(Allergy Free) Chocolate Chip Cookie

I was given the task of creating a flour free, nut free, and egg free chocolate chip cookie. I've said this before, but I usually avoid substitutions as there are chemical properties in wheat and eggs that are close to impossible to replicate. BUT when your closest friend asks you very nicely to do something...you do it.

I don't have experience playing around with recipes that exclude these ingredients and, to be honest, I didn't have the desire to spend hours upon hours in the kitchen trying to figure it out. So I did what any not-too-proud baker would do: I turned to Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour....and the recipe printed on the back of the bag.  

I have testimony from five different people (including my husband) that these cookies are good. Surprisingly good. Surprisingly hearty and nutty and chocolate-y and cookie-y.

I have now baked these four different times and here are a few things that I have learned:

1. Bake the cookies right away; the dough does not get better over time as oil starts to seep out.

2. Use good chocolate. Come on. The chocolate must always be good.

3. And last but not least, sprinkle them with salt, it makes everything better.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten free, nut free, dairy free, egg free)
from Bob's Red Mill

1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1 1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp melted coconut oil or canola oil
6 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips (use dairy free if need to fully avoid dairy)
Maldon flaked sea salt

Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, flaxseed meal, arrowroot starch, xantham gum, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, applesauce, and vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips.

Using a size 20 scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and bake for 14-16 minutes depending on desired consistency.

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Oatmeal Cookies

I have come to learn that there are two types of people: those who like raisins in baked goods and those who think that it is an abomination to put a raisin in anything. Clearly those people are crazy but we all have our issues: I, for one, feel that walnuts make any baked good completely and utterly inedible. 

I have been playing around with an oatmeal cookie recipe and in order to please both types of people I have made two different cookies: one with raisins and one with chocolate. I will be completely honest here and set the bar high: my husband said that these are the best cookies I have ever made. 

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Oatmeal Cookies
from WSJ

1½ cups raisins or chocolate chips
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp fine sea salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tbsp granulated sugar
2 cups old-fashioned or rolled oats
1 extra-large egg*
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

*You can use one large egg in this recipe if that is what you have on hand. Please note that if you double the recipe, you will need to adjust the amount of eggs that you use.

Make the cookies: Soak raisins in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain. In a small bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Using an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down frequently. Take care not to overbeat.

Add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Mix in oats, followed by drained raisins, egg and vanilla.

Refrigerate dough for at least one day.

Use a size 20 or size 50 scoop and space cookies onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake cookies at 350 for 14.5 minutes (size 20) or 10.5 minutes (size 50).

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Rozlyn's Birthday Party

I love making birthday cakes for other people but I LOVE making birthday cakes for my daughter. I love it even when my original plan fails miserably the day before (edible balloons are harder than I imagined), even when I don't have birthday candles (chanukah candles are a great substitution), and even when I decide to serve a super crumbly cheese to two-year olds the day after I clean the house (thank goodness for my vacuum).

I learned a handful of other things at Rozlyn's two-year birthday party:

1. Others believe I have the skill to hand carve wooden letters. I should take ownership of this and not let them know that Michael's also has a knack for selling said letters...for $9.99.

2. The level of skill that it actually takes to make sugar cookies that say "happy birthday" is indirectly correlated to how much skill other people think it takes.

3. Baking cookies directly on a cookie sheet without parchment paper or a silpat takes a major leap of faith...or this awesome pan from NordicWare. No, honestly, try it if only so that you can photograph a cookie on the beautiful herringbone pattern.

4. And lastly, everyone loves almond cake, even babies.

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Sugar Cookies

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together the flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the beater, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, slowly add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute.

Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed, about 1 minute. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls. Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut out desired shapes. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, 20-30 minutes, before baking.

Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges: 11-13 minutes, depending on size.

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