GF Chocolate Chip Cookies

The boys asked if I could make Chocolate Chip cookies today. I decided to try this Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe but I made a few changes:

In place of the Gluten Flour mix I used 2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour; and for the chocolate I used 2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. I added to the recipe 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp Almond Extract and 1 tsp cider vinegar.

Since the boys were impatient for cookies I made a small batch up first without refrigerating the dough first. The cookies took a little longer to cook than the original recipe said, but they still came out great. I have the rest of the dough setting up in the fridge for later.

The boys and I really liked these cookies. If you like your Chocolate Chip Cookies hard vs soft you will really like these! I can't tell that these are Gluten Free. I love that!

Ehric asked, "Can you make these again sometime?" Both boys enjoyed their cookies with some farm fresh milk (pictured above is Aiden). I guess these passed muster!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

The boys and I made some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies this week.

A few changes I made to the recipe:

• I used homemade pumpkin puree (I have a bunch in my freezer from growing pumpkins last summer).
• I used home-made brown sugar (white sugar mixed with molasses).
• I substituted Organic Cane sugar for the white sugar.
• Instead of 1/2 cup of butter I used 6 tblsp butter and 1/4 cup natural applesauce.

These cookies were cake-like and really delicious. I ended up making 34 cookies (I used a large table spoon and just dropped the dough on a cookie sheet). The boys and I really liked these alot! By the next morning I am embarrassed to say that they were all gone! That is how much we liked them. What is great is that they were filled with pumpkin!!

Elephant Ears

This morning Aiden wanted "water and a cookie." I tried to tell him several which ways that we did not have any cookies. Since I was craving cookies the other day I decided to relent and make some cookies. What a push over!

I decided to look in one of the kid's cookbooks for a recipe. We have a really cute cookbook, called Alpha-Bakery by Gold Medal, that has a recipe for every letter of the alphabet. I settled for the E recipe, Elephant Ears.

Here is the recipe for Elephant Ears:

1/4 cup of margerine or butter
1 cup of all-purpose flour (of course it called for Gold Medal but I use King Arthur flour)
2 tblsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1/3 cup milk
3 tblsp of sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Sugar

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Grease a cookie sheet with shortening (or use a coated cookie sheet or parchment paper)
3. Heat margerine or butter until melted; set aside.
Stir together flour, 2 tblsp sugar, the baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk
and melted butter until dough forms.
4. Sprinkle a surface lightly with flour and knead the dough 10 times. Roll dough with a rolling pin or pat with hands into a rectangle, 9x5 inches.
Brush with remaining melted butter, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with mixture of 3 tblsp sugar and the cinnamon.
5. Roll dough up tightly beginning at narrow end. Pinch edge of dough into a roll and seal. Cut into 4 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Places sides up on a cookie sheet; pat each into a 6" circle.
Sprinkle with more sugar.
6. Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet with a spatula. Let cool on wire rack. Makes 4 elephant ears. (I doubled the recipe to make 8)

I always like to make notes in my cookbooks when I make a recipe. I write down the date, what we thought about it, and what I might do differently. For this recipe I wrote, 'Reminds me of a biscuit. Very mild flavor..not too overly sweet (probably perfect for kids tastebuds). Aiden said, "Thank you Mommy" several times. Ate for breakfast with hot chocolate. Not something I would make all the time, but occassionally.'

Its been several hours since I made them and the boys are still nibbling away at them. So now I am thinking that they are a hit with the boys. I even like them a little bit more. Ehric told me that he thought they were really good. So I guess now we will be making them again!