Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Here is my review on this much anticipated cookie dough. For someone gluten free, to have easy access to refrigerated cookie dough at a local supermarket is a pretty big deal. I mean, to not have to make cookie dough from scratch. Or buy an overpriced mix and add ingredients before popping cookies in the oven. It's a very big deal in the gluten free community...

I have not been able to have refrigerated cookie dough in over a year (since I went gluten free).  I have been on countdown since I found out when certain stores would carry it. I did not have to wait as long as I thought. I found the Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough at Albertson's the other day. I received a coupon for a free tub of the cookie dough in the mail. Since I did not have it on me, I went ahead and got it anyway ( I have since gone to two Albertson's to hope they were still on sale to get more: my free one plus another one). Albertson's has a little sale at one of their stores: $3.99 for the cookie dough. At Albertson's, the regular price will be about $5.50. Maybe, Walmart will have it much cheaper when they start selling it. Target is set to start selling it pretty soon too.

Cookies turned out pretty good. It took two tries.... Since I made mine much smaller, it only took about 5 minutes for a batch to get done. I prefer bite sized cookies. They are cuter too. Pillsbury has done a good job with the cookie dough. The cookie dough is remarkably similar to that containing gluten. I followed the instructions on the tub (except the one about eating raw cookie dough). Used a piece of foil for the pan. Rolled the cookie dough into small balls and put onto the pan (much smaller than normal sized cookies). My cookies turned out to be the size I really wanted them to be. I wanted smaller cookies. So my cookies turned out to be about the size of a quarter (maybe slightly larger than a quarter). They fit nicely into the tub used for the cookie dough.

Sunbutter Chocolate Chip

Another cookie recipe!

This one is more of a "Sunbutter Chocolate Chip" kind of recipe. It does not require alot of ingredients. The only thing is making sure you have enough room in your freeze to let the dough "chill", so it's more like regular cookie dough and easy to roll and place on a baking sheet.

I used a recipe by Nicole, from her awesome page "Gluten-Free on a Shoestring". It is titled: "Gluten-Free Flourless Cookies: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip".

I am not an experienced baker, which is probably why I had difficulty. I sorta (okay, I did!) burnt my SunButter. I decided to go ahead and continue making the cookies to see how they would turned out. It would not hurt to try. I had used up alot of sugar already. All was left was the beaten eggs and chocolate chips. So, I went ahead and continued--even with my burnt SunButter. The directions were pretty straight forward. I used carob chips instead of chocolate chips.

The cookies came out flat and crispy! Most of them were giant size cookies, because I just used a spoon to scoop it onto the baking sheet. They are pretty decent cookies. I use the word "decent", because remember I did burn the SunButter. They are still good in spite of burning the seed butter. I am definitely going to have to try this recipe again, and perhaps I will not burn the SunButter in the process.

All this cookie making has got me wondering about making cookie dough to freeze, particularly for the chocolate chip cookies that I made earlier. In comparison, the chocolate chip cookies are better. These ones may not compare, but they are pretty good! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried a "Sunbutter Rice Krispies" recipe this morning. Well, it bombed...What a waste of my Rice Krispies!! I will have to try a combination of "Rice Krispies" and "Sunbutter" on a different day. I love the idea of having some breakfast ready for on-the-go option. Since I have been in a serious baking mood, I went ahead and found a recipe for some chocolate chip cookies. They looked great, but the really good thing is they taste pretty good too!!

I chose to use a "low fructose" recipe. Seemed like a good idea since most  recipes are loaded with sugar and I cannot handle my fructose. (Figured out marshmallows were a big "no-no" this morning) I chose to use a recipe by Delicious as it looks. Even though theirs called for 'almond' flour, I thought it might work with a different flour. I used 'all purpose' flour by King Arthur (gluten free, of course). They did not turn out flat, but rather plump. The picture does not do the cookies justice!

I did a few things different from the recipe. I added a little bit more sugar and chocolate chips (about 1/3 each). It created a little bit of a problem. It left me with more dry ingredients than dough, so I had a little bit of a problem with that. So I did what any egg conscious but chocolate lover does: I added one egg white. Just one. It solved the problem, thankfully! I was able to mix the rest of the ingredients into dough. Adding in the egg white lead me to put a little bit more chocolate chips. Aside from using a different flour, that is all that was different. The recipe given by Dianne of Delicous as it Looks has done a GREAT job with this recipe! I love it!!! The cookies were sweet, but not too sweet. Turned out perfect, or as perfect as a cookie can possibly be. Now maybe, I can make my own cookies instead of having to venture out to buy some. 

Home-made Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Nuggets (home made)

Chicken nuggets... Ohhh, how we love them. We miss them once we cannot have them. This trial run of chicken nuggets was just an easy thing. They tasted fairly good. I am not really a big meat eater, but they are good with ketchup. Point blank: they are good. Better than any gluten free chicken nuggets I have come across, and much cheaper! What I absolutely loved about it was how crunchy it was.

I did a few things different than the recipe.

1. I wanted to cheat during the clean-up process, so I put a sheet of foil on the pan before adding the oil. The oil has a very powerful effect on how the chicken nuggets turned out. We have olive oil, but did not even think about using it... So I used canola, which is fine by me. It worked just as well.. I used their suggestion by using a paper towel to spread the oil.

2. When it pouring the Glutino bread crumbs, I used a quart size freezer bag. I put some bread crumbs in there. Also, pouring in a small amount of paprika and salt. I almost got ambitious and tried adding in a bunch of different spices. Almost... There is always next time.

I only cooked 6 chicken nuggets (1 piece of boneless, skinless chicken thigh). That way, I am not wasting chicken or bread crumbs to try a new dish. It is always a good thing when food lasts.. especially if it is gluten free food, which honestly it is not the cheapest... Only a couple ingredients used.

Ingredients used:
Glutino Bread Crumbs
Piece of boneless skinless chicken
Seasoning (Paprika and Salt)

Okay, a break down of how I did things in the chicken.

1. Heated the oven to about 375
2. Put piece of foil on the baking pan with a little bit of oil--spread through entire pan. (I used a paper towel)
3. Pour good amount of Glutino Bread Crumbs *gluten free* into a ziplock bag, along with seasonings (I used Paprika and Salt) and shook the bag (make sure it's sealed first).
4. "Whisked" two eggs (I used a fork, but accomplished same thing)
5. Cut my chicken thigh into small nugget-sized pieces.
6. Add chicken to eggs, tossing them.
7. After I picked them up, I held them for a second so the extra egg fell off
8. I put them in the seasoning bag...tossed the bag around until they were fully coated.
9. Put them on the pan, and stick it in the oven.
10. Do not forget to get them out. ;)

They cooked for about 20 minutes. I turned them half way through, so each side could get crispy. They were very crispy. Most things gluten free do not get crispy. So, that was exciting! It was not a boring food that I would toss out immediately after the first bite (has happened many times with new chicken recipes). I was able to sit there, eat, and enjoy it. Also, it is a good, quick, cheap meal that does not really require too much work to make.

To make it fructose friendly, try using something other than bbq sauce and/or ketchup. For me, that is the new challenge. The key is finding good, easy, low fructose foods to go with the nuggets. It'd probably be really good with beans and other sides to go with it.

GF Potato Wedges

Today's recipe is just simple Potato Wedges. Sometimes, I honestly just want to be able to have Rusty's potato wedges. Since my symptoms indicate Celiac's disease, going back to Rusty's potato wedges is not a possibility (not even for "just one"). It leaves me left to experiment, try others' recipes, and hope to come up with something that can replicate the deliciousness of Rusty's potato wedges. Or at the very least, find a decent replacement.

When I get a pizza, I am left without the potato wedges portion. I have learned to replaced potato wedges with a baked potato. Not a bad trade-off. Low in fructose.

My first experiment of potato wedges making uses a recipe, not of my own. "Homemade Oven Baked Jo Jo Potatoes" is the recipe I chose to use today. I didn't have any 'All Purpose' flour, so I used plain 'Rice' flour that I had on hand. Combo of that and leaving it at the high temperature in the oven contributed to how it turned out. I should of had the oven set to a lower setting. They were very crunchy. They were hard on the outside, but soft on the inside. Taste wise: They have some serious potential. Next time, I will use much less cheese. I think it takes away from the taste. They don't need anything to accommodate them (no ketchup!).

What I like about her recipe that will leave me wanting to retry, it is pretty low fructose. Garlic is the only fructose ingredient that I have to worry about, and it isn't a very high amount of it. Check out her recipe and try it for yourself.