Gluten Free "Neiman Markus" Cookies

Okay. So, I'm about to share with you just how far removed from civilization I've been. I have a cookie recipe, apparently from someone named Neiman Marcus, and until today, I had no idea who or what that was.

*Gasp*

Neiman Marcus is a store that carries designer labels. I googled them. They carry clothes that are usually only seen on runway models. Clothes that normal women roll their eyes at and wonder, "Did she not notice her striped shirt and checkered pants do not go with that paisley jacket?" And that those hideous make-your-eyes-cross patterns sell for $1,000 a piece? And we (I'm inserting myself here) normal women notice that these same models look like they've never eaten a cookie a day in their lives? And then, some clueless woman who thinks Google is a Godsend, finds that not only does Neiman Marcus carry make-you-dizzy outfits, but the store also sells cookies!?!

Be still my heart. Finally. A store that caters to the blind and the hungry. Now, that's a place I can get behind.

Just as long as I don't have to wear paisley with my striped wool socks. ☺

Gluten-free "Neiman Marcus" Chocolate Chip Cookies

 



 

~The Players~

 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups brown sugar

6 Tb. granulated sugar

2 eggs

4 t. pure vanilla extract

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1 t. sea salt

3-1/2 cups gluten-free cookie flour blend (*see below)

1-1/2 t. xanthan gum

1 Tb. instant espresso powder

2 cups chocolate chips

 



In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.

 



 

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

 

 

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, flour, xanthan gum, and the espresso powder. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until thoroughly combined.

 

 

Stir in the chocolate chips.

 

 

Drop by large spoonfuls (or cookie scoop) onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

 

 

Bake @ 375F. for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on the cookie sheet before moving to cooling rack.

 

~GF Cookie Blend Flour~

 

2 cups fine-ground brown rice flour

2 cups fine-ground white rice flour

1-1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)

2/3 cup tapioca starch/flour

 

Mix ingredients together. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until used.

 

The flour recipe comes from Mary Capone, contributing writer/chef for Living Without magazine.

 

Enjoy!

 



Gluten-free Spiced Oatmeal Cookies

Now that the weather has cooled, it's time to get back in the kitchen and start baking again. Baking has taken on a new set of challenges since my gluten allergy was diagnosed, but it is still one of my favorite things to do. One of the cookies that I have loved since I was a kid, is oatmeal cookies with raisins and cinnamon. Whenever I think of fall baking, I can't help but think of oatmeal cookies. My kids say they smell like an expensive candle.

I think they smell like Autumn.

And after a little tweaking of an old family recipe, I can do more than just smell them.

I can eat them too!☺

~Spiced Oatmeal Cookies~

 

~The Players~

*use organic, if possible*

 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup organic shortening (Tropical Traditions or Spectrum~but not Crisco!)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups *gluten-free flour blend (*see below)

3/4 t. xanthan gum

1 t. baking soda

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. sea salt

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I use Bob's Redmill)

1 cup organic raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

Preheat oven to 350F.

 

 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening. Add the sugars and mix well. With the mixer still running on low, add the eggs and vanilla; mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

 

 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour blend, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

 



Stir in the raisins and nuts until well incorporated.

 





Drop by rounded teaspoon onto a parchment lined cookie sheet or a baking stone. (LOVE my baking stone!) Bake for 10-12 minutes until a light golden brown. (I found with a baking sheet I needed the full 12 minutes.) Do not over bake! Let them cool on the cookie sheet/baking stone for several minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack.

 

 

Pour yourself a glass of cold milk (or coffee!), grab a favorite book, and enjoy all that Autumn has to offer.

Especially the cookies.☺

 

*Gluten-free flour blend: 1 cup brown or white rice flour

2/3 cup sorghum flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour/starch

 

Sift together. Store in a sealed container.

 

Makes 2 cups GF flour.

Decadent Chocolate Mocha Pudding

In the past week, I've watched the sun rise and set...all from the back end of a cow. I thought with the birth of Maggie Moo, my days facing south were over. But, since the whole purpose of a having a Jersey was for the liquid white gold she would produce, I've spent more time hunched over a cow (and under) than standing upright.

While researching "how to milk" articles, I stumbled across one common statement. Cow's like to be milked.

Sure they do.

Someone forgot to inform Tilly of this little known-only-to-delusional-farmers-fact.

I don't know if Tilly enjoys the slurping sound of a metal machine or not, but I know that she does not enjoy standing in a stanchion. She does not enjoy having her udders washed, even though the water is warm, nor does she like the towel buffing I give her after her mini-bath. The whole process tends to loosen Tilly's bowels and make our usually mild mannered milk cow a little testy. And there never seems to be enough molasses covered grain to soften her mood or stop up her back end.

So, why do I do this twice a day?

Two words. Pud-ding. With all the milk we've been getting, I've only had one thing on my mind. Pudding. And because I'm a sleep-deprived milk-maid with a bruised and slightly smelly ego, it must be chocolate with a coffee twist.

And that is why I'll be watching the sun rise again tomorrow.

From the underside of a somewhat cranky cow.

~Chocolate Pudding~



~The players~

 

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tb. cornstarch

2 cups whole milk

1 cup half & half, or light cream

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I like Trader Joe's 70%)

1 Tb. instant espresso powder

pinch of salt

1 Tb. pure vanilla extract

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. They won't whisk smoothly, but that's okay.

 

 

 



Combine the milk, cream or half & half, chocolate, espresso powder, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the chocolate melts. Slowly pour the chocolate mixture in the egg mixture, whisking constantly. (You may need a little help here.)

 



 

Pour back into the saucepan and place back on medium heat. Continue to whisk until the lumps are gone. Cook until thick, 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour back into bowl, or if you like, individual dessert cups/ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

 

Serve with freshly whipped cream.

Gluten-free Mocha Brownies

Lately I've been stuck in a rut. Before my food allergies were discovered, I would look at recipes from all over the world wide web and feverishly write any recipe that caused my salivary glands to spring into action. Most of those recipes were filled with ingredients that I already had on hand. Sometimes I would find a gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or sugar-free recipe that would cause the same reaction. Once I had to go gluten-free (and mostly vegetarian), those recipes didn't appeal much to me anymore.

The other day all I could think about was a big, juicy, grilled hamburger. I wanted it all. The bun, the meat, and the mayonnaise. All of which are big no-no's. But I didn't care. I wanted it and I wanted it yesterday.

Then I touched the hamburger. That's all it took. Just touching the raw meat made my body go into an inflammatory response that caused my fingers to swell, head to ache, and joints to start hurting.

It took 2 entire days for the pain to go away.

It took another 2 for me to stop feeling sorry for myself.

Then something wonderful happened. I realized that I'm not the only one who deals with food allergies. I'm not the only one who feels sad about the things I can no longer have. And I'm not the only one who is having to learn to cook in a whole new way. There are many others. And they have written cookbooks. Beautiful cookbooks. Cookbooks that kick my glands into overdrive. And sometimes, someone else wins one of these cookbooks at a women's luncheon and allows one of the loser's to take her cookbook home so she doesn't feel like such a loser anymore. And sometimes that loser finds a recipe that causes her to jump out of her rut and get excited about cooking again.

And because it's chocolate, life has never been sweeter.

~Mocha Brownies~

(adapted from The Gluten, Wheat, and Dairy-free Cookbook)

~The Players~

12 Tb. unsalted butter

11 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao)

2 t. instant espresso powder

2 t. vanilla extract

2 cups almond meal 

1-1/2 c. organic sugar

8 eggs, separated

confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder, to decorate (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 11 x 13 glass pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter have melted and are smooth.

Carefully remove the bowl from the heat. Let cool slightly; stir in coffee and vanilla extract. 

Add the almond meal and sugar. Mix well until combined. 

Lightly beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl; stir into the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. 

Make sure the stool is large enough to accommodate 2 granddaughters.

Gently fold a large spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder until completely incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until risen and firm on the top but still slightly gooey in the center. Let cool in the pan, then invert onto a cookie sheet or platter, and remove the parchment paper. Dust with confectioner's sugar and baking cocoa if desired.

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

We're calling this dessert "Smokin' Molten Lava Cake", but since I'm all about full disclosure, you should know there is no actual lava in here. Molten or otherwise.

Besides the lack of lava, this cake is also missing some other key ingredients. Namely white flour. No eggs, dairy, or refined sugar in it either. What you will find is pure guilt-free deliciousness.

And this...

Beets! 

Shredded beets to be exact. And while my children were singing the praises of all the other moms who would never trick their kids into eating beets, they couldn't seem to keep their fingers out of the batter bowl!

Score one for Mom.

I didn't want to ruin this cake by taking away the whole guilt-free vibe by adding frosting, so I created a little something special to go on top. And when I say created, I really mean that. I was conducting my own little real-life Jeckyl & Hyde experiment at the stove.

You should know that I do that on a daily basis, but this time it actually worked! Lucky for you...my backup plan was to add the guilt back in...

 

You're welcome.☺

 

~GF Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake~

(adapted from "The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook")

~The Players~

 

2 c. brown rice flour

1/2 c. tapioca flour

3/4 c. organic, unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/2 t. baking soda

1-1/2 t. xanthan gum

1/2 t. sea salt

1 cup grated cooked beets, about 1 large peeled beet (I used 3 small beets)

1/2 c. melted expeller pressed coconut oil

1 c. pure maple syrup

1 c. water

2 Tb. raw apple cider vinegar

1 Tb. pure vanilla

Raspberry Sauce~recipe follows

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a bundt pan with coconut oil.

In a medium sized bowl place the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and sea salt; mix together well with a fork.

For the beets~Trim both ends of washed beets, then cut into quarters. Place the quartered beets into a steamer basket in a pot filled with about 2 cups of water. Place a lid on the pot and steam for about 30-45 minutes or until beets are tender. Let cool then remove the peel and grate. I shredded them in a food processor with a shredder attachment. (The beets can also be roasted in aluminum foil. Drizzle with a little olive oil first, then wrap and roast in 425F. oven for 30-45 minutes.)

In a separate bowl, place the shredded beets, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, water, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Mix well with a wire whisk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well, but be careful not to over mix.

Immediately pour batter into oiled bundt pan and place in preheated oven. 

 

Bake for 30 minutes. (35-40 minutes if using stone.) Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before flipping over onto a cake platter or plate. Serve with Raspberry Sauce.

~Raspberry Sauce~

1 cup frozen raspberries

1/4 cup water

2 Tb. pure maple syrup

2 t. arrowroot powder mixed with 2 t. water (can substitute cornstarch for arrowroot powder)

1/4 t. pure vanilla 

In a small saucepan, mix raspberries, water, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil using a whisk to break up the berries. Add the arrowroot/water mixture and whisk until thickened; about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour over bundt cake. Allow to cool before serving. 

Serve with freshly whipped cream. After all, there needs to be a little guilt.☺

Enjoy!

Happy Dancing and Pie

This is what's known as "The Happy Dance". Currently, I am doing this. While typing.

My talent knows no limits.

Unless I hit my knee on the coffee table again. Ouch.

After another round of needle poking in the neck, I have received the greatest gift for Christmas.

A clean bill of health.

Yes, I still have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, but I do NOT have cancer. Yes, I have a goiter growing in my neck, but it is cancer-free. Yes, I need to follow-up with bloodtests every 2-3 months and an ultrasound in 6, but IT IS NOT CANCER!!! Did you hear me?

I DO NOT HAVE CANCER!!!

Now that this little bump is behind me, it's time to make some pie. Specifically, Hazelnut Mocha Cheesecake. And because I can, I plan on keeping a whole one to myself.

After all, it is gluten-free.☺

~Hazelnut Mocha Cheesecake~



~The Players~

*use organic ingredients, if possible

Crust: 3 cups finely ground hazelnuts

10 Tb. salted butter, melted

4 Tb. sucanat (or Rapadura)

Filling: 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 (8 oz.) cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup baking cocoa

2 t. espresso powder

1 t. vanilla

Crust: Using a fork, mix hazelnuts, butter, and sucanat. Press into 2 pie dishes, making sure to press up the sides too. (It will look rugged, this is okay.) Bake in preheated 350F. oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before filling.

Mix heavy cream and cream cheese together until smooth. In a separate bowl, sift powdered sugar and cocoa together. Stir in espresso powder. Slowly add sugar mixture into creamed mixture; mix until creamy. Add vanilla.

Spread into prepared crust. Chill at least 2 hours.

This makes 2 pies, but shhhh...don't tell the family.☺

Enjoy!



Bribery Frosting

So, remember these little beauties? These are what my offspring deemed Christmas light worthy.

Let me just say right now that I cannot be held responsible for anything I might do while under the influence of chocolate and peanut butter.

I might do something stupid. Something like agree to hang Christmas lights while my Mister lies on his recliner acting sick. Never mind that he's about to hack up a lung, or that his voice sounds like a middle-of-the-night crank caller. Forget that he's feverish, staring into space with glassy eyes, and muttering incoherently.

The big baby.

He just doesn't want to hang Christmas lights.

But our children know how to make things happen. They look for weaknesses. Then they plan their full-on assault. With cupcakes.

It makes a momma down-right weak in the knees, especially since they made up this recipe on their own.

I just hope I didn't agree to anything more than the lights.☺

~The Players~

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter (Skippy or Jif~not Adams)

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/3 cup half & half

2 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, mix butter and peanut butter until smooth. With mixer running on low speed, add cream cheese, scraping the bowl as needed. Add powdered sugar and half & half and mix until smooth. Spread on cooled cupcakes or cake.

Makes enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes.

Enjoy! 

*I don't usually recommend Skippy or Jif "peanut butter" for anything, but in frosting it works better than the natural brands. Unless you like your frosting sliding off the cupcake into a puddle on the counter, use the other stuff. Trust me.☺

Wacky Cake for an Equally Wacky Family

Growing up, my mom would make a cake she called Wacky Cake. I thought it was just her making up a name because she had forgotten the real name, but as it turns out, it wasn't made up at all.

(I also thought she was very unoriginal in her naming of the most amazingly, moist, chocolate cake to ever grace my dessert plate, but that's beside the point.)

This cake is eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-your-head good. Period. It is also made without butter, milk, and eggs, which during the Depression Era were extravagant ingredients that most didn't have on hand. And this is a cake born from that era, without the need for hydrogenated soybean oil, modified corn starch, and polysorbate 60.

My goodness. They were just down-right barbaric. And they probably had a glass of raw milk with their cake too.

Heathens.

One of the reasons I liked making this cake so much was the ease in which it went together. Well, not really. It was more about getting to play in a big chocolate cake-battered bowl and having plenty to lick when I was through. This is all made in one bowl, using one spoon to stir, then poured into a prepared cake pan. Of course, I found ways to use several spoons, a spatula, and a couple of fingers, but that's because I knew how good this was.

And since my mom was busy watching new episodes of "Dallas", she couldn't make empty threats of how I wasn't going to have any of the finished product...

Next time you need a cake in a hurry, forgo the boxed mixes and give this a try. It goes together just as quickly and only has a handful of ingredients that spell-check actually recognizes.

Even better? This has the approval rating from the ones who count.

Teenage girls!

Happy 17th Birthday Amanda Ruth!

~Chocolate Wacky Cake~

3 cups all-purpose, organic flour (I used 1 cup soft wheat pastry flour and 2 cups white flour)

2 cups organic sugar

1 t. sea salt

2 t. baking soda

1/2 cup baking cocoa (sift it to remove lumps)

1/2 cup melted coconut oil (I used refined, but unrefined with flavor would be heavenly!)

2 Tb. white vinegar

2 cups hot tap water

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, optional

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Grease a 9 x 13" pan with some coconut oil. Dust with a little cocoa powder; dump over sink to remove excess.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa.

Make 2 wells in the flour mixture.

Pour melted coconut oil in one well; vinegar in the other well.

Pour hot water over entire mixture.

Using a wire whisk or wooden spoon, stir until smooth. Pour into prepared pan; sprinkle with chocolate chips (if using). Bake for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I don't like to frost this cake, but for special occasions, I'll dust the top with powdered sugar just before serving.

Just make sure that the cook has plenty of utensils to lick while preparing.

Trust me.☺

Enjoy!

Double Chocolatey Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I was going to call these little creations, "Sin on a Platter", but I didn't want to deter you from them with a less-than-flattering label.

Here's what I've learned about Double Chocolatey Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies.

1. In a family that eats whole food healthy 80% of the time, it's important to make the other 20% count.

2. Life is too short to not have that 20%.

3. There are no calories in anything with chocolate and peanut butter. They cancel each other out. Trust me.

4. Denial is a side effect of not enough cookies. Don't give yourself time to think.

5. World peace begins at home. Specifically, the kitchen. In the cookie jar.

6. Since chocolate comes from the cocoa bean, and beans are vegetables and peanuts are a protein, these cookies are practically Paleo...

Too much of a stretch? I didn't think so.

Thanks to my daughter Kelsie, who came up with these delicious little life-sustaining peace makers! 

That explains why she's always smiling!☺

~The Players~

1-1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup chunky, natural peanut butter

1-3/4 cup organic sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 cups unsifted organic flour

3/4 cup organic cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1/2 t. sea salt

1 t. baking soda

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1/2-1 cup chopped peanuts, optional

Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla; blend well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. While mixer is running, gradually add flour to the creamed mixture.

Stir in chocolate chips and peanuts, if using.

Drop by tablespoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Do not grease the pans. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350F. preheated oven. 

Makes 4-1/2 dozen.

If a cute, little grand-punkin is "helping" in the kitchen, only plan for 4.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

I have to be honest for a moment.

I wasn't going to share this recipe with you. I was afraid that sharing this would make it less special, would create a blackberry shortage in America, and would cause riots when the season was over.

Really, I was just thinking of you.

But then I realized that someday I might meet one of you, and you might invite me over for coffee, that might include a dessert, and....well...

See, I told you I was only thinking of you.

This recipe is a combination of several different recipes, some were hits, while others were just okay. Just okay is not good enough when it comes to cobbler. It just can't be.

 Life is too short for just okay.

Cobbler is not to be confused with pie (which has a crust), buckle (strudel topping), crisp (crispy topping that usually includes rolled oats), or a slump (cooked on stove). Cobbler is in a class by itself with its bubbling berries oozing up through the biscuity topping.

Blackberry cobbler should be on everyone's bucket list. If you haven't tried cobbler yet, now is the perfect time as blackberries are at the height of perfectness. I will warn you though; this cobbler is best served with vanilla bean ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

And if you're like me, one serving is never enough.☺

~Blackberry Cobbler~

~The Players~

Berry mixture: 4 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) blackberries

1/2 cup sugar (I used organic, but rapadura would work too.)

zest from 1 organic lemon

juice from half of a lemon

1/4 t. cinnamon

1-1/2 Tb. organic cornstarch or instant tapioca

Cobbler Topping:  3 Tb. organic sugar

1 cup flour (I used soft white wheat, but white flour is fine.)

1-1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. sea salt

4 Tb. unsalted butter

1/4 cup milk*

1 large egg

In a medium bowl, gently mix together the berry mixture. Place mixture in a buttered pie dish or a 9 x 9 casserole dish. Pat it down with the back of a spatula. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together the 3 Tb. sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth.

Make sure your egg is a large egg and not the very small egg that a very helpful boy brings you.

Mix the milk/egg mixture into the flour mix using a wooden spoon. Stir until all of the flour is moistened, but do not over mix.

Drop by spoonfuls over berries.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Serve warm, but whatever you do...

Don't forget the ice cream!

Enjoy!☺

*If you want a more cakey topping, add an extra Tb. of milk to the 1/4 cup.