5-spice molasses cookies

mmm... i'm sharing this recipe today on my sick-day home from work :( but the cookies were delicious! thanks to lee's mom for sharing a ginger molasses recipe that worked great to convert to gluten free, 5-spice cookies! sorry for the lack of photograph, but i either mailed the cookies away or ate them. they are long gone--but the lucky recipients of them (my nieces and kara--the purchaser of the great 5-spice) will enjoy them, i hope. even if they arrive via usps in a million pieces...

5-spice molasses cookies

3/4 cup vegan shortening (or softened butter or margarine)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp high quality chinese 5-spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cup gluten free flour mix of your choosing (or regular all-purpose flour)
1 tsp xanthan gum IF you are not using a GF flour mix that already has it. OMIT for regular white, all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar

1. preheat oven to 350.
2. in a large bowl, beat shortening or butter on high speed for about 30 seconds.
3. add brown sugar, 5-spice, and baking soda. beat until combined. beat in egg and molasses.
4. add flour (and xanthan gum if using)--beat in as much as you can with the mixer. then add any remaining flour by hand if necessary.
5. shape dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. if you are using gluten free flour, you may need to refrigerate the dough for 5 minutes before doing this. roll in white sugar to coat.
6. bake on a parchment covered baking pan (for GF cookies) or an ungreased baking sheet or baking stone. bake for about 10 minutes, until puffy and lightly browned. let stand about 2 minutes before attempting to remove from baking sheet.

the mystery of the disappearing dinner

now you see it...


now you don't!


for those of you who don't know, i'm a huge nancy drew fan, so the title of this post just came to me--flashed in front of my mind's eye with a spanky yellow binding :)

anyway, if you recall, about a month and a half ago, we had dinner with our friends drew and jessica. they were very kind to try some new, gluten-free gnocchi that we had made. EW... it was made from sorghum flour and was not so successful. this is where i apologize to drew and jessica and tell them that they are invited over for the rest of this gnocchi! it is just lying there, in a bag in my freezer, waiting for you to have spare time! SEE?!?


so here it is: tasty, gluten-free gnocchi

2 1/4 pounds potatoes (i used organic yukon gold)
1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (my flour of choice is namaste brand)
1 tsp. salt
large pinch of nutmeg
pepper to taste
1 egg

1. pierce potatoes 4-5 times and place into pre-heated 400 degree oven. bake for approx. 45 minutes. when they are done, let cool for about 10 minutes and then peel--no peeler necessary! just pinch the skin and pull back with your fingers. if it's too hot for you, hold potatoes with a pot holder.
2. put about 1 cup of flour into a large bowl. using a food mill over the bowl, puree the potatoes right onto the flour.
3. sprinkle the top with a little bit of flour--i used about 1/2 cup here. using a dough hook, slowly incorporate some of the flour until the mixture is a little crumbly.
4. add salt, nutmeg, pepper and egg. mix until well combined and everything forms a neat dough. it should not be sticky.
5. divide dough into quarters. roll out into long strips onto a lightly floured surface (i used plain sorghum flour for this step).
6. cut the gnocchi into 1/2 inch pieces. you can create the cock's comb here if you like, but i didn't. place gnocchi onto baking sheets and put into freezer until cold. then you can store in freezer bags and they won't stick together. just keep them all in one layer in the bag.
7. if cooking right away, place gnocchi into lightly salted boiling water. boil until they float to the top. don't crowd the pot or they might stick together! i only cook a handful at a time.

the sauce i made for these was a spicy green pea and butter sauce. it was basically butter (i really used smart balance). then i sauteed some garlic in the butter and added a handful of frozen green peas and a tablespoon of pine nuts because that's all i had left. when the peas were almost cooked and the pine nuts were a little toasty, i sprinkled with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, some black pepper, some parsley and i added a splash of vodka (i didn't have any white wine!) i finished with a small ladle of the gnocchi-cooking water. the hot sauce was then poured over the platter of gnocchi.

served with balsamic roasted brussels sprouts.

DELISH!

dessert: a gingerbread sheep that lee made yesterday after a minor gingerbread cookie making catastrophe. it all ended well, though, you see... well, for me, not the sheep. it's covered in cherrybrook kitchen dairy free icing :)

good food to eat :)

i've been cooking up a storm recently--cookies that i can eat, good dinners, crepes (which is one of my favorite foods!), and wanted to share some pictures.

breakfast crepes: at first, the pan was too hot and they were coming out thick and a little gluey. but once we learned how to work with a batter that had xanthan gum in it, this was the result. what a beautiful crepe!


i made these cookies, which were supposed to be macaroons, the other night for a cookie exchange. the reason they're not really macaroons is because i had almond paste on hand and didn't want to make the appropriate amount of almond flower. the almond paste was for a different cookie that i wanted to make and then couldn't get all the ingredients. but it worked well here! lee calls these meringueroons, because they are more like almond flavored meringues.

so delicious... here's the recipe:

1 7oz. tube almond paste, crumbled well (i did this in a food processor)
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt

1. beat egg whites until you have medium stiff peaks.
2. add the salt and almond extract and beat in quickly. continue beating and slowly add sugar.
3. fold in the almond paste.
4. chill for about 15 minutes.
5. fill a pastry bag and using a standard round tip, pipe cookies onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. bake at 325 for about 20 minutes, or until set and lightly browned.

(alternatively, you could use 2 cups of almond flour and would likely get a cookie of a different consistency. but i am in love with these little cuties! look at this one--this piping mistake looks like africa!)

these cookies are the same recipe for the chocolate chip cookies i made a while back (i made the modifications I said I would--rice flour & honey if you read it again). just minus the chips, flattened and with blueberry jam in the center. i can't lie. i prefer the chocolate chip variety. the cookie isn't very sweet, so the chocolate seems to help it out.


and a 5-star dinner here! tofu marsala with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. the tofu was breaded and cooked in a mix of brown rice flour and cornmeal. it was perfect. and the gravy was thicked with a bit of all-purpose gluten free flour and it also game out delectably. sigh!


happy cooking to all you out there as well :)

and also a new diet...

my friends know me as a baker :) in fact, i might be known in some circles for my delicious vegan cupcakes. unfortunately, a fly has gotten stuck and is gooping up my proverbial batter.

when i got my new job here in boston, i got new health insurance. and then i decided to change doctors because i was so damn tired of the crappy service i got at my local health center. i had a great np there, but it didn't matter. i usually waited for her for 2 hours--even though i had an appointment. and the rest of the staff at the place were deplorable! so at the first visit with my new doctor, she looked through my past medical records. by the way, she was only looking through what i've had done since moving to boston. that's medical records for only 3 1/2 years. and guess what? IT'S 57 PAGES LONG! you might say i've had some issues.

anyway, as she was looking at this and looking at all the tests, symptoms, and mumbo-jumbo that's been going on in my life, she says, "i think you have a food allergy. i'm sending you to see our nutritionist."

fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago, after multiple lab tests and elimination diets, i have discovered that i have ncgs, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. this basically means i can no longer have gluten which is found in: wheat, barley, rye, spelt, triticale, and commercial oats (due to cross-contamination). i've probably left something out. but now my eating world, and my baking world, has been shaken upside down.

now, i may be able to re-introduce some wheat gluten in the future, in small amounts. because i don't have celiac disease, i may be able to eat some wheat as long as i feel ok. we'll see. for now, i'm on a pretty strict diet--or at least i'm trying to be.

now, back to baking. i made some gluten free cupcakes for halloween that were delicious! but i don't have pictures of them. they were made from sorghum flour, white rice flour, and some cornmeal and i made them marbled vanilla and chocolate (with cocoa powder added to about 1/3 of the batter). no one knew they were gluten free! they just asked about the texture and i said i was experimenting with some cornmeal in the batter. YAY!

but today i was home from work (i love having mondays off), and decided to make some cookies. here you go...

gluten free, dairy free, egg free...


chocolate chip cookie crisps (i heavily adapted a wheat-free cookie recipe from Great Good Desserts Naturally by Fran Costigan)

1 c sorghum flour
3/4 c cashews, toasted and cooled
1/2 c cornmeal
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp canola oil
1/8 c honey
1/8 c white sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
4 tbsp vanilla almond milk
vegan chocolate chips

1. put the cornmeal in a food processor and pulse. this can make it a little finer to take the toothy grain down a bit in the cookie. place in a large mixing bowl.
2. put the cashews in the processor and create a fine meal or flour. add to the cornmeal. then add the sorghum flour, salt, and spices. mix well.
3. in a small bowl, mix together canola oil, honey, sugar, vinegar, and extracts. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. you should be able to form little walnut-sized balls of dough that stick together nicely, but aren't too sticky. if the mixture is a little dry, add the almond milk, one tablespoon at a time. then add chocolate chips.
4. place the balls on a baking stone (or a cookie sheet with parchment). flatten and bake for about 12-13 minutes at 350 degrees.

the next time i make them, i will use 1/4 c of honey, not split honey/sugar. but i ran out of honey half way through! i would also use rice flour rather than cornmeal and almonds rather than cashews. the cornmeal is a texture thing, the almonds are a taste thing. but i have to say that i successfully made a chewy and yummy cookie without any gluten! moderate improvements and i might have something perfectly delicious :)