Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies (high altitude)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup natural peanut butter OR natural applesauce

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Beat above ingredients until smooth and well combined, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

2 1/3 cups (347 grams) gluten-free flour mix

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl and add to butter mixture.  Mix well to combine, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Stir goodies in to cookie dough

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-16 minutes or until edges are golden.  Cool on wire rack and freeze any leftovers.

(Recipe created at 4,000 feet)

Valentine's Day Fondue

Cheese Fondue

24 oz can Heineken beer
4 ½ cups cheese, shredded (I like a combo of cheddar and Monterey jack)
½ cup + 1 Tbsp butter
½ cup + 1 Tbsp flour
3 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Melt butter in small saucepan on medium high heat. Add flour, salt, and garlic powder and stir with a whisk until it forms a thick paste. Add beer. Heat until just boiling. Turn down heat to low, and add cheese, a bit at a time, stirring constantly until melted and creamy. Turn off heat. Transfer to a fondue pot or crock pot.

Dip:

Bread

Apples

Chocolate Fondue

From Cuisinart fondue pot box

¼ cup milk

12 oz chocolate chips (can do ½ chocolate, ½ white chocolate)

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

big dollop of peanut butter (optional)

Melt chocolate chips and milk over warm heat. Add condensed milk and vanilla and stir thoroughly. Add peanut butter, if using, and stir in.

Dip:

Strawberries/berries

Pineapple

Angel food cake

Bananas

Homemade Nutella Poptarts

My homemade Pop-Tarts.

I've been toying with the idea of making my own Pop-Tarts for awhile to get away from all the rancid, bad-for-me fats, oils, sugar, etc. My first attempt was HORRIBLE! I used lard and they ended up smelling like bacon, yuck! I thought I was done forever and then a fellow blogger, Enchantingly Simple, pointed me in the direction of an awesome website.

Now all I had to find was a good pie crust dough that didn't use vegetable shortening. I came across one that uses butter and made it just like it said (eventually I will try it with whole wheat flour and whey in the water for reducing the phytates). I left the butter pieces the size of peas, instead of cutting them in until it resembled cornmeal like I usually do. The finished product look like crap with all these big chunks of butter. I got really pissed off and just put it in the fridge and went to bed. The next day I finally decided to try it, even though I was sure it would just be horrible. To my surprise it is the BEST pie crust recipe I have ever tried - store-bought or homemade. So when the recipe says cut it in until the pieces are about as big as peas...DO IT. It will look even worse when you roll it out with big smears of butter but it makes the best flakiest crust I have ever tasted. (And don't even THINK about using margarine!)

Double Crust Butter Pie Dough

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 oz (2 sticks) butter, cut in small squares and frozen
• ice water, to incorporate (about a cup, but don't just dump it all in)

1. Put all dry ingredient in a medium-large bowl and mix well with a spoon. Put the previously frozen butter in and cut it in using a pastry blender, forks, or knives. Stop cutting in the butter when the chunks are about the size of peas.
2. Dribble about 1/2 cup of the ice water in to the bowl. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You'll probably need an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon at a time. Once you're pulling large clumps with the spatula, use your hands to gather the dough in to one mound, patting it together.
3. You can use the dough right away, store it in the fridge for 3 days, or store it in the freezer (double bagged) for a few months.
4. When you roll it out use plenty of white flour to keep it from sticking. And since pie dough is my nemesis, I also use wax paper to roll it out on to help with the sticking problem.
5. Bake it according to whatever recipe you are using.

The PB Cookies - Ever!

My sister gave me this recipe while I was away at college a few years ago. I swear, I made them at least once a week. These have shortening, and usually I never cook with shortening but I've made them with lard and they just aren't the same. So shortening it is.

Kell's Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla (that is not a misprint - it says Tablespoon)

Mix above ingredients together very well with an electric mixer.

• 1 egg

Add egg and mix until just blended

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until just blended.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Drop heaping teaspoonful 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Flatten slightly with a sugared fork.
4. Bake 7-8 minutes or until just browned (don't over cook!)
5. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Brownies From a Box? - NO More!

My mother-in-law gave me Make-A-Mix by Eliason, Harward, and Westover for my birthday this year along with about a dozen or so airtight canisters to put my mixes in. Well, I finally decided to seriously go through the book and mark the recipes that we would eat and the mixes to go along with them. I came up with about 10 dry/semi-dry mixes and 4 freezer meat mixes that I wanted to try. Today I was feeling ambitious and decided to make a few dry mixes which included: Brownie Mix, Hot Roll Mix, Muffin Mix, Snack Cake Mix, and Whole-Grain Pancake Mix. I decided to do half fresh-ground whole wheat flour, and half unbleached all-purpose flour for all the mixes. I whipped up a batch of brownies and WOW they are good. Even picky eater #1 loved them - and THEN I told him that it had whole wheat flour in it.

**Modified 5-25-10 for gluten-free baking. Works well and tastes better than store bought gluten-free brownie mixes. You may need to increase your baking time a little.
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BROWNIE MIX - Gluten-Free

• 6 cups Gluten-free flour mix
  
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 4 tsp salt
• 8 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1. Combine in a large bowl with a whisk.
2. Put in large airtight container.
3. Label and use within 12 weeks.

BROWNIES

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups Brownie Mix
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 - 4 Tbsp water
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour 8-inch square pan.
3. Combine all ingredients until well mixed.
4. Pour in to pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes.