Gluten-Free Cookie Review

Remember those glorious Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookies I made?
Well.. These are somewhat similar.

After going on a hunt for gluten-free pizza crusts at Whole Foods today I came across some gluten-free chocolate chip cookie mix ON SALE! So naturally I snatched it up. When I got it in the car I thought "hey let's compare and contrast with Betty Crocker's gluten-free chocolate chip mix".
And that is what I am going to do.

At just about $3.50 (on sale at Whole Foods) this mix is decent for its price. It's all natural all organic free range cage free dairy nuts allergen free, whatever etc.
It only calls for an egg and 2 TBS of butter (or oil) which is ridiculously easy (even for someone who is out of butter).





Aside from the grittiness, not enough chips, and the way they didn't come out so pretty, they weren't awful. If they were still on sale and I happened to be at Whole Foods sure I'd grab them.
I'd give them a second chance.



:)

You Can Do No Wrong

Betty Crocker... You are amazing.

Just thought I should put that out there although I think they already know.

What they don't know is I'm a 20-something broke, unemployed, college grad who has been playing with a gluten-free diet. Being broke I cannot afford the luxury of buy all sorts of fancy gluten-free flours and gums that are required for gluten-free baking. So, while wandering the mean baking aisles of the grocery store, I saw this.





I could not/would not pass the opportunity to snatch this super cheap all-in-one box up so I snatched and danced around the aisle and ran to BF all giddy-like (he is no longer alarmed or embarrassed by my excitement over baked goods). After self check out (I LOVE self check out) I took my purchase home where it sat on my shelf for a week or two. BUT! when I finally whipped these bad boys up... ooooohhh man. BEAUTIFUL! DELICIOUS! PERFECT!







Thank you Betty Crocker for making my gluten-free baking life that much easier.


:)

This Is All I've Been Eating Today

They are super yummy. Super chewy. Oh so peanut butter-y. Easy to memorize recipe.

These cookies do not need to be talked up or over hyped and I do not need to say anything more than please make these now because you will love them.



JavaCupcake's Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. In an electric mixer, combine sugar, egg, vanilla and baking powder. Mix 2-3 minutes on medium-high. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add peanut butter and mix until combined. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Mix in by hand the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop 1 ½ inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet using an ice cream scooper.
6. Press down on dough a crisscross pattern with a fork.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake.
8. Let cool on cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes until transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hello deliciousness




:)

I Wait All Year For Pumpkin Flavored Everything

Pumpkin and tacos have been my absolute favorite things lately.

No way will i ever put them on the same plate but separately they are my two new obsessions.

I recently bought two cans of pumpkin. And I would’ve bought more if Target had more. For some reason two just didn’t seem like enough (at the time).

Judging by how many pumpkin everythings I’ve been making lately, two is too many.

It all started with it being Fall. I love Fall. I love the colors, I love the leaves in piles getting in everyone’s way, I love pumpkin, I love Halloween, I however do not love riding my bike on a blustery day and I do not love soup.

I also love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from a local bakery. Being on such a tight budget does not allow me to go out and buy them though.

BUT!

I have found the next best thing.

(And because I’m a poor college kid I only had pumpkin pie spice on hand so that is what I used instead of all the fancy schmance spices)

Streaming Gourmet’s Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Makes about 36 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 brown sugar
3/4 granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
pinch mace
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin and beat well. Then add eggs and beat well. Finally add vanilla and beat well.

3. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, about 1/3 at a time and mix well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon or spatula.

4. Spoon batter onto cookie sheets that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lightly buttered. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let sit for one minute after removing from oven. Then cool on wire racks.

 

 

The only thing I advise is to smoosh them down. They are incredibly light, fluffy, and cakey so they don’t spread. Smooshing just helps them to look like they’re spreading.

 

This amazing recipe made just about 40 cookies and they all managed to get gobbled up. Mostly by me. But I shared! I swear!

 

:)

Cookie Fail?

I have been on somewhat of a kind of vacation of sorts.

I’m at my parents house. I’m on a break from summer break. I can only take so much of my college town.

I haven’t been cooking or baking or doing much of anything this week. Just taking it eeeeeasy. I did make chocolate chip cookie dough. I usually do about once a month. I think having chocolate chip cookies or at least dough around is a requirement for life.

While visiting my parents I have been eating my weight in cherries. My stomach hates me for it too. And it lets me know periodically during the day.

But. I figured having cherries around could be interesting. I cant very well let them go to waste. Duh. So I soaked some chopped up cherries in a little vanilla. Then I added them to my cookie dough.

YUMS!

The only drawback to the cookie is theyre ugly. I know this. They know this. Neither of us are going to skirt the issue. They aren’t pretty cookies. Not in any way, shape, or form. They wouldn’t look pretty to even the most abstract of abstracty artists.

I feel sorry for my yummy ugly cookies. Yumgly.

My cookies are yumgly.

:)

It Was Inevitable...

My 4th of July post... you know you were wondering where it was/what I made/what I did.

I went home for the 4th. We had a lovely inebriated BBQ badminton bash in which we all wore matching t-shirts and patriotic temporary tattoos. But before I left town I made some festive red and blue M&M cookies.
I could have sworn M&M packaged red and blue M&Ms just for this sort of occasion and, after searching through the seasonal sections in big name discount stores and grocers, I gave in and bought them at a specialty candy store.
I used my favorite never fail chocolate chip cookie recipe and slightly altered it.



Chocolate Chip Cookies (or in this case, M&M cookies)
From Food Network Kitchens How To Boil Water, Meredith, 2006


1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks (I used red and blue M&Ms)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt

Evenly position 2 packs in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets (if you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches).

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted (alternatively melt in a small saucepan). Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingedients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Do not do this->Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Push as many M&Ms as you can fit into the balls of dough. Bake until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you liked your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.




Give this recipe a try! They were a hit!




And now... for an update!



Day 6, money spent thus far: $10.25
Had to buy milk yesterday.
Living on 4th of July leftovers.


:)

I Stress, Therefore I Have Lots Of Baked Goods

Baking makes me happy. Everything fades away when I bake. It is just me and my ingredients. There is something oddly therapeutic about baking. So when I found myself having a completely rotten night I climbed onto the counter top, pulled open the cabinet doors, and reached for my baking stuff. I toyed with the idea of orange poppy seed cookies (which me and BF love love love) but it was midnight and I didn't want to have to worry about batter sitting out overnight. Then I saw the peanut butter and knew exactly what I wanted.





Peanut Butter Cookies
by Simply Recipes

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Cream the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugars, cream for 2 more minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into the sugar butter mixture.

2. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.

I'd have to agree with BF and his friends; they are delicious.

:)

what a fine way to spend a rainy friday

After such a hard school week, I figured my spirits needed a pick me up and my stomach needed some cookies so I baked some! I made the bf some yummy oatmeal cookies and I made some delicious chocolate chip cookies. I don't have my own recipes but I do have some pretty failure-proof ones i use.


For a delicious chewy oatmeal cookie...




Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
From Quaker Oats

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional) (but I added it)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.
5. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen


And they all look gorgeous....







For a classic chocolate chip cookie...






Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Food Network Kitchens How To Boil Water, Meredith, 2006


1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks (why not both...)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt

Evenly position 2 packs in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets (if you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches).

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted (alternatively melt in a small saucepan). Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingedients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you liked your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.



Don't they look scrumptious...






Enjoy both on a rainy Friday curled up on the couch...


:)