baking – Page 13 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

Chocolate Chip Cookies {gluten + dairy-free}

November 21, 2013March 15, 2017by Rebecca3 Comments

When I first learned to bake, I’d make all the cookie recipes in my mom’s old cookbooks. The vintage Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook were well-worn and loved, so my first cookies came from those books. When we finally got Internet, I branched out and Martha Stewart’s recipes became my favorite. Chocolate Chip was never my go-to cookie, but it was my sister’s, so I ate my fair share.

I had a particular fondness for oatmeal raisin, and while I always made chocolate chip as thank you gifts, I never could bring myself to choose them for my own enjoyment. Until W and I attempted a completely revamped chocolate chip cookie.

These cookies have brown rice syrup and oil instead of butter, and just enough finely ground oats to give them a hint of oatmeal-cookie-texture. They stay soft for days on end when other cookies go dry and crumbly. They have the best flavor. They dunk nicely in a cup of tea, if you’re a non milk-and-cookie person. And they are gluten-free!

These are the cookies W requests, the ones we like to have on hand when friends come for dinner, the ones W liberally talks up to all the relatives, and eats by the stack during long study sessions. The Recipe Redux‘s November theme is holiday mixes, and these are definitely the cookies we will package up into a nice make-at-your-leisure jar snuggled into our holiday gift baskets.

Chocolate Chip Cookies,adapted from Martha Stewart

2 cups gf all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, finely ground into a course flour or 1/2 cup oat flour, gluten-free if necessary

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup canola oil

1 egg or flax egg

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbs. water

For a packaged cookie mix, measure out and layer dry goods into a large jar. Lay chocolate chips along the top, and seal.
To make cookies, mix dry ingredients in large bowl. In medium bowl, whisk together oil, egg, syrup, vanilla and water.
Stir into the dry ingredients, and mix in choolate chips.
Cover and chill the bowl of batter for about an hour or overnight.
Bake each batch for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Summertime

Peach & Rosemary Cornmeal Cake

August 18, 2013August 28, 2022by RebeccaLeave a Comment

I have two confessions. One, I’ve been eating these Beet Burgers for at least one meal a day for the last five days. Mostly because I’m too stubborn to downsize a recipe and/or freeze leftovers in W’s absence. Oh, and they’re really good.

Two, growing up, I preferred the green, hard, unripe peaches and nectarines from the grocery store. Though I grew up quite close to orchard country, I didn’t like the squishy texture of a ripe peach. Never mind that there was no flavor. It was crisp. Like an apple. And I’ve always loved apples.

All of that has changed. To the second confession, I mean. I still have leftovers. I went to the farmers market yesterday and bought peaches from my favorite orchard. In a couple weeks, they will begin bringing in the first apples in all their glory. But right about now, Willamette Valley peaches are in their prime. Because I tasted each variety before purchasing, I finally chose the giant Red Globes that were perfectly sweet and ripe. Normally, I would simply slice them up one by one and eat, slowly, letting the juice drip. Drop. Onto the counter, all over my blouse, syrupy fingers infecting everything they touch. With the most perfectly ripe fruit, I wouldn’t usually want to mask its style by fussing. But I’ve been in need of a cake; something slightly savory with texture and herbs.

This cake delivers. Choose the ripest, choicest peaches you can find-Those flavors will shine through. I’ve adapted my recipe slightly so my cake is both gluten- and dairy-free. If you do not have a food scale, the gluten free flours total about 3/4 of a cup. If you have no dietary concerns, just sub in 3/4 cup all-purpose flour for the gluten free, and use regular milk instead of almond. I beg you, get out there (or into the kitchen) already and enjoy summer’s bounty of peaches while they last!

Peach & Rosemary Cornmeal Cake, adapted from Bella Eats
Updated: 8/28/22

1 Tbs. ground flax seeds
2 Tbs. warm water
50 grams sorghum flour
20 grams arrowroot flour
15 grams / 2 Tbs. almond meal
120 grams / 1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup non-dairy yogurt
2/3 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 ripe peach, sliced thin
drizzle of honey, to finish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour an 8- or 9-inch springform pan (or a cake pan).
In a small bowl, stir together the ground flax and 2 Tbs. warm water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and rosemary. Set aside.
In a large measuring bowl, stir together the eggs, oil, yogurt, milk, honey, sugar, and flax mixture. Whisk well until frothy.
Pour the liquids into dry ingredients and stir until smooth and combined. Pour the batter into cake pan.
Arrange the sliced peach onto top of batter, beginning in the middle and working outwards.
Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool before serving.
When serving, drizzle a little honey over the top to finish.

Summertime

Who I Want to Be & Summer Brownies

July 2, 2013by RebeccaLeave a Comment

The smoke filled air instantly takes me back to standing in the smoking porch of a favorite pub, years ago now. Almost another life. I watch the dazed people look up from their gaming machines. They meander around as if possessed, plunking more cash into the slots. At the tables, the dealers’ hands flash and fluidly swoop up another round of cards. My sister, and then my friend, squeal when up a few and then subsequently moan when all of it is lost. The lady across the aisle sits reclined and relaxed, one elegant hand holding a long cigarette, the other poised on the ‘bet 5’ button. The woman two seats down banks $1,500 on a quarter machine. Her carefully contained delight emanates the space as she makes plans to see her friends there again within the week.

I delight in nothing more than watching these people, knowing this is not my place. I’m not a smoker. Or a gambler. Not necessarily even a drinker. Oddly enough, this place, this observational haven, reminds me of who I want to be.

W reminded me recently that how I see myself and how I present myself don’t always coordinate with each other. Analyzing this statement and realizing he’s correct got me thinking. I value authenticity, yet don’t always live authentically. Often when surrounded by family, I retreat into a shell and only show the pieces that can’t be so easily criticized. I camouflage how I truly feel because I think someone else will be aided by my self-sacrifice, or I long to avoid conflict and judgement.

As I sit surrounded by people delighting in only the next moment in a smoke-studded casino, I realize they don’t care what anyone else thinks. Heck, they don’t even care about what’s going on in their own lives in this moment. For the moment, they are all-in.

That’s who I want to be. A person that chooses to confront controversy, to embrace how I feel, to present the same person to the outside as I feel inside, despite another’s observation, perhaps in their eyes coming up short. To live a life that’s all-in every experience.

That’s what I did with these brownies. I wanted chocolate and nectarines, the ones on the counter going soft. Not in a pastry or cobbler or something usual. In something gooey and cakey. Yet still with a tinge of health and nutrients. I’m being true to myself now after all. My gluten-free flour blend has a bit of buckwheat in it so it has the fairest hint of a rustic tone, I threw in some honey from my uncle’s bees, a small zucchini, and used extra virgin olive oil. The result was exactly me. Exactly what I wanted to taste and share.

Summer Brownies with Zucchini and Nectarines, adapted from Happyolks

1 cup grated zucchini
2 cups grated, smashed or finely chopped nectarines with juice
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2.5 cups gluten free flour blend
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
2.25 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 11 baking pan with a tsp of oil and set aside. Grate zucchini and dice nectarine and juice onto a cutting board.

In a large bowl, mix together oil, eggs, honey, and vanilla. Fold in the nectarine and zucchini. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture slowly, stirring to combine.

Bake for 30-45 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.