vegan & gluten-free peanut butter cookies

 

I'm ALWAYS looking for healthy alternatives when it comes to baking. And when I stumbled upon Blissful Basil's Soft and Tender Peanut Butter Cookies that were vegan AND gluten free, I quickly gathered up the ingredients. These cookies are so friggin' good that you don't miss the butter or all-purpose flour in their taste or texture. The oily natural peanut butter keeps them moist and the oat flour gives them a toothsome chew. I found some helpful hints from the original recipe and totally rolled with them. Also bumping up the salt because I love salty-n-sweet.

Vegan & Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
HUGE THANKS to Ashley at Blissful Basil for blogging this recipe

INGREDIENTS
1 cup peanut butter ***Use the oily, natural, no-stir stuff!***
1 cup brown sugar ***Apparently not all brown sugars are gluten-free. Check your labels.***
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup oat flour ***Grind your own oat flour by pulsing gluten-free whole oats in your food processor. 2 - 3 minutes for a fine flour or 1 - 2 minutes for flour with a little texture.***
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar for 1 minute. Add in the vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds. ***I used my stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.***

In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients - oat flour, baking soda, and kosher salt.

On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture. Mix until a crumbly dough forms. Add the almond milk and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Do not over mix.

With a 3/4 ounce cookie scoop (1-1/2 tablespoons), scoop out dough and roll into balls. Place on parchment lined sheets approximately 3 inches apart. With the tines of a folk, gently flatten one way and then the other to create a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. ***All ovens are different. I baked mine for 14 minutes, but keep your eye on them.*** Remove from oven. After a couple of minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 24 cookies.

multigrain bread

I blogged about this multigrain bread over two years ago here.

It's feeling like fall in NYC and bread baking weather. So bake some!!!

super easy apple crisp

This super easy apple crisp can be eaten at room temp (or warmed) with yogurt for breakfast, warmed with vanilla ice cream for dessert or if you're like my Dad and I, it can be eaten anytime of the day. 

Super Easy Apple Crisp

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

8 medium apples - peeled & chopped into 1/2 inch cubes  ***I used Fuji apples here. Granny Smith would be great or any combo of baking apples will be just fine. Also if you're using organic apples, skip peeling and just chop***

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the CRISP TOPPING

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup oats  ***Whole or Quick. I used Quick oats***

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup coconut ***Sweetened or unsweetened. This time I used sweetened***

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter - cold & cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. In an oven-safe baking dish, combine chopped apples and lemon juice to prevent browning. Sprinkle in the corn starch, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Toss so that the apples are thoroughly coated.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, oats, sliced almonds, coconut, sea salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and with your finger tips pinch the butter pieces into the brown sugar & oat mixture so that it resembles crumbs.

Crumble the crisp topping over the apples.

Bake for 35 -45 minutes or until the top is browned and the apples are soft.

iced oatmeal cookies

These are not Mother's Iced Oatmeal Cookies , but they look and taste pretty darn close.....

I've been feeling a little nostalgic due to last week's news of Hostess closing their doors forever. I debated whether to make something Hostess-like this weekend, but I didn't have all of the ingredients to make anything. So sad...

I'm not gonna lie. I've indulged on Hostess products over the years like Raspberry Zingers, Ding-Dongs, Twinkies, various Fruit Pies, Chocolate Pies, Chocolate Cup Cakes and my all time favorite, the Orange Cup Cake. And since these childhood treats are soon to be gone forever I'll just try making my own and better tasting versions. 

Enter the iced oatmeal cookie.

Growing up my parents always had some sort of cookie in the cupboard. Sometimes they were homemade and sometimes store bought. I remember these iced oatmeal cookies distinctively because I loved licking off the icing leaving a soggy naked oatmeal cookie. I had the ingredients on hand to try and replicate these cookies and searched for the perfect recipe. I found many recipes on the inter-webs with similar ingredients but I liked the recipe from fancyfoodfancy. Fancyfoodfancy's recipe called for a mixture of multigrain flour but I just used plain old all-purpose flour. So here it goes.....

Iced Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from the blog fancyfoodfancy
makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies 

2 cups whole rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
generous pinch of cloves & allspice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven. Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly.

In a food processor, pulse rolled oats, 10 - 20 times. Oats should look broken up but not powdery. In a large bowl, whisk together the processed oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and spices. 

In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and eggs. Add both of the sugars and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold to combine.

With a 1-ounce cookie scoop (1 1/2 inch diameter) scoop out cookies leaving 3 inches between them because they will spread during baking.

Bake for 16 - 20 minutes rotating the sheets halfway through baking.

Cookies should look golden brown all over.

Remove from oven and cool on wire racks completely.

For the Icing

2 tablespoons meringue powder

1/4 cup water plus more if needed

***One egg white can also be substituted for the meringue powder.***

2 cups powdered sugar

small squeeze of lemon

In a small bowl, whisk together meringue powder and water until frothy. Whisk in powdered sugar. The icing can be thick so add a little water at a time until it's a consistency of thick cream. Squeeze in a little lemon juice. Whisk thoroughly.

With a small offset spatula or butter knife, drizzle a little icing over the cookie. 

Lift the knife up and down, touching the peaks of the cookie with icing. The icing shouldn't look like it's spread on but drizzled. Kinda. 

Place the iced cookies back onto parchment lined baking sheets and let them dry completely. Store your cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

whole wheat, peanut butter & banana breakfast cookies

Breakfast to go? Bake up a batch of these whole wheat, peanut butter and banana cookies.....

adapted from A Few Short Cuts

makes 18 cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 bananas - ripe
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup canola oil ***I used coconut oil***
1 cup brown sugar ***I used a combination of 1/2 cup date sugar and 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar***
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups whole rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour ***I used whole wheat flour. But you can also use a gluten free mix but make sure all of your other ingredients are also gluten free.***
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mash bananas and add peanut butter. Mix until combined. Add oil and vanilla. Mix again. Add sugar and mix until until everything is thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly fold the oat mixture into the banana mixture until everything is combined. Using a 2 ounce cookie scoop, scoop mounds of dough onto your prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Gently press down your cookies so that they are flattened slightly. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, rotating your sheets halfway through baking time. Leave on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. 

These breakfast cookies aren't too sweet and have a chewy granola bar texture. 

Try turning them into breakfast thumbprint cookies by adding a little natural jam in their centers. 

Or substitute almond butter for the peanut butter. 

And if you're feeling naughty, add a few chocolate chips.

Individually wrap them in pieces of parchment paper and store them in your freezer. 

my favorite breakfast smoothie

I haven't been baking much because it's just too darn hot & humid. Period. Instead, I've been making things to keep us cool and refreshed like aguas frescas and frozen treats. Today I was inspired by my friend Mary who is a writer, fitness nut and a nutritional guru who also happens to have her own blog, Daily Dose Wellness. Like her FB page too because she blogs daily about tons of good stuff! Mary's post today talked about the importance of eating breakfast. Sometimes eating breakfast means eating-on-the-go or sipping on a smoothie. So in honor of Mary, DDW, and her blog post today I'm going to share my favorite breakfast smoothie and I hope she approves.

My favorite breakfast smoothie is similar to the one that is made at my local organic food market. I just can't afford buying one on a regular basis, so I constantly have many of the ingredients on hand so that I can save a few bucks and make my very own.

INGREDIENTS

1 banana  - cut up and frozen is best but not necessary

15 (roughly 1/2 ounce) or more organic raw cacao beans - depending how "chocolatey" you want it 

1/3 cup whole rolled oats 

1 cup unsweetened almond milk - you can substitute soy, rice, oat or regular old milk

2 heaping tablespoons of almond butter

1 - 2 teaspoons of honey - optional

2 ice cubes - if your banana is not frozen

In a blender pulse oats and raw cacao beans until they are almost powdery. Add the almond milk, frozen banana, almond butter, honey and ice cubes and blend. 

Organic Raw Cacao Beans can been a little pricey but are worth every bean. I love adding them to my smoothies because you get a chocolately taste and a good hit of pure energy. Cacao beans are also groovy because they contain a natural rich supply of antioxidants and are an excellent source of dietary fiber. Blend them with a frozen banana, a handful of oats, almond butter and almond milk and you'll have breakfast to go..... 

oat & maple syrup scones

I have been on a scone binge lately and this is the second kind of scones I've made in the past few days. Don't worry, the first batch I shared/gave away and I have plans to do the same with these.


Oat and maple syrup scones have been on my to-bake list. Although I do have another recipe, when I came across this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, I just knew I had to make them. Mine didn't come out as pretty as Smitten Kitchen's did, so a sweet camouflage of maple syrup and powdered sugar turned them from ugly to pretty tasty.....


Oat and Maple Syrup Scones
recipe taken from the blog Smitten Kitchen but adapted from Breakfast Lunch Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery
Makes 10 - 12 scones


1 3/4 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting surface
1/2 cup (80 grams) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (35 grams) rolled oats ***Smitten Kitchen used quick-cooking, I used whole rolled oats***
1 very heaped tablespoon baking powder ***My heap looked like 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons***
1 very heaped tablespoon superfine (caster) or granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Scant 3/4 cup (160 grams) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup milk or buttermilk ***I didn't have either, so I used heavy cream***
1 egg, beaten (for glaze)


Preheat your oven to 400˚F (200˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter a baking tray.

Whisk flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.

Add your small pieces of butter.

With a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.


In a small bowl, combine milk/buttermilk/heavy cream (whatever you're using) and maple syrup, then add these liquid ingredients to the butter-flour mixture. By hand or with a rubber spatula, bring everything together to form a softish dough. ***Since I used the heavy cream, it needed more liquid. I had to add an additional 2 tablespoons.*** If it feels too dry, add a little more milk but not enough that the dough is sticky. 


On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough out until it is 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) tall/thick. Using a 2-inch (5 cm) cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on your prepared baking sheet/tray so that they almost touch. 

***The scones in the pic to the right are spaced out on my baking sheet, not almost touching each other at all. I then moved them closer together after reviewing the recipe.***

Glaze the tops with the beaten egg and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the scones are lightly golden.

The scones will stick together, so pull them gently apart when they've cooled a bit.
Serve warm.

I thought that these scones were down right ugly, so I mixed up a glaze of 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon heavy cream and a few drops of water. The glaze should have the consistency of heavy cream. Drizzle the maple glaze on top of the warm scones and garnish with a few oats.  

torie's cherry chocolate chunk cookies - recipe #1 of 7 days of sweets

Valentine's Day is a week away and I'm honoring it by making a week's worth of sweets. On this particular day, it doesn't always mean giving your sweetie a heart shaped box of chocolates or a dozen red roses. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies or anything "sweet" are also things that can say, "I love you."

Pre-pastry school, Torie's Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies used to be my go-to recipe when I wanted to say "thank you", "I love you", or just because. This cookie has everything-but-the-kitchen- sink in it and I'm usually not a fan of dried fruit in baked goods but for some reason it really works here. 


I have an enormous collection of sweet and savory recipes. Mainly sweet ones of course. This recipe used to be at the top of my baking list and as of this weekend, I probably hadn't made them in over five years. What a shame.....


This recipe is pretty straight forward. There isn't anything fancy in the mixing method and you should be able to find most or all of the ingredients at your local grocery store.


Torie's Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
The Martha Stewart Show 2009 


INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats ***Whole rolled oats. Not quick cooking oats***
1 cup dried cherries ***I buy Trader Joe's Dried Pitted Tart Montmorency Cherries***
4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped ***In a pinch, chips are fine but make sure they're bittersweet and NOT semi-sweet because you don't want to add any more sweetness***
1 cup toffee pieces  ***These are Hershey's Heath English Toffee Bits. If your grocery store doesn't have them they're available on Amazon.***

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl ounce or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of bowl.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition. ***I usually mix the oats, cherries, chocolate chunks and toffee bits together in a separate bowl and add them in all at once.***

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. ***You can use a cookie scoop here. I like these jumbo-size, so I use a 2 ounce scoop.*** Repeat, spacing 2 inches or more apart depending on the size of your cookies.

Bake cookies until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. ***The jumbo cookies I baked baked for 16 minutes. The cookies will appear "raw" in the middle. Leave on the baking sheet for a few minutes so that they will finish baking. *** Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.

 ***I honestly think these cookies have a longer life than 2 days. If your container is super airtight, you may be able to stretch their life to up to 5 days.***

bouchon bakery's "nutter butter" cookies

This may sound crazy, but I'm giving up eating anything made with processed sugar for the rest of the month. Going "au naturel". Luckily I have MANY blog postings ready from previous baking binges to satisfy your sweet tooth. But before doing this and before the temperature outside reached pass the point of baking inside, I made Bouchon Bakery's "Nutter Butter"cookie recipe. I've posted about other delicious morsels from Thomas Keller's gastronomic empire before, but thankfully back in December 2006, The New York Times featured this recipe. Lucky me! Lucky husband! And lucky friends whom I've shared these cookies with!


I have fond childhood memories of eating these peanut-shaped sandwich cookies by Nabisco. Although these cookies can't easily be coaxed into a peanut shape and their taste and texture are completely opposite to the original. 

Bouchon Bakery's Nutter Butter Cookies
Thank you, thank you, thank you The Times and Bouchon Bakery!!!  ***I did not stray too far away from this original recipe other than using a higher quality of peanut butter***

Time: 45 minutes plus cooling

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy ***Again, I used a higher quality of peanut butter, also natural peanut butter to prevent from adding in any additional sugar***
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts ***ROASTED & SALTED peanuts here***
2½ cups quick-cooking oats

FOR THE FILLING:
¼ pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy ***Use a peanutty tasting peanut butter (preferably natural peanut butter)***
1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. For cookie dough: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice.

2. At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts and oats, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop 2 inches in diameter ***I used a smaller scoop, 1 1/2 inch in diameter***, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 - 18 minutes depending on your oven. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

3. For filling: using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth.

4. To assemble cookies, spread a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat.

Yield: 24 large cookies. 

***This recipe makes a lot of cookies!!!! Especially if you're using a smaller cookie scoop.***