Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chip Cookies

The first time I made cookies I was about 11, I decided that I wanted to make some peanut butter cookies to take to girl guides, or a class party or some other event.  I diligently followed the recipe and was devestated when the cookies came out hard as a rock and jet black on the bottom.  Apparently no one told me I shouldn't use my Mom's old chicken-cooking, cookie sheets to make cookies.

I tried again the next day and had much more success.  Once I bit into that first delicious morsel I was sold.  For just a little bit of work, I could have delicious treats that tasted so much better than anything store-bought.  Not to mention the praise that I received from my family who gobbled up my cookies.  I made cookies once a week for years after that, usually on Friday and often more than one batch.

When I went gluten-free three years ago, I missed cookies.  I tried a lot of recipes, including this one from Gluten-Free Girl and this one from Ginger Lemon Girl, which were both delicious but not quite what I was looking for.  I found both of the recipes yielded gritty, grainy and crumbly cookies.  Over the years, I have followed cookie recipes exactly, I have adjusted cookie recipes and I have adapted my own recipes, but I'm sad to say that I still hadn't found a gluten-free cookie recipe that I couldn't resist.

Until this week.

I had a realization that although I had tried many recipes, I often used substitutions such as applesauce for some of the butter, and perhaps some agave for the sugar to try and combat the dry crumbliness and increase the nutritional value.  Now that I think about it however, I suspect this fundamental change was also part of the reason that my gluten-free cookies never truly seemed to 'hit the spot' like the gluten-full cookies of my past.

At 9pm on Wednesday night, I decided to make full-fat, full-sugar gluten-free chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.  They turned out amazing, in fact the hubs has helped me eat quite a few of them (and he usually avoids gluten-free treats except when they are fresh).  I think I'm going to need to throw some in the freezer pretty quickly for fear of getting fat!  These are seriously delicious and taste just like regular oatmeal chip cookies.  If you're craving gluten-free cookies, you HAVE to try them!



Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chip Cookies 
(adapted from Company's Coming: Cookies by Jean Pare)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup white rice flour
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup tapioca starch
• 1/3 cup millet flour
• 1 tsp xantham gum
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1 cup softened butter, margarine or shortening
• 2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 3/4 cup unsweetened conconut
• 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease your cookie sheets or lay down your silicone mat.  (My silpat mat worked way better than PAM spray)
2. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (excluding coconut, oatmeal and chips), use a whisk for even mixing and the addition of a little bit of air.
3.  Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. 
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, add vanilla and stir in.
5. Add the previously mixed dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Add the oats and coconut, mix well.
7. Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
8. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared pan.
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are golden.
10. Immediatley transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
11. Try not to eat too many at once!! 

yield: 5-6 dozen cookies

I just want to note that not all gluten-free folks can handle oats, even if they are gluten-free.  If you are gluten-free and haven't tested your system with oats, proceed with caution and consume only a small quantity the first few times to see how your body responds.

This recipe can be made dairy-free depending on your choice of fat (I really like golden shortening for my cookies, but I'm trying to eliminate soy from the boys diet, so I went with butter) and your choice of chocolate chips.

Bear's Baking Soda Bath

When we decided to have a baby, I knew that I would inevitably be covered in milk, spit-up, poop, pee and of course baby food.  I knew there would be oodles of laundry, sleepless nights and many trials and tribulations along the way.  Despite this, I somehow didn't realize that there may also be "baby stink" not directly related to diapers or food.  Like many babies the boy has a little blankie-bear that he keeps in his bed and provides him great comfort.  I tried early on to find another bear exactly the same, but as of yet, my efforts in that regard have failed.

Although I wash bear regularly, after a few months of snuggles, cuddles, drools and who know what else he does when I'm not in the room, I noticed that bear started to have a bit of an odor.  Some sort of sour milk & drool combo that was less than desirable.  I figured I needed to wash bear more often, and always in a hot water wash.  Didn't help.  I even got desperate and threw some stain remover on bear and added an extra rinse cycle to the wash.  He still smelled.

Months later, I was starting to get pretty grossed out by the bear's stench.  The boy obviously didn't mind, he continued to rub him on his face and suck on both the blanket and bear portions of the blanket.  As a mother in good conscious, I knew I had to find a way to get the smell out or I had to get rid of bear.  Something that smelled that funky couldn't be very good for my boy to be sucking on and breathing in.  I was going to try a vinegar soak, until a friend suggested that I soak bear in a mixture of water and baking soda before washing him; since vinegar has a smell all its own, I decided to try baking soda first.



I used about half a box of baking soda and a cup of water to totally drench bear; I tried to rub the paste right into the fabric and then poured some more on top for good measure.  My friend had said to leave him soaking overnight, but that obviously wasn't going to work, so I gave bear his baking soda bath before work.  After letting him sit in the bowl for about 10 minutes, I put bear into the washing machine (on top of a towel, on top of the other laundry) and set it to start a hot water wash in about 8 hours while I was at work.  When I arrived home, I threw bear in the dryer (after sniffing him of course, but experience has taught me he doesn't usually smell at this point anyways), crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Imagine my excitement when I pulled bear out of the dryer, put him to my nose and discovered he was clean and stink-free.  YAY bear and YAY baking soda!  Bear is going to be having a monthly baking soda bath from now on - he doesn't ever need to smell that bad again!