Free Free Free Oatmeal Cookies

Freedom!

So last week I found myself hours before our big preschool general meeting for parent teacher training, with no time nor energy to hit the grocery store with three tired and grumpy little men, and a promise to be fulfilled of a gluten free dairy free nut free treat for the meeting that night. A local pie shop had donated pies, so I was filling a void in the refreshment table. I had planned to make oatmeal cookies...but dairy free meant no butter. And then when I got going I realized that we had eaten all of the eggs that morning. So now we're looking at a gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free dessert. Mouthwatering, right?

Turns out, these Free Free Free Oatmeal cookies are thankfully not free of deliciousness! If you have eggs in the house you can sub an egg for the chia/water combo. I probably will - but it's handy to know that you don't have to have eggs on hand to make a totally yummy cookie!

Free Free Free Oatmeal cookies (adapted from the Non Dairy Queen)

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup millet flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 TBSP softened coconut oil

6 TBSP packed brown sugar

6 TBSP coconut sugar

1 tbsp chia seeds rehydrated in 3 tbsp water until gelled (or an egg)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups gluten free oats

1/2 cups raisins

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Cream together the coconut oil and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in chia gel and vanilla. Dump the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and beat just until combined. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the oats (you can chop them a bit in the food processor to have less a chunky texture, but don't grind them into oat flour), raisins, and coconut just until combined. Scoop small balls of dough onto Silpat sheets or Parchment paper about 1 inch apart. Press just a bit on the dough balls so they form a nice looking round cookie. Bake until they are golden brown but still soft to the touch (about 16-18 minutes). Don't overbake - they will crisp up more while cooling. Cool on the cookie sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Try not to eat them all before the meeting....or double the recipe.

Banana Pudding "Pie"



Little blast from the past: Gabe & Ben in November 2009

 In our first ever gluten free Thanksgiving, I am testing and saving recipes to use for years to come. It's a little bittersweet, giving up the old traditions (good bye pie crust and rolls), but it feels good to know that I'm giving the boys treats that are better for them. Plus since we all tend to have intestinal issues when exposed to gluten now, it's a big plus to know we aren't going to spend the hours after our feast feeling terrible and dealing with clean-up-on-aisle-twelve!

One thing my hubby loves at the holidays is Banana Cream Pie. That was an easy enough fix - just ditch the crust. But since we are avoiding processed foods too (gluten contamination, too many chemicals), we wanted to make the "pie" from scratch. I pulled together a couple of recipes, and came up with this. Thank you to Paula Deen for the addition of the butter...yum-o! Now if we can quit "testing" the pie, maybe there will still be some left after dinner!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

3 cups whole milk or half n half

4 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ounces (1/2 stick) pastured, cultured butter

4 medium bananas, squashed (or pureed)

2 medium bananas, sliced

Mix together sugar and starch then slowly blend in the milk. This probably should be cooked in the top of a double boiler, but I cooked it over very low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens a lot--do not leave it unattended (especially at the end). Slightly beat egg yolks and temper with a small amount of the hot custard; stir well. Blend egg mixture into custard pot and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter plus 2 of the squished bananas.  I always let the boys squish bananas in baggies so they are "helping". Let cool. Lay sliced bananas in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate or baking dish. Top with the squished bananas - like a banana crust! Pour in custard and let set in the fridge. Add whipped topping for serving, if desired.