Eureka!

I get overexcited over pretty simple things, maybe to the point of embarrassment to those around me. I often catch myself overly panting and awkwardly commenting to myself when these periods of overwhelming elation happen. Case in point, the blueberry sale at whole foods yesterday. It was a “EUREKA” highlight and apparently my subconscious decided she had to celebrate publicly.


Let me paint a picture for you. I had been aimlessly wandering around the store prior to the eureka occurrence, pondering what kind of birthday cake I was going to make for my neighbor, and dear friend. It had to be quick. It had to be delicious. And, it had to be gluten free. Does anybody else feel the desperation that manifested itself while I mulled over these monstrous demands?

Ok, maybe not monstrous, but last second miracles rarely turn out as well as this did. I fist pumped the gluten free gods after this one.

I digress. After grabbing Pamela’s gluten free cake mix (yes I had to cheat friends, don’t judge), I found myself trying to find solace in the produce section. And there they were. Carton after carton stacked delicately upon wooden crates and screaming, “Here I am! Use ME in you cake and all your troubles will melt away.” I may have hit the point of frantic delirious cook at this point. Blueberries. Bright, juicy, unbelievable plump blueberries. The saliva pooled in my anxious dry mouth, and I began to tremble with excitement. Lemon zest, blueberries, whipped vanilla icing… perfection. And to pack in a real punch, and feed the crowd, I decided it had to be two layers. Yes, I embraced insanity and it never tasted so good.

Lemon Blueberry Gluten Free Cake
I have always liked how moist Pamela’s gluten free cake mix turns out for me. I am excited to try this recipe subbing my own almond flour mix next time, but trust me don’t overlook this recipe. The cakes stacked with fluffy delight on top of one another and burst with sweet blueberry and fresh lemony flavor.

Ingredients
• 1 bag Pamela’s gluten free vanilla cake mix
• 1 pint blueberries
• Zest of one large lemon
• ½ large lemon, squeezed
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup water

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease two round cake pans.

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except blueberries and mix well. Do not over mix. Gently fold in your blueberries. Pour evenly into the 2 pans.

Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes at least before transferring to stack. I made the cakes at lunch and let them settle and cool in the pans for a couple hours.

To assemble, tip first cake onto serving dish. Gently pat a thin layer of vanilla, whipped with a little lemon zest, icing over the top. Place second cake on top, and gently press down to help it stick. Lightly cover the top of the cake with another layer of icing. Add blueberries for decoration if you wish.

I let mine sit in the fridge until it was time to serve which helped it not crumble, and keep moist.

Meredith's Monster Cookies

Last Friday night brought a dinner party with close friends, pleasant patio weather, and delectable dishes. We enjoyed an easy menu of Greek salad, pizza, wine, and my contribution, dessert! I have been dying to try a cookie recipe that my cousin Meredith sent to me last week, and this was the perfect chance to whip up a batch. They sounded so naturally scrumptious, and I wouldn’t have to tweak the recipe to make it gluten free. Less work, more flavor? I am there!

The only thing I needed to change was the enormity of a recipe name: Sugar-Free, Egg-Free Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies. That simply wouldn’t do. I think this dessert deserves a decent name, one that gives credit where credit is due too. Meredith’s Monster Cookies is a bit sweeter, and you won’t go blue in the face trying to say it with one breath!

I made mine with vegan semi-sweet chocolate that I had on hand but you can use whatever your little chocoholic heart desires. The result? They turned out to have the perfect cookie texture, a crunchy outer shell and a burst of gooey smoothness in the center. I attribute it to the banana that I pureed instead of mashing. I didn’t want chunks of banana, but rather a banana flavor. I was tempted to throw a flax egg in the mix because the dough was pretty soft but they held together nicely. Loads of lip smacking goodness is packed into tasty treats!

Thanks Meredith for sharing this recipe with me. It will definitely be on my cookie recipe hotlist!

Meredith’s MONSTER Cookies

Ingredients
· 3 large, ripe bananas
· 1/2 cup peanut butter, preferably all-natural
· 1/3 cup canola oil
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
· 2 cups old-fashioned oats
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 1/4 tsp cinnamon
· 1/4 tsp salt
· 1/2 – 1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips



Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Puree the bananas and put into a large bowl. Add your peanut butter, oil and vanilla. In another bowl stir together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients along with the chocolate and stir until combined.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or coated with nonstick spray. I made the first batch a little bigger so I baked for almost 20 minutes. The second batch baked for about 16 minutes.You are looking for a rich golden brown color on the outside.

Remove and let cool. Sneak one or two to taste test…then serve!

The King's Peanut Butter Cookies

“I’ll sing you a story of a silly young king

Who played with the world at the end of a string,
But he only loved one single thing --
And that was just a peanut-butter sandwich.”
Shel Silverstein’s Peanut Butter Sandwich

Better bow down!

There is something quite childlike about peanut butter. I used to eat enough peanut butter sandwiches to rival Shel Silverstein’s king who ate his mouth shut. I could easily devour half a jar in a sitting, heaping creamy ribbons around soup spoons. I digress. Clearly I adored and adore to the stuff. So when I saw Elana from Elana’s Pantry post PB&J thumbprints I giggled in immature delight as the hunger butterflies fluttered in my tummy. I knew what sweet ending would sate my peanut butter fever.

That night after a delicious open faced veggie burger, yes those little patties are flying out of my freezer and flocking to my plate this week, I decided I had to change up our savory palates and pile on some peanut butter. I flipped Elana’s recipe out of my purse and begin to gather the ingredients. Alas, I did not have any decent jam or jelly though. I felt my heart sink into my stomach slightly. Pride and persistence made my eyes leap through the ingredients I did have and what I did have was plenty of peanut butter. No shame in a simple peanut butter cookie…

Maybe I was thwarted by the “chopped” episode in the background but I wanted to give myself an on the spot challenge. A peanut butter cookie that was 5 ingredients, vegan, gluten free, flourless, and could be enjoyed in 10 minutes (not including cooling). Mission. Accomplished.

These PB puppies were plump and decadent, melting into delicious morsels as soon as you popped it into you mouth. I had to show some serious restraint dear readers as I am sure you will too. I dedicate these cookies to the king, whose royal passion for peanut butter held me captive in its verses while I clutched my many childhood peanut butter sandwiches.

The King’s Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
• 1 cup smooth (or crunchy if you wish) Peanut Butter
• ½ organic brown sugar
• 1 tbs organic vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Flax egg (1 tbs ground flax seed + 2.5 tbs warm water)

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350F.Mix your flax egg in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

Combine all your ingredients in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form 12, 1 inch balls of dough and place them on the sheet. Do not flatten! Put that fork down and step away…I did sptinkle a teeny but of kosher salt on the top which yes I know technically makes it "6" ingredients but I am sure you can forgive me hehe.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden brown and the cookies look “set”. Take them out and let cool for at least 10 minutes. The longer the better. They will continue to slightly cook on the sheet so do not worry if they don’t look done when you pull them out.

Plate and enjoy! I popped half in the freezer and enjoyed them last night. I highly suggest doing this if you have any left to save!
I made one dozen and saved the rest of the dough for future craving (tomorrow).

You can find Elana's Peanut Buttter and Jelly Recipe here: http://www.elanaspantry.com/

“A puff of dust, a screech, a squeak --
The king’s jaw opened with a creak.
And then in voice so faint and weak --
The first words that they heard him speak
Were, “How about a peanut-butter sandwich?”

Shel Silverstein’s Peanut Butter Sandwich

Dairy Free Delight

My husband’s family loves brownies and cookies. I have been trying to focus and perfect my baking again, a love affair that seems to have jumped back from hiatus. You can knock me down but I’ll get back up! This sweet toothed inlaws, hubby/determined gluten free baker relationship has been working out well!

I saw an interesting brownie recipe on Elana’s Pantry the other day. Flourless Chocolate Chip Brownies. I have seen flourless cake and such and thought, hey, why not? I loved that the big ingredient was a whole jar of almond butter! Nothing processed, no artificial sugars, just a simple treat. Gluten Free and Dairy Free.

I made a couple changes to the recipe (shocker I know) but decided to keep the eggs for the first round since I have never attempted any recipe like this before. I plan on perfecting a vegan version soon. Here is Elana’s recipe: Elana's Pantry Chocolate Chip Brownies

Flourless Chocolate Chip Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 (16) ounce jar smooth almond butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish (I used Earth Balance).
In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand/immersion blender. Add eggs and blend well then slowly add in agave and vanilla. Add cocoa powder, salt and baking soda and blend until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. The batter was VERY THICK but hey, it’s an arm workout!

Pour batter into baking dish and spread evenly. I taste tested of course and found it to be very delicious! Bake for 35 minutes.

Remove and let cool for at least 15-20 minutes.

THOUGHTS:

My husband said that they were delicious but a little on the dry side and could maybe use frosting on top. My mother in law likes hers “more dry” and said they were very tasty.

I thought they were pretty good. Simple flavors but I do agree they could be a bit more moist. I will work on that! They rose well in the oven and were a perfect thickness. I think some vanilla vegan ice cream on top would make ALL the difference ;)

I will play around with the recipe more to accomplish a moist, vegan version. Any suggestions???