Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

I didn't exactly roll some of these into a ball.
They are flatter than the other batch.

I was on a mission earlier for egg-less chocolate chip cookies. I just knew I wanted cookies. I am beginning to explore the whole "removing egg" from my diet due to possible allergy, so that kept me from consuming my Pillsbury cookie dough that is sitting idly in the fridge.

Thankfully, many have walked this road before me. It has been well traveled by many. They have experimented greatly. What do I have to gain? Good chocolate chip recipe minus the egg(s)! You gotta try it! <3 It's pretty good. In mine, I used less brown sugar (just a little bit less.. 1/3 versus 1/2) and used more chocolate chips. It wasn't planned out or anything. It just happened.

I accidentally began to burn the first batch, but the amazing thing: they still taste good. This is what I am looking for: good chocolate chip cookies where the chocolate chips literally melt and make a beautiful display of a good treat.  I probably haven't made any fresh cookies in a while. If I sound deprived, that is probably why.

The recipe: Egg-less Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Go try it!!

As opposed to past batches of cookies I have made, these were full size cookies ;). Mine are safely tucked away in a bowl. Ideally, I would wait until they have cooled to put them away. A sneaky 3 year old with gluten hands stopped that. So, they can just stick together--not like it matters. I am the only one getting into the cookies. :)

What I might change: use less chocolate chips. There were way too many. I need to settle on a specific amount to use. The recipe didn't give a certain amount. Guess I thought there was more dough than there actually was. Then my chocolate chips have been affected by the heat, so some of it just looks like a melted Hershey's candy bar. Also with some adapting, I can make the cookies into a fructose friendly cookie. IE) using dextrose versus cane sugar to help with the brown sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip CookiesIgnore the bad photography!

Adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring
 
Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I recently bought a new cooking book. The first one I have gotten from Gluten Free on a Shoestring, but I really am enjoying it. I have discovered Nicole's recipes and began trying them out, and there are some GOOD recipes that she has designed. It makes it so easy to bake something without a premade mix. I am not a good baker, but I can find easy things to whip up! In her first book (Gluten Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap), I have found a couple recipes that I have already tried out. So far, I have made butter cookies as well as these delicious chocolate chip cookies. In her book, she lists her chocolate chip cookies as one of the recipes that are freezable for things like once a month cookie! YES!!

Here's the thing with these CC cookies though: I altered the recipe, just a bit. As I have been learning new recipes, I have been only making a fraction of the recipe... for two reasons: it's only me that eats gf. Also, it's alot cheaper. For these cookies, I had some configuring to do since I did not want to use up so much flour to try a new recipe (cookies or not!). I kept her directions for  the cookies, except for choosing to bag the dough and let it sit in the fridge before putting it on a baking pan. (I do not have room for a baking pan in my fridge) The dough was not exactly in the shape where I wanted to be molding it either. A bit to sticky and hard to shape.Much easier after it had been in the fridge.

My list:

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of "All Purpose" flour.
2 tablespoons of butter. (softened, I believe)
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon of gluten free vanilla extract
A little over 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum (only one harder to configure)
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
1/3 cup of milk chocolate chips

Again, I used all of her directions. All I really did was 1/4 the recipe and alter the sugar amounts to keep my tummy happy. Now honestly, I think the milk chocolate chips rather than semi-sweet made a difference in how good they taste. Texture-wise, they weren't what I preferred. They were really fluffy, not flat and crunchy. Still really good!

Directions to follow:

Set oven to 350 F.

1. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, and the vanilla until well blended. Add the flour, X. gum, salt, and baking soda to the wet ingredients. Beat batter well until becomes thicker and a bit more elastic.

2. In small bowl, mix chocolate chips with a small amount of flour (well that's what I did...just enough to cover over the chips). Toss the chips to coat them. Stir chips in w/ cookie dough until its evenly distributed. Dough should be soft and thick.

3. Drop small balls of dough onto a baking pan (I used foil for cleaning purposes). Place baking sheets w/ cookie dough on them into the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes. Once the dough has chilled, place the baking sheets into the preheated oven and bake for 7-10 minutes (keep an eye on 'em, so they don't burn!). Cookies may seem to be undercooked. As long as the edges are beginning to brown and the cookies are lightly brown, they're done. They will firm up. Let them cool.

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.