Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Yesterday was our peanut butter and jelly baking day. A few days ago I used Target's Cartwheel to get 25% off of their Market Pantry Jam. With a new jar of jam, I need a recipe to make use of this new bargin. 

Having never made Thumbprint Cookies before, I was not expecting to like them, but these are really good! Good enough, that I had to go back and write down the recipe, since I was just throwing ingredients into the bowl rather haphazardly.

But, I am actually going to make this recipe, again!

These cookies are soft and chewy. They remind me very much of the cookies that are sold by Knott's Berry Farm. 

Having made them, now, I am thinking they would also work well with apple jelly and the addition of 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Perhaps, that will be the next version I make of these Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups fine milled almond flour

1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 large egg or 2 egg yolks (for people allergic to egg whites)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup favorite jam

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

I made this recipe late in the day, after baking for hours. Therefore, I just threw all of the ingredients into the stand mixture. This avoided multiple bowls and allowed me to clean and make the dough at the same time.

To begin with, I put the almond flour in and let the mixer beat out the lumps. Then, I added the all purpose gluten-free flour. While these two flours blended, I straightened up a day’s worth of baking in my kitchen.  I put the sugar, baking powder and salt into mixer while it continued to spin away.

Without ever turning mixer off, I added the egg and vanilla and finally the coconut oil. The oil was added ¼ cup at a time. This makes for a very damp, oily dough.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. Again, your hands will get very oily.

Yes, these are ‘thumbprint’ cookies, but I use a small spoon to make an indentation in the center of each cookie for the jam, halfway down or a bit more. Remember, oily. The spoon works great! Then, reform the cookie into a more even ball shape, as they tend to crack when you make the indentation.

Fill up the center of each cookie with about a 1/2 teaspoonful of your favorite jam. It is probably not a good idea to lick the spoon after filling each cookie, because even though the cookies will be baked, but the jar of jam will be filled with all of those germs. (This is my own personal reminder!)

Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies should be lightly brown on bottom.

Let cookies cool on pan for a few minutes or they will crumble apart, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Read More

Baking with the Husband

Thin and Crispy Gluten-Free Coconut Cookies
http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/thin-crispy-gluten-free-coconut-cookies/



Spending the afternoon baking, the husband wants to join in the fun. He wants to bake some cookies that remind him of Christmas' Past. Still, being conscious of my dietary limitations, he looked up a recipe that was gluten-free, all on his own, and is baking up a batch by himself.

The recipe he found is from the blog, Gluten-Free on a Shoe String.

This project is 100% his own. (And, of course, the people from Gluten-Free on a Shoe String.) I love company in the kitchen.


The husband put ALL of the ingredients into the mixer before turning it on. Everything still mixed together just fine. Stand mixers are just perfect for him.

In typical fashion, this blog post is being written as we bake. I can tell you already, the 5 minutes he says these cookies need to bake is not nearly enough time. When we pulled them out, they were light yellow and not crystallized, at all.

They also have a very candy like sweetness, even using unsweetened coconut. I am adding two more tablespoons of coconut oil to his batter and some salted coconut chips, crushed. Hopefully this will cut some of the super sweetness down.

Otherwise, I think I would cut the white sugar down by a 1/4 cup and increase the salt by 1/2 teaspoon to try and cut some of the sweetness down. Then again, even as I watched, the husband was rather loose with the measuring, so perhaps his cookies and mine would be different in sweetness.

We also increased the baking time to ten minutes. We topped the cookies with some of the crumbled up coconut chips, as well. The added time added a nice carmelly edge to the cookies. Our recipe made exactly 27 3" cookies.

Read More

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Christmas Cookie Time!

I am starting my holiday baking the same way I start every year, with Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies. They are my favorite. I mean, what's not to love, chocolate, peanut butter, deliciousness!

I have already worked up a peanut butter (okay, sun butter) cookie, so I am just going to tweak that a bit. 

There are many versions of this cookie. I am absolutely a Brach's Chocolate Stars purist. They stay soft long after the cookies cool, so you never have a hard time biting into the cookie because of the chocolate. Other, unnamed chocolates have to be eaten all in one bite. Not the way cookies would be eaten.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Ingredients:

24 Brach’s Chocolate Stars

1 cup creamy Peanut Butter

1/3 cup all purpose gluten free flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar light or dark (I use whatever I happen to have on hand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust depending upon peanut butter and personal taste)

1 egg or two egg yolks

Additional granulated sugar for rolling

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat peanut butter, sugars and vanilla together in a large bowl or stand mixing bowl. Add egg and beat mixture well.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt together in separate bowl. 

Then, add to peanut butter mixture. Beat well.

Shape dough into I ¼ inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet or onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 6-7 minutes. 

Press a chocolate star into center of each cookie; they will crack around edges. Bake for an additional 2 minutes. 

Cool a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to wire rack, or they will fall apart. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Read More

Sage dressing with sausage, onions and celery -- gluten-free

Sage dressing* with sausage, onions and celery -- gluten-free

As I work on dressing for tonight's dinner, I am also waiting to hear from my daughter about the birth of my new granddaughter. Perhaps that is what has given me more creative energy than on a typical day. 

The kids are joining us for a post Thanksgiving dinner which will be followed up by an evening of Christmas light viewing up at the local Light Show on Thoroughbred Ave. 

As I made up my typical batch of dressing, I realized I really did not want to get sick again, I like I did last week, on Thanksgiving, when I consumed all of the regular wheat and dairy foods. So, in addition to making dressing for everyone else, I decided to make a batch just for me.

My daughter, who is currently busy with all of the baby business, sent me a recipe for gluten-free dressing a few weeks before Thanksgiving. While the recipe is somewhere within the depths of my phone, I do remember the most important part: cut loaf of gluten-free bread into cubes and toast into stuffing 'mix'. That is where I am beginning.

Once I have the bread all cut into perfect bread cubes, I use extra virgin olive oil to oil a cookie sheet. 

Then, I spread the 'croutons' out upon the oil and lightly oil the tops of the croutons, as well. lightly toss the cubes until coated with oil. Then, using powdered sage or poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, season the croutons. Toss, again.

Put pan into pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Pull out and stir. Bake for another 10 minutes. Stir again. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until nice and crunchy.

I am using the mixings, I reserved from making my regular batch of dressing, to mixing into my baked stuffing croutons. They include Jimmy Dean's Regular Breakfast Sausage, celery, red and white onions. In the past, I have always made my dressing with butter, lots and lots of butter. This year, I used only extra virgin olive oil for all of my frying of vegetables and mixing in to flavor the chicken broth for basting our turkey. 

Because I poured my 'hot' croutons straight from the cookie sheet into a glass bowl, I put a metal spoon into the bowl first, to dissipate the heat and keep the bowl from cracking. Then, I added my sausage and veggie mixture.

Finally, I added chicken stock which has been heated up in the same pan I fried both the meat and the vegetables. This gets all of the tasty dripping from the bottom of the pan, and the heat helps the moisture soak into the croutons. The croutons should get enough moisture to begin to soften, but not be soggy.

At this point, you can add more sage and salt and pepper to taste.

Put into bread loaf pan that has been oiled with extra virgin olive oil and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil for last 10 minutes for crunchier top.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups gluten free croutons  (loaf of gluten-free bread)
1/2 cup sausage
1 stalk celery
1/4 white onion
1/4 red onion
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons sage powdered (this is to taste)
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

*A fact I sadly did not know for most of my adult life: The difference between dressing and stuffing is dressing never gets 'stuffed' inside of a bird, turkey or otherwise. And, since I don't like to stuff my birds, since it slows down the cooking process, I guess I ALWAYS make DRESSING.

Read More

Apple Dried-Cranberry Pecan Praline Gluten-Free Pie

Apple Dried-Cranberry Pecan Praline Gluten-Free Pie
We are using a pre-made gluten free pie crust for this recipe, because EASY!!!

INGREDIENTS:
FILLING
5 large apples, peeled cored, and sliced - we used Honey-crisp apples
1⁄2 cup dried cranberries
1⁄2 cup praline pecans ground up in food processor until they about same size as dried cranberries
1⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons gluten-free flour (you can use praline pecans  processed to fine powder in place of gluten-free flour)

CRUMBLE TOPPING
1⁄2 cup quick cook oats
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 Tablespoons non dairy butter melted
1⁄4 cup praline pecans ground up in food processor until they about same size as dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Mix apples, cranberries, sugar, lemon juice, pecans together in bowl; set aside.

Place filling in the center of the pastry, heaping in center. Because gluten-free crusts tend to fall apart, I made a crumble topping in place of the second crust to use on top of the apple cranberry filling. 



Mix oats, brown sugar, melted butter and crumble mixture over apples crumble. Finish with 1⁄4 cup praline pecans ground up over the top.


Bake for 35 minutes on cookie sheet to prevent filling from bubbling over into oven.

Remove pie and cover with foil to prevent crust from burning. Bake for additional 15 minutes. 

Take pie from oven and remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Pie can be stored at room temperature until served. Serves 8.

Read More

Lemon Orange Zest Snowballs - Gluten Free

Lemon Orange Zest Snowballs - Gluten Free 

It has been a while since I added any new recipes to this blog. With the Holidays quickly approaching, I am well aware that all of my cookie recipes are filled with butter, wheat, eggs and deliciousness. 

Basically meaning, I can't use any of them. In the weeks since I last put up any recipes, I learned that wheat and dairy products are really bad for me. That, and sesame. Cheating on Thanksgiving put me in bed for three days. 

But, things like eggs and peanut butter, I have a little bit more wiggle room. So, today, I am going to work on a recipe that has egg white in it. My plan is to only use a little of certain ingredients, here and there, and substitute in places where it works easily. Or at least easier.

Lemon is one of my favorite flavors, so I have been looking at many recipes over the past several weeks. This is what I have developed from putting several different ideas together. This recipe has no butter or oil, only almond flour and other basic ingredients.

And, in typical fashion, I have lemon juice, but no lemons, so I am going to use orange zest instead of lemon zest. That way, not only do I get zest, I get to eat the fresh orange. Citrus season in California is fabulous.

These cookies turned out delicious! This is definitely a recipe to be repeated!

Ingredients

2 large egg whites

2 cups fine milled almond flour

1 cup white sugar

1 large orange zested (orange for snacking)

3 cranks of Himalayan pink salt mill or 1/8 teaspoon

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

powdered sugar to roll cookies before baking

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350°F 

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Start beating egg whites at medium speed in stand mixer until soft peaks form or use an electric hand mixer until the same soft peaks occur.  In separate bowl, mix almond flour and white sugar with a fork. Stir out majority of lumps from almond flour. Mix orange zest, lemon juice and salt into flour mixture. Add to egg mixture in two batches. Beat on medium until combined. Dough will be sticky.

Roll dough into 1 1/2 tablespoons size balls, and then roll them in the powdered sugar. Place cookies on parchment papered cookie sheet. Cookies do not spread, so as long as they don't touch, you can put them close together. 

This batch makes about a dozen and a half cookies, so depending on size of your pan, you could possibly bake entire batch at one time.

Bake for 15 to 16 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies will be lightly browned. Cool slightly then remove from baking sheet to keep cookies from over-browning. 

Cookies will have a firm outer edge and soft gooey middle. Because of soft nature, they are best when eaten within a couple of days.

Read More

Peace out, everyone.

I went to the farmer's market in Victoria Gardens last Friday. I tried to buy some gluten-free bakery goods at one of the stands. "We only sell good tasting bread here," the man said. Well, I would eat 'good tasting bread' if it didn't kill me.

It is true, that I have yet to find any good tasting gluten-free bread. They are all brick heavy and unpalatable. Perhaps, part of that problem is also, the no dairy and no soy issue. It makes it tough to find bakery products made with NO ingredients.

Yet, every single day, I see recipes of all these delicious foods I can never eat. Cheesy garlic bread and gooey drippy pizza. Sweet sugary caramel rolls and cream cheese taco dips. I really miss cheese! All these things from a world I am not part of anymore.

In my freezer, I have some raspberry sorbet. Milk free, of course. My fridge has some coconut milk 'yogurt', which is as bad as it sounds, olive oil 'butter' and almond milk. Yes, I am leading an alternative lifestyle. Sunflower seed butter now replaces my peanut butter and my flours are now rice, tapioca and potato.

And, even though I really loved 'just plain milk' and all of its delightfully delicious benefits, like ice cream and yogurt, I was biologically made for a relationship with almond milk. We have our own little place in the dairy section. And just to make you jealous, it doesn't even need to be refrigerated before opening. Plus, Almond Dream praline crunch ice cream is to die for.

When I go out to eat, I do get special treatment at some places. Like Blaze Pizza always changes gloves and makes my gluten-free crust on a separate surface away from their regular pizza line. Blaze Pizza is like Subway; they make your pizza to order as you walk along.

People get so annoyed at me when I slow the line down. Never mind the 'dying' with gluten part. You would think I wanted my own Gluten-free Parade, the way they suffer through the extra 30 seconds it takes to make my crust.

It reminds me of how upset some parents get that they can't send peanuts to school, anymore. Or any homemade treat, for that matter. The fact that another family's child may die seems completely irrelevant to the wants of some people.

"I have always sent my favorite homemade peanut buttery Scotch-a-roo bars, before, and if I can't now, it just isn't fair to our Jimmy Joe, cuz they're his favorite."

As I rage against this unfair world, where the gluten, dairy, soy tolerant people control my destiny, I will continue my quest for some 'tasty' gluten-free bakery products. Right now, I am comfortable with my ability to remain in anonymous obscurity, most of the time.

I just hope there will never come a time, when I will have to wear a tiny loaf of bread badge, stitched up with 'Gluten-Free', on my jacket, for all of the world to see.

Peace out, everyone.

Read More