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!

Sweet Cornmeal Pancakes

I haven't posted in awhile.  Blah, blah, grad school, blah.  I cooked yesterday.  It wasn't the first time I've cooked since the last time I've posted, but it was one of the first times I cooked something that I thought was worthy of putting on the blog. 

I like brinner.  I was never really a big fan of eggs growing up, and I still won't eat them any other way but scrambled, or as the coating for french toast.  But, in the adult years that I embraced eggs, I would scramble some up, get some lightly buttered toast, and drizzle some ketchup on that business and go to town.  But, gluten free bread is expensive, and I don't treat myself to eating it very often.  So, I thought maybe we'd have pancakes yesterday.  I like cornmeal pancakes.  I particularly like savory cornmeal pancakes, because there's a natural saltiness to cornmeal that I think is pretty delicious.  But I decided to go in the other direction with these pancakes, and made them sweet instead.  I found my batter to be VERY thick, and I probably could have thinned it out with a little milk if I'd not used all the milk to make the batter initially.  Feel free to add more as you choose to get the consistency that you like.  My batter was so thick that I had to take a butter knife to spread the pancakes in my pan after scooping them out.  Really though?  I wouldn't have changed it.  I like really thick, fluffy, vow you're going to do 20 extra minutes of cardio to not feel like the goodyear blimp pancakes every now and again.

Sweet Cornmeal Pancakes

1 1/3 c. gluten free flour mix (I used Namaste AP GF flour)

2/3 c. cornmeal

2 tbsp. brown sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 1/3 c. milk

1/4 c. oil (canola oil, vegetable oil, whatever oil)

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. orange extract

1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder)

2. In another bowl whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and orange extract)

3.  Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

4.  Pour by 1/3 cup fulls into hot, buttered griddle or fry pan.  If the batter is thick, either thin it with additional milk, or spread the cakes with a butter knife (like I did).  

These were thick and tasty.  I slathered on a bit of salted butter and syrup and ate my heart out.  I wasn't sad this morning when I realized: a. I was out of milk so couldn't eat cereal, and b. there was still leftover batter in the fridge.