PRODUCT REVIEW - Immaculate Baking Co GF Cookie Dough

I was inspired to buy this awesomely-convenient refrigerated gluten free cookie dough from this commercial:

That is some fine advertising. And, if you put lots of veggies on your pizza like I do (see recipe here), you can almost consider your meal healthy.

Not to take a total commercial detour, I do want to share this commercial with ya'll. It's pretty much the best thing I've seen on TV in a long while. At least since Dexter was last on.

Anyways, I found this mix by Immaculate Baking Co. at our BRAND NEW Khim's Millenium Market on Myrtle Ave. A bit pricey, I think $6 for the 12 cookies, but definitely worth a try. The cookies are HUGE, you'll be fine with just one.

I was pleasantly surprised with the cookies, they were soft, chewy, and had a nice texture. Even 3 days later the leftover cookies were soft. That's something that even wheat-filled cookies oftentimes can't match. And you can't beat the convenience.

Now, Immaculate Baking Co., time to make some of your other products gluten free!!

PRODUCT REVIEW - Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Cookie Mix

Photo from everydayceliac.blogspot.com

I really wanted to like it. I tried. But I just couldn't do it.

We got this Hodgson Mill GF Cookie Mix because it was on sale at the grocery store. I think it was $3.99, which for a cookie mix is about a dollar less than anything else.

What's neat about this mix is they give you the base recipe (eggs, butter, etc), and then 5 different recipes to customize the mix (chocolate chip, almond, peanut butter, chocolate, and pecan). We went for the chocolate, which meant adding some melted chocolate to the mix before the eggs went in.

I should have seen the warning signs. Only one egg, when most recipes call for 2. The use of Amaranth flour in the ingredients, when normally this flour has a very strong taste, too strong for baked goods. Once mixed together, the dough looked like sandcastle sand. I should have known better.

The result, as you can guess, was not pretty. The cookies were hard, mealy, and crumbled as soon as you bit into them. And they tasted like nothing, with a hint of chocolate. Harumpf.

PRODUCT REVIEW - Duane Reade Delish Gluten Free Animal Cookies

(image found on Triumph Dining's website. They did a review of both Delish GF snack products: ginger snaps and animal cookies)

I fondly remember animal crackers from my childhood. The friendly box, the fun animal shapes, the convenient strap so you could carry it around like a purse (or a men's carry-all). I would like to maliciously eat the heads off the animals first, just to show them who's boss.

There's 2 reasons why these cookies are great: 1, because they're gluten free, and 2, because it looks really odd for an adult to buy animal crackers for their own snack, If you have a kid, that's fine. But these look so much more "grown-up" then the kid version.

Oh ya, there's another reason why these cookies are great: they're DELICIOUS!! I seriously ate half the bag yesterday. They taste BETTER than the original cookie. They're crunchy, sweet, have a touch of honey (I think this is the secret ingredient), and they taste just like regular cookies. They're fantastic. Go ahead and buy some. Now.

RECIPE - GF Chocolate, Coconut and Almond Cookies

Question: What is the best holiday?

Answer: Halloween!!

You may be thinking: Why would you ask that when Christmas is just around the corner, and Hannukah is going on now???

Let me explain.

Reasons why Halloween is the best holiday:
1. Free candy
2. No requirement to dress up (they HAVE to give you candy)
3. Zombie movies
4. Non-family parties
5. There's a parade (at least in NYC)
6. After Halloween, all the leftover candy is on massive sale at the store.

So, about 3 weeks ago, I purchased way too much candy while making a trip at Duane Reade. More specifically, I bought about 3 lbs each Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Almond Joy.

Then, recently, I've been trying to think up new and interesting cookie recipes. I've been wanting to use the Coconut Flour that I got from Bob's Red Mill. The texture is very light and the smell is super coconut-y. And then it hit me: Chocolate + Coconut + Almonds + Cookie = An Awesome Almond Joy-inspired Delight!

I can't take credit for the idea. I found this recipe on All Recipes and made some tweaks. First, I havled the recipe (I don't need 4 dozen cookies lying around). Then, I swapped out 3/4 cup flour for the coconut flour, and then used a GF all purpose flour for the rest. Finally, I used equal proportions chocolate chips, almonds, and coconut. I realized after the first batch that I needed some extra butter and an extra egg to make up for all that coconut. The result is amazing! Think a cross between an almond macaroon and a chocolate chip cookie. Really... they are that good! Please do yourself a favor and try them.

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill GF Organic Coconut Flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup toasted chopped almonds
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup unsweetened grated coconut

Directions:
Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugars and butter until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until well combined.

Add in the dry ingredients in batches (I usually do 4 batches), stirring in each addition until combined.

Add the chocolate chips, almonds, and coconut. Stir to combine.

Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon (these cookies don't spread much due to the coconut). Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-11 minutes, or until golden brown on bottom.

RECIPE - GF Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ever since the discovery of Glenny's GF Oatmeal Cookies (see blog post here), I've felt challenged to make some of these cookies at home. Oatmeal cookies are a different beast of cookie altogether, and required 3 important steps. It felt like some sort of weird scavenger hunt.

The first step was to find some gluten free oats. Yes, not all oats are gluten free. Here's a link to a great blog called "Life As We Know It" that explains the whole "oat" situation. Basically, oats themselves do not contain gluten. But more times that not, oat fields are grown in the same fields as wheat/barley/etc, and therefore pick up some of that gluten. Fortunately, Bob's Red Mill is so kind to have separate fields to grow their oats, and a separate facility (from wheat products) to process the oats. I chose the Old Fashioned vs. Quick Oats. I was worried that the Quick Oats would cook too quickly (as their name implies) in the oven and get mushy. I like oatmeal cookies with some texture.

The next step was to find a cookie recipe. I already have Bob's Red Mill's GF All Purpose Baking Flour. So I found this recipe on one of my favorite sites, allrecipes.com. 4 1/2 star average rating with 700+ reviews... can't beat it. Just made some tweaks to make it more unique.

Ok, so the final step is the magic ingredient in most gluten free baking, Xanthan Gum. Ta Da!! This ingredient is essential in helping bind the dough and keeping the cookies together while baking. The first time I tried baking gluten free, I didn't include any xanthan gum, and the cookies pretty much spread out into one giant cookie cracker. Not good. All you need in a cookie recipe is 1/4 tsp, so a little goes a long way.

On to the show! Here's the recipe I used, adopted from the one on All Recipes (posted by the mysterious "Darlene").

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground high quality cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
2 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill GF Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Directions:
Cream the softened butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Mix in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

In the meantime, mix together in a separate bowl the flour, xanthan gum, cloves, cinnamon and salt.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, and stir until combined. Mix in raisins and oats and still til thoroughly combined.

Drop tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Not to toot my own horn, but these are fantastic! They're chewy in the middle, crunchy around the edges, and full of flavor! Give them a try and let me know what you think!

NEWS - Duane Reade has MORE Gluten Free Cookies!

Last month I posted a review of Duane Reade's gluten free gingersnap cookies. And now I see they have gluten free animal crackers.

Here's the article I found on Triumph Dining's blog.

NEWS / PRODUCT REVIEW: Duane Reade has GF Cookies

Attention New Yorkers!! I've been noticing over the past few months that Duane Reads (non-New Yorkers: think Rite Aide or CVS) have been remodeling their stores and chic-ing them up. I've also started noticing this line of store brand snacks, called DeLish. It includes all the basic trail mixes, cookies, drinks, etc. But what I was not expecting was a gluten free option.

They're really no different than regular ginger snaps, and they have a great, sharp ginger flavor. A bag costs around $3, so they are a good value also.

Here's an article about how the Canadians helped Duane Reade. Read here.

I wonder what other GF products we can expect from Duane Reade???

PRODUCT REVIEW - Glenny's GF Oatmeal Cookies

I came across these cookies at the Fairway this past weekend, and at first I walked right by. Usually I prefer to make my own cookies at home, the prepackaged ones are always a ripoff at $5 for 6 cookies.  These were a little better, $4 for 10 cookies. So I took a gamble. Let me introduce you to Glenny's Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies.

So glad I did!! These cookies are de-lic-ious! They're soft, chewy, oatmeal-y, raisin-y, and honestly don't taste like they are gluten free. Pop these in the microwave or toaster oven for a few seconds, and I bet it would be like Grandma paid you a visit.

Only downside: they're pretty small. So it's like 8 cookies not 10. Whatever. They are worth it.

Now, my newest endeavour will be to recreate these cookies at home. Oats have been a controversial gluten free topic. Oats themselves do not contain gluten, but the vast majority of oats and facilities that process oats also process wheat, so cross contamination is a huge issue. I know Bob's Red Mill makes Gluten Free Oats, so that'll work nicely. Look for that recipe soon!

RECIPE - GF Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Since it's almost Halloween, I thought it would be appropriate to share a recipe for cookies that taste just like Reeses! What's great about this recipe is that you can swap out the chocolate chips for any other type of candy that you want (just check the label!). These cookies are soft, moist, and rich.

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 - 1 1/2 cups mixed chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee candy...etc

Directions:

1. Mix together the peanut butter and brown sugar

2. Add the eggs, baking powder, and vanilla

3. Fold in the chocolate chips and other candy

4. Drop tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets

5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown around the bottom