Sickness and peanut butter

It's finally happened.

Our little one has gotten sick.

He almost made it 10 months without any illness! Alas, for my hubby caught a cold or something from his employee, and that made it's way to That Boy. We've been mostly battling just a fever. But still, a fever of 102.8 is still quite a new thing to battle! He's been handling it ok-ish. As long as I'm constantly holding him. And as long as he has his paci. Or is nursing. ...it's been a long few days.

Mama's little sickie

But my hubby is doing a bit better! His fever has been fluctuating a LOT, and all our Tylenol expired ages ago. (we use it sooo often. Our bottle expired in 2009 and we haven't used it since then to even notice!) Thankfully I've been doing more homeopathic stuff, and we've discovered that for sleeping purposes, a damp washcloth with lavender and peppermint essential oils dabbed on it help to reduce the fever and relax him. Huzzah for that!

So what's a Mama gonna do, with two sickies in her house to take care of? How is she supposed to keep functioning?

Well, I've discovered Pinterest. Finally. And I found the most amazing recipe EVER. Averie of loveveggiesandyoga has this amazing, amazing recipe for peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies. And they're naturally gluten free! No flour! I want to share them with my neighbor, but her daughter is allergic to eggs. I'm stubborn, these cookies are amazing, and they MUST be shared! So I altered the recipe.

Behold, the tweaked recipe for egg free scrumptiousness!

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1 TBSP vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
4 tsp coconut flour
4 oz dark chocolate bar

1.) Preheat oven to 350
2.) Mix all but the chocolate together well.
3.) Chop chocolate in chunks.
4.) Mix into batter. Pour into a container and fridge it for a minimum of 2 hours. (you can fridge it up to 5 days)
5.) Roll dough into balls and drop onto a cookie sheet that's covered with a parchment paper.
6.) Bake in preheated oven for 13ish minutes.
7.) Cool for 5 minutes.
7.) ENJOY



And here's the original recipe, so you can peruse her blog of yummies! Go make these cookies. Now.
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2013/01/peanut-butter-chocolate-chunk-cookies.html

Gluten connected to Itchiness-makes sense to me!

http://health.yahoo.net/caring/10-things-your-skin-says-about-your-health

This article made me so happy! Now I know I'm not crazy! Before I got put on my purge diet, I had these horrible, dry, itchy patches on my shoulder, mid back, and thumb/wrist area. HORRIBLE. I would literally rub the skin raw by scratching it myself, rubbing it on my jeans, the carpet, anything textured enough to make it stop even temporarily. Then, when I wanted to lose weight and I saw my nutritionalist, he said I'm sensitive to wheat and should avoid it for 90 days. (I thought my carb love affair had ended, and spent several weeks moping around the house, depressed over missing bread and cookies. Ha! How things have changed!) Well, I discovered that to avoid wheat, it's easiest to find things that are gluten free. So everywhere I went, I told people I'm gluten free. Those 90 days, after the first couple weeks where my system was purging, I had no more itch! Not thinking of this significance, I had some Christmas cookies at a friend's house. They tasted good-sat in my stomach like lead-and after my gluten hangover the next morning, I realized my shoulder had itchy, rashy bumps again!

Well, well, and the article draws a link to the two. If only I'd been bright enough to connect those dots awhile ago!

Thankfully, since I've been back on avoiding gluten again, my shoulder and thumb are slowly lessening their maddening itchiness. Now I know though, if I want to go crazy, sure, I can eat that cookie my friend made, I can have that soup from the restaurant, I can have a bread sample in the store. But I will pay the price with my sanity later. If that piece of gluten-infested-food is really worth my sanity, then sure, I can have some. But I better make sure it's worth it!

And on that note, now that I'm thinking about foods, I think I'll make some cookies while I wait for my sis-in-law to get home. TBG and I are helping out this week with her at home. I have a valid excuse to make breads, cookies, muffins, foods that are high in carb! She's craving them now that she's on a gluten free diet, and I'm more than happy to fill that nasty gluten void! ^_^

More cookies!

Self control. I lack it.

A week or so ago, my nutritionalist gave me permission to try having wheat, sugar, dairy, corn and oats again if I so desired to. But I was to ease into it, maybe a week of adding in ONLY sugar. See how my body handles it, and then go off it and try a week of just wheat, see how I handle that, etc. So then we can catalog what I react to and how I react to it, and if I think it's worth it to eat ____.

Well....I got a few days of only sugar...then I added dairy, as I was simply dying to have yogurt and kefir again. Anddd then I went to my friend's Christmas party. Any pretense at self control simply flew out the window! She had made this amazing chex/pretzel/M&M/melted marshmallow mix..it was soo good. I could feel the stomach ache coming on, but my tastebuds overruled my common sense, and I ate almost every cookie in sight....the next morning, I woke with not one, not two, but FOUR cold sores on my lips, a horrible stomach ache, a headache, and all my joints felt like my arthritis had come back. It's been amazing. *note, sarcasim in the last sentence* I've gone back off wheat-and my joints, stomach and head have gone back to normal. Today, at another Christmas cookie event, I just had to try two peanut butter blossoms. (I wanted to compare to the taste/texture of the cookies I just made) They were good. And sat like lead in my poor stomach. My elbows and fingers have been hurting since this morning, and my head has had a mild throb to it.

Thank you Lord that it so far seems I can have small amounts of cane-sweetened yogurt!

So now I know. I am officially and utterly staying as wheat/gluten-free as I possibly can. I'm not going to panic about mild cross-contamination. But I am not having baked goods, soups with wheat, cereals, etc ever again! At least, as long as my self-control holds out. It's amazing-I know how awful it'll make me feel, and my tastebuds take over! I really have to work on this problem of mine. If it affects only myself, I don't have much issue with it. But when it affects how I treat those around me? How I treat my hubby? How much housework I can get done? That's a problem. And I refuse to let my own sin (lack of self-control) rule me! Feel free to pray over my newest problem...

But the good news out of all this? Snickerdoodles. Snickerdoodles and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. They rock. I plan to make more tomorrow and bring them to families that need happy gastronomical delights. ^_^

Snickerdoodles

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp sugar
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cup coconut sugar (or white sugar)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp xantham gum
465 grams of TG's all-purpose flour (or you can use-1 cup sweet sorghum flour,  cup superfine white rice flour, 1 cup millet flour and 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch)

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Combine the cinnamon and 3 TBSP of the sugar and set aside for future rollage!
3. Blend the shortening and butter, and then add the sugar. Once it's light and fluffy-ish, add the eggs. Scrap down the sides with each egg, making sure it's mixing fully. Add the egg yolk and vanilla.
4. Now the cream of tartar, soda, salt and gum get added. Beat in the flour mix.
5. Roll the dough in a ball that's a good size to your eye. (I recommend about an inch or so around) Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. After you roll the dough into balls, roll it in that yummy mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Place on cookie sheet.
6. Bake! About 12 minutes or so. You want them to still be soft in the center and the tops just starting to crack a little. Don't overbake-but also don't underbake. (I know, that's so helpful) Let them cool before moving them.
7. Enjoy!

Roughly 50 cookies- 100 calories and 14 carbs apiece

I think they're pretty good cookies. But I feel like they could be better. TBG thinks they're fine-which is good, but I still feel like there's SOMETHING missing or SOMETHING that could be just a tiny bit better. Let me know if you think of what it could be..

But now for the cookie that I think rocks. My new favorite. For this week at least... The white chocolate macadamia nut! Woohoo! This cookie is actually a couple alterations tossed together. It was originally a recipe from Gluten Free Girl for ooey gooey chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Which are good. I will admit that. But...I wanted a good cookie dough that I could add nuts and chips to. And I got it! So here's my recipe for the new cookies:

1 1/2 cups sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup teff flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 stick salted butter, softened
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown)
1 cup coconut sugar (or white)
3 eggs
1 TBSP vanilla extract
3 large handfuls macadamia nuts
1/2 bag white chocolate chips

1. Line your sheets with parchment paper. (This is so standard with gluten free baking, I don't know why I say it still!)
2. Mix the flours, soda, salt and powder. Measure it accurately-every little bit counts!
3. Cream the butters and sugar(s). Add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour, and make sure it's mixed fully.
4. Add in the nuts and chips! Now fridge it all for at least 15 minutes. Preheat the oven and walk away.
5. Walk back.
6. If you want them to be gooey, then make the cooke dough balls large-like the palm of your hand.
7. Bake them for 12-15 minutes. (depends on the cookie size and your oven temp) The tops should be slightly soft still. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before moving or consuming. Enjoy!

When I make them big-I only get 30 some cookies. And they have a fairly high cost for that- 207 calories and 20 carbs each. But if you make them smaller. (ie, average size, where the dough is about an inch wide or so) And you can half the cal/carb amounts. But who wants smaller cookies?...

I really don't want to think of how many cookies or carbs I've had today. I'm making cookies for work tomorrow-and I'm only making enough to bring to work and for the others. Depending on what time TBG gets off work, maybe I'll hit up the gym on the way home..maybe.    x_x

Cranberry Bread and Peanut Butter Blossoms

How has so much time passed?! It's already December and I haven't yet blogged once this month! *bows head in shame* I blame my schedule...

Another shameful thing: my cooking. I've been baking so much amazing stuff that I've gained weight. >_< At least 5 pounds...after how good I'd been, counting carbs, eating healthy, losing weight..holidays come around and the kitchen always smells good and food is amazing and I need to confirm that everything I make tastes good! I'm kinda looking forward to January now, as then I won't feel the need to bake cookies or bread or brownies or sweets every day.

Oh well. At least everything I'm making, I can eat! ^_^

I've had a couple requests for this recipe, so I'm blogging it before I forget to write it down! Cranberry nut bread. Back in the day, I did NOT like cranberry bread. I did NOT like fruit in bread or baked goods. I did NOT like nuts in anything baked. My oh my, has that changed!

This is a lovely, moist bread with juicy bites of cranberry, the crunch of pecans, and the lovely sweetness of Christmas. Perfect as a dessert bread with coffee, or as a breakfast bread on the side of some scrambled eggs. It's healthy-and has just enough sweetness to be versatile. I'm astounded with how much TBG and I like it, as we didn't used to be people who'd enjoy such a thing. But now we are. Amazing how our taste buds have adapted and learned to prefer such things. (but don't worry, our chocolate addiction is still going strong!)

Cranberry Nut Bread

1/2 cup teff flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup TG's all purpose flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 TBSP orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice (it does taste better when it's fresh, hand squeezed orange)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 TBSP mayo
2 eggs
1 cup cranberries (I prefer half the cranberries whole, and half the cranberries quartered)
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Sift all the dry ingredients together. Zest counts as a dry ingredient today. 
3.  Mix all the liquid ingredients together in a separate bowl.
4.  Add the two (wet and dry) together. Mix well.
5. Now for the fun part-add the cranberries! I'd say add about 3/4 of the nuts, so you can sprinkle some on the top of the bread. Or, if you're a nut dork like me, add ALL the nuts to the bread, and chop up more nuts for the top. ^_^
6.  Pour the batter into your pans. If it's one large loaf pan-45 minutes of bake time. If it's 4 smaller loaf pans, then about 25 minutes.
7.  When an inserted toothpick comes out clean, bring out of the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Then cool for a bit longer out of the bread pan.

I will say-the flavors are even better the next day! All the times I've made it to bring to people I've made the same day, so it hasn't had time to set to the even richer flavors-but that's because if I made the day before, there wouldn't be any bread to share! Enjoy the bread straight up with some coffee or tea. Enjoy it warm with some butter melted into it. Drizzle on some honey. No matter how you eat it, it tastes good. 70 calories and 10 carbs a slice. Roughly 35 small slices from mini loaf pans.



And the other new recipe is my personal favorite. But that's because I've always loved my peanut butter and chocolate. Peanut butter blossoms. *ooohh* Soo good! I am going to play with the recipe a tiny bit, see if I can infuse a teensy bit more moisture into the cookie. As it is, it's good. But I want to make it better. Not that I'm a baking perfectionist. ...but I kinda am.

The great part with this recipe is you can make two ways. One way, the traditional way, is with hershey's chocolate kisses.

The other way, the new way, is for those of us who can't have the dairy and sugar in the kisses-use unsweetned carob chips and lightly drizzle a tiny amount of honey on the chips. Mmmm...does it work well!

Either way, they taste great! I'm also thinking I may try melting down the carob chips, adding some maple syrup to make it smooth and sweet, and then pouring a bit into each well of the cookie. That could be really good too! (guess what I plan to try next Tuesday?..) ^_^

But, before I forget, let me give you the recipe, so you can try it at home too, and let me know what you made!


1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup solid shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
1 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (the original recipe called for smooth pb. But I like mine crunchy. You can use whatever you prefer)
Chocolate kisses, unwrapped OR carob chips and honey

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grab your cookie sheets and line them with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients-flour through to baking soda.
3. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat sugar and shortening into one cohesive lump of yummy. Add the egg, coconut milk and vanilla. Once that's blended in, add the peanut butter. (and don't start drooling over the mixer. I KNOW the peanut butter smells amazing, but resist!)
4. Slowly add in the dry mix. Once it's all mixed together, roll the dough into small balls and place onto the cookie sheet. (I made my balls into a bouncy ball size)
5. Either press the unwrapped kiss into the cookie dough, or use a knuckle to create a well in the dough. Sprinkle in some carob chips, and drizzle with honey.
6. Once all your cookies are on the sheets and ready to go, bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie get ever so slightly golden.
7. Cool. And enjoy. ^_^

Makes about 36 cookies. 95 calories and 11 carbs a cookie of peanut butter goodness. If I do indeed change the recipe and make it better, then I'll re-post it.

Well, TBG's fresh loaf of sandwich bread just came out of the oven. Going to let it cool a bit, then slice it and freeze it for this week and next week. Then I'm going to change the sheets on our bed, do a load or two of laundry, eat some lunch, and run out the door for work! Busy busy. It's a good season. We are so blessed, are we not? Enjoy what the Lord has blessed you with-it is abundant!

Cookies!

For some reason, I've been craving every single carb-y thing that's bad for me lately. Donuts, bagels, cake, cookies, bread, pasta... So far, I've succesfully made the cake, cookies and bread. I buy really yummy brown rice pasta. I have a recipe for donuts. And I have a recipe for bagels. (soo gonna try the donuts sometime soon!)

But when I was reminded that I had signed up to bring 3 dozen baked goods today, I knew I had to make cookies. I wasn't too sure which kind of cookie I wanted to make, but I knew I wanted cookies. So I looked around a bit, and then decided. I was going to make the spicy molasses cookies that Shauna makes (gluten free girl and the chef) and I was going to make the apple quinoa cookies with dates and walnuts that Natalie makes (gluten free mommy). I hit it right on. The cookies are very different-and soo good in their own unique way! My hubby loves the molasses cookies. I prefer the apple quinoa cookies. (Which is funny, because those are the closest I can get to an oatmeal cookie right now. Even though, a year ago, I HATED oatmeal cookies!)  My parents really liked the molasses, our friends from Bible study really liked the apple quinoa. Everyone really liked both-but they each had their preference. Fine by me!

This Thanksgiving, I'll be making an apple pie and molasses cookies. I think that sounds most excellent. ^_^ And we'll see what we cook up for Christmas... For tonight's Bible study, I'll be making more fresh cookies-both types-as well as bringing some tart green apples to lightly bake with maple syrup and mapled pecans. Tonight will be LOTS of food for only 6 adults. (granted, we'll have a 1 year old, and 2 preggo ladies, so that's gotta count for something, right?...)

I really do hope that these posts can encourage anyone who's new to gluten free. I'm still learning as I go, but hopefully this will give a bit of a sounding board to spring from! And maybe, someday, I can grow my Pampered Chef business into something that's more directed just for the celiac community and the lactose free community, and all the different groups with allergies. I know I'm tired of going to events like that where I can't eat anything! I can't be the only person out there like that.

But cookies. That's what we want for today. Just cookies.

Spicy Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup arrowroot
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup coconut sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses

1. Combine the butter and sugar. Once that is incorporated, add the eggs, and then drizzle in the molasses. Once that's fully mixed, stop the mixer. (if using one)
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. I highly recommend sifting it all together, but the world won't implode if you don't.
3. Slowly add the flour to the wet mix. (you can turn on the mixer now) Mix thouroughly.
4. Now the hard part. Put that dough in the fridge. For at LEAST an hour. It's best if overnight.
5. Once enough time has passed, preheat the oven to 350.
6. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls about a tablespoon size. I use the palm of my hand to gently squish them down slightly, so they don't roll off my sheet. Place the balls about 2" apart.
7. Bake for 15 minutes. They should be slightly browned on the edges, and have a bit of "give" in the center. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before transfer. I slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto the cooler counter top to help cool them faster if in a hurry.  
8. Allow to cool a bit more. Grab a mug of coffee (or milk for you people's who can) and dig in!

When you make them into small balls, you can get about 54 cookies, at 60 calories and 7 carbs apiece!

Want to check out the original recipe? http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/34-cup-sorghum-flour-12-cup-tapioca.html  Shauna is amazing! And speaking of amazing, she and her hubby Danny are pulling together tons of gluten-free recipes for Thanksgiving! TONS! If this year seems a bit darker and more depressing because it's a first time around for the holidays, you have GOT to check out their blog! I promise you, you will not be disappointed. It has been a very bright spot of warmth and encouragement, and has really blessed me with coping through the last couple months! Say yes. It is possible. And if you try out any of the recipes, or post your own recipe, link it to this post-http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2010/11/gluten-free-thanksgiving-2010.html . They have a raffle going on for items to help start the newbie gluten free chef. They announce winners next Monday, the 22nd. Can we say awesome power couple?!

And you have to check out their cookbook! It has been phenonomal. Remember that pumpkin soup recipe I made? It's from that cookbook. (only, the recipe in the cookbook doesn't have my dairy-free substitutions. Which means it probably tastes even BETTER than what I posted!) Pear apple tart. Aoili dip. Breakfast recipes. Dinner recipes. Recipes that I can read and understand and make. And it's a story too-how she got diagnosed, how they met, how they married, and eventually the newest blessing in their life-little Lu. I HIGHLY recommend asking for that book for Christmas! For gluten-free folk and those who are not-the food is superb and you'd never be able to tell the difference! Go add that book to your wishlist. Now. And then come back and finish reading this post. ^_^

And I'm making it super easy. You can't say you couldn't find it now-I've even got the link for you!

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Girl-Shauna-James-Ahern/dp/0470419717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289837331&sr=1-1

And now that you've done that, here's the other cookie recipe of goodness and delight. My new favorite, the apple quinoa+d+w. My new name for it. Because otherwise it's too long to write out! *laughs*

Apple Quinoa+D+W Cookies

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 cups quinoa flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 oz. pitted dates, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup apple, chopped
2 cups coconut sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat butter and sugar until combined, then add the eggs and vanilla.
2. Keep the dates, apple and walnuts separated for now.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Slowly add the dry to the wet, mixing constantly as you go. Add in the dates, apple and walnuts. Once it's just mixed, you're ready.
4. Fridge for an hour or so.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 and pull out that dough! Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1-2 TBSP sized balls. I made mine small, but then I had more cookies to eat. ^_^ Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Once the edges of the cookie starts to turn brown just slightly, they are done and ready to be pulled out. Allow to cool before transfer and consumption.

When I made my batch, and I admit I made the cookies smaller, I got about 60 cookies from the batch. Those were 110 calories and 15 carbs each. And if you want to see Natalie's original recipe: http://glutenfreemommy.com/apple-quinoa-cookies-with-dates-and-walnuts/ I really like alot of Natalie's food posts. I'm just sad because she hasn't posted anything new in quite awhile. I'm really hoping everything is ok with her and the family..

These women are amazing. It is thanks to ladies like them who blog that I get recipes and recipe ideas and can enjoy life as a gluten free woman. Thank you Lord for blogs and people with creativity! ^_^

Sunday Adventures

So, as my little tiny icon picture suggests, I like chocolate chip cookies. But with a no sugar, no dairy and no wheat diet, you'd think I couldn't ever have any. Wrong.

I have been most stubbornly against the idea of surviving the next 90 days without any cookies of any type. And I have found a recipe that will suffice quite well for when I need that cookie fix. Granted, it's not true chocolate chips, it's homemade carob pieces. (carob chips have corn syrup and/or cane sugar in them, mind you) But even with carob pieces, they are still cookie enough for me. And they are yummy too! I want to experiment a bit more with them, try to make them a tiny iota less cakey, but oooohh are they good as is! Huzzah!

The only "problem" with these cookies are these aren't cookies that you can just whip up some dough and toss it in the oven. No, these need to be premeditated yumminess. Once the dough is made, it needs to be fridged for AT LEAST 36 hours. That's right. Thirty six hours, a day and a half. So pre-plan when you'll want the cookies. I made the dough Friday night, so it'd be technically ready Sunday morning. I wanted it ready then, so after church we could come and make cookies. ^_^

We actually went out to eat for lunch today. It wasn't our original plan, but when at church, one of the ladies mentioned that Red Robin typically has a separate frier for french fries for celiac's. *WOO HOO!* So we went there to check it out. They have a gluten free menu that they need to print for each customer-so we got one printed for me. I decided that I was actually craving a burger more than anything, so protein burger was my pick. It was only a burger patty with onions, ketchup and a lettuce wrap. It was rather good-considering it had no bun. And I had to get fries, of course. (We drove by Wholefoods and picked up a sugar-free ketchup that I could use)

You can see the ketchup in the background...such amazing fries!

TBG got a whiskey river BBQ hamburger...the BBQ smelled good, but I also just bought a bottle of BBQ sauce, and I'll need to try that out sometime soon. ^_^ Maybe I'll do BBQ chicken or steak later this week....

It was so good to have that hamburger...we walked through the mall for a bit, and then decided to head home. Upon arriving at home, I turned on that oven, and got prepared for some hopeful delights.

The smell wafting through the house was sign enough that something was right. Once I brought them out of the oven and cooled them, it was time for the test. And it was AMAZING! I'm so excited! Now for the best part-sharing the recipe! Any suggestions for altering them to make them slightly less cakey is appreciated.

Carob chip cookies

1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup potato starch
1 cup amaranth flour
1 TBSP xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup + 2 TBSP maple syrup
3/4 cup + 3 TBSP honey
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

How to make yummy:

1. Sift all dry ingredients, first separately, and then together.
2. Cream together butter, honey and maple syrup until just combined and then 1 minute more. Add 1 egg at a time, mixing fully each time. Add vanilla, mix just barely.
3. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Add carob chips/chocolate chips. Gently stir in by hand.
4. Pour batter into ziploc bags and fridge for 36 hours minimum.
5. 36 hours later, roll large dough balls-about a golf ball size-onto ungreased cookie sheet. (With my cookie sheet, I get about 6 cookies per sheet) Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring onto cooling rack. Enjoy!

I only made 6, but we ate 3 before I took the picture

Each cookie is roughly 130 calories of yummy delight!