Egg-Leavened Waffles

The first rule of waffles: Do not talk about waffles as if they are pancakes cooked in an iron. They are not. Waffles and pancakes have different culinary origins, even if Bisquick or Krusteaz would have you think they both just sprang ex nihilo from a corporate research kitchen. Think of the words you use to describe good waffles: crispy, puffy, tender, chewy; it's not the same as how you describe a good pancake. Waffles are special. They take more preparation, but they are worth it.

Ingredients (Makes 8-9 Belgian-style waffles, cut it in half for smaller groups)
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used fine sea salt)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3 fluid ounces oil (that's 6 tablespoons OR 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
6 eggs, separated

Directions

Prep:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, oil, and almond milk. Set aside. Using a standing mixer (or a hand mixer in another bowl) beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Set aside.

Mix and Cook:
Turn on the waffle iron to preheat. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, whisk together for 20-30 seconds, then let it sit for another 30 seconds. Slowly stir through the mixture to ensure there are no dry spots, but small lumps are OK. Now fold the whipped egg whites into the batter in two or thee batches. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and scoop some batter on; I use two scoops from a #12 disher. Try not to overload the iron, or the batter will ooze out the sides as it expands. Cook until the steam stops coming out the sides of the iron and the waffle is golden brown. Serve immediately while still hot. You could try to keep them warm in a low oven, but I typically just start serving my family one or two people at a time as they come out of the iron.

Wacky Cakes

Until Boy #2, we used box cakes. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite. I miss the taste and the idea that it's more convenient. For a while, we did angel food cake mix since it was dairy and soy free. It's hit or miss if we can find a mix without corn product.

We finally decided it to bite the bullet and figure out how to make cake from scratch. We've tried a few recipes, but the only one I wanted to keep around was the chocolate wacky cake recipe I found at sweetlittlebluebird.com. The boys like it as cupcakes topped with raspberry or orange jello frosting. Mmm...

We tried the vanilla once, but it was bitter. Then tried the vanilla again, but as a platform to rework the guava/mango orange cake recipe for the boys. The flavor was fine, but the cake was gummy in the middle and hard on the outside. Next time, we'll try the lemon cake recipe instead, since it is similar to the mango orange flavor we were going for.

Chocolate Wacky Cake

Vanilla Wacky Cake

Lemon Wacky Cake

My Grandma's Baked Beans

So canned baked beans are OK, but not great. Unless you use them as a basis for "cheater" beans! My wife's brother had these as a family gathering and asked me for the recipe, so here it is.

• 2 (29 oz) cans of pork-n-beans
• 2 large chopped onions
• 2 large chopped green peppers
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound bacon, cooked, cut up

Combine ingredients in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Bake 2 1/2 hours covered with foil at 325.

Uncover, bake another 30 minutes.

Super Saturday: Freezer Dinners

My workplace is moving farther away from my house in a few weeks, so I will be getting home from work later. This means I will probably be unable to help make dinner, leaving my wife to do it all herself. Making dinner whilst taking care of 4 boys is a real challenge, so we decided to make a bunch of freezer dinners, making it easier to get dinner on the table when the kids are a challenge!

Notes:

• I like to make beans in a crock pot, but I only have one crock, so I do some of them on the stovetop. If you have two crock pots, you can do the black beans the same way as the red/white beans.
• Brown rice has more fiber and nutrients, but you could use white rice if you prefer.
• Make sure your kitchen, stove, sink, and dishwasher are clean/empty before starting, and clean up messes as soon as you get a chance!

Master Schedule

Preparation (the night before):

Prepare 1 pound of black beans for cooking

• Pick through the beans, looking for bad/broken beans, rocks, etc.
• Rinse the beans
• Soak in salted water overnight

Prep your aromatic vegetables:

• Chop 6 onions and 6 bell peppers
• Mix together and divide in two (large bowls or plastic bags)
• Mince 12 cloves of garlic and divide in two (keep separate from the other veggies)
• Peel an additional 9 cloves of garlic, but do not mince them. Put them in a plastic bag
• Refrigerate everything until needed in the morning

Showtime!

Step 1: Crock Pot Beans

• Prep one pound of dried red beans and one pound of dried white beans as described above, omitting the soak
• Quarter a large onion like you would an apple. Smash 6 of the cloves of garlic (but do not pulverize)
• Put the beans, onion, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 12 cups water in a crock pot on high.Cover and cook for 4-6 hours or until the beans are creamy.

Step 2: Black Beans

• Drain and rinse the brine from the black beans
• Quarter a small onion like you would an apple (or use 2 or 3 quarters of a big one). Smash 3 of the cloves of garlic (but do not pulverize)
• Put the beans, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 bay leaf, and 6 cups of water in a cooking pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover, and cook for 60-90 minutes, until the beans are creamy.

Step 3: Brown Rice

• Cook 3 cups of brown rice (enough to make 9 cups cooked) according to the package directions
• Do this whilst the beans are cooking.

Step 4: Spicy Meat Sauce

• Keep an eye on the beans and rice cooking on the stove whilst doing this step. Both the rice and beans benefit from cooking slowly, so keep the burners low to prevent burns.
• Make a triple batch (3x) of this blog's Spicy Mexican Meat Sauce.
• You will use one of the batches of onions/peppers and one of the batches of minced garlic that you prepped last night.
• I did this over two stovetop burners in my turkey roasting pan.
• Instead of using the canned tomatoes and paste as described in the recipe, I bought a Costco-sized can of crushed tomatoes in puree (106 ounces)
• I also used 3 ounces of lime juice from the green squeeze bottle instead of fresh limes
• After cooking, let cool and portion into freezer bags. Freeze!
• This meat sauce is great for sloppy joes, taco salads, tostadas, topping baked potatoes, and baked in the oven with cornbread mix on top!

Step 5: Lime Refried Beans and Rice

• By now, the black beans and the rice should both be be cooked. Drain them.
• Pull the onion and garlic chunks from your beans when draining them!
• Make a triple batch (3x) of Lime Refried Beans and Rice
• We used the reserved tomato juice from the canned tomatoes instead of broth as described in the recipe
• The recipe says to sprinkle half of the beans with cheese. This is because half of my kids can't eat cheese. I didn't notice this until after posting the recipe card on the blog. You can just put cheese over all of it.
• We bought 6 5-inch by 7-inch disposable aluminum baking pans and portioned the recipe into them. Don't bake them today, just freeze them. (Bake them when you want to eat them).
• You can use this whenever you would eat beans and rice: in burritos, with grilled chicken or fajitas, or with the meat sauce above!

You're almost done!

Step 6: Ham and Barbecue Bean Skillet

• By now your crock pot beans should be complete. Drain them.
• Make a triple batch (3x) of Ham and Barbecue Bean Skillet.
• You will use the remaining onions/peppers and garlic from last night.
• I used the widest cooking pot I had for this.
• Be gentle when mixing in the beans so you don't mash them up too much.
• After cooking, let cool and portion into freezer bags. Freeze!

All done :) Congratulations!

BBQ Brisket

So my boss sends me an email the other day and asks me, "Where is your recipe for brisket? I want to barbecue one this weekend," and I realized I have never posted it! This forced me to collect my notes and document this delicious recipe for all of my Texas-loving barbecue friends!
Note: fans of this blog may notice that the rub and sauce recipes are recycled from other posts!

Ingredients

• One beef brisket, fat cap trimmed to 1/4 inch thick.

Rub:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (freshly toasted and ground from whole seeds would be best)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika would also be OK)
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne or chipotle chile powder (1/2 tsp if you don't like heat - wimp!)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Sauce:

• one 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup molasses (or brown sugar, but I like the molasses better)
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• ½ tablespoon onion powder
• ½ tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Directions

Thoroughly mix all rub ingredients (I like to pulse them together in a food processor). Work the rub into all surfaces of the brisket. Tightly wrap with plastic wrap, put on a tray or sheet pan, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours, flipping 2-3 times during the marinade (if you can).

Mix all sauce ingredients together in a saucepan. Head over medium heat until bubbles start to form, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Adjust sweetness with 2-4 tablespoons of molasses/sugar if you like it less tangy. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Heat the smoker to 225 degrees. Place the marinaded brisket in smoker, fat side up, and apply smoke for 2-3 hours. Baste with sauce and let smoke for another hour. Flip the brisket over, baste with sauce again, and smoke for another 3-4 hours. At this point, it generally has enough smoke flavor for me, so I remove from the smoker, baste with more sauce, and cook in a low oven or crock pot for another 4-6 hours to tenderize it. If you like your brisket super smokey, or have a very thick brisket, you may want to smoke it longer instead of bringing it indoors. Once the brisket is fork tender, let cool for 10-20 minutes and slice across the grain. 

Eggy Oats

photo source: Blogilates

I saw this Microwave Minute Muffin on Pinterest, and thought that the boys would enjoy it. The first time they said it was too firm. I tweaked it until it was an "edible" consistency. Still delicious. Still filling, but now there is no way I would be able to get it to stand up on a plate. We have this most mornings. 

1/4 cup quick cook oats
3 Tbs milk (rice or almond milk, the vanilla almond is especially tasty)
1 egg
1/8 tsp kosher salt (or a pinch, 1/16 tsp of table salt)
1 tsp sugar/sweetener (to taste)
filling: cranberries, toasted pecans, toasted coconut, raisins, cinnamon, etc. . .
a mug

Put oats in a mug. Pour milk on top. Add the remaining ingredient and mix. Microwave for one minute, then stir. 

Variations:
- When my boys want maple syrup in their eggy oats, I decrease the milk to 2 Tbs or it's too runny. Then I'd have to nuke it for a little longer. Those 15 seconds just take up too much time in a morning of rushing about to get ready for school ;)

- Instant oatmeal: Add milk and egg, stir up and cook. 

Dairy-Free Potato Chowder

So I like chowder a lot. I also have kids who can't have dairy. This creates a conundrum, since chowder is normally made with a milk/cream base. However, I have been experimenting with using dairy substitutes in my recipes, and I found that almond milk works almost as well as regular milk for most dishes. After making it a couple of times, I think I've got this recipe down!

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon (save the fat)
• 1 onion
• 2 ribs celery
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup flour
• vegetable, canola, or olive oil (as necessary, see recipe)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (maybe)
• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and rinsed
• 1 quart almond milk (or rice milk)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon old bay seasoning 
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black pepper)
• 3 green onions, chopped for garnish

Instructions

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan or pot over medium-low heat. Remove cooked bacon and lay on paper towels; set aside for later. Estimate (or measure) the rendered bacon fat. You need 1/4 - 1/3 cup, so add oil if there's not enough or remove any excess. Sweat the onion, celery, garlic, and salt together over medium-low heat until the onion and celery are soft. Sift the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until the flour becomes slightly toasted, stirring constantly so it does not burn. Add the potatoes, milk, old bay, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the flour (and get any stuck bits off of the bottom of the pot). If your "milk" is unsweetened (usually labelled "unsweetened" on the box), add 1 tablespoon of sugar (to taste). Simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 20-30 minutes. Adjust seasoning as desired (i.e. add more old bay, salt, or pepper if you want). Ladle into bowls and top with the green onions and crumbled bacon.

NOTE: If your family has no problems with dairy, you could make this with 2% or whole milk. Since I personally have no issues with dairy, I add a couple of tablespoons of finely shredded cheddar cheese to my bowl! I also like to add crackers.

Caribbean Bean Soup

What is a Caribbean bean? Well the most popular beans in Caribbean cooking are black beans and red beans. However, this soup isn't only about the beans; it uses several other Caribbean flavors: garlic, cumin, lime, and cilantro.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 jalapeno chilies, seeded and minced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 2 cans black or red beans, or one pound of cooked dried beans

Toppings

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the onion, carrots, jalapeno, and garlic with the salt, pepper, and cumin. Cook, stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes, until the carrot has softened (do not let the vegetables brown, turn heat to medium-low if necessary). Meanwhile, puree the beans with the chicken broth in a blender*. Add to the softened vegetable mixture. Raise heat to medium until simmering. Reduce to medium-low and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more salt and pepper to taste and serve in soup bowls, topping with sour cream and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

*Note: If you like the texture of whole beans in your soup, only puree half of the beans with the broth. Add the un-pureed beans to the soup as soon as you add the bean/broth mixture.

Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Pancakes

Pancakes are a delightful weekend breakfast treat! There are many recipes for very nice pancakes available, so why bother writing another? Because most of them require butter, milk, or other dairy products. Also, many of the commercial mixes contain both dairy and soy products, making them unsuitable for people with certain food allergies or intolerances. A few years ago, I came across a recipe for pancakes that were free of these allergens and I've been playing with it, tweaking the recipe to improve the flavor and texture. I think I've got it down now, so I'm ready to share it with you!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, such as rice milk, coconut milk, or almond milk (the latter being my favorite)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons applesauce (unsweetened - no sugar added)
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil (not "vegetable" or soybean oil, if you are trying to keep it soy-free)

Directions

After collecting all your ingredients, but before you mix or measure anything, preheat your griddle to 350 degrees (or medium-high if you don't have a thermostat). Also, turn your oven on to it's lowest setting and put a baking sheet lined with a tea towel in it.

Whisk together the flour, powder, soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl to remove any clumps and evenly distribute the ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the milk, sugar, egg, and applesauce until the egg and applesauce are thoroughly mixed into the milk. Finally, pour the liquid mixture onto the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no more dry clumps, although you should not mix until totally smooth or the pancakes will be too tough - it will only take 10-15 seconds of whisking to bring it all together.

Brush a light coating of oil onto the hot griddle. Using a disher (ice cream scoop) or ladle, gently pour batter onto the griddle. Flip when the bubbles begin to set around the edges and the cooked side is golden brown. Cook another 2-3 minutes until the other side is set. Place each batch on the baking sheet and cover with another towel until ready to serve (they will keep 20-30 min). This recipe makes about 15 pancakes, but you can double it to serve a crowd.

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins

To be honest, I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie. Neither is Jake. And every pecan pie I've had is passable, probably because it's store bought. For us, traditional Thanksgiving desserts are kind of disappointing, so we always get a Marie Calendar's Razzleberry Pie. However, Thanksgiving calls out for pumpkin. Not wanting to buck tradition we wanted to find a way to include it and pecans in our festivities. Both flavors are combined in this flavorful and rich muffin. So much better than a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie or a pumpkin pie!

Sprinkle Some Sunshine

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins- Sprinkle Some Sunshine

1 15 ounce can 100% pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips (Guittard 63% cacao)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin pans with cooking spray or line with paper cups.

Bring pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and cloves to a simmer in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally, until puree thickens about 5 minutes. Pour into a mixing bowl & allow to cool.

In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar and molasses (tada! dark brown sugar).

- I used the chopper attachment of my stick blender

Add brown sugar mixture and oil to pumpkin mixture, and mix. Add beaten eggs, and mix until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture, mix until just combined.

Stir in chocolate chips & pecans.

Using a #20 disher, distribute the batter into prepared muffin cups, so each is 2/3 full.

Bake 13-15 minutes for  regular sized muffins and about 10 minutes for mini muffins or until wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let muffins cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, allow muffins to cool completely on wire rack. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Yield: 20 muffins

Jalapeno Lime Chicken

Let's continue with our lime theme. However, we'll put the lime syrup on hold until our yogurt cubes are ready.

With jalapeno in the name you might think it would have some kick to it, but it is a very mellow flavor since the ribs and seeds are removed before dicing. The lime is the star of the show.

This recipe is pretty straightforward. Toss it together in the morning to marinade, then grill it up in the afternoon.

Jalapeno Lime Chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (wear a latex glove to avoid skin irritation)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

In a small bowl, combine everything but the chicken. Place your chicken in a bag or plastic container, then add the marinade mixture and shake to evenly coat the chicken. marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Preheat grill to medium high. Grill chicken 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the center.

Makes 4 servings. We served ours with rice and steamed broccoli and carrots

Cowboy Cookies

This recipe is from Quaker Oats

Toasting the nuts and coconut really brings out the flavor and adds to the overall deliciousness of this cookie.

Cowboy Cookies modified recipe from Quaker Oats
2  cups all-purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup apple sauce, drained
1/4  cup canola oil
1  cup firmly packed brown sugar
1  cup granulated sugar
3  medium eggs
1  teaspoon vanilla
2  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 1/2  cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3  cup chopped nuts, toasted
2/3  cup shredded coconut, toasted
2/3  cup raisins

Heat oven to 350°F.
Combined flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl, mix apple sauce, oil,  and sugars, until well incorporated.
Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
Gradually add flour mixture.
Add oats, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut and raisins; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (or a #60 or #40 disher) onto ungreased cookie sheets; flatten slightly
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.
Yield : about 4.5 dozen



Notes: Initially it was a really dry crumbly dough. I added an extra medium egg. Problem solved.
My reason ~ maybe when the recipe says "2 eggs" it meant large. If so, 2 medium eggs weren't going to cut it, an extra was needed. Don't know if that was the best solution, but it worked for me.

Lemon Cookies

In my youth, we once had a ward luau in our backyard. As part of the menu, there was your standard luau fare: teriyaki steak, kalua pork, and chicken long rice.  And the not so standard: lemon and orange cookies, orange rolls, and mandarin orange jello. I love citrusy flavors and smells.

The cookies and rolls were so melt in your mouth delicious!! I was so glad that a handout of the recipes was provided (on bright pink and yellow paper. I can always find it in the midst of all the white printouts of recipes).

When I make these I usually go for lemon, but during the holidays I enjoy orange. Then for Chinese New Year, I'll make almond cookies. I love how easily I can change the flavoring to suit my mood or season.

Lemon Cookies recipe modified from Bonnie Workman
1/4 cup apple sauce, drained
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Place oil, apple sauce, and sugar in a large bowl and mix.
Add egg, lemon extract and lemon zest.* Mix well.
Add flour mixture in 3 batches to the sugar mixture. Mix well after each addition. Dough will be stiff.
Use a #60 disher (or a tablespoon) to scoop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges.

* A variety of extracts may be used to change the flavor of this cookie.
Orange: 2 teaspoon orange extract, 1 tablespoon orange zest
Almond: 2 teaspoon almond extract, 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted almonds
Vanilla: 2 teaspoon vanilla

36-40 cookies

Dark Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

This recipe comes from the back of the Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips bag. 

 When making cookies for everyone to eat, I use dark chocolate or 60% cacoa bittersweet chocolate chips, since it has less or no milk in them. It's great for the 3A's!

Dark Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) dark chocolate Chips
1 cup chopped toasted pecan

Heat oven to 375°F.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Mix applesauce, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix.
Gradually add flour mixture, beating well.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.
Scoop with #60 disher (a tablespoon) or drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Cool completely.
About 5 dozen cookies.

It makes so much that I only bake one dozen,

 then freeze the rest.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Place cookie dough balls close together, but not touching 

Freeze until hard. (I wait an hour).

Label a gallon sized zip top freezer bag with the recipe name, date, cooking temperature and bake time.

(I add an extra two minutes to the original bake time)

Bag cookie dough balls, and keep in freezer.

Thaw the balls, while the oven is preheating. 

The boys love coming home and having freshly baked cookies for snack time. 

A journey with cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies. Since our first allergic was diagnosed, I rarely indulge in making them. It means making two batches, one from what was a short list of  3A approved cookies, and the chocolate chip cookies. So time consuming! To simplify things, I've been testing ways to make our favorite cookie recipes safe for all of us to enjoy. 

The main obstacle ~ butter/shortening. Folks use applesauce for healthier cookies, and oil can substitute butter. I figured those would be the best solution. But each came with their own issues.  

Too much oil make the cookies greasy. Too much apple sauce make the cookies poofy.  I want to stay true to the original cookie, if possible. 

With some testing, I found the right ratio of oil & applesauce to avoid the greasy problem. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, I will use 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup apple sauce. 

However, the cookies were still a little too poofy and cakey. Then I thought: What if I drain it? You know, eliminate as much extra moisture as possible.

First, I dumped a bunch of apple sauce in a tea towel and squeezed the juice out. Then used the remaining sauce. It worked!!! But, I felt like I was losing too much of the apple solids in the squeezing process. 

Now, I use a fine mesh strainer to drain the apple sauce. You can also use a tea towel lined colander over a large bowl. I let it drain while I gather all the ingredients and combine the flour mixture. 

That was my "aha moment" in baking cookies for my kids with allergies! 

P.S. Jake pointed out that we have palm kernel shortening.  Uh . . . that works too :) 

I used this technique in these recipes:

Cowboy Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Lemon Cookies

Lemon Zucchini Cookies

Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

from Pioneer Woman

I love cinnamon rolls! My favorite was from Great Harvest, until they started skimping on the cream cheese frosting. I never make them since most of the recipes call for either milk and butter in the dough, so only half the family can eat them. The other day, after adding too much oil to my bread dough, I realized I had the solution. The extra oil made the bread too soft and fluffy for sandwiches, but was perfect for dinner rolls or even. . .  cinnamon rolls.

"Dinner Roll" Dough (Bread Machine)
3/4 c. warm water (100-110 degrees)
2 tsp. white sugar
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1/2 c. oil
2 medium eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 pound  flour (I use a scale, I think it's about 3 cups)

Add ingredients into bread pan in order listed above. Set machine to dough cycle.

Cinnamon Rolls
1 batch of "dinner roll" dough or your preferred dinner roll dough
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. Cinnamon
3 Tbs. oil

Grease a cake pan or two pie pans OR line the bottom with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a large rectangle, then brush with oil.

• for medium size rolls roll out to about 20" x 10", less than 1/2" thick - 12 rolls, 6 per pan
• for small rolls roll out to 1/4" thick - 16 rolls, 8 per pan

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the dough to the edges.

Roll the dough from the long end. Slice into 1 1/2 to 2 inch rolls and arrange in cake or pie pans.


Cover with plastic wrap and store over night in the fridge.

• This gives the rolls an opportunity to bench proof or rise before baking
• Freeze the second pie pan for breakfast another day. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25-35 minutes.

I took a roll out for each of the Allergics, then proceeded to the next step.

Cream Cheese Topping
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 c. powdered sugar

Cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add sugar slowly, mix until smooth. Top cinnamon rolls.

• This is enough topping for both pie pans of rolls. 
• Fill sandwich bag with remaining topping. Flatten, place in quart bag then freeze. 

Next time, I will not use light cream cheese. (It's what we had in the fridge) The topping was sugary, covering the great tang of cream cheese. Even without the topping, the 3 Allergics loved the rolls.

Zucchini Brownies

While perusing Mindika Moments, I found this little gem of a  recipe. My favorite dessert? Brownies!! Another great way to use our zucchini, satisfy my sweet tooth, and it's safe for the 3 Allergics.

I tried the recipe the night before I was taking it to a post baby blessing luncheon. Really?! New recipes need to have a test run before taken places. Silly me! The batter was really thick and didn't want to move around. Rather than shove it into the corners, I just baked it, thinking it would ooze out to the ends. That's what my usual batters do. I was wrong! I had a brownie blob in the middle of the pan. At least, it was delicious and easy to cut into appealing squares. 

Since then I've made it a few times: plain (without any nuts) and with pecans in the batter. Both ways are delicious. 

1 ½ C. sugar

½ C. oil

2 C. grated or puréed zucchini

2 t. vanilla

2 C. flour

1 t. salt

1 ½ t. baking soda

½ C. cocoa

½ C. toasted pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 1/2) with aluminum foil. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, zucchini, and vanilla. Mix well.

Add salt, baking soda, and coco, then mix. Add nuts here for a nutty brownie. Add flour, mix until moist.

Pour batter into jelly roll pan then spread it out an oiled spatula. The batter is a sticky beast 

Bake at  for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

• Baking times may vary due to the water content of the zucchini. If you use a bigger zucchini, which has more liquid in it, the brownie batter will take longer to bake. 
• You can use a tea towel to squeeze the extra liquid out before adding the shredded zucchini to the batter. 

Remove and allow to cool.

Frost with chocolate frosting (recipe below) and top with nuts. We skip this part

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
½ C. butter; softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
½ C. cocoa
1 t. vanilla
¼ + milk
1. In a mixing bowl combine the butter, sugar and cocoa.
2. While mixing add the milk until the frosting reaches desired consistency.
3. If you accidentally add too much milk, add more sugar to compensate.

I put some coconut pecan frosting on top and it was yummy! Jake has requested that the next batch have more zucchini, and pecans, and that I bake them in a 8 x 11.5 pan. He likes them a little thicker.

Zucchini Lemon Cookies

I found this Betty Crocker recipe over at Mindika Moments. I made some changes to accommodate the the 3 Allergics. I replaced the butter with applesauce and oil.

I don't always bake a whole batch of cookie, so I like to take the dough, scoop them into balls then freeze them. The balls always maintain their shape. This dough is soft and sticky, so it didn't want to hold it's shape very well.  I just have to make sure to scoop them after they have sat in the fridge for a bit. 

The dough does spread, so be sure to leave more space between the cookie as you place them on the cookie sheet. 
3/4 C. soft butter or 1/2 cup apple sauce & 1/4 cup canola oil
1 ½ C. sugar 
2 eggs 
1 C. grated/pureed Zucchini 
1 C. chopped toasted pecans 
2 t. lemon zest 
1 t. salt 2 t. baking soda 
2 ½ C. all purpose flour 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
Lightly oil a cookie sheet, spray with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. 
Combine 
mix until they make a dough. 
Scoop dough onto the prepared cookie sheet in 1 inch balls. 
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand to cool for approximately 15 minutes.

I really need to improve my photos. This looks like any other cookie. 

When cool, drizzle with glaze. (see recipe below) 

GLAZE: 

2 C. powdered sugar 

juice of 1 lemon (1/4 C.) 

1 t. vanilla 

Mix all together. After cookies have cooled, drizzle the glaze on top of each cookie.

Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

It's that time of year for Girl Scout Cookies. We got our supply of Tagalongs, Samoas, and Thin Mints. Surprisingly, after a week we still have 1/2 of the boxes we ordered. This just is does not happen!! We gobble them up. I guess I should say I gobble them up, but if I have one then I share with everyone else. Unfortunately, I haven't been eating them. Cursed pregnancy-induced heartburn!!! Chocolate exacerbates it, so I've been avoiding the stuff. But I wanted some yummy delicious cookies! I've been meaning to try this recipe for awhile and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Ingredients

• 18 ounces of your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe - we use the recipe on the Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats lid, it's safe for the 3As : Awesome Oatmeal Cookies
• 1 egg
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Ensure oatmeal raisin cookie dough is at room temperature (about a 15 minute rest on the counter if using refrigerated dough).

Combine dough; flour and egg in large bowl; beat until well blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios. Dough will be sticky. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake about 15 minutes or until edges are brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets. Remove to wire rack; cool completely.

Breaded Eggplant and Eggplant Parmesan

I discovered a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan at Sunflower Market on the recipe board (hidden, it's on the way to the water fountain). My boys love it and request it every time they hear that eggplant is on sale.

Although, we call it Eggplant Parmesan, for the Allergics it's really Breaded Eggplant, since I leave out the cheese.  I bake on two sheets, Breaded and Parmesan, to avoid any cross contamination ;)

2 eggplants (about 2 pounds total)

3 egg whites or 2 eggs

3 tablespoons water

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce

3/4 cup grated low fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with oil.

Cut eggplants cross wise into 1/4 inch thick slices

Whisk egg whites and water in a shallow dish until frothy.

Combine bread crumbs, kosher salt, pepper, (and Parmesan Cheese) in another shallow dish.

Dip eggplants slices into the egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Discard any leftovers of either mixture.

Arrange eggplant discs in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the eggplant discs over, and bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.

Stir basil into tomato sauce. Spread the sauce over the eggplant slices (and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese). Bake until sauce bubbles and the cheese is melted.

Serve with a side of sauced pasta and garlic bread. 

Makes 24+ slices (which easily feeds my family of 6)

You can also use zucchini, sliced in long strips. Mmmm.