Mrs Field's Adapted Allergy-Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

We just made the most amazing cookies & guess what?!  They were vegan, soy free, and gluten free!  I almost cried.  I can't believe something tasted this good & was ok to eat!!!!

Most of you have probably baked or at least tasted the amazing Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies at some point.  But, have you ever tasted them THIS way?  Now you can!!!!  Here is the recipe WITH the substitutions listed.

Cream together:

2 cups butter (I used 1 1/2 cups Earth Balance Butter & 1/2 cup Nutiva Extra Virgin Coconut Oil)
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
4 eggs (we used 4 T of ground flaxseed & 12 T boiling hot water - let the mixture set for 10 minutes)
2 tsp gluten free vanilla

Add a little at a time of:

4 cups flour (I used:
                                1 cup white rice flour
                                 1/2 cup sorghum flour
                                 1/2 cup brown rice flour
                                 1 cup potato starch
                                  1 cup tapioca starch
                                  2 tsp xanthan gum)
5 cups blended oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
2 tsp baking soda

mix all ingredients

Add 24 oz (we added 12 oz) of chocolate chips (Guittard or another dairy free variety)

Bake at 375 fir 10 - 12 minutes.


Ok, so maybe these aren't "healthy,"  but sometimes you need something yummy!  These sure beat all those store bought cookies (bleh!)

Allergy Free Foods We Use Regularly

Here are some of the products we regularly buy that are gluten free, dairy free, etc.  I will try to keep the list updated as I think of more things.  I hope this helps even just one person!  When we were first starting out, I had a few people come along side of me (thanks Alicia & Tom Moore & Mary Lou Hom!!!) who were able to point me to certain products that were helpful in starting our overwhelming journey of changing the entire way we eat.  Yes, at first it is overwhelming, especially if you have never shopped at, say, Whole Foods, but after a while things get easier, you know where things are in the stores and you find yourself experimenting with all sorts of crazy ingredients you may never have even heard of until recently!  We have been on this food journey less than two years as of now, and I am still learning new stuff almost every day.  But, I hope what I have learned can help those of you who might be just starting out.  I remember those first months and how helpless I felt.  Anyhow, the Lord has really taken me by the hand and led me and given me much peace.  I still struggle at times (esp lately when we seemed to have regressed in our progress or to have developed some NEW allergies) but I am confident that the Lord will see us through it.  Take the Lord by the hand and let him lead you in this journey.  He will carry you and comfort you and he will show you that you are NOT alone in this.  HE is always with you and will give you the strength you need moment by moment!  I have learned to lean on him much more than I ever have had to before in our journey with food, and I thank him that he has used this for his glory.   

Products We Use That Are:

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Peanut, Egg, Almond, Garlic, Amaranth, Lentil, Shellfish FREE

-         OrganicVille Organic Ketchup

-         Daiya Cheddar and Mozzarella style shreds

-     Daiya Cheddar Style Wedge (you can slice the cheese for sandwiches!)

-         Earth Balance Butter (we use the soy free in the red container)

-         Once again Organic Sunflower Seed Butter (it is contaminated, so Silas can't have it...I make his myself)

-     Cashew Butter (I can't find an uncontaminated brand for Silas to have, but I make my own)

-     Kettle Brand Hazelnut Butter (can't have this anymore, as Si is allergic)

-         Glutino Gluten Free Pretzels (YUM!)

-         Enjoy Life soft baked cookies (they have all sorts of flavors!)

-         Enjoy Life Chewy on the go Bars

-     Lara Bars (If you can have nuts)

-         EnerG breads (make sure to toast them before you eat it!)  We like the tapioca loafs & brown rice loaf the best

-         Edward & Sons Baked Organic Brown Rice Snaps

-    Quaker Rice Cakes (plain & salted) are a new gluten free addition to the list!

-         Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (use it to bake, fry, use it as butter, etc!)

-         Bob’s Gluten Free Red Mill Oats

-         Chex cereals (rice, cinnamon, and corn, & now chocolate which are newly dairy free)

-         Envirokids Organic cereals (Panda Puffs, Koala Crisp, Amazon Frosted Flakes, and Gorilla Munch)

-     Enjoy Life Cereals:  Very Berry Crunch Granola & Cinnamon Raisin Crunch Granola

-         Kix

-         Real Foods Corn Thinks (organic, original)

-         So Delicious Coconut yogurt

-         So Delicious Coconut Milk (I like unsweetened best)

-         So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream  (We usually buy plain Vanilla, chocolate, or Mint Chip)

-Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss

-         Organic Rice Milk  (I like unsweetened best)

-         Premium Gold Organic Golden Omega Flaxseed (for use instead of eggs in baking & I buy the preground stuff at costco)

-         Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening (palm oil) (for use instead of Crisco soybean shortening)

-         Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos Soy Free Seasoning Sauce (as a substitute for soy sauce)

-     Guittard Chocolate Chips (regular chocolate chip or dark chocolate chip, although these DO CONTAIN SOY LECITHIN and were manufactured on equipment that once had dairy on it.)

-     Bob's Red Mill flours for baking - Tapioca Starch, Rice Flours (white, sweet white, brown), Potato Starch, Sorghum Flour

-    Bob's Red Mill GF pancake mix

-    Bob's Red Mill GF brownie mix


-    Bob's Red Mill GF pizza crust mix


-    Bob's Red Mill GF cornbread mix

-    Edward & Sons:  Let's Do Gluten Free Sugar Cones or Ice Cream Cones

-   Oscar Mayer Selects hot dogs

-   Garden Veggie Crisps

-    Kettle & Lays plain potato chips (not made with soybean oil)

-    Brown, Batsami, & Jasmine rice, quinoa, buckwheat groats, millet

Gluten free sugar cookies

45 min.prep time 2:25total time

3 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened  (I used soy free Earth Balance Butter since we are dairy and soy free)

2 Land O Lakes® All-Natural Egg yolks  (I used ground flaxseed - 2 tbsp plus 6 tbsp of water)

1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla

2 1/4 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend (see below)*

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Combine sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour blend and salt. Beat until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate until firm (1 hour).

Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on surface sprinkled lightly with gluten-free flour, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. I actually roll my dough out in between saran wrap.  I do this with pretty much all my gluten free recipies (that require being rolled out) and it works every time.  I spray the saran wrap with canola oil or I use flour, depending on the recipe.  For this one, I believe I used white rice flour.) 

Cut with 2 1/2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

*  Gluten-Free Flour Blend: To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.

for the flour, I used:

• 1 cup rice flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup tapioca starch
• ¼ cup sorghum flour
• ¼ cup potato flour
• 1 1/8 tsp xanthan gum

The only reason I used the mixture that I used was because I ran out of rice flour and I do not own potato starch as of yet (still need to buy some).  So, I did my own little experiment & it turned out beautifully!  I want to encourage you to try your own mixture, esp if you don't have what the recipe calls for!  I almost always modify and do my own thing and I have never once had a flop yet (knowing a thing or two about what each gluten free flour does is important, though)!  Success every time (ok, I am sure the flop will happen one of these times, but for now I can boast of my success!)

Here is my link from Landolakes where I got my recipe:

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1527/star-cut-out-cookies-gluten-free-recipe/print#

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup sugar (I use brown sugar or 1/2 c sugar & 1/2 cup brown sugar)
1 egg
1 tsp gluten free vanilla
sugar to coat cookies

Mix ingredients.  Shape dough into tsp size balls and coat in sugar.  Press cookie onto cookie sheet and use a fork or spoon to press it into desirable shape.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

I just did a happy dance!

I have tried all sorts of mixes for cookies, as well as baking cookies gluten free from scratch.  Usually, Silas will eat them, but I take one bite & have to fight to swallow.  I am not sure if the problem is the texture or the taste (perhaps of the xanthan gum), but cookies have been the one thing Silas has really done without since he started his gluten free diet.  Well, that is about to change!  I have to rave about the cookies we made last night! The Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cookie Mix is fabulous!  I was so pumped about how the cookies turned out that I did a happy dance (with my husband as witness!)

The mix made moist, chewy cookies that don't crumble & fall apart like I have come to expect in gluten free baking.  I think all the Betty Crocker mixes are fabulous, so if you are looking for a quick & easy way to cook gluten free, THIS IS IT!  You don't have to buy the xanthan gum or all the separate flours if you use a mix.  Buying all the flours (you have to use at least 2 or 3 per recipe, sometimes up to 7 or 8!) can get very costly too and is a pain because then you have to store what you don't use.  I am not a "mix" type of gal, but I find the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes to be very simple and close if not identical to ingredients I would use at home.  I don't see lots of weird words in the ingredients that I cannot pronounce, which I DO find in regular mixes. 

Here is a link to the wonderful Betty Crocker Mixes. http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free-baking-mixes