Gluten Free Cookies

Thought I would try some gluten free cookies today since the loaf didn't turn out too bad. This recipe is SUPER easy. I stumbled upon it here and followed it spot on:

John’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Yield:15 – 20 cookies depending on how big you make them)
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 c. chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, sugar, and eggs. Stir until the eggs are thoroughly combined with the other ingredients.
2. Stir in the chocolate chips. (I’m not sure why we do this in a separate step, but we do =)
3. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 15 minutes. Turn the oven to 350 degrees F to preheat.
4. Scoop the chilled cookie dough into small balls using a normal eating-sized spoon. Place the cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.
5. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for around 15 minutes. You want to take them out once the tops are getting brown (see picture above). The cookies may still seem a bit soft at this point, but they will harden as they cool.
6. Let the cookies cool for 10 – 15 minutes and then serve with a glass of cold (soy) milk!

MY REVIEW: Wow these are great! Very rich and creamy tasting... hard to eat too many of these. I still can't believe how few ingredients there are in these and neither could Jason. So simple!

JASON'S REVIEW: Pretty effin' good.

Road Trip!

Since 4:30pm Friday, I have traveled a total of 1100km and have made it back home again, safely. Jason had a mountain bike race in Lethbridge today that I tagged along for (he promised we could discuss future wedding plans for 6 straight hours). I do love a good road trip so I brought plenty of snacks. I found these whole wheat goldfish at Save-On:

*Note the bicycle helmet. It fit the theme.

I also made these cookies to take on the road:

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups oats, uncooked
1 (12 ounce) bag Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used "Chipits" and I'm fairly confident any brand you use would work just as well)
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 375°F.

2 In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color (about four minutes) (until my wrist seized).

3 Add vanilla and egg, mix on low speed until incorporated.

4 Stir flour with baking soda, salt and spices; add to cream mixture, mixing well.

5 Stir in oats.

6 Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

7 Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.

8 Bake 8-9 minutes for a chewy cookie. (I took them out after 8 and the bottoms were a little dark!)

9 Bake 10-11 minutes for a crisp cookie.

10 Cool one minute on a cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling racks.

11 Store in tightly covered container.

JASON'S REVIEW (of the cookies): They hit the spot.

MY REVIEW: I must say, the nutmeg and cinnamon really made a huge difference in these cookies! I liked how there was a lot of oats in there too.. made them really dense. Some people on the site recommended adding shredded coconut which I will try next time. I think that would be a great addition.

In case you're wondering, the only concrete decision that was made regarding future wedding plans was that I will not be riding into the reception on a white stallion or a horse drawn carriage and I will not be allowed to sing anything (it's for the best). Jason would like to show up on his bike but that's still up in the air.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies came from Jean Pares "Made-Ahead Meals".

I made the dough last week, froze it and baked today. These can also be done all at once if you have the time.

1 1/2cups brown sugar, packed
1 1/2cups hard margarine
2 large eggs

4cups all purpose flour
2tbsp cocoa
4tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1cup chopped nuts (i did not have any)

Beat brown sugar and margarine in large bowl. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually add to batter, 1/3 at a time, beating slowly until well combined. Last 1/3 should be stirred in by hand as batter will be very stiff.

Stir in nuts (or not). Divide dough into 4 portions. Shape each portion into roll about 2 1/4inches in diameter. Wrap dough in waxed paper. Chill for 1 hour. Cut chilled dough into 1/4inch slices. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Makes 8 dozen cookies (seriously).

*To Freeze: Place rolls of dough in sealable plastic freezer bag. Label. Freeze for up to 6 months. To bake from frozen state, partially thaw to slice dough. Bake as above.

MY REVIEW: She wasn't lying about this recipe making a big batch! I made all 4 rolls but it would be good to have a few rolls in the freezer so you can make fast cookies. It only took about 5 minutes to thaw the dough enough to cut and 10 minutes exactly in the oven did the trick. Very good!

JASON'S REVIEW: They are very very tasty.

Carrot Cookies

I got the Appeal Magazine from Save-on-Foods in the mail the other day and there were a few really good recipes in it. Here's some healthy-ish cookies I made from that book!

1cup whole wheat flour
3/4cup rolled oats
1/2cup ground flax seed
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp baking soda
1 egg
3/4cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2cup margarine
1tsp vanilla
1cup grated carrot (this turned out to be just 1 large carrot for me)

Combine flour, oats, flaxseed, cinnamon and baking soda in a medium bowl. In large bowl, combine egg, brown sugar margarine and vanilla. Fold into flour mixture. Stir in grated carrot. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350.

MY REVIEW: These are really good! It only made about 26 cookies so I'd double it next time. They don't taste as low-fat as they are.

JASON'S REVIEW: ****ing tasty. They tasted really good.