Uber Delicious post from Katie Anderson

This week is special and I have a Guest Blogger! Yay.

Readers, I would like to introduce Katie Anderson.

*Applause*

*Applause*

 

“It is Autism Awareness Month and so to commemorate I made cookies shaped like puzzle pieces.  The puzzle piece is the Autism pride simple, symbolizing the diverse and mysterious nature of Autism.  

Autism awareness is month is a special opportunity to educate the public about what is new in the Autism community.  For information on the events currently happening in Edmonton, check out the Autism Society of Edmonton Area.  April is also a good time to bake some lovely sugar cookies.  For a great recipe that delivers delicious cookies that are chewy with a hint of vanilla, see below.

Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.ca

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups. Butter, softened

2 cups. White sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

5 cups. All-purpose flour

2 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Salt

Directions: 

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely”

 

Thanks to Katie for an awesome post! Let us know what you think of the recipe. 

 

 

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Yesterday I had the urge to bake, and because I mentioned lava cakes in the last blog post, my roommate, Cameron requested it. This recipe is lactose free and can be gluten free. I made this gooey, decadent dessert in about half-an-hour. Serving each cake with a big scoop of creamy, vanilla ice cream. (Obviously it won’t be lactose free anymore.) In these posts I usually try to be humble, but honestly it was delicious, try it!

 

Recipe is adapted from Michael Smith

 

Ingredients:

8 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup. Butter (softened)
2 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
4 Eggs
1/4 cup. White Sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp. Flour (Gluten Free or Wheat)
Butter for greasing
White sugar for sprinkling on ramekins
Ice cream, for serving

 

Directions:

Serving: Makes 5-7 cakes

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until they melt. Remove from heat and sift in the cocoa powder, stirring until smooth.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla until they are thick and smooth. Pour in the melted chocolate and stir until smooth.

Grease each ramekin or muffin tin. Lightly sprinkle each with white sugar and shake to coat the inside, shaking out any excess. Evenly divide the cake batter among the ramekins.

Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the batter rises, the tops are cracked, and the insides are still a bit gooey. Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Cool for a few minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes to loosen them. Carefully invert onto a plate. Serve with lots of whipped cream or ice cream.

 

Seriously, if you don’t try any recipes from my blog, try this one! It’s easy, allergy friendly, and delicious.

Cinnamon Apple Crisp (Gluten Free Option)

Apple anything is always a big hit in my house—apple crisp especially. When I was a kid, my Grandma would make it for us and I always loved it. My family always said that I could never make it better than hers, and anytime I used her recipe I didn’t make it better. I decided to stop trying to beat her at her own game and I came up with my own recipe.

I love this recipe! The apples have a gooey caramel-type sauce. It’s not too sweet. The crumble on top is crunchy and compliments the apples nicely. I also think this is one of the easiest apple crisp recipes, because it doesn’t involve cutting the butter in, just pouring the melted butter.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

8 Apples, peeled and sliced (I recommend Granny Smith, Gala, or Macintosh)

1 Cup. Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg

1 Tbsp. Flour (Can use a gluten free substitute, like Cup4Cup)

1/4 Cup. Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup. Hot Water

1 Cup. All-Purpose Flour (Can use a gluten free substitute, like Cup4Cup)

1 Cup. Oats (Can use gluten free)

3/4 Cup. Brown Sugar

1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Cup. Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place peeled and sliced apples in a 9×13 baking dish. In a measuring cup add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, lemon juice, and flour, and then stir. Then add hot water and mix until smooth. Pour brown sugar mixture over the apples and mix it up. In a separate bowl add flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and stir. Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture slowly stirring as you do so. The mixture should look like course crumbs or just small clumps of yumminess. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the apples and put it in hot oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove when topping is golden brown and apples are soft.

Eat it while it’s still warm and it is FANTASTIC (especially with ice-cream). The next day it is still great too, the flavours have had time to really combine and intensify.

What do you think of this recipe?

Extreme Baking

Yesterday I got home from the store and saw two of my roommates playing soccer in the kitchen. First of all, who plays soccer in the kitchen?? Second of all, I hope my landlord doesn’t read this… Oh well, nothing was damaged (except my legs).

I was inspired to make cookies from my conversation with Devin Smith a few days ago, so I asked if I could bake while they pass. I began making chocolate chip cookies and I swear I have never had such a challenge. Walking between the sink to the counter, or going to get something from the cupboard led to me getting hit by the soccer ball more times than I can count. At one point I turned around and stepped directly on the ball. Honestly, although it made baking difficult, it was hilarious! What a wacky group people living in this house.

The cookies actually turned out great. They were golden brown, gooey, and chocolatey. I used the original Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe. Yumm!

What a ridiculous way to make cookies, but it worked out. Maybe you guys should do some extreme baking.

Let me know what you think. Ever baked in a strange place or way?

Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Since I started this blog, I had several people ask me for healthy baking ideas. Why? I have no clue—a balanced diet or something. Originally I was not excited to pursue this, I would rather be baking sinful, melt-in-your-mouth brownies. But I decided to look into treats that wouldn’t show up on your bathroom scale. I began on pinterest and quickly found TheSkinnyFork.com, a blog with these wonderful cookies. I altered the recipe a bit, but not much; the credit really should go to Amanda Plott, for creating these magical morsels. They are lactose free, oil free, egg free, gluten free and DELICIOUS! I was concerned that you would taste the applesauce, but you definitely can’t. This is probably my new favourite recipe.

 Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas, Mashed

1/3 cup Reduced Fat Nut Butter (Almond, Cashew, or Peanut Butter)

2/3 cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 tbsp. Honey

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Dash of Ground Cloves

Dash of Ground Nutmeg

1 1/2 cup Quick or Old Fashioned Oats (Can use gluten free oats)

1/4 cup Unsalted Cashews, Peanuts, Pecans, or Walnuts

1/3 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup Reduced Fat Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Mix together the bananas, nut butter, applesauce, honey, vanilla, and spices.  Add in the oats, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut; stir until well combined.

Scoop rounded 2 tbsp. of the cookie dough onto baking sheet, leaving an inch or two between each and flatten slightly. Place a few more chocolate chips on top of each cookie. Bake for 20-30 minutes and allow to cool. Store in air-tight container.

Approximate Nutritional Values
Servings: 18 • Size: 1 Cookie • Calories: 99.3 • Fat: 5.1 g • Carb: 12.3 g • Fiber: 1.6 g • Protein: 2.9 g • Sugar: 4.4 g • Sodium: 91.1 mg

Gluten Free Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread

Yesterday I spent my morning watching team Canada play hockey in Sochi and baking gluten free banana bread.

Apart for almost cooking my computer on the stove, it all went well. The bread turned out great and WE WON! Go Canada! I was going to make this blog post all about hockey, but then I realized I know  nothing… definitely not worth your time. What I do know a lot about is baking. Here is my Gluten Free Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread adapted from mysanfanciscokitchen.com:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flours, starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together.
3. Add sugar and butter to a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended and fluffy.
4. Add banana, eggs, vanilla and yogurt; beat until blended.
5. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just blended.
6. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave or in a double boiler, stirring until smooth.
7. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined.
8. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into a greased 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan.
9. Swirl batters together using a knife.
10. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Swirled batter before baking

I loved this banana bread, chocolatey, sweet, and a great texture. Also, it uses some yogurt instead of butter (for more tips like this check out this post). Delicious! Let me know if this is the type of recipes you want. Do you need a recipe for anything?

Best Ever Gluten Free Chocolate Macaroon Recipe

I was surprised last week when I went to four coffee shops and they all served gluten free coconut macaroons. Why? Do celiacs just adore them? I don’t get it! Despite my lack of understanding, I figured there must be a reason so I am going to share with you the BEST chocolate macaroon recipe. This is easy to change to gluten free, just buy oats that aren’t contaminated. I bought Highwood Crossing Organic Rolled Oat Flakes and they worked perfectly. Most people who eat gluten free avoid oats, because they are easily contaminated; but if the package says manufactured in an “oat only facility,” they should be fine. For more on gluten free oats, go to Gluten Free Traveller’s Blog 

Chocolate Macaroon Recipe

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons Cocoa
½ cup Butter
½ cup Milk
1 ½ cups White Sugar
½ teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
2 cup Shredded Coconut

Directions:

Boil first four ingredients for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add in oatmeal and coconut and mix well. Drop by teaspoons onto wax or parchment paper and put in the refrigerator to cool. Lift off paper and store in an airtight container for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to one month.