Fruit & Nut Bars

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{Gluten Free} Slutty Brownie Tarts

First of all I am going to say I feel really guilty that I made and ate these yesterday, even if it was just a half.  Why? Well I was talking to a friend who is also a personal trainer about getting toned up and having a session with him and of course he knows I bake...and here I go making a very not healthy dessert.  Go figure.  He isn't even my trainer (yet, maybe) and is already making me feel guilty, I guess that is a good thing? Anyway...on to the brownies (if you can even really call them that.)

I have made Slutty Brownies before, but used boxed mixes and they were not gluten free. If you don't know what a Slutty Brownie is, it is a layered treat made with chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate sandwich cookies, and brownies.  This is a time consuming dessert, especially if you make them from scratch. You could, and I have usually seen them made in a pan.  I used mini tart pans, just because I just bought them and I wanted to use them, plus they would hold ice cream well.  Since Oreos are not a GF food, and I decided not to make homemade GF oreos for this, I used K-Toos.  They are a GF, dairy free, all kinds of free sandwich cookie.

For the Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Make it & Love it, to see it click here

1 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 cup GF four, I used Trader Joes
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
12 oz. chocolate chips (Trader Joes has the best ones ever!)

1. Mix together the butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.  Add the sugars.  Shift together the flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt.  Add to the butter sugar mixture.  Mix until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips. 

2. Press about 2-3 tablespoons of the dough into greased tart pans, set aside.  (You could use a13x9 baking dish also to make bar brownies.) 

{With the remaining dough, I just made cookies, scooping 1 tablespoon worth of dough on to a cookie sheet and baking for about 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees.}

3. Layer, the chocolate sandwich cookies on top of the cookie dough. I broke mine up a bit, that is optional.  I would keep them whole if you are making them into bars.

For the Brownies

adapted from Jesicakes, see original recipe here

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
3 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil 
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp gluten free vanilla
3/4 cup GF flour blend

1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp  salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

4. Melt the butter, I used the microwave.  Stir the chocolate chips into the melted butter until completely melted.  Add the oil and cocoa powder. Mix well. Set aside.

5. Beat the eggs, add the sugar and vanilla. Add the chocolate butter mixture.  Mix well.

6. Sift together the dry ingredients, slowly add the the chocolate mixture.  Mix well.

7. Spoon some of the the batter on the top of the tart pan, just until covered. (Don't over fill) If using a 13x9 pan, pour all the batter over the cookies. 

8. Bake tarts for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

**Featured on Gluten Free Tuesday Linky 8/06/2013 with Easy Green Mama**

More {Gluten-Free} Cookies

Since I've been experimenting with cookies, I've decided to tackle two types that are not a "traditional" cookie.

The first is Potato Candy, I never even heard of potato candy until I met my husband. His grandmother always made it when she made all her other Christmas cookies. It is really simple and would be a good way to use a little of leftover mashed potatoes. I had some natural peanut butter leftover from my peanut butter cookies and we have a lot of potatoes, so it made sense to give them a try. Now, if you want to use up a bunch of potatoes, this isn't the way to do it; unless you want A LOT of candy. A little potato goes a long way. (I used a little more peanut butter then I probably should have, other than the oozing peanut butter, no one complained.)

The second, Coconut Macaroons.  I had some coconut and just really like them, so I made them! The original recipe called for some regular all-purpose flour so I altered it to make it GF.

Salted Flourless Chocolate Cookies (and a Month Gluten-Free)

My kitchen helper

I am about a month in to not eating any gluten; it has been a pretty good adventure so far.  I will admit I have had a few setbacks, but for the most part it has been pretty smooth.  I feel like I have explained myself and my reasons many times, but most people seem to understand (after first assuming I am doing it for weight loss.) I am not going to lie; the weight loss is a plus but not the reason. 

I finally made it back to my doctor, I explained how I was getting fed up with nothing helping (I was on three different medications) I felt like I was losing a battle.  I told her how my mom brought up celiac and cutting out gluten, and that I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it.  I was concerned with what she would tell me, but it was all positive.  She explained how I still should take my one medication, since I was diagnosed with colitis, but I should keep up with the GF diet as well.  She went on to talk to me about other patients that suffer from both diseases and how they cope.  Since I haven’t been eating gluten, none of the tests would show a positive result for celiac.  But because of the family history I shared, she said there may be a chance I do suffer from it, and even if it isn’t full blown celiac, I definitely have an intolerance.  My choices would be to start eating gluten just for the test, an endoscopy, or hold off being tested but continue eating GF.  For now I am just going to continue on.  I feel better; I don’t need a test to tell me that, at least 
not right now.

Adding chocolate chips and nuts, so serious!

I made it through Thanksgiving and now we are in full swing into the Christmas season.  We plan on having Christmas dinner at our house this year, which I am excited about since I will be controlling the menu.  I don’t plan on making the whole meal GF; I can’t deprive my husband and son of rolls that would just be mean.  I have been looking around for some different ideas for the dinner menu, but I must admit my focus has been more on the cookies.  We are suckers for cookies in our house.  Plus we are doing a cookie exchange at work, so I need to figure out what I plan on making for that.

I already tried one batch of GF cookies, in my last post, now I am going to try to venture into more…I found a lot of recipes for GF Cookies on Foodgawker, I am planning to try out a few. 

iPhone picture

Salted Flourless Chocolate Cookies

(Inspired from Meaningful Eats) 

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

½ cup chopped pecans

Coarse Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa and salt.  Slowly add egg whites and vanilla. Once all combined, stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.  

On a greased, or lined cookie sheet, add batter a teaspoon at a time.  The cookies will spread, so unless you want large cookies, use small mounds.  Sprinkle with the coarse salt.  Bake for about 15 minutes. (I made about 36 cookies)

The flavor of these cookies were really good and chocolaty, they were chewy and crisp at the same time.  They were also very thin (they would make great ice cream sandwiches.) I am not sure if my egg whites weren't quite warm enough or what.  I may play around with them a bit to see if I can make them "fluffier".  I will make these again.

Enjoy!

Cookies! (Gluten-Free and Peanut buttery)

This weekend was somewhat productive, I was able to finally get to the grocery store, cut my hair, hang out with friends and clean out my car. All were much needed. On a side note, before hanging out with our friends Friday evening, playing Quelf (which I highly recommend!) we ordered pizza from our favorite pizza place.  I am happy to say they now have a gluten free pizza which is pretty good, but not comparable to their regular pizza. With all that I was also was able to fit in Cookies!

Since not eating gluten I have been missing my something sweet after dinner. I am cheap frugal so I haven't been buying much in the way of pre-made / processed GF products. Therefore, no easy grab and go snacks or cookies. So, I decided to make my own! Here is a super easy peanut butter cookie with four ingredients (five if you add the chocolate chips) with ingredients that you probably already have. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (I used GF natural)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp GF vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine all the ingredients except the chocolate chips.  Carefully mix in the chips.  The dough will be slightly crumbly but that is okay.  Make tablespoon balls of the dough and roll in sugar.  Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet and gently flatten with a fork.  Bake for about 15 minutes, depending on your oven it may take more or less. Makes about 2 dozen.


I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but they had a really good flavor and texture.  If I knew the dough wouldn't spread, I probably would have flattened them a little more. But they were a hit with even the gluten eaters in the house.  I had to remind them that they can have some but remember that I can't eat theirs so make sure I get some of mine.  I plan on experimenting more with cookies since it is cookie season, I also really want to try making my own GF pasta, that may happen over my holiday break from work.  


Enjoy!

Cookie Season: Classic Spritz Cookie

Spritz cookies. I remember them being a special treat during the Holiday, my mom rarely made them but I loved them. My mom used my grandmothers recipe, but my father said they were never the same. I don’t think anything ever ends up being better then what you remember as a kid.

A few months ago, we took a trip to visit my father-in-law and we never leave visits with my husbands family empty handed. Well this time, mixed amongst the ice cream maker, chairs, beanie baby animals, quesadilla maker, etc. there was a cookie press, and not just any press a battery operated one! Well I decided right then that I was going to make my grandmothers Spritz Cookies this year. So I asked my mom if she could send me the recipe. Well…she couldn’t find it. Disappointing! She said it was probably tucked in the cookie press box, but she no longer has the press. Well who ever has ended up with it, now has a good grandma recipe. Well then my search was on to find a spritz recipe that made me relive my childhood.

Well I think I found that recipe, it was very simple. One thing that I didn’t do before hand was test my cookie press. I loaded the batteries, made my cookie dough, filled the press, squeezed and…nothing. My heart actually sank a little. All I thought was “this has to work! I am not going to stuff a pastry bag!” After a little cursing, I figured it out! There was a small gear that is on the “press” part and that was supposed to stay, via pressure in the top of the press. Well it wasn’t and come to find out I need to actually have it threaded for it to work. (Sorry if that makes no sense, I am sure it doesn’t.) So now that I had the press working, I just needed to work on getting the correct amount of dough on the cookie sheet. After a couple of tries, it became so easy! I remember using my mom’s press and having to actually press and twist to get the dough out, no wonder she didn’t make them much. It was like exercise. I am loving the battery operated one; I will probably use it more often.

Well on to the recipe…the recipe said it was from the side of the Wilton cookie press box, but I don’t have a Wilton so I am not 100% sure it really is or not.

Classic Spritz Cookies

3 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups of butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
Red and green sugar sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder, set a side. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beat until combined. Do Not Chill. Fill cookie press with the dough, press onto ungreased cookie sheets, and if desired sprinkle with the colored sugar.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just starting to get LIGHTLY golden brown. Cool.

Makes 7-8 dozen small cookies.



Enjoy!