Gluten Free Soft Sugar Cookies

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                            Soft Sugar Cookies

 

       Christmas time is my favorite time of year, I just love everything about it.  As a child I remember always waiting to watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, Here Comes Santa Claus and the rest of the fun holiday movies; when these came on I knew it was getting close to Christmas!! Yay!  My mom always made Sugar cookies, which I loved to decorate, and Spritz cookies that had a slight almond flavor, I could eat a million  of these (seriously!!)   Cookies, especially Sugar cookies remind me of Christmas.   I got the MOST FANTASTIC recipe from my friend Diana a few years back, and have made them for my neighbors and given them out for Christmas ever since then(they love them by the way!). 

        So, after my Celiacs diagnoses last November that makes it 2 years since I have  had a sugar cookie; but several tries later, my family said I have hit the mark!!!  These are great, the texture and taste are GREAT, and with Cream Cheese frosting on top, how can you go wrong.  I hope you will give these cookies a try, and love them as much as we do.  Natalie

     

    

Ingredients:

-3/4cup softened butter

-1cup granulated sugar

-2 large eggs

-1tsp pure vanilla extract

-2 1/2 cups Pamela's Bread flour

-2 tsp baking powder

-1tsp baking soda

    

 

Combine-

Mix the butter and sugar together until they are nice and fluffy, in a mixer of bowl with a hand mixer.  Then add in vanilla, baking powder and baking soda and mix again.  Next add the eggs and then the flour, and mix until the flour is mixed in.  Then roll into a ball or squarish ball, and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 -2 max.  If you cool it too long, it is a beast to roll out, and you will have to let it warm a bit.  Use a little flour on your roller to help it not stick, and on your surface.  Roll to 1/4-1/2 inch depending on how thick you like your cookies.

   

I only ate 10, each time I baked

  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, spray your pan with Pam.  If you make your cookies 1/4 inch bake for 8min, 1/2 inch bake for 10 min.  Make sure and put the cookies on the middle rack in the oven, for some reason the bottom browns up really quickly, and the top doesn't.  

Seriously, I absolutely love cookies, it's a problem!!

 

Gluten Free Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies

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          Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies

     Tis the Season to eat mint everything!  Ok, lets be honest I eat mint whenever I can get my hands on it; mint ice cream, Stephen's Mint Truffle cocoa, Hershey's Mint Kisses, and sadly no more Mint M&M's (I don't understand why M&M's need gluten?)  So I decided I love anything chocolate and especially DARK CHOCOLATE, so why not combine Dark chocolate cookies and mint, what is NOT to love!!   If you have seen my blog, I have a lot of chocolate on here, Yes, I admit it, I DO HAVE A PROBLEM! Isn't that the first step to recovery??  My family I think gets a little tired of chocolate, but they can eat whatever they want, so I bake what sounds good to me!  Maybe I will throw the VANILLA people a bone after Christmas, and make something for the Chocolate haters of the world.  Happy Eating, Natalie

Ingredients:

1-  2 cubes butter softened

2-  1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3-  2 eggs

4-  2 tsp pure vanilla extract

5-  2 cups Pamela's Bread mix and Flour Blend

6- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa( I have half dark/half regular)

7-34 Frozen Andes mints(pounded with a mallet into small pieces)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees- use a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.

  -In a large bowl or mixer, combine butter and sugar and mix until they are nice and fluffy, next add the cocoa and mix it well.  Then add eggs, vanilla and flour mix until it is well blended.  Add the Andes chunks and mix slowly until combined, don't over mix, they mints break up and change they texture if you do and make it a little gritty.

   - Roll the cookies into balls and bake for 8 to 10 min (I liked 8-9 minutes, ) they may not looked all the way cooked but once they cool, they will be perfect, so don't overcook.  The texture was a little different because of the mints, but they still tasted GREAT!  Let them cool for a minute or two on a wire rack then, then take the cookies off the pan .

 

 

Gluten Free Nutella Krispies

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                       Nutella Krispies

     Since I was a kid, I have always loved Riced Krispy treats, and then I was introduced to Scotcheroos as an adult and those are FANTASTIC!!  However; it has been awhile since I have had either, but I was so excited when Kellogg' s decided to make GF Rice Krispies!! So I was trying to decide what I would like to make for my family, and first I thought Scotcheroos, my daughter had a FIT, she hates peanut butter, so back to the drawing board.....thinking......thinking......thinking,  NUTELLA!! I absolutely LOVE Nutella, I could just eat it straight off the spoon, and with strawberries Alex and I could eat the entire big jar from Costco, in one sitting! YIKES!!!   So, I decided to make Nutella Krispies, and feed my need for both; they were a huge hit with the family and neighbors, I hope your family enjoys them as much as we did.  Natalie 

 

Ingredients:

I have to put this out there, my family likes them really thick, so this is a double recipe.

-2cups light corn syrup

-2cups sugar

-2cups Nutella

-1 box GF Rice Krispies plus 1 cup (1box =11 cups)

-1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Directions:I used a 12 quart pot-  Add the Nutella, Corn Syrup and sugar, cook on medium heat and stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to boil.  Then remove from the heat and add the Rice Krispies and stir until they are all coved in the Nutella mixture.  Press into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam, if you want it to go farther then use a large cookie sheet. 

                                                                    

 I always spray my hands with Pam at this point, and use them to press down the Rice Krispies.  They don't stick to my hands and I can make it all even in the pan.

Next, get a microwave safe bowl and pour your chocolate chips in and heat for 30 seconds at a time, stir in between; once the chocolate is all melted pour it onto the Nutella Krispies and try and smooth them evenly.  Let them cool until the chocolate has hardened, then cut and enjoy. 

 

   

Gluten Free Homemade Twix Bars

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                     Homemade Twix Bars

Oh my gosh who doesn't love a Twix Bar?  Well, I can honestly say, that every  Halloween I would buy the giant bags of candy from Costco with the Twix in the bag, and single handily eat all of the Twix(these were the bite size)!  However within a two week period those babies would VANISH, and I never felt bad!!!  Sadly, this year there would be no more Twix, until I found on Pinterest others loved them too.  Soooo, I decided it was time to make some homemade Twix and enjoy them once again!  Oh baby, they were SO STINKING GOOD, I missed them!!  They were so good I couldn't keep my kids, and husband away from them either.  The best part is, these are easy to make, and freeze like a dream!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, Natalie

Crust-

Ingredients:

-2 cubes softened butter(1 cup or 8oz)

-1/2 cup sugar

-2 cups Pamela's Bread

-2 tsp baking powder

  Beat the butter and sugar until they are creamed, then add the baking powder and flour, mix just until combined.  Take the batter and pat it down into the prepared pan, when it is cooked it will have a  golden color.  Cool completely.

   

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan,and then line it with parchment paper and have it go up over the sides for easy removal of the shortbread crust.  Bake for 23-26min until it is golden brown, you want it a little crispy.

 

  Caramel Layer-

-60 Kraft Caramels(unwrapped)my husband likes a lot of caramel

-6 TBS Heavy cream

Put all of the caramels into a medium pot and turn it on medium low heat, stir as they melt and add in the cream.  Continue stirring until it is all smooth and creamy, about 15-20 min then pour it on to the short bread crust  and smooth out.  Let them cool for 30-45 min in the fridge.

 

Chocolate Layer-

-1 bag (12 oz) semi-sweet  Gluten Free chocolate chips

-1 tsp Crisco 

Use a microwave safe bowl , pour the chocolate chips into the bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, make sure and stir in between each time.  The Crisco is to help thin the chocolate and make it more spreadable, nasty sounding but necessary!  When it is all smooth pour onto the CARAMEL, and smooth it and make it as even as possible.  When this is done put into the fridge or freezer to chill and set. 

     

 

 

Make sure and cute with a serrated knife, also let them warm up a bit or they will all crack like my bars below!  Not really pretty, but they taste good all the same.

 

Gluten Free Peachy Cake Balls

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               Peachy Cake Balls

 

      Peaches, what can I say about them; I think Peaches are one of the GREATEST fruits ever, so anytime I can put a Peach in a dessert I will, and cake balls and peaches together, there is NOTHING better!!!  Every time I go to a wedding, baby shower, or wedding shower they always have Fantastic looking desserts that I NEVER get to eat!!  I smile and nod and have a piece of fruit, and a vegetable with no dip, for fear it will make me sick, then when I go home I feel more bitter every time, and make a big batch of something I can eat, because I am so jealous of all the pretty desserts.  So enough whining, I make cake balls so when I need a pretty dessert, or my Gluten Free Friends need one, we can just pull a couple out of the freezer, and have OUR very own tasty and pretty treat, that others are jealous of!  So, if you need a pretty treat, make cake balls and eat them in front of your Gluten eating family, they will be jealous! Natalie

 

 

Ingredients:

-1 box Betty Crocker GF yellow cake mix

-3 large eggs

-3/4 cup buttermilk

-1 stick of butter melted(not bubbling)

- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

       Mix all of these ingredients together in a mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, for 2 min.  Pour it into a 9x13 inch pan.

     Bake at 350 degrees for  25-27 min, don't overcook or it will be dry.  Use a 9x13 inch glass pan and spray it with Pam.   Once it is cooked, let it cool completely then crumble it up and set aside.  You can even put the crumbles in a Ziploc and freeze or wait until the next day.

      

      Add: 

- 1 brick of cream cheese, that has come up to room temperature

- 1/4- 1/3 cup powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

-1 cup fresh peaches (you can also use frozen) if you want less peaches you less, I love them, chop them into small chunks.

    

       Mix all of these ingredients together with a wooden spoon,or like I do, with fresh clean hands.  When it is all combined then roll them into nice even balls, and put them on a pan that has been sprayed with Pam, and then throw them in the Freezer and leave for 2 hours or over night.

   

      Finish: sometimes I am lazy and when the balls are frozen, and I don't have time to finish them that day, I just take them off the pan and put them in  a freezer bag for another day.  Don't buy candy coating, it cracks and it's the pitts!!! I always buy the big bricks of Chocolate white or dark, it melts so much better, and stays on the cake balls or anything.  So get your chocolate, put it in a microwave safe bowl and heat it up a minute at a time, and stir.  If it is too thick, add some Crisco, sounds nasty but makes it so much easier to dip!  I put tooth picks in the top of the frozen balls and then use that too dip it in the chocolate,  then when it hardens it pulls right out.  Once you do this it is so easy, if you want pops add sticks when you are rolling them.

   

 Cake Balls are Fantastic, and they store really well; that is if you can keep them around that  long.  My longest batch has lasted 2 months in the freezer and been great, tasting like they were made that day!  Let me know what you think.