bringing cookies back into my life

when i wrote this post on thursday, i had a sudden urge for cookie-baking. guess what i did the very next day? that's right, i ate pizza. and i baked cookies. i like the end result of baking cookies, but i get really impatient when i'm in the middle of the whole cookie-baking process. i only have 2 cookie sheets, so i waste a lot of time waiting for the damn cookies to be baked so i can finish scooping out all the cookie dough. so its not just 10-12 minutes of baking, its more like 5 x 10-12 minutes of baking + 30 minutes of time wasting. that equation is just too complicated for my mind. maybe if i invest in another couple cookie sheets i will enjoy cookie baking more. because i sure as heck enjoy eating them. and sharing. i guess.

so i baked "oatmeal, chocolate chip pecan cookies," except i used walnuts. so i guess i technically baked "oatmeal, chocolate chip walnut cookies." but i think the name sounds too boring for what these cookies taste like when they are in my mouth having a party. they're more like "spicy, flavorful, chocolately goodness cookies with a hint of orange." try baking them yourself and then see if you can top my awesome name for them.


here's the recipe:
oatmeal chocolate chip pecan cookies
adapted from smitten kitchen, who adapted it from katy sparks and andrea strong

1/2 c. butter*, room temp
3/4 c. cane sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs (largish)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. clove
1 c. oats
2 c. chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans. i also threw in some sunflower seeds)
2 tsp. grated orange zest (optional. i'm still not sure what i think of the orange.)
12 oz. (1 bag) semisweet chocolate chips

*if you use salted butter, then don't use as much salt

beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until its light and creamy. add sugars, salt, vanilla and beat again. stir in the eggs, one at a time. in a separate bowl whisk/sift the dry ingredients (flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove). add half of it to the batter and beat on low speed. dump the other half in along with the oats, nuts, orange zest and chocolate. (you can be creative with what you dump in. i needed to get rid of some white chocolate so i used half white chocolate chips, half semi-sweet chocolate chips.) stir. take a spoon and drop similar sized clumps of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. space them out because these cookies flatten a bit in the oven. bake for 10 to 12 minutes. mine stayed in for about 15, but my oven is weird. you want the cookie to look 'golden' but you don't want them to burn. but really, if its slightly underbaked, its just chewier, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. :)


suggestions for how to use these cookies:
1. serve to guests with coffee
2. put a dozen on a plate, set plate right in front of you with a cup of coffee, and eat all in one sitting
3. bring to an event, like moving day, and share

(note: i used suggestion #3, but you don't know how much i wanted to do suggestion #2)

yummy wheat-free vegan choc chip walnut cookies

as of the beginning of this week i have gone wheat-free for a while, for various health & personal reasons. i've experimented quite a bit over the last year with wheat-free baking, since my sister doesn't eat it, so at least i'm not starting off completely new to it. but now i have to plan my meals better, make or buy wheat-free bread, and stare at delicious baked wheat products all day in longing.

i'm not a huge cookie person, but i like to eat them once in a while, and it struck me that if i ever have a chocolate chip cookie craving, i can't just buy one at a cafe when the craving hits. so i decided to bake some yesterday. and they are delicious. it was a pretty small batch, so i will have to bake some more soon. that way i can freeze a whole bunch to satisfy my 'occasional' chocolate chip cookie craving.

i found this fantastic recipe and pretty much followed it somewhat closely, until i realised the next day that i accidentally ommited the sugar, and just put in the brown sugar. they tasted perfectly sweet to me, so i will leave the sugar part optional.

note: found out that you can make your own 'oat flour' by grinding oats in a blender or food processor.


ingredients:

• 1 & 3/4 cups flour (i used 1 cup oat flour, 3/4 cup brown rice flour. if you want it completely gluten-free, try substituting all rice flour or quinoa flour)
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup sugar (optional!)
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (not optional)
  
• 1/3 cup oil (olive or canola)
• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseeds
  
• 1/4 cup soy milk (or rice milk or regular milk)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts)
  
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Add the vinegar to the soymilk, and set aside. (I think the vinegar is supposed to help the cookies puff up a bit)

If you haven't yet, grind the flax seeds and chop the walnuts ahead of time.

Sift/whisk the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, salt)

In a separate bowl, whisk the ground flax with the soymilk. Then, add the oil, sugar, vanilla, and mix well.

Add the wet stuff to the dry stuff and stir until combined. Add the chocolate and walnuts last.

Drop onto cookie sheet by the teaspoon or tablespoon, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe makes about 18-20 small cookies. They don't last long, so it might be good to double the recipe.

chewy wheat-free vegan chocolate chip cookies

i had a desire to make chocolate chip cookies yesterday. but if i made them just for me, they would end up sitting on the counter for days & i'd eventually throw them out. i seem to have a weird thing about not liking too much of the same thing. or leftovers. so i made my cookies 'andrea friendly,' which is wheat free, dairy free, egg free, yeast free... basically they are vegan. but they are yummy!

i used the base recipe of Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from RecipeZaar, but i didn't use wheat & i cut the amount of sugar in half.




my recipe:

ingredients

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey or molasses)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon flax seed
• 1/2 cup rice milk (or soy milk)
  
• 2 cups flour (chickpea flour, rice flour, 1/2 teaspoon guar gum)
  
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet non-dairy chocolate chips/chunks

directions

• preheat oven: 350 F
• grind flax seeds in a blender until powdered; add the milk and blend for about 30 seconds more and set aside.
• in a large bowl, sift together dry stuff: cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt.
• cream the sugar and oil in a separate large bowl.
• add the flax/milk mixture to wet stuff and mix well.
• stir in the vanilla to wet mixture.
  
• slowly mix in the dry ingredients.
• mix in the chocolate chips.
• roll or spoon out dough into 1" balls and flatten
  
• place on a cookie sheet about 1" apart and bake for 10 minutes. (original recipe said ungreased sheet, but i think i would grease my cookie sheet next time)