One Fish, Two Fish

More baking adventures today!  It's really hard to get anything else done when you have to cook this much...but...luckily I love cooking and my family loves the results.  Today, I attempted cheese crackers for the second time.  I was also armed with a perfectly cute, teeny-weeny goldfish cookie cutter!!  So precious!  Now my little one can be just like everyone else, with little fishy crackers.  Boy was she excited! "Mama, you make goldfish crackers for me?!" she said over and over with squeals of joy.  She also enjoyed "helping" me make them (all you moms out there know that when a 2 year old helps, they tend to do just the opposite lol!).

4 ounces Cheddar Cheese (I've heard Daiya cheese is great too!)
3 Tbs. Butter, softened (or your preferred substitute if dairy-free)
2/3 cup Rice Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum (use 3/4 tsp. guar gum for corn-free)
1/2 tsp Corn-Free Baking Powder (I used less than a 1/4 tsp baking soda with the rest cream of tartar)
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3 Tbs. Milk (or dairy-free substitute)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  I use a baking stone, but if you use a metal pan be sure to grease it.
2. Mix all ingredients together except milk in mixing bowl with electric mixer (I use a countertop Kitchenaid) until crumby, then add milk.
3. Flour your smooth surface, and roll dough 1/8 inch thick (I just got these great rings for my rolling pin to make even dough!) and use teeny goldfish cutter until you use all the dough up!
   
4. Sprinkle with salt if desired, and cook about 10 minutes until getting golden brown on top.  Err on the side of overcooking, or they will not have the crisp of a cracker.
5. Serve to smiling little people!

Oh and hey, our kids can have fun too!  Next time I'm going to make some with natural dyes so we can have rainbow fish, too, without all the yucky stuff!

Oreo's....gluten free!

Our homeschool co-op had plans for a potluck today (which, incidentally, has now been snowed out), and I panicked.  All of our food restrictions lately make group eating situations just awful.  Will my kids be able to have any?  It's really awful to sit by and deny your kids food, especially when it may be something as simple and healthy as fruit salad.  So, I started searching and brainstorming.  I figured chicken and rice soup would be a perfect crockpot meal, so that was an easy one.  But I needed a new dessert!!  But what???  Then I found it.  Oreos!!!!  I took the original recipe from Smitten Kitchen and adapted it for our tastes and needs...fantastic!

Homemade Oreos

Gluten-free Oreos

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (For gluten-free, I used an all-purpose flour mix...details below)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used both Hershey's and Ghirardelli)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) spectrum palm shortening
1 large egg
A few tablespoons of water to obtain a slightly wet consistency.  If it's too dry and doughy, the cookies won't cook thin enough.

Wheat flour Oreos

For the filling:
1/2 cup Spectrum palm oil shortening2 cups powdered sugar (I made ours in the Vitamix, using tapioca starch instead of cornstarch since M can't have corn)
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In electric mixer, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Add the shortening, and then the egg. Thoroughly mix (wheat version will make nice ball of dough, gf will be slightly wetter).
3. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough in your hands into little balls and place on cookie sheet (I use baking stones, otherwise you may want to line with parchment paper).  Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten dough with bottom of glass or your fingers. Bake for 8 minutes for wheat, 10 minutes for gluten-free.  Let sit for a couple minutes then place cookies on cooling rack until cool.
4. For the cream filling, mix shortening at low speed, gradually adding in sugar and vanilla. Mix on high for a couple more minutes until cream is light and fluffy.
5. To make the best cookies you've ever tasted, put the cream in a pastry bag with a large round tip (or in a strong ziplock bag with the corner cut off) and squeeze about a teaspoon glob of cream onto one cooke, then place another one of similar size (I know I still have to work on uniform sizes for my cookies lol!) on top, pressing together lightly. 

All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
3 cups brown rice flour (I make my own in my Vitamix, much cheaper and I never run out!)
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch

This recipe could easily  be adapted for other food allergy needs...different flour mixes,egg-free, etc.

I'm going to confess....the gluten-free ones taste more like Oreos than the wheat ones!!!  The wheat ones come out a little softer, whereas the gluten-free ones have that familiar crunch.  So delicious!!!!

2/18/11...I just edited this recipe.  I made it dairy-free and it's even better than before.  The cream is just like oreos now!

Healthy Chocolate Fix!

I just made this recipe for the first time!  While it's certainly not as decadent as a traditional recipe, it will do the trick.  Of course, my currently baking batch is full of semi-sweet and white chocolate chips, so that probably ups the rich factor.  Also, I'm considering making it with butter one time too and seeing if that makes it a tad more decadent.  But really, using black beans instead of flour not only makes it gluten-free, but makes it chock full of protein, fiber, and  nutrients! (I wonder if this means it's ok to eat the whole pan?)

Black Bean Brownies

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 2 cups of black beans I had prepared myself)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder (this could easily be upped)
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

7 MONTHS!!!

Can you believe it? Lucy turned 7 months today!!! It's amazing how it can seem both like she has been here forever and she was just born. She is 18lbs, about 27in, and crawling everywhere. She's quite serious and observant, saving her smiles and laughs for when she means it! She is determined to get around, pulling up all day long, standing on what she can, and shocked that when she tries to turn to me or let go with one hand that she falls down. Poor little girl has bruises on her head from her efforts (darn hard floors).


I wanted to give her some teething biscuits, but I was really leary of ingredients given her allergies. I was going to order some (because of course I can't find the right ones in this town) but I didn't want to pay $10 shipping on a $2 box of cookies! So...I made my own, and she liked them. :) I ground oatmeal, flax, and brown rice in our vitamix to make a flour, then mixed 1.5 cups of that with 1tsp baking powder, some vanilla, and real maple syrup, and a little water for the right consistency, shaped them, and baked them at 350 til golden. So easy!!! And no reaction!!!


PS Just in case you didn't know....you can click on any of the photos in my blog to see them full size! ;-)