Oatmeal Date Chocolate Cookies ~ Heart Smart and Gluten Free

UPDATE September 2012: I just thought I should jump in here and let people know some changes I have made to this recipe. The one below works just fine, but my baking style has changed a little bit.

I now use only sweet sorghum flour and millet flour. I find that these 2 work just great together. Sometimes I might add a touch of almond flour, if I have it around. I barely use xantham gum anymore, I just add another egg. When I do add an egg, I might need to add more flour. This recipe does need about 1/3 more if you add an egg. Oh...and I always add some golden flax meal...for the nutrition.

Cheers, everyone, and oh, I do find that the above tips works for most of my baked goods now......

Have a great day!

I got the recipe for Oatmeal-Date-Chocolate Cookies from Health Magazine, I just changed the flours, added an egg, and a touch of xanthan gum. The resulting cookie was moist, chewy and delicious. I loved them, and my children have declared them their favorite cookies ever.

Changes? In the future I would double the recipe; they are so good you can't help but grab yet another one. These also look like they would travel well; I would prefer to pack these for a snack on a hike with an apple than any gluten free bar. I might also add nuts on occasion, but I really enjoyed the uninterrupted chewy factor.

Oatmeal Date Chocolate Cookie
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup gluten free flour ( I love a mix of: equal parts brown rice & sweet sorghum with a bit of teff)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups gluten free oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped dates
4 ounces chocolate chips
(optional: nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter over low heat in small pot, add brown sugar, take off heat and mix well. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and brown sugar/butter mixture. Fold in dates, chocolate, and nuts if using. Drop tablespoon size of batter on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes .

Cheers!!

Real Simple Magazine Cake Recipe ~ Gluten Free

I wouldn't call this recipe real simple, it's a cake from scratch, but it's not all that difficult either. This was hands down the best, the absolute best, gluten free cake I have ever had. It stayed moist as leftovers, did not turn crumbly in texture at all. No one would guess it was gluten free. I think it's the sweet rice flour that is the trick.

Sorry no pic, we ate it and enjoyed. Thought is would be better to give you the recipe instead of holding out on you, just for that. For the record, I did a double layer chocolate cake with raspberry in the middle with chocolate frosting on top. Marvelous!

I will be making this for my brother's birthday, since he just found out he has to be wheat free. Thank goodness he has ME as his sister!

Cheers!

Mrs. GF

Chocolate Cake


adapted from Real Simple, May 2011





1 cup (2 sticks butter) softened (soften extra for pans)


3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (& extra for dusting)





The Flours (2 cups total)


1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour


3/4 cup millet


1/2 cup almond flour


1/4 cup sweet rice flour





1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon baking soda


1 teaspoon kosher salt


1 1/2 cups sugar


2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


4 large eggs, room temperature


1 1/2 cups milk





Preheat oven to 350. Butter the pans and line with parchment. Butter again. Dust with cocoa powder. Put aside.

In bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Put aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.

Put batter in pans, and bake til toothpick comes out clean in center. Cool in pans, then after 15 min, take out of pans and cool on rack.

Approximate baking times as stated by Real Simple: For two 8-inch rounds: 30 to 35 minutes. For two 9-inch rounds: 25 to 30 minutes. For one 9-by-13-inch rectangle: 35 to 40 minutes. For 24 cupcakes: 20 to 25 minutes.

Gluten Free dining in the North End Boston, MA

Just a quick note to some great readers who wrote some wonderful comments over the past year...I just read them and hit the publish button. Thank you for taking the time to write, and I am so sorry I did not respond! I forgot I put an approval for them to publish. I had been getting so much spam, I had to stop that somehow. Thank you so much for all your comments and contributions. I will try and check them more often. You also have inspired me to write a post...here's to you... 

 I just came back from a wet, but glorious time in the North end. If you don't know about it..let me fill you in. It's the Italian district in Boston. The freedom trail runs through there. (the magic red line on the sidewalks that bring all over the city to see the historical sites.) This is the place where Paul Revere rode through the night to have them put the lights in the North Church to alert the patriots which way the British soldiers were approaching, one if by land, two if by sea. But you didn't come here for a history lesson, You came here for the food, and now the North End is starting to deliver. Modern Pastry Shop has a few gluten free and dairy free goodies in the counter, whoopee pies, muffins, cannolo, and just maybe some biscotti. I talked to the owner and she said she started making these since one of her daughters (or did she say all of them?) has to eat gluten free and dairy free. Hop on in, grab an espresso and a sweet treat! I went to Benevento's for lunch and they offer gluten free pizza and pasta. The pizza was okay. I think it was a French Meadow Bakery crust. I appreciate the effort and the ability to eat with everyone else. The toppings were excellent. I wish they would get Joan's Gluten Free Great Bakes crust, then this would be the spot! Next time, I would try the pasta, just because I am curious. I would go again with my family just to be able to share a meal together and look forward to the delicious cheese, toppings and know the crust isn't the highlight. Next up, dinner at Marco's. Love this place..the food was delicious. If you notify them ahead of time, by about 24 hours or call when you make reservations, they will try and make some gluten free bread for you. Great to dip in the fabulous gravy. Gluten free pasta is offered here as well. Cannot wait to go again! I had breakfast at Caffe Nuovo, an omelet and home fried potatoes. She skillet fries the potatoes, so they are safe. Just let your server know you are gluten free, and they will accommodate you. My mother went crazy over the truffles scrambled eggs, I was very happy with my generous western omelet. Make sure you eat at Familio Georgio’s on Salem Street. Fresh gluten free pasta, gf pizza, so much it’s amazing. Great for the whole family.  There are other restaurants in the North end that do gluten free, I just did not go to them. Nebo keeps popping up, but I have yet to try it. If you have, leave a comment and let me know if I need to get over there,. I am getting hungry just reviewing all this great food. When can I go again??? Cheers, Mrs. GF

Some of my favorite products

Hi!!
Long time no blog. Sorry, life has been so busy, blogging has been pushed to the back of my list. I have been getting a lot of questions lately about good gluten free products for people just starting out on this lifestyle. I spent so much time and money at the beginning to find food that tasted good, and I would love to save someone else's time and money. I will be working on this list a little bit at a time, and adding in the links to sites later. For now, just google any products if you are interested. If I don't do this a bit at a time, I will never get this out. So bear with me, and check back, hopefully I will get this all tweaked in a couple of weeks.

Best gluten free pizza:
Joan's Gluten Free Great Bakes ~(the round NY one) Thick, chewy crust, delicious. When I get this, I am so happy. It tastes the closest to real pizza that I have tasted. No one has else has done such a great job. You can also get a plain crust and do your own toppings. Something I wish restaurants would do.
Better Than Bread ~ Thin crust pizza, yummy. I don't feel deprived when I have this.

Best pancakes:
Pamela's Pancake mix. Non-gluten free children tell me how much they love my pancakes.

Best Waffles:
Van's. I love mine pan fried with butter.

Best Bagels :
Joan's Gluten Free Great Bakes ~ Get them frozen, bake them fresh. Hot. Chewy. Yummy. She even makes a dairy free one. Do your self a favor and order some of these and some pizza at the same time to save shipping costs.

Best Bread:
Rudi's ~ I just found this at my local co-op. Great sandwich bread. Like a gluten free bread, best toasted.
Abigail's ~ Bakery in Weare, NH. They have this yummy cinnamon swirl bread made with millet that my children (who can eat gluten) adore as much as I do. It is a dense bread that can stand up to overnight French toast.
Berry Delicious ~ Bakery in Plymouth, NH. She has a sandwich bread that I love as a toast bread in the morning. Great texture.

Best Pie ~
Berry Delicious ~ Bakery in Plymouth, NH. Oh my. Her pie is awesome. I buy them frozen then bake them when I am going to serve them.

Best Brownie Mix ~
Pamela's, hands down.

I will be adding more to this list and getting the links in here soon. Good luck to those who are just starting out on this diet.

Cheers,
Danielle

Gluten Free Quest: Whole Grain Commercial Bread?

I have a quest, and was wondering if any of you could help. I like good food, and most of the time I don't mind making it. But when I want to make decent french toast for my children, and I have to make the bread before I can even think about making the french toast, I get a bit aggravated.

I feel like Martha Stewart.

I feel like I should have grown the grains in my backyard, ground them by hand, and....you know the joke. don't get me wrong, I like Martha. It's just not my style.

There are a lot of great products out there for gluten free eaters. But I would just love to find a whole grain english muffin, bagel, or bread that is decent. One I don't have to slave over the stove for hours to make.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks for your help, and I hope you have a great day!

Cheers,
Danielle

Triumph Dining: A Review for a Gluten Free Resource

I started this awhile ago, and never got the chance to finish it. Here is my honest review.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know about you; but when I started off having to eat gluten free, I used resources and the web a lot. I came across something called "triumph Dining Cards" but never thought much about it. I didn't think I needed that. You see I thought my eating out experiences would be very limited, or not happen at all.

So why bother?

Why bother indeed? I got contacted by a woman named Jennifer who asked if I would review the latest copy of the Triumph dining. I do not get paid for this or have any agenda or financial interest in this company. I don't want to be paid, otherwise I couldn't say exactly what I feel. I am not tied to anything, except myself and my character; I prefer to be an honest, reliable person. That you can count on.

I procrastinated sending her the info, and then said, "Sure. Why not?" My goal for this blog is to share gluten free food options, and this fits right in.

Well, I just looked at it about two hours ago. And already I love it, and wish I bought one sooner. I think that it is an amazing resource to have, very handy to keep in the car, or bring on a road trip.

There was something that I found amazing.

Gluten Free Pizza. In a town close-by; where we visit often. Where we have family. Where we have ordered pizza for everyone else while I got sushi. Where I can go and eat pizza with my family (they do not need to eat gluten free) and be included.

And. I. Never. Knew. About. It.

Until I got this book. Right there. It would be worth it. And my husband is so excited he is trying to find a day for us to go out there and eat. And this is a man you used to think traveling for just food is crazy.

Funny how things change.

The book now stays in the car, or checked before we travel. Sometimes I bring it along. They have a website now, and a place to add any restaurants you go to to add to their next edition. Go there, check it out, and share the information.

www.triumphdining.com

Cheers!
Danielle

Great Website to Explore

Hello all,

I hope that life is treating you well. No recipe tonight, just an interesting website that warrants a closer look...Urbanspoon.com. I have it connected to what I was looking for, a different or new gluten free restaurant in Boson, Ma. I do not know how or where they get their info, I know nothing about it really, but I may be trying a new restaurant tomorrow based on it.

Check it out, www.urbanspoon.com, and let the rest of us know what you think.

Cheers!
Danielle