You can't judge a cookie by its FLOUR....Or a brownie made from beans...

Hi everyone. Sorry to have been away from the blog for what seems like forever....The Holidays were so busy here with baking, decorating, and entertaining, not to mention this is the 3rd time I have been sick. Ugh!!! With that said I am off and running. This post might be pretty lengthy as I am in a gabby mood, and no one home to talk to, so please forgive if I ramble on.

This year ALL my Christmas cookies were made with my gluten free flour mixture even though I wasn't sure my family would enjoy them as much as I do. Each of my three daughter's and their family's got a large tin of these assorted treats. From no bakes, rolled sugar cookies, drizzled peppermint chocolate chips, to nut cups and more. I even made buckeye candies for the very first time ever.

Being of a curious nature I was really determined to see if my family really enjoyed them. As I mentioned awhile back I am the only one in my family who eats strictly gluten free, and I really hate to put time and effort into something that isn't appreciated...Therefore last week I sent a text out to each receiver of the cookies and asked that they be honest about whether they ate and enjoyed the cookies. My first reply back was that the whole tin had been devoured....well the cookies, not the tin. :-)  The second reply was that over half of the cookies had been eaten, and they had no idea they were all gluten free! This was great news for me so I guess next year's baking is a GO!

Also recently my oldest daughter and I went to a craft fair at a local church. Front and center was a lady selling privately published cook books that just happened to be gluten free....Am I lucky or what? For those of you who are just beginning this gluten free journey it is a nice book to have. The Authors name is Joan Welsh and you can reach her at   jmmr61@gmail.com   to request a copy. The title to the book is NO Gluten, No Problem!

 In the book was a brownie recipe using NO flour, but black beans.. Well, I have seen recipes posted everywhere for no flour brownie recipes using these beans, and I have avoided them like a plague....Well that is up until now. She actually had samples of the brownies to try which were iced with one of the icing recipes in her book. I actually have to say they were really tasty, nothing like I had imagined they would be. The recipe turns out to be something I will definitely make in the future. (Recipe to follow below)

Another product I use quite often is Annie's gluten free microwavable mac n cheese. Love, love, love this product! I enjoy eating this with a side of slice beets, and applesauce. Well I do have a different view on eating than most people as you can see...LOL. You can get more information about  Annie's other products to try at  www.annies.com This tastes so much like the mac n cheese we grew up on that even my husband didn't know it was gluten free.

Well my phone keeps ringing off the hook so I will close this post and start my day. Until next post I hope you have a blessed gluten free day. I have included the brownie recipe below for you to try and enjoy.
Sharon


No flour brownies:

15oz can black beans
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 T vegetable oil or canola oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 X 8 inch baking pan with a non stick cooking spray. Rinse and drain the beans. In a blender, combine the beans, eggs, vanilla, oil, cocoa, sugar and salt. Blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips with a spatula and pour mixture into the prepared pan. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the top is dry and edged begin to pull away from sides of pan. Ice with your favorite icing, or leave plain. Either way these are delish!!!



 

Mom's No Bakes...A Christmas Tradition!

Hi all. I know its been awhile but so much has happened over the past few months I don't know where to begin. Loosing several of our loved ones over the past months has seriously taken a toll on our family, myself included. After loosing my mom the stress has just seemed to pile up like a ton of bricks. Not only have I become mentally fatigued but it has wreaked havoc on my body physically as well. I have now had a cold since before Thanksgiving and am trying just about everything I can think of to get rid of it as I am scheduled for surgery on the 11th...You know the old saying, "It never rains but that it pours"...Speaking of rain, I can hear it hitting the roof above as I type.

Christmas is now exactly 25 days away and since I wont be able to do much of anything after my surgery and Christmas will then be only two weeks away at that point, I need to have my house decorated, cookies baked, presents bought and wrapped, fudge made....well you get the picture. The inside is already decorated and the tree is up so I can cross that off my list, although the outside this year is going to look rather dreary. Just too much to do and so little time!

The Buckeyes are made. This is the first time ever that I have made them and if I do say so myself they came out rather good looking, and rather tasty...YUM! Okay, so I have to give some credit to my daughter Jammie as she did help to shape them.

Christmas is not Christmas here without my mom's no bakes, and I am extremely pleased that these will freeze well so I can get them make ahead of time along with my other Christmas cookie assortment. I have my work cut out for me over the next week for my cookie trays to become a reality for the Holiday feast..

Daily chores, baking, shopping, its overwhelming when you are not feeling up to par. These cookies are on every ones favorite list and are definitely a must have. Although they are not fancy, colored, or decorative, they are loved by everyone, and a remembrance of mom.

We hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do and include them in your Christmas family tradition.

Sharon (Lee)

Mom's No Bakes:

2 cups granulated sugar
4 T cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3 cup Quick Oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teas vanilla

Over LOW heat  (mom said this is the trick) heat the sugar, cocoa, and milk, constantly stirring until sugar is dissolved.. Once you are sure the sugar is dissolved you can turn the heat to medium and bring to a boil, Do not boil for more than 1 minute! It should have reached a soft ball stage when dropped into cold water at this point.

Remove from the heat and add the rest of ingredient at this stage. Mix until thoroughly combined. Drop by tablespoons onto waxed or parchment paper, I use a cookie scoop to make them more uniform, let set until firm and completely cooled. The cookies can be stored in freezer at this time to await the Holiday festivities!!!