Gluten Free Brownies

These brownies are adapted from one of the best brownie recipes in the world. That is, if you like a fudgy brownie, unadorned with any fillers. These have a crackly top, with a discernible texture as your teeth bite down. And beneath them? Pure, smooth chocolateness.

SERVINGS
12 (if people have the restraint to not eat more than one brownie)

INGREDIENTS
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (or as dark as you can stand it)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Chop the chocolate into small slivers. Slice the butter into one-inch pieces. Combine the two flours together.

2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. Place a large metal bowl over the top of the saucepan. Put the chocolate and butter into the metal bowl and stir, occasionally, as they both begin to melt. As they come to a full melt, stir and stir, vigorously, until you have a cohesive mixture.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sugar and eggs, whisking vigorously until they are creamed together, with a silky consistency. Add the vanilla extract and salt and stir well. Add in the gluten-free flours and stir. Finally, pour in the melted chocolate-butter mixture and stir, carefully, with a rubber spatula, until the mixture has become smooth.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with the spatula. Slide the baking pan into the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.

As the brownies are baking, fill the sink with ice cubes and 1 inch of water. When the brownies are finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it immediately into the ice-water bath. (Don't let any water splash up onto the brownies!) Let the brownies stay there until they have cooled completely.

These brownies taste best the next day, after an entire night of refrigeration. That makes the top crunchy, the insides decadently chewy. However, I'm sure no one would suffer if you ate the brownies immediately, either. Except, perhaps, for those not eating them. YUM!

Recipe source

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you may or may not be aware, we have taken strides to remove gluten from our diets to see if this will affect Alexander and Isabel’s behaviour and/or learning focus.

It’s been a bit of a transition for us, since Alexander is such a picky eater and he LOOOVES carbs. But we’ve found a few substitutes that he accepts.

While browsing around for some gluten-free recipes, I found this little gem: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. My kids love cookies, so I think I will try the recipe this weekend.

Ingredients & Directions:

Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl:
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp zanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

In a separate bowl, beat to cream:
- 3/4 cup organic coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp bourbon vanilla
- 2 eggs, beaten

Add the whisked dry ingredients to the creamed brown sugar and beat to combine.

Add in 3 to 3 1/2 cups of gluten-free rolled oats (I'll be using quinoa flakes). Start with 3 cups, and add more if desired.

Add in 1 cup dark chocolate chips. Stir by hand to combine.

So I will try the recipe this weekend, and I will update you all on Facebook to let you know how it all went.

Recipe source

The perfect chocolate chip cookie

I have been on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie for a few years. Obviously, it hasn't been my first priority, but every time I see a new recipe, I try it out. And I know that this isn't really condusive to the lifestyle change that Jeff and I have made, but our kids really do love chocolate chip cookies, so every once in a blue moon, I make some.

Here is a chart from The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie, showing possible results of an attempt at chocolate chip cookies, and what you did wrong to create this result:

1.  This cookie is done just right. It is pictured to compare with the rest.

2.  This dough was not refrigerated.  It is still good but a little flatter than it should be.

3.  This dough contained too much flour and did not spread much at all. It is interesting to note that the dough looked identical to the correct dough, but was much stiffer and drier. 

4.  This dough had too little flour.  It spread too much and didn't bake evenly.

5.  This dough was over-mixed.  It had a poor color, baked flat and had a strange consistency.

6.  This dough was formed too small.  It was overcooked at eight minutes. It is fine to make smaller cookies, just bake them for less time. 

7.  This dough was formed too large.  The outsides were done while the middle was too high and underdone.

8.  This dough was baked in an oven 25 degrees too hot.  The outside was overdone and the inside was slightly underdone.

9.  This dough was baked in an oven 25 degrees too cool.  It fell flat and became too crisp without much of an inside.

10.  This dough was frozen when baked.  It took longer to bake and didn't cook as evenly.  To use frozen dough, set on cookie sheet at room temperature while oven is preheating, 15-20 minutes.  It takes the frost off and bakes perfectly.

And this is my attempt of trying to make the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie.

So yummy!