Sharing My Heart (s)

It's just about Pumpkin time... and I'm ready to bake some yummy fall treats.  But I've had these heart macaron pictures since the early summer, waiting to make their debut.  Problem is I couldn't get a really good picture, so I held back from posting.

I decided today before I move on with the season, I must post the pictures anyway, and explain how they came to be.  These are vanilla macarons with a lemon swiss buttercream filling.  Yeah - they taste really good.  You can use this or this macaron recipes, or any of the hundreds of other recipes online.  The lemon swiss buttercream recipe is from my favorite food blogger, Stella at Bravetart.  Absolutely yummy!

I haven't been making macarons for very long, but once I started I quickly got obsessed.  So I was making them pretty regularly, for no real reason other than to make them (by the way,  macarons  freeze wonderfully unfilled, and thaw quickly).

So a very good friend who was getting married soon was trying to figure out the wedding cake thing - how do you feed 150 people without breaking the bank?  Have you seen the price of wedding cakes?!

Having watched me in the kitchen baking away at these cute little macarons, she wondered if it was possible to make them into a heart shape?  She had an idea.  Of course I said, 'Nope."  Can't possibly.  I can barely make them round.  But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be a fun thing to try; another way to feed my obsession.  So I said I would try.

And before I knew it, I was knocking these little hearts out like nobody's business.  This is before they were baked.  They are about 1 1/2" at the widest point, and about 1 1/4" in height.

Here are some out of the oven.  As you can see, they don't all come out quite like hearts.  Some of them have a Mickey Mouse style to them. And some of them were simply blobs. 

 Oh - and then there was this one.  I like to think of it as "art."  (I don't know how it happened, honest)

So by the end, I had a freezer filled with hundreds and hundreds of little pink hearts ready to be matched up and filled with lemony goodness.  The plan was to have a small traditional wedding cake, and then have a sheet cake (filled with lemon swiss buttercream) to be served to the masses at the wedding.  Each slice of the sheet cake would have a swirl of buttercream, and the heart would be tucked into the swirl.  It was really lovely.  Unfortunately - I don't have a good picture, but this will give you an idea.

And of course, by the end of the evening, we all broke into the 'macaron conga dance.'

And they lived happily ever after...  XOXO

Now onward to Fall  ..bring  on the pumpkin and fresh cranberries!

French Macarons, Round 2

And this is clearly the winner!   Look Ma! No nipples or hollows! Just beautiful feet!

 OK - so only someone who has baked macarons will understand that last statement.  

Yes - I thought I had these down to perfection when I posted Macarons last time.  I mean, they were beautiful, and delicious, and only had the slightly hint of nipple.  But they had one problem that no one who ate them cared about... except me.  Hollow!  A macaron bakers' second worse nightmare (first is no feet).

What is (are??) the macaron feet??  See just under the very top of the macaron shell - the kind of crumbly looking part (it's not really crumbly) - that's the foot.  We like them big :-)  What's the nipple?  If you look at this picture - the yellow macaron in the right front - you'll know what I mean.  And the hollow... well ... it's when there's a big air space between the top of the macaron and the bottom feet.  Here's a picture I found online.  Mine were worse.  I didn't take a picture.

The recipe I started with is from Bravetart and as much as I love Stella and her recipe (and her blog is simply one of my favorites because she is a fabulous pastry chef and fun blogger), I knew I had to venture out to try other recipes to get me past the 'hollow' hump.  Still - it was her blog and recipe that got me going on my quest for macaron perfection.

I don't know if you've looked recently (or ever, for that matter!), but there are a zillion recipes/blogs/youtube videos out there for making macarons.  There's the French method, and there's the Italian method.  I started with French and I'm sticking with it (I don't need anymore dirty bowls).  It's fascinating, because all of the recipes use egg whites, sugar/powdered sugar/almond flour - but everyone has different proportions and slight (or not so slight) variations in technique.  Yet they all seem to have beautiful pictures of macarons.  How can that be?  These are fussy little buggers, but somehow different proportions and different techniques work for people anyway.  (Of course, only a brave few actually show the inside of their macarons, where hollows hide).

So with a new recipe to try, and some changes in technique (more traditional)  - I did it!  Look - no hollows!

Simply chewy goodness with flavors that pop, that you can only find in a French macaron.

This recipe comes from Ms. Humble at Not So Humble Pie, who took a scientific method to come to her own proportions of egg white-sugar-almond flour that should bake up into a perfect macaron.  And hey, it worked!  I mean, after all, baking is about science as much as anything else, isn't it?

So with her proportions, and using some pretty traditional techniques, I got me some pretty darn good macs.

The more I make these (and I have been making them at every opportunity, including for no reason at all), the more I start experimenting with fillings.  So many possibilities!  These are vanilla bean macs with a strawberry cream cheese filling.  I ground up freeze dried strawberries and mixed it with the cream cheese and some powdered sugar.  The color comes only from the strawberries, along with an intense strawberry flavor.  Yes - freeze dried fruit - the sky's the limit on fillings.

So!  Today's recipe from Not So Humble Pie, with minor changes in technique:

Ingredients:

• 120 grams Almond Meal/Flour
• 200 grams Powdered Sugar
• 100 grams Egg Whites (I don't age them, but I try to leave them out for at least an hour, or as much as a day)
• 30-35 grams Sugar
• 1 Vanilla Bean, scrapped
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Prep your pans.  Line two (heavy weight) baking sheets with parchment paper, and have your pastry bag with tip ready.  (I use a template I made - I traced 1 1/2 inch circles on piece of parchment and then I put it under my baking parchment.  You can see the circles through the top piece.  Then after they are all piped - I pull the bottom sheet out and reuse it next time.)


2. Add the almond meal and powdered sugar to your food processor and pulse  for 15 seconds or so. Then sift, tossing any bits leftover that don't make it through.


3. Start beating the egg whites on low (about 4 on a kitchen aid) using the whip attachment  for about a minute (until foamy), and then add the salt, followed by the sugar and beat for another minute. (about 2 minutes total)


4. Add in the vanilla bean caviar and turn the mixer up to medium (6 on kitchen aid) for about 2 minutes. 


5. Add any food coloring, and then turn the mixer up to high (8 on kitchen aid) for about 2 minutes.  This is where you really need to pay attention so you don't overbeat.  The whites should be stiff, but not overly dry.  They should hold stiff peaks.


6. Remove the beater whip and bang it against the bowl to remove any egg whites.


7. Add about 1/3 of the the almond meal/sugar mixture to the egg whites, and start folding it in.  You don't have to be particularly gentle - you actually want to deflate the egg whites somewhat.  Once incorporated, add another 1/3, and repeat until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.   Now you REALLY want to pay attention to it.  You want to keep folding it until it gets to a "lava-like" consistency.  If you pick some up and drop it back down into the bowl, it should blend back into the batter after about 20 seconds.  Be careful not to overmix.  When  you think you're getting close, do another one or two folds and test it again.


8. When you have the batter just right (!), transfer it to your piping bag.


9. Start piping out the batter onto the pre-traced circles, staying just inside the edge of the circle.  Don't worry if you don't get it perfect.  I get my share of oval macarons.  Practice is what it's about.


10. When you've piped your first tray, rap the tray against the counter 3 or 4 times to remove any air bubbles that might be lurking within your macarons.  Repeat with your second tray.


11. Set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, you can preheat the oven to about 300 degrees.  That's the temperature that works for me - you'll have to experiment with your own oven. 


12. After about 30 minutes, when the macs are no longer tacky to the touch (lightly), you can put your first tray in the oven (I haven't had luck baking two trays at a time).  They take about 15-16 minutes for me - but again, you'll have to experiment with your oven.  How do you know when they're done? What I've been doing is very lightly nudging the top of one (usually an ugly one) to see if the top is loose - it will move slightly.  If it's loose I leave it in for another couple of minutes and test again.  You want that top on securely.


13. When the first tray is done, let them cool on the tray on a cooking rack for a while, before peeling them off.  Put the second tray in.


14. Once completely cooled, you can gently pull them off the parchment (If  there are some sticky spots just nudge it lightly with a sharp knife.  TIP: These babies are delicate. Always handle them gently on their sides.  If you grab them on their delicate tops, you'll probably put a hole in them.  Ask me how I know...


15. Match up bottoms and tops close in size, and put them together (carefully) with your favorite filling - then into the refrigerator they go in an air tight container for at least overnight.  That's when the magic happens!  Trust me.  Take them out about 15 minutes before serving.  I generally keep them in the refrigerator unless they are being served or eaten.

 Fillings I've used (no recipes - just to taste)

• Chocolate ganache: made with heavy cream OR coconut milk, and bittersweet chocolate.
• Lemon cream cheese: made with  cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and a little lemon juice
• Strawberry cream cheese: made with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and ground freeze dried strawberries.

I'm not a huge buttercream fan, but at some point I'll probably start using it in fillings. Meanwhile, I'm already thinking about what filling to try next!

Bon Jour! French Macarons!

And Happy New Year!
A French Macaron (pronounced mac-a-ron), made with almond meal and egg whites, is not a Macaroon (pronounced mac-a-roon) made with coconut and egg whites (and often other stuff). What you see here is a macaron. I've been surprised at how many people I know have never heard of a macaron.

And of course, they're naturally gluten-free.

I put off making these babies for a long time because, well, I was intimidated. I knew they were challenging, but I knew that eventually I would try. I finally tried, and failed. Twice. It's all about getting the batter at the right consistency. First time I overmixed it (and then I overbaked), and second time I undermixed it. I think I had to get it wrong both ways before I figured out the right consistency.

The good news is they tasted great, even though they looked funny (no, I did not take pictures).

The ones here are made with blanched Almond meal/flour (and while I love Bob's Red Mill company and products, I buy my blanched Almond meal from Honeyville Farms at almost half the price). But I have also made them Trader Joes Almond Meal with skins on, and it works as long as you sift it a couple of times.



I have probably read 30 blogs and websites about making macarons, and I found it interesting to see the slightly different techniques used (and not used). But somehow they all seemed to end up with beautiful pictures of Macarons.

The blog I found the most helpful, and who's recipe I used (with minor tweaks) is from Stella at Bravetart, who is a professional macaron baker (hello.... can you say 'dream job'). Really good and sometimes amusing explanations and descriptions, with an emphasis on what's important when making macarons, and what's not. Worth a read (or two) if you're considering making macarons.

From what she describes, and from what I've read other places, and most importantly, from what I found in my own Macaron-baking experience, here's what stands out for me:

• I've used both almond meal with skin on and blanched Almond Meal. They both work just fine - but it's important to sift it first, no matter which one you use, but especially for the meal with the skin on. If you're left with a few bits that simply won't sift, just add it in - it won't hurt the batter.


• The temperature of your egg whites really doesn't matter. I've used them just a few minutes after taking them out of the refrigerator. Most recipes say they need to get to room temperature or set out for a day or more. Yikes!


• Unless you have a big commercial oven - don't try and bake more than one tray at a time, at least, that's been my experience.


• The good news is you can pipe the macarons and put the first tray in the oven immediately while the other(s) sit out and wait their turn. Most recipes say the piped macarons should sit out for 30-minutes or more. I have found it makes no difference.


• Great tip: trace circles onto your parchment paper using a cookie cutter (1 1/2"), and then turn paper over onto your baking sheet. You can still see the circles to use as a guide when you're piping the batter.


• Great tip: Get everything prepped before you actually start mixing it up. I get my ingredients weighed, my circles drawn, by my pastry bag ready, etc. so that once I start the process I don't have to stop in the middle to prepare an ingredient.


• Great tip: To fill your pastry bag without it all smooshing out the tip, twist the bag right above the tip and clip it closed with a binder clip. Set it in a tall glass or container. Fill the bag with the batter. When you're ready to pipe, just lift and remove the clip.


• These taste great when they are freshly made, BUT, something magically happens to the flavor and texture when you refrigerate them for a few hours or overnight, and then let them come to room temperature. Really. Amazing.

Here's the recipe from Bravetart (slightly modified)

French Macarons
Ingredients:

• 4 oz Almond Meal/Flour
• 8 oz Powdered Sugar
• 5 oz Egg Whites
• 2 1/2 oz Sugar
• 1 Vanilla Bean, scrapped, or 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Almond Extract (not in original recipe)
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and have your pastry bag with tip ready.


2. Add the almond meal and powdered sugar to your food processor and process for 15 seconds or so. Then sift, adding any bits that don't sift into the mix.
3. Combine egg whites, sugar, vanilla bean scrapings (not extract) and salt in your stand mixer bowl and using the Whip beater attachment, whip for 3 minutes at medium (about setting 4 on a Kitchenaid)


4. Increase the speed to medium-high (setting 7) for another 3 minutes.


5. Then increase the speed to 8 for another 3 minutes.


6. Turn off the mixer and add any additional flavorings or colors - this is when I add the Almond extract and/or Vanilla extract - and whip for a minute to blend. The egg whites will be *very* dry and stiff.


7. Remove the beater and bang it against the side of the bowl to remove all of the egg whites.


8. Add the almond meal/sugar mixture to the egg whites, and start folding it in (counting your folds). It will come gradually together. Once you get to about 35 - 40 folds, you'll want to pay attention to the consistency. If you pick a little up with a spoon and drop it back it, it should gradually blend into batter again, after about 20 seconds. If it's still too thick, you'll want to do one or two folds, and then test it again. You don't want it to get to the point where it 'runs' off the spoon. Rather, it should be "lava" like.


9. When you have the batter just right (!), transfer some of it to your piping bag fit with about a plain tip.


10. Start piping out the batter onto the pre-traced circles, staying just inside the edge of the circle.


11. When you've piped your first tray, rap the tray against the counter 3 times, turning it once, for good luck. OK - not really for for good luck. It's to remove any air bubbles that might be lurking within your macarons.


12. Put your first tray in the oven. While they're baking, you can pipe your second pan, bang it, and let it rest until it's time to bake. The original recipe calls for about 18 minutes of baking. I found in my oven it took about 26 minutes. Moral of this story: know your oven. How do you know when they're done? I'm still trying to figure that out. You want to be able to gently peel one off of the parchment, without pulling the whole top off (don't ask me how many times I've done that!). I think that's just something that comes with practice.
13. When the first tray is done, let them cool on the tray on a cooking rack for a while, before peeling them off.


14. Once completely cooled, put them together with your favorite filling, and then strut around the house proudly because you, my friend, made French macarons!!

These were some of my first ones made with the Trader Joes Almond Meal. No color - just the natural specs of the skin. I kinda like that look. Cute though, aren't they?


I could make these all day, experimenting with flavors and colors. If I only had the time. Now I must go make some. Right now.

Do you Snickerdoodle?

Almond Snickerdoodle, that is. And gluten-free. And reduced-sugar, if you like it that way. Personally, I was never much of a snickerdoodle fan (I mean really... where's the chocolate??). Until I made these. Now I can't stop eating them. It's bad.... very bad.

It took me 5 tries to get this cookie the way I wanted it. It's a balancing act with the flours and the almond meal to get it to a texture that I really like. This is a very light, soft (almost cake-like) cookie. It's hard to eat just one.

I have really enjoyed incorporating almond meal/flour into recipes. Almond meal and almond flour are not the same, although they can sometimes be used interchangeably. Almond meal usually is not as finely ground, and is usually not blanched. Almond flour is finer, and blanched, and considerably more expensive.

Which is better to use for baking? It's really personal preference. For me, when I'm baking cookies - I like to use almond meal. It seems to give cookies more substance than the finer almond flour. This Snickerdoodle is probably the lightest cookie I've ever made using almond meal. I get my almond meal at Trader Joe's ($3.99/lb bag). Almond flour, on the other hand, I like for cakes where a light, fluffy texture is preferable. You can find almond meal at Whole Foods or online, where the price starts at about $7.50 lb. and goes up from there. If you do a lot of baking, it can add up quickly!

This recipe is very easy to make, so have at it!

Gluten-free Almond Snickerdoodles
Makes about 20 - 3/4 oz cookies. This recipe can easily be doubled.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Butter (1 stick)
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/8 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Splenda (or use just regular sugar)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (or Almond Extract for a more intense almond flavor)
• 1/2 cup Almond Meal
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Cream of Tartar
• pinch of Salt

Coating Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Splenda
• 1/2 tsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

1. In a very small bowl, mix together the coating ingredients. I usually mix it with a small whisk, and then put it through a strainer to make it fine. It looks nicer on the cookie that way (but you may not care how it looks, as long as it tastes good!). Set aside.
2. In another bowl, mix together the almond meal, rice flour, potato starch, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and xanthan gum with a whisk and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and white & brown sugars together until light and fluffy. Then add the Splenda and beat to incorporate.
4. Add the egg and beat.
5. Add the vanilla extract and beat.
6. Gradually add the dry ingredients (at low speed) and mix until completely blended.
7. Scoop generous tablespoons of batter onto your parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches in between (they do spread!) (or, if you're a bit obsessive like me, you can weigh each one. I make them either 3/4 oz or 1/2 oz).
8. When you have your cookie sheet full, gently roll each into a ball, and then roll the ball in the sugar-cinnamon coating.
9. When each cookie has been coated, press them down lightly with the ball of your hand to make a circle, about 1/4" high.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes.
11. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Makes about 16 - 3 1/2" cookies. This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled if you need more.

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Chocolate Macaroons, Naturally Gluten-Free

Nearly all macaroon recipes I've ever made have no wheat. This is one of my favorites. It's chocolaty, with a soft and chewy center, and fairly easy to make. I found it on allrecipes.com a few years ago, and have made it over and over again. If you're not a fan of coconut - no worries. There's so much chocolate in these that the coconut definitely takes a back seat in the flavor category. I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips - on sale this week several places so I stocked up. They are my favorite chips.

OK - so it's not the prettiest cookie on the block, but it's nothing that a light dusting of powdered sugar can't fix... which is what I plan on doing before serving these at an up coming event. For now - into the freezer they go, right next to the pretty cookies :-)

Gluten-free Chocolate Macaroons

Ingredients:

• 3 Egg Whites (room temperature best, but not required)
• Pinch of Salt
• 3/4 cup White Sugar
• 2 1/4 cups Shredded Coconut, unsweetened
• 1 1/4 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (Almonds or Walnuts are good)
• 1 tsp Vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F degrees.

1. Melt chocolate in double-boiler (aka bowl over simmering water) and let cool.
2. Using an electric hand mixer whip the egg whites until foamy. Then slowly add salt and sugar a little at a time, until the mixture stands in peaks (about 5 minutes).
3. Gently stir in the Vanilla.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate, coconut, and nuts until completely blended.
5. Scoop (about a heaping tablespoon) the dough about 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Use your fingers to shape them into a dome.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before carefully moving to cooling rack.

The cookies will be soft until completely cooled. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Note: the dough may become dry and crumbly while you're working with it. Just press it together with your hands to form the domes and they will hold together.

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Gluten-free Black and White Cookies (!!!!!)

So you may be asking yourself, what's the big deal (!!!!!) about Gluten-free Black and White Cookies. And I can only answer, you clearly are not from New York (or nearby), nor have spent much time there. Because if you were, or did, you wouldn't have to ask.

Black and White cookies are a New York delicacy. A tradition. A trademark. And for some reason, you don't find them anywhere else (except maybe New Jersey, or Connecticut, or one of those other nearby states). In California, you might find them occasionally in a deli or bagel place (NOT Noahs! I said BAGELS). But even when you do, they are usually not fresh - and one thing for sure - you want to eat a Fresh Black and White Cookie. The traditional Black and White cookie is almost like a tea cake - soft and a little spongy. The top has half white icing and half chocolate icing. Or, if you're into creative Black and White cookies, you can go visit The Black and White Cookie Company in NY.

Most of my friends here in California have never even heard of a Black and White Cookie (except maybe on an episode of Seinfeld, or Sex and the City. LOL).

I do have one friend in particular here who like me, is originally from NY. She, like me, has the same landing pattern when going home to visit. Head out for Pizza first, then a Black and White Cookie. (She actually goes for a Knish, too.) She totally gets it. She was the first person I called when I baked these - because she understands the love for Black and White Cookies, AND because she is Wheat-intolerant. Needless to say, she was very, very happy. I gave her a few and told her she can share them, and she looked at me and said, "I have to share them???" LOL. "No, I just thought if you didn't want them all, feel free to share them." "You don't HAVE to."

This recipe take a little time, so I suspect most of you won't bother making them unless you are serious about Black and White Cookies.

It starts with a typical gluten-free looking batter - something in between a cookie batter and a cake batter.



Traditional Black and White cookies are BIG. Easily a 5" or 6" circle, or even bigger. I chose to make these a little smaller - maybe 4" - since I was just experimenting. I used my largest cookie scoop.



I baked them, and they came out like hockey pucks. Ha! They didn't spread much. No picture needed. So I made some adjustments to the remaining batter, scooped them out, and gently flattened them to about 1/4" to 1/2", maintaining a circle.



Much better. They may not look so good to you in this picture, but here's a very important thing if you are baking these. The top of the cookie becomes the bottom! A Black and White Cookie is dome-shaped, and the flat part (bottom, when baking) becomes the top of the cookie.



Once the cookies cool, you prepare your icings - which can make or break a Black and White Cookie. Wherever you go to buy your B&W, rarely will you find the icing the same at any two places. Everyone has their favorite. To tell you the truth, I'm still working out the icing kinks. I know I have to include *some* icing recipe with this cookie, and I started out with good intentions when I was making it, but it ended up being a 'by the seat of my pants' recipe. The phone rang, and I was yapping on the phone (it was an important call) while trying to make the icing, and dumping in a little more of this and that, and I don't know what quantities I ended up including.

The thing is - they tasted really good. So I guess you can say it's a "to taste" type of icing recipe. They came out a little messy - I can fix that next time. But they are really, really good.



Will definitely make more perfect looking next time.

Oh - and since people always ask me what I do with all this stuff I bake, I cut these in half and brought them to class with me for my students. My bad :-)

Gluten-free Black and White Cookies

Makes about 26 4" cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups Gluten-free mix (your favorite or my favorite)
• 1 1/4 cups Brown Rice flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch (not flour)
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/flour
• 3 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk (approximately)
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (I might try 350 degrees next time). You might want to consider baking just 1 or 2 first, to ensure that the consistency of the batter is right. If they turn out too heavy, you can add a bit more milk to the batter.

1. Sift flours, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until blended well.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Stir in the vanilla, lemon, and milk.
5. It will be thick, but if batter is too thick, add a bit more milk. It should be a little thicker than a cake batter.
6. Gradually add the flour mixture until well blended.
7. Scoop large scoops of batter onto parchment-lined cookie sheets leaving about 1" inbetween. Gently flatten into a circle about 1/4" to 1/2" high. They won't spread much, but they will puff up.
8. Bake about 15 minutes, until lightly brown. May have to adjust baking time depending on the size cookie you make.
9. Remove from oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

Here's a basic icing recipe that I use. You can make adjustments to get a flavor you like and the right consistency for spreading. This recipe uses corn syrup. I HATE using corn syrup in anything. I use a minimal amount here to help the icing set and give it some shine, but in the future I will experiment with adding a little oil instead.

White Icing

Ingredients:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp light corn syrup
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Hot water

Directions:

1. Whisk the ingredients together vigorously to blend and remove all lumps, adding small amounts of hot water at at time until the icing reaches a good consistency to spread, without being runny.

Chocolate Icing

Directions:

1. Same as above except add 1/3 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa

When cookies are completely cool, ice one side of each cookie with the white icing. Then ice the other side with the chocolate icing. There you go! A Gluten-free Black and White Cookie (!!!!!)

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Your Basic Gluten-Free Cookie

Here's the thing - this is a great base for a gluten-free cookie. What I mean is - you can add anything to it you want to to make it your own. Chocolate (white and/or dark!!), Candied Ginger, different kinds of nuts or dried fruits, ....whatevah! The possibilities are endless.

In my case, I had a bunch of ingredients I wanted to get rid of - starting with some dried mango. Not an ingredient I usually keep around - I bought some for a candy recipe I tried (one that went terribly wrong...). Dried mango is a little strange - or maybe it's just the dried mango I happened to buy at Trader Joes. I needed to chop it up - but it didn't chop. Unchoppable. So I ended up ripping it into little pieces. LOL.

Anyway, I also had some dried cranberries, dried cherries (my favorite!), and some slivered almonds. Oh - and some coconut. So I came up with a recipe that I thought would work - and it did!

The thing that's so great about this cookie, besides it's flexibility, is the texture. It's nice and thick, with a slight crunch, and it's chewy in the middle. I think it make a great Chocolate Chip cookie. I would try it as CCC this week, except I already have a gluten-free Chocolate Chip cookie dough in the refrigerator resting..... until Friday morning when I'll bake it. Why is it resting? Because it's the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie - gone gluten-free!!!!!! But that's a story for another day :-)

So - these are the cookies before they went into the oven. I scooped them with my middle size scoop, and then flattened out the top just slightly, keeping them thick.



and 16 minutes later.....




And yes, they taste as good as they look. Go ahead, make them yours!

Basic Gluten-Free Cookie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Chopped Dried Mango
• 1/2 - 1/3 cup Juice (Orange, Apple, etc.)
• 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened slightly
• 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup White Sugar (I will use less next time)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1 cup Sorghum flour
• 1 cup Brown Rice flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca starch/flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Coarsely Chopped Nuts
• 3/4 cup Unsweetened Flaked Coconut
• 1/2 - 1 cup Dried Cherries, Cranberries, etc.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).

1. Simmer orange juice and mango in a small pan over medium-low heat for 8 minutes. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, Xanthan Gum, and salt, and mix with whisk or fork.
4. Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
5. Fold in the nuts, dried fruit, and coconut to evenly combine.
6. Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Flatten the top slightly.
7. Bake approximately 16 minutes. They will not brown much on top. Remove from oven and leave the cookies on the sheet for 5-10 minutes. Then move them to a cooling rack.

Makes about 40-44 2 1/2" cookies. You can make them smaller, but you will have to adjust the baking time. Enjoy!

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Gluten-free Blueberry Almond Cookies

Before I leave for two weeks on a vacation to visit friends, I wanted to share another fun recipe. Still taking advantage of summer fruit while it's here - I really was in the mood for a new kind of cookie. Blueberries in a cookie? A cookie full of anti-oxidants? Sounds like a great idea.....but I haven't figured out if this is a cookie or a muffin :-) I adapted this recipe to make it gluten-free from a recipe by Giada De Laurentis at the Food Network.

It's looks like a cookie and bakes like a cookie, but it has the texture of a muffin. Kind of like a muffin top. Yeah! Who doesn't love a muffin top!



The original recipe called for 1 cup of sugar. I used 1/2 cup of the Splenda Blend product. I think next time I will cut it back to 1/3 cup. They are plenty sweet. You could probably use all Splenda as well - but baked goods generally don't brown with all Splenda. You could also use part Splenda and part sugar. But I would definitely keep it under a cup.

Gluten-free Blueberry Almond Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-free flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal or finely ground almonds
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup Splenda-blend
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 - 2 tsp lemon or orange zest
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds (or any nuts, really)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Parchment paper on your cookie sheet is recommended, or you can grease your cookie sheet.

1. Combine the flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, and Xanthan Gum and blend with a whisk.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar well (note that Splenda doesn't "blend" with butter as well - it will be fine once the other ingredients are added).
3. Add the egg and continue beating.
4. Add the milk, almond extract, and zest.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients.
6. Remove from mixer and mix in the nuts.
7. Gently fold in the blueberries (try not to break them)
8. Refrigerate the dough for about 30-40 minutes.
9. User a spoon or cookie scoop and place on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly (they won't spread much).
10. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

I used a medium-size cookie scoop and got about two dozen cookies. You could get more if you make a smaller cookie. Enjoy those blueberries while they're here!

See you in a couple of weeks!

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Wheat-free Sugar-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I make these cookies a lot. Mostly for my wheat-free friends (maybe you've had one?). I'm not much of an Oatmeal Raisin cookie girl, but I actually like them.

I took the recipe from the Stevia website, and made it wheat-free, and changed up a few other ingredients. I made them over and over and over again, tweaking it a little each time, until I think I got it right. Sometimes I got suggestions from wise friends that I incorporated as well. I guess you can say I got obsessed with this recipe. Pretty funny, considering I'd really rather have a chocolate chip cookie.

Oh, and I didn't actually use regular Stevia - I've heard from too many people that it has an aftertaste. Never having baked with any Stevia product before, I tried a product called NuStevia which is not supposed to have the aftertaste. I certainly didn't detect any. I got it here: NuStevia Powder at iHerb.



If you are wheat-free/gluten-free, I'm thinking you will really like this cookie. It's a soft texture (not uncommon for wheat-free cookies), but not quite cake-like. They freeze very well, too.

Wheat-free Sugar-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen 2" cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raisins (packed)
• 5 oz apple juice
• 1/3 cup raw cashews or walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup Sorghum (or Soy flour)
• 1/2 cup butter or butter substitute, softened
• 1 tsp NuStevia
• 1-2 Tbs pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup Sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup Oat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot
• 1 - 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• Optional: salted sunflower seeds and pumpkins seeds, golden raisins, chocolate chips.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Parchment paper on your cookie sheet is recommended, or you can grease your cookie sheet.

1. Place the raisins and apple juice in a small pot and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
2. In a mixing bow, cream the butter, nuts, and 1/4 cup Sorghum flour.
3. Add the NuStevia powder, Maple Syrup, Vanilla, a sightly beaten eggs
4. Cream about 1/3 of the stewed raisins and all of the juice into a blender or processor.
5. Stir the creamed raisins into the butter mixture. Then add the milk and oats.
6. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, cornstarch, Xanthan Gum, and salt and blend together well (a whisk is a good tool for this).
7. Stire the flour mix into the butter mixture, and add the rest of the raisins.
8. Mix until just blended (don't overmix).
9. To get a consistent size, use a cookie scoop (I used a medium size) and place each on the baking sheet.
10. Press each down slightly with the palm of your hand to flatten them out a bit.
11. If you're including the seeds and golden raisins, press them into each cookie
12. Bake for 11-12 minutes, being careful not to overbake.

Let them cool slightly before eating (if you can :-)

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