Bit O' Cocoa Cookies

One last recipe for 2011. Little cookies with a bit o' cocoa, they are just perfect for winter. Accompanied by some hot cocoa, a extra bit o' cocoa could just brighten one's day coming in from the chilly winter morning. Plus, being easy with only 5 basic ingredients, you can whip these up quick.
     Although, we have had a SUPER mild winter . . . very warm. It was over 60 degrees F when we went ice-skating the other day! - as opposed to our winter (here in OK) last year - we already had snow in November. Though the winter is not over yet - it could get cold here on us hard and fast.

     So, to the recipe . . . I wanted a chocolate cookie that didn't spread much and would hold together really well - for ice-cream sandwiches. Solution - don't use leavening, little lard, and use several eggs because they do wonders for holding things together. It was first-time success.

Bit O' Cocoa Cookies (Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Gum-free)
Hanunyah Creation

1/4 cup lard
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3 eggs
1/2 cup oat flour
1 1/2 cups rice flour (or other GF flour)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Beat together the lard, sugar, cocoa and eggs. Add the flours.

3. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheets, or for more uniform cookies roll into balls (flouring your hands), and flatten out a little.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until set and the edges start to lightly brown.


~ Hanunyah

Basic, Simple Marshmallows

Homemade mini marshmallows ready to dress up rocky road bars ;) (come back in a day or so!!).

When we learned about our allergies, we realized how simple things can be. These marshmallows are an example. Made with 3 main ingredients, they are much simpler and easier without the corn syrup and preservatives found in most (if not all) marshmallows found in the store.

Plain marshmallows with cranberry marshmallows in the background.

Most people are amazed that marshmallows are very easy to make and only require 3 ingredients (besides the dusting mixture to make them not too sticky).

Why don't you guess what 3 ingredients? I told a friend the other day.
Since marshmallows are white and fluffy, someone said egg whites. Some recipes do call for egg whites, but they are not needed.
Milk? No. Keep guessing.
Sugar? Of course (I know you can make marshmallows without sugar, but that's something else).
Water? Yes.
And gelatin. That one was hard for them to guess. It makes sense, though . . . marshmallows are like fluffy, white jell-o, kind of. That can be toasted over a campfire . . . for a sticky, goo-ey, sweet mess.

Now that's the marshmallow I'm talking about here. But they're better than the store-bought variety (taste-wise). One of my taste-testers (one of my sisters) said that they taste more "real" than store-bought - not fake, but good, homemade candy. Made with real sugar. Not that liquid that some now call "corn sugar".

Basic, Simple Marshmallows (Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Egg, Gum-free)
Adapted from Pumpkin Marshmallows

3 (.25 ounce) unflavored gelatin
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cold water, divided
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup corn-free powdered sugar

1. Uniformly grease a 9x13 inch pan. Pour the 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the gelatin on top; set aside for 8 to 10 minutes.


2. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250 degrees F on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball.

3. Attach the mixing bowl to the stand mixer with the wire whip attachment and start the mixer on low speed. Carefully and slowly pour the boiling sugar syrup in a steady stream over the gelatin mixture. Increase the mixer to medium-high speed and mix until very thick, shiny, and white in color, about 5 to 12 minutes. When done, the mixture should form a more-or-less continuous ribbon off the spatula into the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally using a rubber spatula.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan in an even depth. Let the mixture set at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.

5. Sift the cornstarch and confectioners' sugar into a pie plate or shallow bowl. When the marshmallows have set, turn them onto a work surface and cut them into squares or shapes as desired. You may make several cups worth of mini marshmallows for recipes, or bigger marshmallows for toasting, s'mores, make shapes matching the occasion, etc. Roll each marshmallow in the sugar mixture to coat all sides. Marshmallows are best served fresh, but they can be stored in an airtight container (unrefrigerated) for about a week or in the freezer for a month. If you store the marshmallows, re-roll them in the cocoa mixture before serving.

~ Hanunyah


Linked to Motivate Me Monday by Keeping it Simple, Made By You Mondays by Skip To My Lou, Shindig Saturday by Kims Kandy Kreations and Weekend Wrap-up by Tatertots and Jello

Bread Pudding

Tuesday some friends came over to butcher a pig. I made this while they were here, and as soon as I cut it and said that they could have some, it was like the locusts came in! It was only about 5 minutes until the pan looked like this, and it was a 10x13 inch pan (a doubled recipe)! -

So, I guess it was good! I sliced a peach over the bread (before baking), and the one time I made it before I used the raisins. Old, dry pancakes work well in this recipe (that's what I used the first time, and the second time I used pancakes and "rice bread" - cornbread recipe, with rice flour instead of cornmeal).

Bread Pudding (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free)
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

7 slices worth of old GF, DF, CF bread, pancakes or rice bread*
2 tablespoons oil
raisins or fruit (optional)
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon maple (or vanilla) extract
2 cups goat milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8x8 inch baking pan*. Drizzle oil over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins or sliced fruit.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, spices and maple extract. Add the milk and beat until well mixed. Pour over bread.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Notes:
*The bread - if you're not sure how much bread to use, just fill the pan with pieces of the bread product you're using until the pan is about 2/3 full. My family liked it with more bread, so it wasn't so gooey like a custard, but it was actually kind of spongy. They liked it like that, but if you like it more like a custard, then you may use less bread. I hope that makes sense ;).
**The baking pan - I used a 6x11 inch pan for when I didn't double the recipe, and a 10x13 inch pan when I doubled it. If you double it, you'll have to bake it longer. I don't know how much longer I baked it when I doubled it, I just left it in the oven until it was done.

Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free bread pudding, before "the locusts" came ;).

~ Hanunyah

Instant Oatmeal Packets

~ This is my 100th post on this blog! ~

This is a good substitute for the packets in the store. To be sure this is gluten-free, use gluten-free oats and read the labels of the variations you use.

Instant Oatmeal Packets (Gluten-free, and Dairy-free if not using some of the variations below)
From: The Dollar Stretcher Family


3 cups quick oats
salt (optional)
small sized zip bags



Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and blend on high until powdery. Set aside in a small bowl, and repeat procedure with an additional 1/2 cup oats. If you're using a food processor, you can do the 1 cup of oats in one batch. Put the following ingredients into each zip bag: 1/4 cup quick oats, 2 Tbsp. powdered oats (or oat flour), and 1/8 tsp. salt. Store in an airtight container.


~ To serve: Empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. For thicker oatmeal, use less water - for thinner oatmeal, use more water. ~

Variations:

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples.
Sweetened Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar or 1 packet 'Equal' artificial sweetener.
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. brown sugar & 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Oatmeal w/ Raisins & Brown Sugar: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. raisins.
Fruit and Cream Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 Tbsp. dried fruit
Fun Fruit Oatmeal: To each packet add 6 or 7 pieces of 'fruit snack' type dehydrated fruit.
Confetti Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 tsp. decorative cake/cookie sprinkles.
S'More Oatmeal: 

To each packet 

add 6 miniature marshmallows and 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips.

Exploding Oatmeal: 

To each packet 

add 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. 'Pop Rocks' candy to each packet. This one is fun for celebration days, such as birthdays.

Update - July 27, 2011: Here is what I have come up with the last 2 times I made this. I may add more if I make up more.

~ My Variations ~

These are flavors I've come up with. Since it is eaten up so fast, I mix it in a big bowl and put it back in the oatmeal container. My brothers and sisters like it in cold milk, so they just scoop out what they want out of the container.

Seeds and Spices Oatmeal: Add poppy seeds, flaxseeds, a little nutmeg, a little ginger, and cinnamon. I made up this flavor and my sister who has been eating my Instant Oatmeal for breakfast every morning said it was really good. She likes this one better than the Maple Nut/Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavor I made today (below).

Maple Nut/Brown Sugar Cinnamon: Add brown sugar, cinnamon, finely ground walnuts and maple extract. I can't taste this since I'm on the GAPS diet, but it smells really good!

~ Hanunyah

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter

Snow Cream

Have snow on the ground? We do! It snowed yesterday, so we made a couple BIG bowls of this after we played in the snow and I took bird pictures :). It tastes like ice-cream, but it is made of snow, sugar, a little milk and flavoring. Soooo simple!

You can add all ingredients to taste, but this is just a basic recipe.

Snow Cream
a REALLY BIG bowl of snow
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla
1 to 2 cups milk

Mix all ingredients together until it is the consistency of soft-serve ice-cream.


~ Hanunyah