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.



:)

College Kid At Heart

Last long weekend my parents took a mini vacation leaving me the house to myself and a completely empty refrigerator.
On one hand I had the house to myself on the other I had no food.
When I have no food I try to think of the most economical way to feed myself. It usually comes down to one describing word and three ingredients: Pizza. Pepperoni, olives, mushrooms.
Since this was a special weekend (I had a Saturday off and the house to myself) I decided to peruse the aisles of the (not so) local Whole Foods for a special treat: gluten-free pizza crust.
Luckily it was relatively cheap ($4 and change for two frozen crusts) or I wouldn't have been eating that weekend.




My thoughts on this Thursday?

LOVED IT!

It didn't taste any different than a normal glutenous pizza crust. It came out perfectly crispy and delicious.
It is definitely a buy again.


:)

I Think It's Time To Break Up

Quinoa, I want to like you but you keep letting me down. I keep giving you my all and time and time again you give me nothing.


I have a gigantic bag of of you that I would feel bad throwing away. Nothing good comes from any ways I have cooked you. Heck, quinoa you're even hard to pronounce (KEEN-Wuh).

When I saw a post for you in a pudding I thought maybe you could redeem yourself. Boy was I wrong.


Quinoa Pudding with Apricots and Pistachios
By Dinners and Dreams


Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cinnamon sticks (I used ground cinnamon)
1 cup water
3 cups almond milk (I used fat-free lactaid)
1 tablespoon honey (I used agave nectar)
1 teaspoon orange blossom water (I don't know what this is.. it sounds scary)
2 gum mastic grains, ground (optional) (yeah.. no thanks)

½ cup chopped dried apricots (didn't use this)
¼ cup chopped pistachios (or this)

Directions

Place the quinoa and cinnamon stick with the water and almond milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Stir in the honey, orange blossom water and gum mastic. Serve topped with the apricots and pistachios.

4 servings



As much as I wanted this to taste good, it really didn't. So instead of throwing it away I mixed it with yogurt, strawberries, and raisins.






It's not you, it's me.
I love you, but I'm not in love with you.
We could still be friends.


:)

Bread!!!

I miss bread.
I miss peanut butter and jelly.
i miss grilled cheese.
i miss toast.

When I found this recipe I got super excited for the possibility of a PB&J sandwich. I had most (not all) of the ingredients for this bread so I decided to go for it anyway.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
By Elana's Pantry

Ingredients

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¾ cup arrowroot powder (I used cornstarch)
¼ cup flax seed meal ( I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit Mix)
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot, flax meal, salt and baking soda
2. In a larger bowl, blend eggs 3-5 minutes until frothy
3. Stir agave and vinegar into eggs
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet
5. Pour batter into a well greased 7.5" x 3.5" loaf pan
   
6. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean ( My loaf only took about 20 minutes)
   
7. Cool and serve

Makes 1 medium sized loaf of gluten-free bread

This loaf was the most beautiful thing ever. It wasn't the most moist bread I've ever had so next time I will try to put some oil in it. It sure is tasty though.

:)

Thoughts on a Thursday

aww someone ate my half slice of Gluten-Free pizza i was going to eat for breakfast...
ill eat gluten-free waffles instead...
ooo cookies and cream ice cream...
do i like the grey cookiesncream part or the white cream part with big hunks of cookies...
i dont know maybe i should try it and see..
i like the cookiesncream part..
i also like eating ice cream with a fork..
i have 3 gluten-free waffles left and i have 5 gluten-free pancakes left..
ill have one waffle and one pancake to even it up.

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.


:)

Chocolaty Goodness

I'm going to come right out with it... I have misplaced the recipe for these.

So instead I'm going to tell you how awesome these brownies are. And how they are gluten-free.

These brownies are fudge-y. Oh so fudge-y. So fudge-y in fact that I kept shoving them in my face.





Once I find the recipe and give it to you I advise against shoving them in your face. You should not shove them in your face as yummy as they are only because the main ingredient in them is a can of black beans. A WHOLE CAN of fiber-y deliciousness. And if you've ever eaten beans you know how your body reacts to them. So either eat your container of Activia or eat a few of these.

Edit: Found it!! Thanks Madeline



Black Bean Brownies
from Intentionally Katie

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional) (I didn't add any but they tasted like I did)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) (I totally did)


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.

• Combine the all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.

• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Yields 16 brownies.

Now that I've more than likely completely turned you off from trying gluten-free black bean brownies all I ask is give them a try. A few family members ate them and had no idea they were flourless and full of beans.

They are just that good.


:)

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




:)

Sick of Staring at Dead Bananas

I don't remember if I mentioned that for my New Year's Resolution, I resolved to stop giving my GI tract problems and chose to go Gluten-Free. This hasn't been an easy feat. I miss pasta, grilled cheese sandwiches, cookies, cake, pie... I could go on forever. I do not have much support which makes it difficult at times. Also I am short on money so I can't go out and buy fancy flours and G-F products.
One day I splurged and bought Bob's Red Mill G-F Biscuit Mix. And this is what I made.

Truly Quick Banana Bread
Contributed by Dana Freeman

Ingredients

• 3 - 4 Bananas, very ripe
• 1/3 cup melted Butter
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup GF Biscuit Mix
  
• 1/2 cup Walnuts-Baker's Pieces
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whip ripened bananas in a mixer or by hand. Mix butter, sugar, egg and vanilla into the whipped bananas. Add in the baking mix and beat for 1 minute. Add the walnuts and mix just to incorporate. Pour mixture into a buttered loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool and remove from pan. Makes 16 slices.

I'm totally going to buy this baking mix again.
It is totally worth this banana-y deliciousness.


:)