Chocolate Chunk Cookies w/orange zest

I had a very nice New Years Eve with my husband, son and a good friend of ours who came to visit. We went and had a chinese dinner than came back and played ping pong, I didn't it was too cold in the gargage, and watched a movie until it was time to count the New Year in.

New Years day we went and saw Avatar in 3-D. What a great, great movie! The aliens looks so real! I would actually like to see it again without the 3-D and on IMAX to see what it's like. They need to change those 3-D glasses so they are more comfortable and have them wrap around more, like sport glasses. Maybe I should write a letter. :)

What are some of your favorite sweet combinations? One of mine is chocolate and orange, but only in a cookie. You see I can't eat oranges or drink orange juice because is plays havoc on my body, seriously. No need to go into details, it's just a real bad thing.

So the way I enjoy a bit of orange is, orange zest and chocolate!

If you are looking for a crunchy cookie, these are it!

Hope you like them.

Chocolate chunk cookies w/Orange Zest

3/4 C. pure maple syrup

1/2 C. canola oil (your choice)

2 T. organic sugar

2 tsp. molasses

2 T. brandy(optional)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

zest from 1 large orange

2 C. spelt flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl combine maple syrup, sugar, molasses, canola, vanilla, vinegar, orange zest and brandy. Beat with an electric mixer or whisk until throughly combined.

In a seperate bowl combine, flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Gradually pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and just mix until thoroughly combined. Next stir in the chocolate. The dough will be on the softer, sticky side.

Drop Tablespoon size amounts onto cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Yummy holiday treats....

Howdy everyone! I'm running on lack of sleep today, who isn't right now eh? Yesterday I was busy making cookie dough, doing errands with my hubby and shopping. Then last night baking for my son's teachers. More coffee please!!! No I don't really need the caffeine from the coffee but the warm and strong taste hits the spot. Here are some of the baked goods I whipped up.


Pistachio spiced brittle. I'm really not a big candy eater. I do love a good dark chocolate, mabye a bit of caramel and I do love peanut brittle. I've tried to make brittle in the past but it was frustrating and burned just a bit. I was determined to try it again after seeing a picture of Hannah's Chai brittle on her blog. I found this awesome peanut brittle recipe and I got to tell you, this was so easy to make and didn't take long at all! Click here for the recipe. Alterations on the recipe were that I subbed Earth Balance for butter, golden syrup for corn syrup and used organic sugar.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies(Martha Stewart) & Rumnog cookies(VCON).

I so look forward to making and eating these ginger cookies every Christmas. If you love ginger well these use fresh & powdered ginger, and then chocolate!!!! Oh they they make my mouth happy! :) The only change on the recipe is using Earth Balance to replace the butter. There are no eggs in the recipe. I hope you try them you won't be dissapointed!

My next post I'll be teasing you with some pic's of some recipes I've been testing out out for Celine and Joni's new cookbook they are working on. Yes another cookbook from those wonderful girls.

Hubby's B-Day gluten free dinner

Goodmorning to everyone. I'm sitting here waiting for the house to warm, just to get the chill off, don't tell my husband, before I work out. You see it has to be flippin' cold before my husband turns on the heater, but secretly I have turned it on a couple times in the morning. We've been using our fireplace lots lately. Anyhoo, let's move on shall we. My husband had a birthday monday so let's see what I made him shall we?


Dave loves a good veggie loaf, mashed taters and greenbeans mixed with peas. I wanted to change up the loaf a bit since I do make them quite a bit, always making them different, there are one or two I will always go back to but I found this one that absolutely turned out awesome!
I found it at I Am Gluten Free orignially from Gluten Free Goddess. Thanks girls!

Karina's Veggie Loaf
Serves 8
adapted by Ellen A.
and re-adapted by JoLynn

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz cremini mushrooms, diced or sliced
5 large leave Swiss chard or any greens( I had on hand about 6oz. of frozen spinach)chopped.
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup oven-roasted grape tomatoes (or sun-dried tomatoes)
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 cup cooked brown rice, packed
½ cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
½ cup gluten free bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2tsp dried oregano
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp wheat-free tamari
1 egg-replacer equivalent (Ener-g or I used 1 tbsp flaxmeal + 3 tbsp water, whisk until frothy)


Maple Sauce:
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
½ cup Ketchup
2 tsp. honey mustard or whole grain with a bit of agave added.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and cook the red bell pepper. Once the bell pepper is almost soft add the mushrooms and your greens, cook until until soft. Remove from heat and put into a large bowl, set aside. Put the raw carrot, cooked brown rice, and nuts in a food processor and mix until the mixture forms a coarse meal. BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERPROCESS UNLESS YOU WANT A MUSHY LOAF. Toss into the mixing bowl with the other vegetables and the breadcrumbs. Add the herbs and spices, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and tamari. Add the flax meal mixture(or egg) and stir until well-blended. Press the mixture evenly into an oiled loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Make the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients with a whisk. Pour the maple sauce over the top of the veggie loaf and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. This will make it easier to cut, though it will still be a little fragile.
My son loves the leftover loaf for a sandwich.

Dessert for the birthday guy was chocolate chip cookies. I was going to make him a carrot cake but he loves chocolate chip cookies and when I usually make them I add oatmeal and stuff that he doesn't care for. He prefers the good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie. So I broke down and used Soy Free Earth Balance and ener-g egg replacer to make these. He was very happy indeed! Yay!