Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten & Egg Free

 Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

3/4 cup gluten free oat flour
3/4 cup hazelnut flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients:

4 oz butter, browned
(All I had at home was salted butter so if you
 use unsalted add about 1/2 teaspoon salt.)
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax meal plus 6 tablespoons hot water. Gently stir to saturate the flax meal.)


To Prepare:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
First thing in order is to brown the butter. For those who are not familiar, here is an easy tutorial. 

How to make brown butter.
Once the brown butter is done, pour into large bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes and then add the 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree. Whisk till combined.
At this stage you can prepare your flax eggs. It’s best to let them sit after the water has been added.
In a medium size bowl, sift together all dry ingredients except the coconut sugar and chocolate chips.
Gently mix well until flour blend is combined evenly.
Add the flax eggs to the brown butter and mix to incorporate.
Cream sugar into butter mixture.
Add flour blend a little bit at a time while mixing together in between additions. A spatula was handy at this stage.
Once the dough is uniform, fold in chocolate chips.
Form dough into 2 tablespoon size balls and place evenly spaced on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
Bake for 12 minutes.
I don’t know if it’s just me or because I use alternative flours and sugar but the cookies I bake never seem to flatten and expand outward. About 10 minutes into the baking I pressed down on them a little with the back of a spatula.

Spelt Lemon & Chia Pancakes Topped With Blueberry Honey Compote

Mondays are my Saturdays. After having worked with cupcakes all weekend, you would think the last thing I would want to do is bake or cook. Wrong. I find myself staying awake after I've gone to bed on Sunday nights thinking of what I can create on my days off. As breakfast will be my next meal, pancake recipe ideas tend to float around my head quite a bit. So this morning I got into my kitchen with the intent of making lemon pancakes. The end result was Spelt Lemon and Chia Pancakes with a Blueberry Honey Compote. These pancakes are full of fiber from the flax and chia seeds and made with stevia as the sweetener. The compote is sweetened with honey, and for serving, I drizzled a little more honey on top.

Spelt Lemon and Chia Pancakes with a Blueberry Honey Compote 

Ingredients for Pancakes (makes 6 pancakes)

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup spelt flour

2 Tablespoons coconut flour

1 Tablespoon ground flax seed

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 packets of stevia (I use NuNaturals brand.)

Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 egg

3/4 cup almond milk

2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

How to Prepare:

Preheat large frying pan on stove over low heat.

In a medium-large bowl, sift all of your dry ingredients (expect chia seeds). Once everything is sifted, add chia seeds and mix together till flour mixture is evenly blended.

In another medium size bowl, add all of your wet ingredients and whisk together. 

Add the wet ingredients to dry and mix well till evenly combined. 

Adjust heat on stove to medium-high. Grease frying pan with oil or butter.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop pancake batter into pan. 

Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. If you are familiar with making pancakes, you will be able to tell when they need to be flipped (when you see bubbles forming around sides.)

Blueberry Honey Compote

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen).

2 Tablespoons honey

Juice from 1/2 lemon

2 pinches of lemon zest

In a medium size frying pan over medium-high heat, add blueberries, honey, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Mix well.  Turn the heat up to high and let cook, stirring frequently until compote thickens. Cooking time varies depending on how thick you like it.

Panko Breaded & Baked Zucchini

Panko Breaded & Baked Zucchini, Gluten Free

Ingredients

Zucchini (I used 1 1/2 for this batch.)

Brown rice flour

Gluten Free Panko Breadcrumbs. Ian's brand is the best!

1 egg

Spices of your choice. I used salt, pepper & cayenne.

Prep

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F

Line baking sheet with foil and grease generously with oil. 

Using a shallow bowl or dish, place 1/4 cup brown rice flour.  

In another dish, place 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs.

In a shallow bowl, add 1 egg and whisk with fork. 

(Use additional egg, flour, and breadcrumbs if you want to increase the recipe.)

To prepare

Slice desired amount of zucchini.

 Sprinkle slices with spices... that rhymes :)

Dip sliced zucchini in brown rice flour, then egg wash and finish with the panko breading. 

Place on baking sheet and repeat till all are covered with breading.

Place in oven and bake about 7 minutes. Turn zucchini slices over and turn oven up to broil. Cook for about 5 minutes, maybe a little less. You want them to be a golden brown color. 

Remove from oven and enjoy! They go well with various dipping sauces.

 

Afternoon Adventure & an Ice Cream Float

I don't know how long Clairmont Farms has been around but I've been driving by it for many years, it seems, and never once stopped to check it out. Until yesterday that is. I had a jar of Sweet Lady Cook's strawberry lavender jam and wanted to make something yummy with it. My intent was to go to the farm to purchase some culinary lavender and make a honey lavender syrup. 

Just driving into the farm felt magical. It looks like one of those French rustic farms you see in movies. The long driveway is lined with tall trees and to the left you see all the beautiful bushes of lavender. 

Their little shop is situated at the end of the driveway. They carry a variety of body care products as well as lavender infused teas, honey, salts, and other herbs and spices. I left with a jar of lavender rooibos tea, lavender infused honey and a bouquet of dried lavender just because it's so pretty. I took a quick walk through the lavender field before leaving. This place is just so darn cute. They even have picnic tables set up so visitors can bring and enjoy their lunch in this gorgeous place.

Having acquired that lavender honey, it was time to make something delicious. What better way to end a summer night than with an ice cream float.

Summer Ice Cream Float

What you will need:

Sweet Lady Cook strawberry lavender jam
Both vanilla and caramel ice cream 

(You can use just one flavor if you prefer) I used the Talenti brand gelato.
Lavender infused honey.
Club soda

How to prepare:

In a tall glass, add two heaping tablespoons of Sweet Lady Cook strawberry lavender jam. Using a muddler, mash down any larger chunks of fruit.
Add a scoop of each vanilla and caramel ice cream. Top with a generous spoonful of lavender honey. Pour in the club soda and enjoy. I forwent the straw on this one and dug in with a spoon.

Don’t feel limited to the ingredients in this recipe. I’m confident that any of Sweet Lady Cook’s jams would be great in an ice cream float. You can even change up the ice cream flavors and use regular honey to get new and fun flavor combinations.

Summer Quinoa Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

This last week I received some yummy new jams from Sweet Lady Cook. I had a little dinner party the other night where I tried out some new recipes incorporating her jams. Brie and apricot jam grilled cheese with truffle honey and this summer salad with strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. My brother is my toughest critic when it comes to my "healthy" cooking and this salad was his favorite. I've already made another batch and he's eating it up. 

Summer Quinoa Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

What you will need

For the salad:

1 cup quinoa (cooking instructions below)
1 ear of sweet white corn, kernels removed
1 cup diced cucumber (1/2 of an English cucumber)
2 cups spinach, chopped
1/4 cup diced strawberries
1 tablespoon of chopped basil leaves
2 pinches of salt

For the dressing:

1/4 heaping cup Sweet Lady Cook strawberry balsamic jam
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon stoneground mustard
pinch of pepper
a few generous pinches of salt

Garnish (optional):

Feta cheese
Sliced strawberries
Chopped basil
Avocado


To prepare:

First thing you need to do is prepare your quinoa. Always rinse quinoa before use. It helps remove a naturally occurring outer coating that gives off a bitter taste. Add 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water to a medium size pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for about 15 minutes or until quinoa has soaked up all the water. Fluff with fork and let cool.

Once the quinoa is cooked, it will need to cool to room temperature. You may want to make it the night before or a few hours in advance. (Placing it in the fridge can speed up the cooling process. If you prepare it the night before, store in the fridge over night.)

When quinoa is ready, add in all ingredients for salad and toss lightly to combine. Add dressing and toss again to coat evenly.

For the dressing, combine all ingredients and whisk together. You can also add all ingredients to a glass jar and give it a good shake. This is great if you want to make it the night before. Just store in fridge along with the quinoa.

Keep salad in fridge until ready to eat. I like to garnish right before serving.

Lauren's Fruit Cobbler

Years ago my dad dated a women named Lauren. I remember the night my brother and I met her for the first time. I had a preconceived notion she was going to be some young bimbo. I guess that says more about my dad. Anyway, she was great. She was a lovely woman. Over the years we spent a lot of time together. I will always remember what a great cook she was. On our beach outings, she would pack a picnic with the most amazing sandwiches. One day she served us a piece of her fruit cobbler. Oh my, it was amazing! The best cobbler I had ever tasted. So buttery and delicious. It was always such a treat when she would make it. I had gotten the recipe from her but never made it until now. I had been thinking in my head of how I wanted to make a gluten free version. The original recipe calls for self rising flour and sugar. I tweaked the recipe to make it gluten and refined sugar free. It still tastes just like that amazing cobbler I had years ago.

This recipe is great because you can use whatever fresh fruit you prefer. The first time I made it, I used strawberries and blueberries. This time around I used fresh apricots from my friend Wallace’s tree.

Lauren's Fruit Cobbler,
Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

What you will need:

1/4 cup brown rice flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 almond milk, unsweetened (soy or regular would work as well.)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cups fresh fruit of your choice (if using stone fruits, pit first and then measure.)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut sugar

To make:

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 9 inch baking dish, preferably glass or ceramic. I just do this right over the burner on the stove.

In another bowl, sift together your flour blend and coconut sugar. Add milk and mix well to combine.

In a pot add your fruit, honey and coconut sugar. Substitute honey for the coconut sugar if you prefer. You can always adjust the amount of sweetener used depending on how sweet the fruit is. Heat until the sugar has melted and fruit is warm but not cooked.

To assemble, take the baking dish with melted butter, pour batter mixture into the middle. Again, into the middle, add the warm fruit mixture. Do not spread out!

Place in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden and crisp on top. Serve warm or cool. I like it best served with vanilla ice cream.

Brie & Blenheim Apricot Grilled Cheese

Happy Monday. It's a brand new week and the start of a new month. For those who will be having a summer BBQ or dinner party, check out the recipe for Brie and Blenheim Apricot Grilled Cheese I shared with Sweet Lady Cook on her blog today. Truffle honey makes this sandwich!