Monday, March 30, 2015

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies




The month of February was not a good month for my stomach. Almost everyday ended with me eating crystallized ginger, drinking peppermint tea, and then lying face-down on my bed with a heating pad under my stomach. I eat mostly whole foods, and for the most part my diet hasn't changed. I just couldn't figure out what was causing this much pain and bloating! After tracking the pain and the foods I ate and talking with our schools dietician, we decided it could be either gluten, broccoli, or spinach. The only way to find out was to take each of these out of my diet for a few weeks and see if the symptoms resided. Long story short, I am now gluten free.

I really did not want to have to take gluten out of my diet. Granted, I don't eat much bread or things of the like anyways, but I just didn't want to be that person: the person who is dairy-free and gluten-free. But here I am, g-free for a month or so, and no stomach pain, bloating, or gas! In order to confirm this sensitivity, gluten needs to be out of a person's system for about two months, so the intestines can heal completely, then it needs to be eaten again to see if a reaction occurs. That will be my job next month.

That being said, mom, there will now be a lot more gluten-free items made in Your Daughter's Kitchen. Which is probably better for all of us since mom is allergic to wheat (not necessarily gluten), and my little sister is supposed to be without gluten for her hyperextension joint problems.


On to these amazing cookies. They are dense, and almost biscuit-like, but sweet like a cookie. I love the banana in this as it makes them sweeter and acts as a vegan egg-replacement. As with most of my recipes, they're great with a cup of coffee. If you're into milk, they would be delicious with that as well. 

If the mixture is a little dry, add a little more almond milk or mashed banana. If you would like them a little sweeter, add some more chocolate chips.

Happy gluten-free, dairy-free living to us all!





Makes 24-28 cookies; about 150 calories per cookie
Adapted from The Simple Veganista

Ingredients


3 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp baking soda
2/3 cup refined coconut oil (softened or melted)
1/2 large banana, mashed
1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk (at room temp)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips


Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, mash banana as smooth as possible, set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine coconut oil and sugar, mix well. Add in mashed banana, vanilla and room temperature almond milk.
4. Add the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda to the liquid mixture, mixing well to combine and scraping the bottom to make sure there are no flour clumps. Add in oats, then chocolate chips, mixing in between.
5. Scoop out rounded tablespoons of mixture and place on sheet about 1 inch apart, flattening slightly. Cookies stay about the same size while baking. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Apple and Blackberry Cobbler


As Easter nears, I am reminded of the many delicious spring and summer recipes that are about to explode on every blog, magazine, and instagram account that I browse. Recipes filled with berries, leafy greens, baby carrots, and other color-filled fruits and vegetables. This dessert is one I made a couple years ago and had in a combined-post with another dessert (Blueberry and Lemon-Poppyseed Cake), but I felt it was time for each to get it's own post, since they are equally as delicious, yet completely different.

As I mentioned in the original post, I am often put in charge of desserts for family get togethers. In order to make everyone happy, I usually make a "healthy" and a "not-so'healthy" dessert. This cobbler was a perfect pick for the normal people in the family (whatever normal means).

My family could not stop raving about this cobbler; they ate the entire thing. The tartness of 
the berries worked so well with the sweet, yet plain, cornmeal biscuits. The biscuits have a great texture from the cornmeal as well. This cobbler is definitely best hot, and pairs perfectly with vanilla bean ice cream.

Serves 8-10
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:


Filling

3 pounds (8-ish cups) baking apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch wedges
2 cups frozen blackberries, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soft (not melted) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Biscuit Topping

1/2 cup medium-grind cornmeal (not quick-cooking)
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
1/4 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
6 tablespoons soft (not melted) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup heavy whipping cream 


Directions:


Filling

1. Preheat oven to 375°. 
2. Combine apples, blackberries, sugar, cornstarch, honey, butter, and lemon juice in a large bowl and stir. 
3. Transfer mixture to a shallow 3-quart baking dish (about 10x12) and set aside.


Biscuit Topping and Assembly

1. Combine cornmeal, baking powder, salt, flour, and sugar in a bowl with a pastry blender or pulse in a food processor. Add butter and mix/pulse until pea-size lumps form. Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl and add 1 cup cream and stir until a dough forms.

2. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured work surface and knead just until dough comes together, about 3 times. Pat or roll out dough into a 14x4-inch rectangle about 1/2 inches thick. Cut dough rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each strip crosswise into 4 equal pieces to make 8 biscuits.

3. Arrange biscuits over fruit mixture, spacing about 1/2 inch apart. Brush biscuits lightly with cream and sprinkle evenly with sugar.


4. Bake cobbler until filling is bubbling around edges and biscuits are golden brown, 35-45 minutes.


5. Transfer to a wire rack and let cobbler cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.


**I made the dough and filling the day before Easter then refrigerated them overnight. I assembled it and baked it the day of so it was hot for serving. This worked great. To do this wrap the dough in cling wrap with a little flour around it to keep from sticking. Keep the filling in the bake tray and cover in cling wrap then place both in fridge.


Monday, March 2, 2015

Dark Chocolate Coconut Oil Brownies

The minute I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. They're brownies- with coconut oil in the title. Therefore, they are automatically winners in my book. 

Coconut oil is a food item / product I use every single day. I say product purposefully because I use it as a beauty product as well. I use it as face lotion, body lotion, and mix it with vitamin E capsules and put it in my hair. It can be mixed with baking soda and peppermint to make toothpaste or swished around in your mouth to whiten your teeth. Since I can't consume dairy, I also use coconut oil in almost all my baking endeavors. Lucky for all of us, it has become a very popular product and can be bought almost anywhere!

These brownies are not for the faint at heart. Since they use unsweetened chocolate, they definitely live up to their name of dark chocolate brownies. They are very rich and almost fudge-like, which means pairing them with some milk, coffee, or ice cream is UH-mazing. If you prefer more of a milk chocolate brownie, use 60-80% dark chocolate instead. 

These brownies also have a distinct coconut flavor due to the fact they they use unrefined coconut oil, which is again, UH-mazing. Since I love coconut (as previously mentioned ranted about), I loved this. Don't be scared if you don't though! Simply switch it out for refined coconut oil, and you will never know it's there.











I decreased the amount of coconut oil from the original recipe, and also replaced part of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat. In the future, I may try to mess with the sugar, but for now I like these brownies just the way they are: full of dark chocolate, coconut goodness. 

P.S- I may have eaten the majority of this pan by myself (don't tell)


Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Makes 12 brownies, 267 calories each

Ingredients:

4.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unrefined coconut oil*
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, and line 9x9 or 7x11 glass baking tray with parchment paper
2. Combine chocolate and coconut oil in microwave save bowl. Melt in microwave, stirring every so often to prevent burning.
3. Pour chocolate mixture into bowl with brown sugar, stirring with whisk to combine. Add eggs and stir until mixture is thick.
4. Whisk in salt and flour. Batter with be thick and heavy.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 22-25 minutes until edges are set. The less you bake them, the more fudge-like they will be.
6. Let cool in pan. Cut and enjoy! Pairs great with a cold glass of milk, ice cream, or coffee (place a sliced banana on top and you could even call it breakfast)


*for a less coconut-flavored option, use refined coconut oil