Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix

Let me just start off by saying that the box tells you to mix an egg, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a stick of butter. A whole stick. For a realistic 16 cookies. That's about 1/2 tablespoon of butter in every cookie. With that amount, you can bet that those cookies are going to taste good.

And of course, they do. Really good.

One thing to note: You really have to get in with your hands and shape them into balls to bake them.

A winner in my book.

Cookie ice cream sandwich

I felt like I needed something a little indulgent this evening after a long day in the lab. It's fun and exactly what I want to be doing, but learning this much so quickly is a tad exhausting.

These really hit the spot.

Make some!

Chocolate chip cookies

I've said it here before, but I am the weird girl who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies. Strange, though, that I've been craving them for a few weeks.

I used a little less sugar than I normally would, because I used milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. They turned out better than I expected. The first batch out of the oven were scarfed down before the second batch could be put in. Thankfully, I did not do the scarfing by myself. I had some help from my mom, brother, and sister, who gave them the thumbs up and keep coming back for more.

You can just barely taste the vanilla in the cookie, and the chocolate taste is there but not overwhelming. By using less sugar, the individual flavors are much more detectable. I think these are the best chocolate chip cookies I've made. If they were made with butter, I'd imagine the flavor would be enhanced even more, but I decided to stick with shortening this time.

They are actually better the next day- if any last that long!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. sorghum flour
scant 1/4 c. sweet rice flour
1/4 c. corn starch
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. baking soda
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1 egg
1/4 t. vanilla
2/3 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

Using a hand mixer, mix the shortening and brown sugar until all the sugar is moistened and the lumps of shortening are gone. It won't cream like normal, because there is less shortening in these cookies.

Add the egg and vanilla, and mix it well until the mixture looks uniform.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add them to the wet ingredients and mix them together, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Place balls of dough on a greased cookie sheet. These cookies do not spread at all. They will pretty much come out exactly how they were placed on the sheet, so flatten them down a little before baking. Bake them for 8-10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and the tops are set.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

Oh, check out the cute platter I painted at the Mad Potter. I didn't create the goofy cupcake; my sister Suzy did. I just took her drawing with me and copied it. She also drew the "Evil Wheat" over on the sidebar. She's got more talent than I do when it comes to drawing random things!

cookies

I saw this article in the Houston Chronicle and decided to give this recipe a shot. I made a few changes to the recipe:

I halved it, used brown rice flour instead of white rice flour, and only used 5 T. butter. Then I found out I didn't have enough chocolate chips, so I added white chocolate chips.

They turned out good, more soft and cake-like than crispy. They didn't spread a whole lot either. They were a hit with my family, because I hardly ever make chocolate chip cookies. I think the combo of white and semi-sweet chocolate made them extra-tasty.

In fact, as I was writing this my sister came in and said,
"Jenny, those cookies were magnificent!"

That's right, magnificent.

*does happy dance*

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Life

Today is a glorious day. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and there's a nice chill in the air. Today also marks the 1-year anniversary of my Celiac disease diagnosis.

What a year it's been. I've learned a lot. In the picture above I realized that's the potholder that I burned. :o) I remember how frustrating it was learning how to read labels, figure out which flour to use, and figure out what to eat. I've had a TON of support from my friends & family. It's still not all hunky dory, sunshine and lollipops every day, but I feel better and I'm proud of myself.

I was raiding through the cupboards today and came across one of those Whole Foods 365 Chocolate Chip Cookie mixes that my brother bought me just to be nice, when I was first diagnosed. Now, they're not my favorite, and I wasn't a fan of the 365 Chocolate Cake mix, so I put off making these. I'm kinda glad I made them today.

This is a strange cookie mix recipe, one I've never seen before. The "dough" is very crumbly and you have to form it into balls with your hands. The cookies come out very un-flat without refrigeration (which surprised me).

There are two kinds of cookie people. Those who like crispier cookies (me!) and those who like cookies soft, barely cooked. I believe these cookies can please everyone. The first round came out crispy on the outside, softer on the inside. The second round I cooked a little longer, and still had that great crisp outside, but were firmer inside. The balance of flavors was really great too. I think I might have liked these. My mom and sister sure did: "Are you sure these are gf??"

So, I say try these, especially if you're a chocolate chip cookie fan.