Warm & Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just finished baking a batch of Doodle's favorite chocolate chip cookies. We love to eat them fresh out of the oven with a glass of Almond Milk. This summer I've baked these a few times when some neighbor kids are over - they gobble them right up and can't even tell that they are gluten and dairy free.

I adapted this recipe from my friend Lori. I don't like to give Doodle a lot of sugar and the original recipe just had too much sugar in it. I substituted a good deal of the sugar with Agave Nectar, as it has a much lower impact on blood sugar. I also like to keep her blood sugar regulated with plenty of protein, so I exchanged some of the flour for some protein powder. I buy a pea based protein powder from Kirkman Labs and add it in to most of my starch based cooking. We find that it keeps Doodle on an even keel and we have far fewer meltdowns this way.


Here's the recipe:

1 1/3 cups GF All Purpose Baking Flour
1/3 cup Pea Protein Powder (if your not using this, just add equivalent amount of flour)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 Cup Non-dairy Shortening
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 Cup Enjoy Life Dairy Free Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the Flour, Protein Powder, Baking Soda, and Xanthan Gum and whisk together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat shortening, brown sugar, agave nectar, sugar, vanilla and egg until smooth. Slowly add in the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill dough for 10 - 20 minutes.

Drop cookies onto greased baking sheets and bake 9-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack.

Dip in a glass of refreshing Almond Milk and enjoy! These cookies will disappear before you know it. Enjoy!

Vanilla Brownie Ice Cream

Ok, so normally I am an organic or all natural nut. But, I wanted my first batch of ice cream to taste mostly like normal ice cream, so I cheated and added Rich Whip cream and whipped topping. As I get better at this, I will experiment with different dairy free organic milks to come up with the best combination. In the meantime, here is my first attempt at Dairy Free Ice Cream. I have to say, it turned out quite yummy!

I have modified this recipe from the Basic Vanilla recipe that came from my Cuisinart.

1 1/2 cups Almond Milk (I use Pacific Organic Original)
1 1/8 cups Sugar
1 16 oz carton Coffee Rich non-dairy creamer (thawed)
1 8 oz carton Rich Whip non-dairy whipped topping (thawed)
1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1. In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the almond milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Add in the Coffee Rich, Rich Whip, and Vanilla.

3. Turn on ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the compartment. Mix until thickened (for the Cuisinart machine it takes 20 - 25 minutes.)

4. Once thickened, add small chunks of your favorite brownies and continue processing until brownies are thoroughly mixed (I make these from Elana's Pantry - they are one of the best brownies I have ever had).

5. Once thickened, turn off machine, scoop ice cream & enjoy! If a thicker ice cream is desired, place in freezer for 2 - 4 hours.