Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

These moist, tender muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch, snack time, or your mid-morning coffee break. Not only are they gluten free, but they can also be made dairy free as well!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 4 oz container puréed baby food (any fruit variety such as pears, prunes, apples, etc.)
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and baby food, mixing well.
3. Stir in flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill paper liners 3/4 full with batter.
6. Bake 17-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
7. Store in airtight container at room temperature for a few days or refrigerate for longer.

Recipe adapted from Bunny's Warm Oven.

French Toast Casserole

Instead of making traditional French toast on the stovetop where you can only cook a few servings at a time, try baking this casserole in the oven so that everyone can sit down at the table together to enjoy brunch at the same time!

French Toast Casserole
Yield: 8x8 pan

Ingredients
For Casserole:

• 6-8 cups cubed gluten free bread (I used this recipe)
• 1 1/4 cups almond milk
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  

For Topping:

• 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 4 Tbsp butter, softened
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly layer bread cubes in prepared dish.
   
3. In medium bowl, whisk together almond milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour mixture over bread.
4. In separate bowl, mix together topping ingredients with fork. Crumble over bread.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until center is set and topping is browned.
6. Serve hot from the oven topped with maple syrup. Enjoy!
   

Recipe adapted from Sweet and Simple Living.

Snickerdoodles

My middle daughter has been learning about fractions in math class, so her teacher tasked the students with preparing a recipe in the kitchen (with adult supervision, of course!) to reinforce the concepts they learned throughout third grade. What a fun, and delicious, way to end the school year!

Snickerdoodles
Yield: 6 dozen

Ingredients
For Cookies:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

For Rolling:

• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 3 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats; set aside.
2. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
3. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; mix just until combined.
4. In small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon for rolling.
5. Roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts (about 1/2 Tbsp). Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated. Place 2" apart on prepared baking sheets.
6. Cook 8 minutes. (Cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.)
7. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Made in loving memory of my husband's late Aunt Barb who shared my love of baking!

White Chip Chocolate Cookies {Bars}

Like many families, I try to maximize every dollar in my grocery budget. To minimize the financial impact of my need to be dairy free on top of gluten free, I have started making small batches of DF/GF desserts just for me while continuing to make regular GF baked goods for my family. An easy way to do this has been to cut cookie recipes in half and bake them as bars. I have included both versions below!

White Chip Chocolate Cookie Bars
Yield: 8x8 pan

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Fold in white chocolate chips.
4. Dump dough into prepared pan and flatten into even layer.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until center is set.
6. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

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Dairy Free Option

• Country Crock has a new line of plant based butters that are both dairy free and gluten free. I used the avocado sticks in this recipe, and they work just like real butter!
• Nestle Tollhouse has a line of "Simply Delicious" baking morsels that are free from the 8 major food allergens. It's the first company I've seen that offers dairy free white morsels in-store!
• Both of these products were purchased from Walmart, so you don't have to visit any specialty shops to make this recipe; you can simply pick up these ingredients during your regular shopping trip!

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White Chip Chocolate Cookies
Yield: 4 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 2/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Fold in white chocolate chips.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoon on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (This allows for easier removal from pan after cooling. You can reuse the same parchment between batches to cut down on waste!)
5. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes before removing to wire rack.
6. Cool completely before storing.

Recipe adapted from Very Best Baking.

Gluten Free Vegan Cookie Cake

I don't really talk about my health issues on my blog even though that's what prompted me to start this whole thing in the first place. I've been suffering from chronic craniofacial pain for over four years, and the past week has been brutal. The severity of my pain has been at an all-time high, literally the worst it's ever been, and no external remedies provide relief. (OTC medications, ice, heat, massage, etc. don't even touch it.)

One thing I've learned during these last few years is that inflammation is largely responsible for how I feel day to day. And reducing inflammation starts with the food I put into my body. The first time I tried to go gluten free, I failed. I ended up trying again a few months later and have been successful ever since. Last year around this time I tried going dairy free, but I didn't really notice a change, good or bad, so I stopped being too careful about avoiding milk products. I've been saying to my husband for a while now that I think it's only a matter of time before my body decides for me that I must go dairy free, and that time is now. What better way to kick off attempt #2 than with a new recipe!

Gluten Free Vegan Cookie Cake
Yield: 8″ springform pan

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup SunButter
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8″ springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt to large bowl and whisk to combine. Be sure to remove any large lumps.
3. In small bowl, add melted coconut oil, sunbutter, maple syrup, and vanilla; mix to combine.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, then mix. When almost combined, add chocolate chips. Batter will be stiff.
5. Dump dough into prepared pan and flatten into even layer.
6. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool completely on wire rack.
8. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Once you're ready to cut into the cookie cake, you may notice that the inside has turned GREEN! According to SunButter FAQs, the naturally occurring chlorogenic acid (chlorophyll) in sunflower seeds reacts with the baking soda when cooked, causing the green color when the cookie cake cools (and oxidizes). I know that’s awfully science-y, but I am married to a chemistry professor, after all! The take-home message from all of this: the green hue is totally normal, completely harmless, and 100% safe to consume.

I know what you're thinking: what if I want to avoid this whole green conundrum altogether?! Simply substitute your favorite nut butter of choice! Peanut butter and almond butter would be my top two runners up. The main reason I ventured into the SunButter world is that on top of gluten and dairy issues, I've also noticed I feel bad after I eat peanut butter. Did I mention that I'm grain free, too? Good thing I love to cook, because everything I eat these days is made in my own kitchen!

Recipe adapted from Fooduzzi.