gluten-freelicious

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I feel the urgent need to share with you the recipe that has made me happier than any other gluten-free recipe I’ve tried to date.  On a whim, I adapted a recipe from allrecipes.com and made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Am I ever so glad I did!

I’ve made gluten-free chocolate chip cookies before, but they always turn out too crispy, too bland, or incredibly lacking in chocolate chips.  These cookies are soft, moist, flavorful, and loaded with chocolatey goodness.  Is the vanilla pudding the secret to making a soft cookie?  I have no idea.  All I know for sure is these cookies are scrumptious, and I had some for breakfast this morning.  Mmmm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 1/2 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

NOTE: I found that the first batch of cookies was ready in about 11 minutes, and subsequent batches were ready in about 9 or 10 minutes.  If you cook them much longer, they turn crispy.  If you like a soft cookie, keep a close eye on the time!

Annie's GF Bunny Cookies

Can I just tell you how excited I was to find a “cute” gluten-free snack for my kids?!  No, really.  I can’t quite explain the thrill I felt at discovering these little bunny shaped cookies.  Since we are now not only gluten-free but mostly all natural/organic as well, “cute” and “cool” seem to have been taken off the menu.  No more rainbow colors.  No more super heroes.  No more fun.

So…YEA!  Bunny shapes!  Does it even matter how they taste?  No!

Okay, so maybe it matters a little bit.

Annie’s Homegrown Gluten Free Cocoa & Vanilla Bunny Cookies are, according to my boys, “good!”  The chocolate cookies taste like any other chocolate cookie to me…yummy.  They remind me of chocolate Teddy Grahams, which I could eat by the handful.  The vanilla is a bit chalkier, as seems to be the case with all gluten-free vanilla cookies, but the flavor is good.

These little bunnies are cute and tasty!  How much does that rock?

Minnie Beasley's Handmade Gluten-Free Chocolate Almond Lace Gourmet Cookies

Harmon Beasley Cannon, owner of Minnie Beasley’s Cookie Company, recently offered to send me a couple bags of his new gluten-free Handmade Almond Lace cookies, and I eagerly accepted.  I am so thankful I did!

I received two bags of the award winning cookies, one regular and one dutch chocolate.  They were wrapped with the utmost of care.  I admit, my husband and I laughed as we peeled away at what we thought to be excessive layers of bubble wrap.  In hindsight, however, I see that the meticulous packaging is a reflection of the company and the pride they take in their delicate product, from the selection of ingredients to its delivery at your front door.

The recipe for these cookies began with Harmon’s great aunt Minnie Beasley, and it has been passed down through four generations.  Harmon claims he “cannot imagine a holiday without them.”  Is it just me, or do homemade cookies with a family history taste even sweeter?

I believe this is my first experience with lace cookies, and they are unlike any other cookie I have ever had.  They are thin and brittle, and have a taste and texture very similar to toffee.  Minnie Beasley’s cookies are big, incredibly rich, and very sweet.  Even half a cookie is satisfying (although I must say I have eaten far more than half a cookie today).  As Harmon says in his brief video on Minnie Beasley’s website, “Butter, almonds, sugar, milk, cream, flour…how can you go wrong?”  I don’t believe you can.  Both the regular and chocolate flavored cookies are divine, and I can’t decide which one I like better.

Aunt Minnie should be proud.