-3 minutes. Move cookies to wire cooling rack until completely cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes 24 (2-3”) cookies.

Gluten Free Honey Oat Bread Recipe

homemade honey oat gluten free bread with spread with homemade ghee

I generally make gluten free bread once a week. I have 2-3 basic yeast bread recipes that I use and nearly every week I end up creating a variation of one of those recipes.
This week my creation is a simple yeast bread made with the addition of honey, oats, and as always my favorite ground flax seeds for extra fiber.

My sweetener of choice lately has been honey. It’s easy to find, it’s easy to get locally and it’s available in nearly every grocery store around. I also just love the taste.

Oats are an incredibly healthy source of whole grains and fiber. With the availability of gluten free oats through Bob’s Red Mill, I add them into nearly everything I bake!

Today’s bread is simple to make. It’s a variation of Bette Hagman recipe used here. Generally when you make gluten free bread, you have a relatively long list of ingredients. Please don’t let ingredients get in the way of making homemade bread. If you can make a boxed cake mix, you can make gluten free bread. I promise it really is not as hard as you might imagine!



Gluten Free Honey Oat Bread
(Free of gluten, soy, & casein)
Created by Carrie Forbes @ www.gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe


In a large bowl whisk the following dry ingredients together & set aside:
½ cup white or brown rice flour
½ cup arrowroot starch
½ cup potato starch
½ cup sorghum flour
3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
3 tablespoons gluten free certified rolled oats
1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt


In a smaller glass or plastic bowl mix together:
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water (heated to 100 degrees)
2 teaspoons yeast

Allow this mixture to set aside on the counter for about 5 -10 minutes. The mixture should become bubbly and “yeasty” smelling. This is called “proofing” your yeast to make sure that it is active.

Next, in another large glass or plastic bowl, mix the following wet ingredients together:
2 tablespoons canola oil -or- grapeseed oil
2 large eggs

Mixing the Dough:
Add the proofed yeast mixture to your wet ingredients. Either using a stand mixer or a large bowl and a wooden spoon: slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. If mixing by hand stir continuously until the dough is like a VERY thick cake batter. You need to mix it for several minutes to allow the xanthan gum to work into the dough. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes.

Letting the dough rise:
Spritz an 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan with non-stick spray or olive oil. Using a spatula pour the bread dough into the loaf pan, and shape with the spatula. You may need to wet the spatula with water so it will not stick to the dough to shape the loaf. Cover the pan with a tea towel -or- cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been spritzed with non-stick spray or olive oil (so it will not stick to the dough if it touches it).
Allow the bread dough to rise in a warm space for 2-3 hours  (1 - 2 hours) until it doubled in size. If you are using an 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan, the dough should rise about 1-2” above the lip of the pan. In the pictures above, I used a much larger pan, so it did not rise as high as a normal loaf would.

** Alternately, if you do not want to wait several hours for your dough to rise, you can preheat your oven to 200 degrees. CUT IT OFF, and then place your loaf loosely with plastic wrap that has been spritzed with non-stick spray or olive oil, in the oven and allow it to rise for ½ hour to 45 minutes until doubled.

Baking the bread:
Once your dough has doubled, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the covering from the loaf and bake for 25-35 minutes. If the bread begins to brown more than desired, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the loaf and continue baking.
The bread will be done when the internal temperature is between 190-200 degrees. Test the bread with a food thermometer.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Bread will keep on the counter in a ziplock bag for 2-3 days, after 3 days, slice and freeze the remaining loaf.


Carrie’s Notes:
Feel free to create a round loaf, a free form loaf, etc… in the baking pan of choice. The recommended size for the best loaf is an 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan which creates a 1 lb. loaf of bread.
This is a small loaf.
I prefer allowing the bread to rise for several hours on the counter as opposed to using the oven. This creates a flavor and texture that is more like “bread” to me.

Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger 2/10 Part 2: Tasty Eats at Home

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa, even though it would sound a lot prettier if it was pronounced as it's written imho! lol) is one of my very favorite grains.

I didn't discover quinoa until I went gluten free, and until very recently had never used it in baking.

But quinoa is aboslutely wonderful in salads and as a hot side dish with all sorts of meals!

When Thomas said he was hosting The Adopt a Gluten Free blogger event for February 2010, I knew it was time to make a quinoa recipe I had bookmarked at Tasty Eats at Home some time ago.

Tasty Eats at Home is a lovely food blog that is written by Alta Mantsch. The blog began as a "regular" food blog, until June 2009 when Alta decided to eliminate gluten from her diet due to a number of GI symptoms she was experiencing. She & her blog have been gluten free ever since.

Tasty Eats at Home has a wonderful mix of American foods and international fare. One of my favorite features on her blog are the "Kids in the Kitchen" posts, in which her children help her with dinner and different recipes. You will find fantastic recipes for Gluten Free Churros, Pan-Fried Trout and Baked Potatoes, and Beef Nachos.




The recipe I tried was Alta's "Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Raisins, and Walnuts." I really loved the mix of flavors here. Quinoa can have a slightly bittersweet taste (even after being rinsed) and that paired with the sweetness of the raisins and the flavor of the walnuts was absolutely wonderful! I ate this salad with my lunches for a week and I always looked forward to it!!

Alta's salad turned out much prettier than mine did, I think in part because she used fresh spinach! The only spinach I had at the time was canned spinach and while it did the job, it made the whole salad green! So stick with fresh spinach to make a pretty salad! :-)

Many thanks to Alta for the wonderful quinoa salad recipe and to Thomas at The GFCF Experience for hosting this month's Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger Event!

Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger 2/10 Part 1: The Cinnamon Quill

I spent quite a bit of time last month baking gluten free bread...



Plain 'ol gluten free, casein free sandwich bread made with whole grains and no rice flour... we'll get to posting that recipe around here before too long...




Cinnamon Rum Raisin Bread... don't worry the recipe will be posted here soon. You will want this recipe! Ever miss Pepperidge Farms Cinnamon Swirl bread? You won't after this!




Gluten Free Girl's Calamata Olive & Rosemary Boule. This is one of the best techniques I've ever learned in making gluten free bread. You can use Shauna's technique with nearly any gluten free bread recipe. It's easy and takes 5-10 minutes to mix up your dough... let the yeast work slowly and naturally on your counter top, or even in the fridge... and then make bread. You'll never miss wheat if you try Shauna's bread.




And last but most definitely not least?


Gluten Free Vegan Bread from Jenn at The Cinnamon Quill.

Jennifer is an incredible photographer and baker. Her blog is beautifully designed and her recipes will make your mouth water. All recipes at The Cinnamon Quill are gluten free, and most are also vegan.

When I decided to participate in this month's Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger event hosted by Thomas at The GFCF Experience, I immediately wanted to take the opportunity to make one of Jenn's recipes.

Since I was on a bread baking spree I opted to try Jenn's gluten free, vegan bread. I think it's a necessary skill to learn how to make baked goods without eggs, especially if you already have other food allergies. It is not always easy... but with Jenn's tried and true recipes? You will consider yourself an experienced allergen-free, egg-free baker!

I love that Jenn's recipe for Gluten Free, Vegan, Buckwheat Bread uses a ton of gluten free whole grains (often missing from gluten free baked goods) and her instructions for baking gluten free bread are wonderful for beginning GF bakers!

I did make a few changes to Jenn's recipe. I only used 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast instead of a tablespoon. When making gluten free bread recipes I've found that you generally don't need as much yeast as most recipes call for to create a great rise. Instead of sugar, I used 3 tablespoons of honey and I cut down the xanthan gum to 1 1/4 teaspoons. Also, I didn't have any buckwheat flour, so I used quinoa flour instead.

I actually used Shauna's method of letting the bread rise for a long time on the counter & then baking it, because it is so much fun to make an artisan loaf! It made an absolutely beautiful free form bread! I was able to make 2 (1 lb.) loaves using Jenn's recipe. The end results turned out a beautiful crispy brown crust, and a chewy, lovely center! This is definitely a recipe to learn and keep on hand... perfect when you need bread and just so happen to be out of eggs (you'd be amazed at how often this happens in my kitchen!)

Many thanks to Thomas of The GFCF Experience for hosting the Adopt a Gluten Free blogger event this month. And many thanks to Jenn of the Cinnamon Quill for providing such a wonderful recipe!

Now, if only I had time to try out Jenn's latest recipe for Gluten Free Thin Mints and Gluten Free Oreos! Can we say YUM!

**Later this week I will share another recipe review for Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger from an outstanding gluten free home chef! Stay tuned!**