Recipe: Quinoa Cookies

The girls and I made cookies today! I got the recipe off of Mara's quinoa cereal box this morning, and thought it would be a good way to spend the afternoon since it was raining outside. I modified the recipe in a couple of ways...I used Spectrum's shortening instead of butter, and we used almond butter instead of peanut butter. I also used sorghum flour instead of rice flour, for no other reason then that it was closet to me (the rice flour was out in the freezer). So a bit of laziness on my part, but hey, it was raining outside and Rose is in the "must have Mommy at all times" stage...
The cookies were really good! They reminded me of oatmeal cookies in a way, but chewier. I want to play around with this recipe a bit, even though I thought they were quite good. Next time I want to replace the baking soda with baking powder-for a fluffier cookie (this works well with the peabutter recipe too). These cookies spread, so a well rounded teaspoon works well.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 3/4 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup of nuts, or seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Mix honey, shortening, almond butter, brown sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl at medium speed until creamy. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, quiona flakes, and baking soda together and slowly add to the wet mixture, mixing until completely blended.

Bake for about 10 minutes on an ungreased cookie tray. (You might want to set the timer for 9 minutes and check often!) Let stand on cookie tray for a minute before removing to cool.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Peabutter Cookies

Warning: these are NOT the most nutritious cookies! I debated whether or not to post this recipe just yet, as I plan to experiment with sugar alternatives because I hate the amount of refined sugar that are in these cookies. So I will keep you updated and hopefully post a healthier alternative in the future! Otherwise, these will just be an occasional treat for our girls.

I found a recipe for "Flourless cookies" from "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods" by Bette Hagman. This is a great book, as she also tries to eliminate dairy from her recipes ...so less modifying for me! The original recipe uses peanut butter, and I made it without modifications first, adding the Enjoy Life chocolate chips with it. They were delicious, and if you can have peanut butter, I highly recommend them! The author recommends using a processed peanut butter, but we found one that was still natural but had the added salt.

So after I was able to eat more then my share of these cookies, I also wanted to try and make some for Mara. It wasn't fair for her to see her mother stuffing her face, now is it? I immediately wanted to try her peabutter and see how it worked. I also added some raisins as well. These cookies only take a few minutes to make, another plus for me , as I am not the best at planning!
Both girls LOVE these cookies! The biggest difference I found between the two batches (besides the taste) was that the peabutter cookies did not spread out like the peanut butter ones did. Which actually worked out well, as I made small mini-cookies to keep the total sugar intake low for one sitting! Plus, these cookies are pretty filling, so I think a smaller cookie is ideal. Both girls prefer these cookies over anything else I have made, so I am even more determined to try to reduce the amount of refined sugar!

Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Peabutter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peabutter
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp gluten-free vanilla
• 3/4 cups raisins (optional)

Using your mixer, blend the peabutter and brown sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the baking soda and vanilla and blend until completely mixed. Add the raisins and blend by hand.
Drop cookies onto greased cookie sheets or parchment paper (we used parchment paper).

Bake 8-11 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.

Recipe: Pumpkin Cookies

I love to cook with the girls, although right after dinner was not the best decision I made today :) They bring so much joy into cooking-every step is so exciting for them. I hope they never lose their joy for cooking.
This was the first time making this recipe with the modifications for Mara. They turned out really good! Next time I want to play around with reducing the amount of brown sugar used. The biggest difference I have found in using gluten-free all purpose flour is that the cookies tend to crumble easily, and tonight was no different. The girls did not mind, enjoying their cookie before heading off to bed.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 c (15 oz can) Pumpkin
2 large eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup Canola Oil
2 tbsp Molasses
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.

In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar and molasses. Add the salt, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until blended.
Add the flour and beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom and beat again until fully blended.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the batter and drop onto baking sheets, 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
Bake 10-12 minutes, until they feel firm to the touch. Remove and cool on rack.

Enjoy!