Peanut Butter Cookies, Gluten Free

I stumbled upon this cookie recipe and had to read it through a couple of times. What, not flour? I've made flourless cakes, but never cookies. Next I had to read through the comments, people love this recipe, hmmmm. So I hurried to the kitchen to try these out.

My son, "What are you making now?"

Me, "Peanut butter cookies!"

My son, "OHHH, are they to eat?"

I ignored him.

Here they are in all of their peanut buttery goodness. Peanut butter cookies are a thing of beauty. I know that Tony will approve of this post.

Here's the recipe.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies.
makes about 2 dozen.


1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla.

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking liners.

2. In a bowl mix dry ingredients together. Add the peanut butter and mix till combined. I used a stand mixer.

3. Add the egg and vanilla and combine until it sticks together and is a dough like consistency.

4. Pour a small amount of sugar into a bowl. Roll tablespoons of dough till they are balls and dip and roll in sugar, place on cookie sheet

5. Using a fork, lightly indent cookies with a crisscross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Thank you Carol from Simply....Gluten Free for a great and simple recipe. She has some great recipes, check out her site.

Scottish Oat Cakes

Since going gluten free, I've struggled with breads and baking. At times baking gluten free has taken the sails out of my enthusiasm for being in the kitchen. What has helped me is focusing on what we can eat and there is so much that we can eat that doesn't have gluten. These little cakes are an example of that. They have never been made with any wheat and instead rely on oat flour. You can make your own oat flour by using a food processor until the oats are a fine grind.

We make these often. They are very versatile in that they are great with your morning coffee, as a light snack in the afternoon, or with evening tea. These little biscuits are somewhere between a cracker and a biscuit. The recipe says that they will last in an airtight container for two weeks, but they never last that long in our house to test.

Personally, I love them with a bit of jam or honey in the afternoon with a bit of tea. But they are just as good with a small bit of cheese and a slice of apple.

When scooping with a 4 ounce cookie scoop, bake 15-20 minutes. Two ounce scoops will need less bake time, 12-15 minutes.

Scottish Oat Cakes 
from Vegetarian Times

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup oat flour, plus more for dusting work surface
• ¼ cup nonhydrogenated shortening or vegan margarine, cut into small pieces 
• ¾ cup nonfat buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.

2. Stir together oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

3. Place oat flour in separate bowl. Rub shortening into oat flour with fingers until mixture is crumbly. Stir in oat mixture, then buttermilk

4. Use a cookie scoop and pack lightly, place on cookie sheet and press to make a biscuit, not to thin.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

Today I am Grateful

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast  Austrian-American Author and Benedictine Monk  Tomorrow I promise to share a recipe for these beauties. They are delicious in every way.

Doughnut Love

Doughnuts, those little round things have been on my mind. I wanted to find a great recipe that was gluten free and would keep the ones I love away from temptation. Nothing really called out to me from the shelves housing all of my cookbooks. Next stop was Facebook, a call out to all of my friends. My niece came to the rescue with a family approved recipe. But later that night I decided that I wanted something that didn't need to rise and was simple enough to put together first thing in the morning.

I decided to try a recipe from here. These went from mixing bowl to kitchen table in less than 30 minutes. I mixed up the dry ingredients the night before and left out the eggs along side. In the morning I threw it all together and voila, doughnuts.

As side note, Roost is my favorite eye candy blog at the moment. She has a lovely way with words and has the most beautiful photos. If you want to surprise your family with some doughnut love follow my first link and you will find the recipe. Have a fantastic weekend full of love, laughter, and family.

Millet and Flax Gluten Free Bread

Since going gluten free my family has cut back on consuming bread. There are a lot of great gf bread companies out there but they are expensive and I really like to make my own. I've tried many times to come up with a recipe that works for me. I've had mixed results. Sometimes I have a hard rubbery line that runs across the bottom of the loaf from it falling in on itself. But mostly I'm not impressed with the flavor.
 
There really is a learning curve that is independent of regular bread making. The lack of gluten is one of the main issues. It's like building a house without a solid frame. The other big variable is the flour and it's interaction with the other flours. My favorite flours include millet, flax, oatmeal, almond, potato, and coconut.

A few weeks ago a friend had a loaf of millet flax bread from Sami's Bakery. I love the flavor and honestly it does not taste like a piece of gf bread. So now that I know what I love in a bread, I went in search of a recipe that fit the bill. I found this recipe from Gluten Free Mommy. I made this recipe as written and took good notes on actual weight of the various flours. The bread came out fabulous. She has some tips for success when making bread on her blog. Oh, I might tweak this recipe a bit but I have to say that it is pretty close to Sami's and I'm happy with the results. You can find the recipe by clicking on the link above.

Granola Gluten Free Style

I've been making granola forever, or so it seems. I've tried lots of recipes from various cookbooks. But many recipes use a lot of oil. I like my granola calories to come from the seeds and fruit. The inspiration for my current rendition comes from Progressive Pioneer's blog, here. Amy's recipe is grain free. I will have to try it that way.

The star of my granola is always gluten free oats. I buy Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats. But I also love Jules oats, and always include a bag when I place an order for her lovely flour. I use two cups of oats.

I like to add flaked coconut, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax meal, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

Once all of the oats and mix in are combined, I add the oil and honey. I only use a small amount of oil, maybe a 1/8 cup. I used sunflower oil this time, feel free to use any neutral flavored oil that you have around the kitchen.  I used about 1/3 cup honey and mixed it all up. 

Spread out the granola on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. I stir half way through the baking time. Watch the granola carefully, it will cook quickly with all of the nuts and honey. Better to stir often to avoid burning around the edges. 

Cool completely before breaking into bits and storing. Granola never really lasts longer than a couple of days in our house. Tony loves it as a snack. This recipe is his favorite combination. Sometimes I will add dried cherries or cranberries or apricots. Add any fruit after the granola has cooled. 

Any way that you make your granola, it will be free of preservatives. As an added bonus, you control the quality of the ingredients that goes into your food. That's important to me, I like to know what's in my food. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section and I will try to clarify any of the instructions that I may have been a bit vague on.