Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from Alton Brown

As I move forward to cooking and baking more gluten free foods, I’m trying to learn from all different avenues, just as I was before being diagnosed.  After all, it’s not as though I was a chef before; I have many things to learn regardless of my diet!  Nevertheless, I found this recipe (while no doubt craving chocolate), and I liked that I already had the ingredients on hand :)  It’s true!  When you have a gluten free kitchen, brown rice flour, tapioca flour and many other sorts are commonly on hand.

In fact, the sous chef and I have an entire freezer of flour!  I don’t lie, my friends.  I order our flour in bulk from Amazon in order to save money.  In case it’s a news flash for you, diets, regardless of the type, aren’t cheap.  Thus, I’d like to consider myself somewhat thrifty in finding ways to save.

Ok, I digress.  These cookies are amazing!  People honestly cannot tell that they are gluten free.  If you are not familiar with tapioca flour/starch, it’s a sweet flavor.  Hence it’s utilization here!  Also, brown rice flour is surprisingly sweet as well.  Brown rice flour is used in most baking recipes anyway though.  I’d say it’s a staple in GF baking.  I think this recipe is easily my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.  The sous chef and I would highly encourage you baking these whether you are gluten free or not!

Ingredients
8 ounces unsalted butter
11 ounces brown rice flour, approximately 2 cups
1 1/4 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/4 cup
1/2-ounce tapioca flour, approximately 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
10 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 1/4 cups
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.

Note: If you are making this for someone who is gluten intolerant, please use parchment paper on your baking sheet or stone as to prevent cross contamination as best you can.  You should also wash your prep bowls and dishes very well before usage.

Diet Soda Cake

Oh wow!  I can now have cake without so much guilt!  Thank you to Gina for sharing this lovely secret to your everyday box cake :)  Find your favorite diet soda, 2 egg whites, your favorite boxed cake, and your done!  How incredibly simple. 

Because I love the taste of Dr. Pepper, I was determined to make this cake with Diet Dr. Pepper.  The sous chef and I loved the flavor of this cake, no frosting/icing needed, and the egg whites really made it light and fluffy.  Highly recommend this quick and easy dessert!

Ingredients
1 boxed cake of your preference
2 egg whites
10 ounces of diet soda (your choice)

Directions
Preheat oven according to box directions. Spray pan of your choice according to box directions.

Beat cake mix, diet soda and egg whites. Pour into pan.
Bake as directed on box, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
Let cake cool about 10 minutes before cutting.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pour yourself a big glass of milk because just looking at these cookies and reading about them will make you crave some seriously cold milk.  In fact…excuse me while I run to the kitchen to get a glass while I type this….

You think I’m kidding?  I just took 2 huge gulps!

I was itchin’ to bake something sweet; I like chocolate and the sous chef likes his peanut butter.  I thought I had recently seen a Nestie (someone who posts on TheNest.com) post something about Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies, but I couldn’t remember who it was.  Nonetheless, after a quick blog search, I found these on Brown Eyed Baker.  Can you say YUM?!

These cookies definitely stayed moist and chewy and were likely the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made.  The sous chef and I HIGHLY recommend them!

Makes about 16 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter (Krista Kooks used Natural Jif Creamy Peanut Butter)
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.
4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CrockPot Chicken Mole

Let me start by saying that the sous chef LOVED this recipe.  He had 2 servings.  His recommendation was to make it again.  I on the other hand hated this recipe.  So why post it?  Just because I dislike it doesn’t mean everyone else will hate it also.  After all, the sous chef liked it!  For that reason, I decided to share it.

There is some slight prep in getting this recipe into the slow-cooker, but, as with other recipes from this cookbook, it’s not too bad at all.  The hardest part for me was cutting up an ear of corn!

Ingredients:

1 medium sized yellow or white onion, sliced

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Krista Kooks just bought organic thighs, cut off the skin, but left the bones in )
1 teaspoon Mexican seasoning blend (Check here for more info on that)
Pinch of salt
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large ear of corn on the cob (optional), shucked and cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth, canned or homemade
2 tablespoons prepared mole sauce (such as Rogelio Bueno Autentico Mole or Dona Maria brands)
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup (such as Hershey’s)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden, for garnish

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of the crock with nonstick cooking spray and lay the onion in the bottom (it will be the bed for the chicken). Sprinkle the chicken with the Mexican seasoning and the salt.

2. In a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil and add the chicken pieces in a single layer, with the smooth side down.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, to form a nice browned surface; turn the chicken and brown the second side.  Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, smooth side up.  Add the corn sections around the chicken, if using.

3. In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, mole sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, chocolate syrup, and red pepper flakes; stir with a fork.  Place in the microwave to warm the sauce and melt the peanut butter a little, but don’t worry; the sauce will melt together during the slow cooking.  Pour the mole sauce over the chicken in the crock.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours (or on LOW for 6 hours). 4. Remove the chicken and corn with a large spoon.  Serve 2 thighs and 2 pieces of corn per person, sprinkled with the sesame seeds.

Chocolate Peanut Buddy Bars

First off, Happy Anniversary to my fabulous sous chef :)  Two years and counting!
Man, I can go from diet friendly to diet enemy in just one post.  Eh well.  Chocolate is my friend and never my enemy; what are you going to do?

These didn’t last long in our 2 person household!  I actually tried to make them SOMEWHAT healthy by using this type of peanut butter: Natural Jif Creamy Peanut Butter.  No trans fat and lots of protein!

Ingredients

1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (11.5-ounce package) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Beat peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat in flour and salt. Stir in 3/4 cup morsels. Spread into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining morsels. Let stand for 5 minutes or until morsels are shiny; spread evenly. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

I didn’t add chocolate chips on the top as the recipe called for, but I’m sure that would add more to your taste if you wanted to do so.  We liked them as is :)

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake

It doesn't happen very often, but I was really craving a cake recently. I wasn't interested in heading to the store for any ingredients. I just wanted a basic cake with some creamy frosting. I was confident I could find something I liked to match those cravings!

I did find a tasty recipe on Dinner & Dessert for this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, and I had everything on hand to make it! From the sound of the ingredients, I knew it would very very rich, and that's exactly what I was looking for.

As mentioned on Dinner & Dessert, there was not enough batter in this recipe to spread across three 9x2 pans, so I decided to just put this in one 8x8 pan.

Cake Source: Death By Chocolate Cake via Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and Dinner and Dessert

2 ounces unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar

3 ounces creamy peanut butter

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup hot water

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup peanut butter chips or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F.

Grease two 9 x 1 1/2 inch pans. Line your bottoms with parchment. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Mix together brown sugar, peanut butter and butter for two minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and mix for another 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and mix for another minute.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated about 20 seconds. Then add the sour cream, mixing again for 20 seconds. Gradually add the remaining flour mixture. Add the hot water in a slow, steady stream and mix on low to combine, about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and mix for another 10 seconds. Add the peanut butter chips and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Divide the cake batter into the prepared pans, spreading it evenly. Bake for about 22 minutes. If you have 4 inch diameter tart pans like I used, it takes the same amount of time to bake the cake, if not a few more minutes. Use a knife to see if it is done.

Frost tops and sides of cake with frosting.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Frosting Source: adapted from CD Kitchen

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup cocoa

16 ounces powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Combine butter, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth.

My sous chef and I also shared this with a couple of friends, and we all thought it was delicious! Granted, as I mentioned, this is extremely rich, so this cake goes a long way. You don't need a large piece to satisfy your appetite, but it is certainly delicious!

Oreo Fudge Bars

If you like chocolate and oreos, how can that not look absolutely delicious to you?! BakingBlonde was kind enough to share this delicious recipe that she discovered on Allrecipes.com, and I was craving some serious chocolate. Only a recipe containing 4 different chocolate chips could satisfy my craving!

Recipe
adapted from allrecipes.com (from BakingBonde)
1 16oz. package of Oreo cookies
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (I used Fat Free)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (could use another 1/2 cup semi-sweet chips if you like)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325.

Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly spray with PAM.

Set aside 6 Oreo cookies for the toppings. In a small food processor grind the rest of the cookies. If you don’t have a food processor, just pound with a rolling pin until the cookies are fine crumbs. (KristaKooks used a Magic Bullet to finely grind the oreos!) Add the salt to the crumbs and stir to combine. Melt butter and gently stir together with the cookie crumb mixutre. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Coarsely chop the remaining cookies into chunks and set aside.

Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla. Stir frequently until smooth. Spread evenly over the prepared cookie crust. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips and the Oreo cookies chunks over the top of the filling. Press down gently into the chocolate topping. Bake for 20-22 minutes oven. Allow to cool on counter for 1 hour.

Chill in fridge until completely cold and set before cutting into bars or it will make a big mess.

Melt some white chocolate chips to drizzle over the top for some added flavor! Mmmmmm....

Caramel de Lite (Samoa) Bars

Ok, so, you like Girl Scout Cookies, right? If you don't...what's wrong?! Haha! I sold Girl Scout Cookies for like 8 years, so I definitely know how yummy these tasty cookies are, but I never thought about being able to make them on my own! Well, this recipe isn't making the cookie persay, but it is making a bar that is very much like the cookie. It's mimicing the Caarmel de Lite (aka Samoa) Girl Scout Cookies. Erin from Dinner and Dessert originally posted this recipe, and I decide to give it a whirl for a co-worker's birthday. Now you can make these an enjoy a Girl Scout treat while they aren't being sold!

Here's the ingredients and instructions as taken from Dinner and Dessert:

Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping. (I, as did Erin, thought this crust was too thick. Perhaps use a pan with more surface area or decrease this recipe a bit. The cookie crust definitely needs to be thinner.)Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12 ounces good-quality chewy caramels (Krista Kooks used these Caramel Bits)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled. When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Note: You can simply drizzle chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up if you’re looking for yet an easier way to finish these off. You won’t need quite as much chocolate as noted above, and you won’t quite get the Samoas look, but the results will still be tasty.
These bars are extremely tasty and a wonderful after dinner treat. Make these ASAP! You won't regret it :)

Texas Sheet Cake

One of my great aunts makes a chocolate sheet cake every Thanksgiving, and it's gone before the Turkey hits the table! Yes, that means the dessert is gone before the main course :)

Now, many have tried to replicate her recipe and do as well as she can, but no one ever thinks those cakes are as good as my great aunt's. That said, I wasn't going to try to replicate her cake; I didn't even try to ask for the recipe! I do have a Dessert cookbook from Cooking Light that has this Texas Sheet Cake recipe. It looked really tasty, so I decided to make it. I mean just look at the batter!

Yum!

Now, in the recipe, you'll notice that it says you can use a 13x9 if you don't have a jelly roll pan. Obviously you can see that I did that as I don't have a jelly roll pan that is big enough.

I took this cake to my cousin's graduation party on Sunday, and I think it was gone in 15 minutes! I did eat a small slice, and I was very impressed by how moist it was. You really should make this cake and make sure you put the icing on while the cake is hot!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini Cheesecakes

Yet another creative dessert from Krista Kooks! Well, that’s not entirely true; I actually go this recipe from CooksRecipes.com. All I really did to change it up was make them mini cheesecakes as opposed to one regular sized cheesecake. Thanks to my Mini Cheesecake Pan from Williams Sonoma, I was able to create this little bites of heaven! I mean, don’t you want to hold a piece of cheesecake, bite into the center, and then be surprised with warm chocolate chip cookie dough in the center? If you don’t, you must be one of those people that doesn’t like chocolate, in which case I will forgive you.

Another little creative idea that I did with these mini cheesecakes was to alter the crust ever so slightly. Normally, as you might know, when making a cheesecake, you use crumbled graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Now, I know these yummy cookies we all love called Oreos, and those little oreos are just the right size for the base of a mini cheesecake. So, rather than mix the crumbs, butter, and sugar, I choose to have fun twisting open oreos, scraping the cream off, and using the cookies as the base for my mini cheesecakes! I also melt about a tablespoon or two of butter and drizzle a few drops over each cookie once they are placed into the mini cheesecake pan.

After this cookie bottom process is complete, I proceed with making the cheesecake filling and chocolate chip cookie dough mix for the cheesecakes. You can view this recipe to see the original.

Having made these yummy little bites and several other cheesecakes, I’m beginning to wonder if I might be able to come up with my own cheesecake recipe that perhaps doesn’t use a full 3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese. I know there are recipes out there that use sour cream that seems to replace some of the cream cheese. So I ask this question for anyone who might have some sort of answer: is there some ratio or proportion to follow when replacing cream cheese with sour cream? Are there rules that make this process easier? Enlighten me, please!

Graduation Cupcakes Recap

So, Graduations are coming around the corner again, and I wanted to take a look back at post that I helped you all out with a few months ago; Graduation Cupcakes.

There are probably different types of chocolate or other types of candy that you can use as your cupcake topper, but I explain in the post how you can create the ones I made.  It also might be easier now for any of you who might be needing a white graduation cap on top of your cupcake as Ghirardelli is now making White Chocolate Squares!  I saw them at Bed, Bath & Beyond one day :)

In these times of recession, save money for graduation and show you care by making your graduate these yummy cupcakes!

Graduation Cupcakes

Henry's sister, Emily, graduated this December, and I knew there had to be some sort of celebratory goodie! Since I can't get enough of the red velvet cake recipe, I decided to make her some cupcakes using the same recipe. Though they weren't exactly the hit I had hoped, the idea behind them was pretty cool.

The cupcakes and the icing are the same as the previous red velvet cake recipe, but I added a few things on top! As you can probably tell from the picture above, I added graduation hats on top. These hats are 100% edible and really yummy! I got the chocolate squares from Ghirardelli using the dark chocolate mint and milk chocolate squares.
Underneath those chocolate squares are Reese's peanut butter cups that are turned upside down.

As you can see, I used a dollop of icing to secure the chocolate square to the peanut butter cup. On top of the chocolate square, I used a Dr. Pepper Jelly Belly since that jelly belly was the most maroon looking jelly belly to match Texas A&M! I also used a small amount of icing and died it yellow to create the tassle on each of the chocolate squares.

The result came out better than I thought, and it was a lot of fun to make them!

Milk Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Wow, could I take any longer, right? Well, I have some catching up to do, but, first, I have made these cookies that are just perfect to make you feel at home. These are the perfect chocolate chip cookies that aren't the every day run of the mill chocolate chip cookies.

The first time Henry and I made them, we didn't do so hot. Unfortunately, they weren't something we were keeping around the apartment; no no, we made them for our friends David and Christine. I was so incredibly embarrassed to take those cookies to them. However, we made them again, and they turned out nice and yummy!!!

Back in the day, my Dad brought a Nestle cookbook home to me, and this recipe is from that cookbook. Thanks Dad! Here ya go, and go make these now :) They are delicious!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels
1 cup uncooked quick or old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins (optional) (Henry and I did not use these)

Directions:PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture and milk. Stir in morsels, oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are crisp but centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Twist

Time for baking! Tuesday night, I was ready for some sweet after all that saltiness on the pizza. I searched through the FoodNetwork.com site and found the following recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_27590,00.html

I wanted chocolate chip cookies, but I didn't want the same old recipe. So that's why I chose this recipe! These cookies stay chewier than normal chocolate chip cookies, and we really liked them!