Nutella Cookies

I had an incident while baking with Nutella a few years ago.  It was actually on a Superbowl Sunday.  This was well before I was gluten free, and I was making some kind of banana Nutella brownie swirl thing.  Well, brown sugar was an ingredient, but mine was all hard and wouldn't pack.  So, I put a bunch of it into a plastic measuring cup, and microwaved (on what I thought was a low power) for about 30 seconds to get it to soften up.  When I took it out, I pushed the sugar down with my finger.  Turns out, I had not microwaved on low, and all the sugar underneath the top layer had turned into MAGMA.  Which if course, oozed out, stuck to my finger and burned it so badly that when I went to the health center on campus Monday, I was told I was so lucky that I hadn't lost that part of the finger.  Don't think I didn't finish making the brownies or go to the Superbowl party though.  And, if I remember correctly, my surrogate favorite team (the Green Bay Packers) won that year.  Despite the Packers' triumphant win, somehow, I haven't baked with Nutella since then.  I don't think it was a conscious effort, but it's definitely silly, mostly because Nutella is amazing.  You know what else is good, and might also be good in these cookies?  The flavored Nutella-esque swirl creations that they sell at World Market.

They also have banana chocolate, and sometimes, strawberry chocolate.  I think those would be equally good in this recipe.  Anyway. . . 

You guys, these are CHEWY.  Yes.  A gluten free cookie that is CHEWY.

Not:

or

No, it's the mouthfeel that you MISS a lot when you go gluten free.  I've always liked things that were chewy.  I love gummy candies, licorice, and even used to beg my mother to make my cream of wheat with "chewy lumps" (which, she could always do better than anyone else in the world).  But, since going gluten free, my chewy moments have been few and far between.  So, this cookie?  Really does it for me in both flavor, and chew departments.

Nutella Cookies from Gluten Free on a Shoestring

1 c. (140 g.) high-quality all-purpose gluten free flour (more on this below)

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (if your brand has it already, skip this)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 c. white sugar

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

4 tbsp. Nutella

1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used 1 ounce chocolate chips, I lived to tell the tale)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 extra-large egg, room temp, lightly beaten

1.  Preheat oven to 325.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  Mix flour, xanthan gum (if not omitting), baking soda, salt, white and light brown sugar in a bowl.  Make sure to eliminate any lumps in brown sugar (I crushed some of the particularly stubborn pellets with my fingers).

3.  In a small sauce pan on low heat, melt butter and Nutella until smooth.  Remove from heat and add chocolate.  Mix until mixture is smooth.  Add vanilla extract and stir.

4.  Pour chocolate mixture into dry ingredients.  Mix to combine (this will seem very crumbly).  Add the egg and mix.  The mix will still seem crumbly, but will come together.  Knead the dough until smooth.

5.  Pull off a small piece of dough (Nicole says about 1 inch in diameter or about 30 g).  Roll it tightly into a ball, then flatten between your hands into a disk.  Place dough disks on lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.  

6.  Bake on center rack for about 9 minutes until spread and slightly cracked on top.  

7.  Remove sheet pan from oven, and allow cookies to cool on pan before removing to rack.

I really love these cookies.  I really love Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.  I'll be honest with you, I'm going to be making a lot of Nicole's recipes.  Not just because they all look delicious, but because I've had some success with her recipes and flour blends.  I made these cookies (and will be making most things) with the Better than Cup4Cup flour.  Using that blend has really helped me feel successful as a baker again, which I really wasn't sure was going to happen.  I have been really apprehensive about getting back into baking, and so I started with mixes, and flourless recipes.  But, seeing how well this particular blend works has given me a bit more confidence about pursuing some more adventurous recipes!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really enjoy baking.  I have been a gluten-full baker for quite awhile, and I've always specialized in cookies and cold pies.  Fruit pies (particularly apple) have always been an Achilles heel for me, but I still love to try.  Plenty of sweet things that are naturally gluten free like candy or fudge, but cookies, cakes, and pies often require gluten free flours.  The other gluten free cookies I've made don't require flour, and neither do these.  So if you're a little nervous about using gluten free flour blends, but you still want something that you and gluten-full friends can eat, this is a great recipe.

Peanut butter cookies are one of my favorites.  Sometimes, the classics are the best.  There's a place in the world for Guiness cupcakes with a Bailey's whipped cream frosting.  There is.  But sometimes, you just want a peanut butter cookie.  Simple and sweet.  The gluten-full recipe for peanut butter cookies is pretty simple, white sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, peanut butter, butter and egg.  This recipe is only slightly more simplified.  If you're taking baby steps into gluten-free baking, this is a great starting point.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla (optional, but I used it, and would recommend it)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.

2.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon.

3.  Place hand-rolled tablespoon sized dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, one inch apart

4.  Using a fork with tines dipped in sugar, press dough balls down in criss-cross pattern.

5.  Bake on center rack for approximately 10 minutes.

6.  Cool cookies on sheet before removing to rack.

Crispy edged, sweet/salty goodness that even gluten-full eaters will enjoy!  I will be working on a flour-blend version of these cookies that looks more like a traditional peanut butter cookie, so stay tuned.  I've found what I think is a fantastic flour blend, and I want to give it a try, but we've got to eat these lovelies first!

Homemade Pizza That Didn't Suck!

On my never-ending quest to make delicious, homemade, gluten free pizza, I've tried another recipe.  And the results were not just palatable, but enjoyable.  Now, is it as good as my go-to takeout pizza from Slices?  No.  No, it's not that good.  But, I think I'm getting closer.  Anyone who is GF who doesn't read Gluten Free on a Shoestring, don't wait anymore. . . go.  Read the blog, buy the books, drool over the recipes and pictures.  It's a great site.  I had been really apprehensive about doing my own gluten free flour blends.  But, I figure I'm going to have to do it eventually, why wait?

So I tried the Better Batter flour blend hack that is on Gluten Free on a Shoestring for my pizza dough.  It's a combination of brown rice, white rice, tapioca, and potato flours with potato starch, xanthan gum and pectin.   The resulting dough was surprisingly not sticky.  If you've ever made gluten free pizza dough from a kit, you may have flashbacks from oiling the pan, oiling your hands and trying to spread an oozy, sticky dough around the pan, hoping that eventually it would be something edible.  Well, this is a lot more like working with gluten-full dough.  What I think will really help me in the future is to regrind my brown rice flour.  I buy mine from Whole Foods, and it's a little grainy.  I need to use our coffee grinder, food processor or blender to see if I can get it down to a finer texture.  I also want to try the Cup 4 Cup blend that Nicole has on gluten free on a shoestring, because I think the resulting dough may be a little lighter.

My pizza was tasty, but the texture was a little dense.  It certainly was not unpleasant, and I made a really sizeable pizza with the dough.  It was easy to roll (with a rolling pin. . . I know right?) and work with with my hands.  It was much more like "normal baking" than almost anything else I've ever done with gluten free from scratch baking.  So, I'm encouraged.  While this wasn't my perfect pizza, it was much better than anything I've made thus far!  Things are looking up!

Pineapple Orange Cupcakes

Some friends and I recently went on a girls' weekend, where one of the evenings served as a bachelorette party for one of the gals, who is getting married in October.  Because this friend eats gluten free, I wanted to make a cupcake that she could enjoy.  I won't be able to post the FINAL cupcake, because it includes a decoration that isn't exactly safe for work. sorry!  I love the flavor of the cupcakes, and the icing is also really good.  It's a sunny cream cheese frosting, but these would do just as well with a traditional buttercream.  This wonderful recipe was created by Lisa and Tim at Gluten Free Canteen

Adapted (to omit alcohol) from Gluten Free Canteen:

Cupcakes
7 oz. (by weight) sugar
Zest of one orange
Zest of one lemon
3 oz. (by weight) superfine brown rice flour
3 oz. (by weight) superfine white rice flour
1 oz (by weight) tapioca flour/starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6 oz. (by weight) unsalted butter, nearly room temperature
3 oz. buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, you can make it with 1 tbsp. lemon juice to nearly 1 c. milk)
1 tbsp. pineapple juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. orange extract
3 tbsp. crushed pineapple, drained (I reserved the juice for the juice in this recipe and the frosting)

Icing
3 oz. unsalted butter
8 oz. (one brick) cream cheese, cold and broken into chunks
16 oz. powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. orange extract
3 tbsp. pineapple juice

1.  Preheat to 350F, line muffin tins with paper or foil liners.
2.  Weigh sugar and mix lemon and orange zest into the sugar with clean hands.  Allow about 15 minutes for flavors to infuse into sugar.

3.  Weigh and whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

4.  In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugar and butter.  Mix until fluffy.

5.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

6.  Add buttermilk, orange extract, vanilla, and pineapple juice and mix.

7.  Reduce mixer speed to low, and add flour gradually until incorporated.

8.  Fold crushed pineapple into batter.

9.  Fill liners about 3/4 of the way full and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Reduce to 325 and bake for an additional 14-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center is clean.

10.  Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

To Frost/Ice

1.  Mix sifted powder sugar and cubed butter until mixture resembles crumbs.

2.  Add pieces of cream cheese and mix on medium until cream cheese is incorporated.

3.  Mix orange extract, vanilla, and pineapple juice with mixer on high speed until frosting is smooth.

4.  Spread or pipe onto cupcakes and chill.  Serve at room temperature.


I was pretty happy with the way these turned out.  My non-GF husband remarked that it was a very pleasant taste, but the texture wasn't quite the same as a cupcake.  He described it as being somewhat like a cross between very moist cornbread and sponge cake.  I agree with that estimation.  It's not quite the same, but I really enjoyed it.  I would definitely make these again.  Again, I have to give credit for this recipe to Gluten Free Canteen, who have an awesome website and have been cooking and baking gluten free for many years.  People like them, who have been doing it for awhile, make it easier for those of us who are new to the lifestyle to make it!

Product Review: Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, this weekend, I'll be heading out to Sunset Beach, NC for a friend's bachelorette party.  This friend is ALSO gluten free, so I wanted to make some goodies that we could enjoy while we're soaking up some sun and celebrating.  I made some pineapple orange gluten free cupcakes (to be written in another post) from scratch, but decided to go with a box mix for some chocolate chip cookies.  Betty Crocker makes a line of gluten free products that have gotten pretty good reviews from other gluten free blogs I've read, so I decided to give their mix a try.

The mix requires a stick of softened butter, vanilla, and one egg.  I would recommend a few extra chocolate chips if you like a lot of chocolate or chunks (I like a very chippy cookie).  All that's required is to mix the butter, vanilla, and egg first, then add the mix.  The dough that results is very crumbly.  I found mixing it with a wooden spoon was pretty futile so I just dove in there with clean hands and squeezed the dough, which resulted in something a bit more compact.  The texture after using my hands was a lot more like what you would get with a "place and bake" cookie from the refrigerated section of the grocery store.  I formed the dough into balls, placed two inches apart (fit 6 cookies to a sheet) and baked. The resulting cookies are very good.  Generally, I like a buttery chocolate chip cookie, which is pretty flat and has a little bit of a crispy edge to it.  These cookies actually come pretty close to what I would normally bake with all purpose flour.  I definitely prefer these cookies to the Bob's Red Mill that I've made before.  Bob's Red Mill was not unpleasant, but had a beany aftertaste to it that I didn't like that well.  These don't have that aftertaste, and they're about as close as I've eaten to the scratch made, gluten-filled toll house cookies I've been making for years.

I would recommend these to anyone, and they're definitely user friendly.  If you're not gluten free and want to bake for someone who is, this is a really easy way to make something that your gluten free friend will be happy with.  If you are gluten free, you can bake these up, take them to a party, and no one would notice that they're a gluten free cookie.

Ginger Rice

I love ginger.  It's fresh and bright, but has a great bite to it.  People that go gluten free become really well acquainted with rice.  I use it frequently as a side dish.  But, plain rice gets boring quickly.  So, I decided to do a ginger rice one day.  It's one of my husband's favorites.  I keep ginger root in my freezer, because it's easier to grate that way, and I always have some on hand.

1 T. butter
2 T. fresh ginger, grated
1 c. rice (you can substitute quinoa if you like)
1 1/2 c. low sodium, fat free chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt


Melt butter in medium sized sauce pan.  Add rice and coat, followed by ginger and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat slightly, cover and simmer.  That's it.  It's nothing spectacular, it's just a way to brighten up something you eat all the time.  It makes a really great dinner side or a base for a stir fry.  I always make extra because I know that I'm going to want leftovers the next day.

Pizza Product Reviews!

Pizza.  One of my truest loves.  I have only ever encountered one truly inedible pizza in my life and I made it myself.  But, most gluten free pizza products out there aren't too bad.  Here's some of what I've found since the last time I posted:

Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix:

I gave this mix a try a couple of months ago.  One of the biggest adjustments to making gluten free boxed or homemade pizza doughs is the texture of the dough before it's baked.  These doughs are often extremely sticky, and aren't so much rolled out like a typical dough as they are spread onto an oiled pan.  That is definitely the case with this mix.  It's very sticky, and pretty difficult to spread.  The results left me feeling unsatisfied.  It was edible, but not enjoyable.  The pizza I made with this mix left a lot to be desired in terms of both taste and texture.  I probably won't make it again.

Gluten Free Bisquick Pizza Recipe

I gave this a try last night.  There's a recipe on the side panel of this mix for pizza crust.  I decided to add some typical seasonings to the crust like garlic, onion, and oregano.  The result was a pizza on a sort of okay tasting biscuit.  The taste of the crust wasn't bad, but the texture wasn't like a pizza.  This is the real trap of most gluten free pizzas I've had.  If the end result is a pizza with a fluffy crust, the texture is likely to be "off" somehow.  However, if the end result is a thinner crust, the texture tends to be less objectionable.  In this case, the texture wasn't terrible, but it's not necessarily what you expect when you think pizza.  I WOULD make this again, but only if I was dying for a pizza and didn't have any other options.  

Domino's Gluten Free Pizza

Gluten free pizza at a national chain. . . sort of.  Like the disclaimer says, the pizza is prepared in a kitchen with all the delicious gluteny goodness.  So, Domino's doesn't guarantee that it's not going to cause a reaction.  So, what have I learned?  That I need to order it takeout from the store over near campus.  College campuses tend to have a lot more people that are gluten free, and/or employees that know about gluten sensitivities or Celiac, etc.  The several times I've ordered the gluten free pizza from that store I've been fine, and have not had a reaction to the pizza.  The one time I ordered from the store that delivers to my house?  Probably the worst I've felt in months.  Seriously.  Honestly, I've not been back to Domino's since then, but not because I wouldn't go back, but because I've found a better option.  However, I'd be happy to order another Domino's gluten free pizza.  I know I'm taking a risk, but it is tasty.  It's one of the better one's out there, and really. . . convenience does it for me.  The texture of the thin crust is good, and the taste of the crust, the toppings, and the cheese are all to my liking, so this is up there on my list.

Mellow Mushroom

Back when I was able to eat gluten, I LOVED Mellow Mushroom.  The pretzels.  Oh my God, the pretzels. I loved it.  The chewy texture of the crust, and the awesome toppings.  It was always a good time, if not a little pricey.  The same is true for their gluten free pizza.  The crust has a pleasant taste (although I've had a bit of a beany after taste one or two times) and the texture is good as well.  It's a solid piece of pizza that you could pick up and enjoy eating with your hands.  The crusts are prepackaged, so the staff aren't actually making these in the kitchen with the other pizzas.  They're essentially unwrapping them, oiling a pan and cooking it.  But, they do use designated pans and utensils for the gluten free products.  But, because it's a prepackaged crust, no luck on any delicious gluten free pretzels.  Despite that, I'd eat Mellow Mushroom's gluten free pizza any time.  Taste and texture wise, it's worth the money.

Slices

I don't have a picture of Slices by Tony's gluten free pizza.  Tony is an awesome dude who my friend Gianna knows.  He's Italian and she babysits his newborn.  Tony makes the BEST gluten free pizza in the world HANDS DOWN.  My husband, who tries all of my gluten free pizza products, but generally hates all the homemade ones, and says the chain products are just "passable" absolutely LOVES Slices' gluten free pizza.  He said not only is it the best gluten free pizza he's had, but he rates it very highly on his list of all time good tasting pizzas.  I have no idea what Tony puts in it.  I don't know how he does it, but I know that I never, ever want him to go out of business.  I will cry.  I will be the saddest person in the world when I have to leave Greensboro and leave this pizza behind me.  Slices' gluten free is worth every single penny that I pay for it, and I will pay it over and over again.

As always, I'm still going to be experimenting with pizza crusts here in my home.  I'm eager to do a cauliflower crust, and there's a brown rice crust that my friend Spencer suggested months ago, that I really need to experiment with!