Snowstorm + cookies = bliss

We've had quite a storm here on the east coast this week.  I have seen people calling it "Snowmaggedon" but I think that is a bit much.  We got about a foot of snow, and it was pretty windy and cold, but nothing like an Apocalypse.   Sheesh.

The big boys went out with some friends and made some money shoveling out the neighborhood.  The two little ones stayed home with me most of the day and we took a sledding break after we got our driveway shoveled out. 

No one wanted to come in, so I bribed them with cookies.  "Come on, we'll go home and make cookies."  It worked. 

I had it in my mind to make oatmeal cookies but Mr. O had other ideas.  He was talking about brown cookies, star cookies and circle cookies - I still don't know what exactly he meant, but when I found a recipe that looked easy, I showed him a picture of the finished product and he agreed.  I started with this recipe for Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers and as usual, tweaked it a bit to make it work for us.  I'll post the recipe below.

Here's how our cookies came out - they tasted pretty good too!

I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips in some of the cookies - they are allergy friendly and so yummy!  And put in some Polaner All Fruit Jelly in others.  Of course, Mr. Picky only likes the plain ones so I had to make a lot of those. 

Here's the recipe the way I made it:

Ingredients:

•4 large eggs

•1 1/3 cup sucanat

•1 tablespoon vanilla extract

•2 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel

•Pinch salt

•2-3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour mix (with xantham or guar gum in the mix) See note!  I started with 2 cups of a rice flour baking mix with guar gum, and the rest Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and about 1/4 tsp. xantham gum.

•1 cup melted, cool unsalted butter OR your favorite dairy-free butter substitute - I used 1/2 cup Earth Balance soy free buttery spread and 1/2 cup canola oil and it seemed to work out fine.

•All fruit Jelly, chocolate chips or anything else you'd like to put on top.  (Optional)

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F / 190C

Lightly grease your baking pan

 

Combine eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, orange peel and salt and beat to combine. Gradually add 2 cups of gluten-free flour and beat just until combined. Slowly drizzle melted butter into the mixture and beat until combined.   If dough is not thick enough, keep adding flour - I used roughly 3 cups to get the right texture, and even then it looked a little looser than most cookie dough, definitely not thick enough to press like typical sugar cookies.

 

Drop dough by heaping rounded teaspoons on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch space between cookies - it will spread slightly when baking.  If you want to add jelly or chocolate chips, use a small spoon to make a well in the center of the cookie and add the jelly or chips.

Bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool.

Makes about 36 cookies.

NOTE:  If your gluten-free flour mix DOES NOT contain xantham gum or guar gum add 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite gum to this recipe.

Cyber Monday - Again?

I have been shopping online all day.  My way of avoiding laundry!  I was so good about skipping Black Friday, and then I think I ordered one thing on Cyber Monday.  Today I got notice that it was Cyber Monday (take 2) and I had to look around. 

I am not going to tell everything I ordered because some of it will be saved for gifts and I don't want to ruin any surprises. But this one deal I had to share, from Diapers.com. They have the most adorable ride on car for more than 70% off - and if you are looking for one in pink, they have that one on sale too!   There are lots of other toys on sale for under $5 - and if you add something from their partner site Soap.com, you get free shipping when you spend $25.

This car is priced at $23.39 right now, normally $99!  Throw in something small from Soap.com and your order will ship for free.  And if you click through my link  and use the code below, get another 15% off!   Who wouldn't love one of these ride ons?  I know I wish they made one in my size!

use code:WERI1111

Not valid for existing Diapers.com, Soap.com or BeautyBar.com customers. Some restrictions apply.

 

 

 

Magic Donuts

Since we started Mr. O. on his  dietary changes almost a year ago, I have been dreaming of donuts.  But coming up with something gluten free, casein free, soy free, dairy free and without dyes and refined sugar ... ummm .. I was not feeling confident.  Even before we gave up the gluten, soy, corn and dairy, I had a hard time getting donuts right.   But there is something about fall that makes a person want a donut..  Apple cider donuts, pumpkin donuts, spice donuts ... a hot cup of coffee, bliss. 

Yesterday we reached the point where the craving overcame the fear.  Mr. O. started asking for donuts - specifically "Punchin Donuts" and then it changed to "Magic Donuts."  I am guessing "Punchin Donuts" is how he hears "Dunkin Donuts."  I still don't know where "Magic Donuts" came from, but I figured I would give it a try.  My boy wanted magic donuts, I was going to make him some!

So - here are the magic donuts, with links to the ingredients as found on Amazon - you can also buy most of these items at Whole Foods if you don't want to buy in bulk.

I started with this recipe that I found online and made some changes, doubled it and tweaked a few things because of our food issues.  Here's my adjusted list of ingredients for baked pumpkin donuts - these are gluten free, casein free, soy free, corn free and free of dyes and refined sugar:

1 1/2 cups Rice Flour

12 TBS Tapioca Flour

4 TBS Tapioca Starch

1 tsp Xantham Gum

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Allspice

2 tsp Cinnamon

4 eggs

2 cups of organic Sucanat (sugar)

1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree

1 tsp.  Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Applesauce

1/2 cup Canola Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 - grease a non-stick mini donut pan.  I could not find a donut pan on short notice, so we used this fluted cake pan and it was fine.  You can also use muffin pans, but then you won't have that fun hole in the middle.  Isn't that what donuts are all about? 

In a medium bowl, combine rice flour, tapioca flour, tapioca starch, xantham gum, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and spices.  In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, applesauce and oil until combined.  I used my mixer.  Then add dry ingredients and stir until blended.

Fill each donut cup about 3/4 full - don't over fill.  I saw on another blog that they recommended piping the mix into the baking cups so I tried it - not sure if it was necessary, but it didn't hurt.  I just put the batter into a big zipper bag, cut a hole and started making the donuts.

Bake about 10-12 minutes, until tester comes out clean.  Let cool a few minutes before removing.  (I didn't, but you can, maybe you are more patient than I am.)

For the glaze, I used coconut milk (I found it at Shop Rite, they also have it at Trader Joe's) and some finely ground Sucanat (I just put it into the coffee grinder until the consistency was similar to powdered sugar) - Mixed them together until it was sweet enough for me and then added a little bit of rice flour to thicken it up.  I dipped each donut in the glaze and then I dipped some of them into Sucanat and Cinnamon mixed in a bowl.

They looked and smelled fabulous!

And got a big thumbs up from my taste tester.  The "regular" kids liked them too, which is always a miracle.  They are, indeed, magic donuts!