Must Bake Cookies

Image via Wikipedia

In last week's post I admitted that I was on a bit of a baking kick. That might have been a slight understatement. I'm in a baking frenzy. Maybe the snow flurries coming down outside are making it feel like the holidays and that's why I can't seem to bake enough cookies lately. Unfortunately I'm also eating the cookies, so I'll have to keep running on the treadmill.

My baking frenzy is not completely out of control. I have one rule that I've been sticking to - I can only bake with the supplies I have in the house. After cleaning out my cabinets I discovered I've amassed a collection of gluten-free flours and other starches, as well as doubling up on things like baking soda because one box got buried near the back of the shelf. So all this baking is also helping to clean out the cupboards and use up things that might go to waste if left sitting too long.

Thanks to Google, I've been able to find recipes that use only what I had on hand, although I had to adapt some.

Beth Hyzy's blog Delicious Inspiration provied a great gluten-free sugar cookie recipe for Halloween. I had some Halloween-colored sugar and sprinkles, so I used them rather than icing the cookies. The unflavored gelatin means these cookies are not technically vegetarian, but they were really good so I decided to let that go.

I found a recipe for peanut butter and oatmeal cookies that sounded yummy, but when I checked the peanut butter jar it was pretty low. I replaced the peanut butter with cashew butter and the pecans with coconut and they came out great! I think they might be my favorite cookies (until another really good cookie comes along).

A couple of weeks ago I bought a bag full of lemons and didn't use as many as I thought I would. I didn't want the lemons to go bad, so I went hunting for a lemon cookie recipe. Bonnie's blog Bake This. Eat That. Then Move! (Bonnie is my kind of gal)  had a great recipe for Gluten-free Lemon Cookies with White Chocolate. I didn't have any white chocolate chips, so, since I'm not buying anything, I made the cookies without them. They are still good. I drizzled them with a powdered sugar and lemon juice icing to make them extra lemony.

In another burst of productivity I recorded a new podcast yoga class. Since Thanksgiving is almost here and I've been eating all those cookies, I decided to do a core-focused practice. If you've been eating cookies too, grab your mat and click the play button.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Even if my cookie baking frenzy continues through the holidays, I have Kim's amazing and very healthy cooking to look forward to at the Adirondack Women's Empowerment Retreat in January. You could join us there. All the details are here.

Vegan, Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Oh my)

Maybe because my grandparents were wonderful bakers, or maybe because I spent my high school years working in a bakery, I love to bake. There's nothing like the smell that comes from the oven when cookies are baking, especially during the cold months. When I discovered that wheat gluten contributed to the aching in my joints I cried over the loss of baked goods. Luckily there are lots of gluten free recipes out there to try. I also have a problem with my cholesterol, so now my experiments are vegan as well as gluten free.

There is a bit of a learning curve, I'm finding. I've scoured a few attempts out of my baking pans before throwing the recipe away. (Wasting rather expensive gluten free flour kills me, but sometimes there is no choice.)

Today's experiment was a success! These vegan, gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were so good I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I adapted the recipe from an oatmeal cookie recipe from Bob's Red Mill.

Vegan, Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed combined with 6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla
1 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill because that's what the local grocery store carries)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Xantham Gum
3 cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat margarine and sugars together until smooth. Let flaxseed and water sit at least 1 minute, then add flaxseed mixture and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, blend flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and Xantham Gum. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and blend. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown on edges. Cool 1 minute before transferring to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

* I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, which do not have any dairy ingredients but are not "dairy-free" because they made in a facility where milk is present. If you have a sensitivity to dairy, look for a true dairy-free brand.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.