Snickerdoodles

So, I really, really, really wanted homemade cookies and milk tonight.  I've been gluten-free/casein-free for almost too weeks and really haven't missed anything until now...but luckily I found a good snickerdoodle recipe (I did want chocolate chip cookies...but only have milk chocolate chips and that probably wouldn't be good for my stomach) and I do enjoy my soy milk, so the evening ended feeling very fulfilled.  The recipe was adapted from the one on gfutah.org, I didn't have the blended flour, so I measured the different flours out separately.  They turned out so good.  My 2 year old (the one that is gluten-free right now) ate 4 of them!  I think he's been wanting cookies as badly as I have.  My 5 year old only ate 2...still, it was bedtime and they probably shouldn't have had any, but I wanted to see if they would pass the kid test. ;)  So, they are really good fresh out of the oven, by some miracle I have some left over, so we'll see how they are tomorrow.  I also froze some to take to day care for when they have cookies as snacks.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/6 cup (2 2/3 tablespoons) tapioca starch
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp xanthan gum 

Mixture for rolling cookies:
 2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Gradually work dry ingredients into creamed mixture.
3. Roll dough into 1" balls. Roll balls in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
4. Place on a greased cookie sheet 2 to 3" apart. Bake 350 for 10 minutes.


Update Sept 11: We just finished off the cookies that I made yesterday, and they were fantastic still.  I had my brother and sister-in-law try them and they said that they take just like regular snickerdoodles, and they do!

kinnikinnick KinniKritters Animal Cookies -- Review

Okay, so I'm sitting here at work...I went to Lee's on my lunch to check out their gluten-free section...and couldn't resist trying the KinniKritters cookies.  I have heard they are really good and they are!  I need to hide the box before I eat them all...I was supposed to save them to take to the Peach Days Parade with us tomorrow.  I got the original flavor, there is also graham and chocolate flavors, but they don't have those available at Lee's.  But the original ones are just like eating a butter cookie, oh how I love butter cookies. :)

Rating: 10 out of 10! The only drawback is the price ($4.29/8 oz box), but it is nice to eat cookies that taste like cookies, they were definitely delicious and worth it!

Lee's Marketplace has KinniKritters and S'moreables!!!!

I have quickly discovered it is impossible to find everything you need at one store.  We really do have decent gluten-free sections in stores around here in Cache Valley, but sometimes it takes hitting a few of the stores to get everything on your list.  I do like Macey's, Smith's and Smith's Marketplace gluten-free sections, along with Shangri La Health Foods and today I'm adding to the list.  I went to Fresh Market (old Albertson's) and there section is okay....but they do have a nice flour section on aisle 18 in their new organic/food storage area.  And my new favorite, even though it's clear across town: Lee's, it's a decent size gluten-free section located right next to the mexican and asian foods.  But what I love the most it has the kinnikinnick brand.  Macey's has it, too, but only a couple of items (so does Lees, but more items than Macey's)  They actually have the KinniKritters animal cookies and the S'moreables graham-like crackers (they were out of stock of the graham crackers, so I'll have to try back later).  I was so excited, because I need to buy some sort of equivalent snacks for my son at daycare and well, they eat a lot of crackers there...so, anyway, I'm letting all of you know you don't have to drive down to Ogden, Layton, or beyond if you're looking for a special treat. :)

Corn Dogs, Fries, and Fries

Tonight I tried a recipe that I found while perusing different gluten-free blogs, you can look at the original recipe here.  I needed more water than what she called for in her recipe but other than that I think it's basically the same. We also had oven fries and oven sweet potato fries. And the recipes below feed ~4 people (the corn dogs are more like 2 adults, a 5 year old and a 2 year old, so you may want to double if you have 4 adults). :)

I actually made a second batch of the corn dogs tonight after the boys went to bed to freeze for quick lunches or to take to the sitter's to eat in place of regular corn dogs.  I really hope they freeze well, I guess we'll find out.

Homemade Mini Corn Dogs

1 Cup Masa flour
1/4 Cup sugar
~3/4 Cup water
4 hot dogs
vegetable oil (enough for frying)

Directions
1. Mix Masa flour and sugar in a small bowl.
2. Gradually add water a little at a time until the mixture is consistently moist and malleable, but overly wet.
3. Fill a small saucepan about 1/3 full of oil and heat on medium to medium low heat (you really don't want it too hot, start at medium and turn down once the oil heats up).
4. While the oil is heating cook hot dogs in microwave for about 30 seconds, then cut them into 5ths.
5. Coat hot dogs in the batter, so it is completely covered.
6. Place in oil, turning it as one side browns.  Once its evenly browned remove it from oil and set on paper towels to drain.

Oven Fries

1 large russet potato
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons seasoned salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel and slice potato into wedges or shoestring fries.
3. Place potatoes in ziploc bag, add oil and salt, seal and shake
4. pour on greased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 large sweet potato
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel and slice potato into wedges or shoestring fries.
3. Mix sugar and cinnamon together.
3. Place potatoes in ziploc bag, add oil and sugar mixture, seal and shake
4. pour on greased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through.

Potato Chip Chicken

This chicken is addictive...just like Lay's Potato Chips. :)

Potato Chip Chicken Strips
1  to 1 1/2 pounds whole boneless, skinless chicken breast
5 - 6 ounces potato chips or tortilla chips
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the chicken into strips or bite-size pieces.

2. Fill a large ziplock bag with the potato chips and pepper. Seal the bag, then crush the chips with the back of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin. In medium bowl, beat the egg. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture, then put them in the bag and shake gently to coat.

3. Place the chicken pieces on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flipping once.