Go-to: Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies

Before the new year, I posted in my opinion, the best chocolate sugar cookie recipe.  It is my go-to for chocolate dough, and while I love how the colors pop off the darker base, sometimes I also crave the classic sugar dough taste.  I have been working on getting this recipe just right, since it's such a staple for my decorating, and I think I finally got it!  Easy to roll out, cut easily, hold their shape...everything you want from a cookie you're going to decorate.

Go-to Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies

Recipe a Jesicakes Original
Makes about 2 dozen 4" cookies
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Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum

Go-to Chocolate Chip Cookies (Revised!) plus a Coconut Variation!

Almost two years ago, I posted my Best Ever Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Recently, I decided to see if I could revise the recipe and make it even better!  I changed some of the ratios a bit, added a secret ingredient or two, and although I didn't think it was possible, this version is even better than my original!  While I was at it, I also made a variation that included organic coconut flakes and more dark chocolate.  While the first version was good, this version is sure to be your go-to gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Go-to Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe a Jesicakes Original
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
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Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulate sugar

- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla, gluten free
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup chopped 60% or 70% cocoa chocolate

Cake Pops

I wouldn't necessarily call cake pops the new cupcake, but their trend definitely is going around.  Personally, I find them a little too time consuming to be worth the effort.  I am a cookie person though and if I'm going to spend my time on decorating I'd rather decorate cookies!  However, I had some leftover cake from an event and I didn't know what to do with it...and then the idea struck me to finally try to make cake pops!  I didn't want to do any crazy decorating, just something bright and cute and perfect for spring but that had great flavor.  The leftover cake I had was my Honey, Lavender, & Lemon Cake and a plain yellow cake, and I thought it would be nice to do a Lemon Cream Cheese Icing since I also had leftover lemon curd.  For me cake pops are the perfect way to re-purpose left over ingredients in a new, bright, fun form! The result was sweet and floral cake with a bit of tang from the cream cheese and lemon.  Between the flavor and the bright colors they were the perfect spring treat!

Below I have the recipe I used for the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting and a link to the cake recipe I used...but this post is really a template to do any flavor you'd like!  All you need is cake and icing essentially and just follow the instructions below!  Like I said before, the perfect thing to do if you have any leftovers!  Especially if you were carving or leveling or forming cakes...don't waste all those little pieces!  Turn them into cake pops!

Cake Pops

Recipe for Lemon Cream Cheese Icing adapted from The Hobby Rome Diaries
Makes about 3 dozen cake pops
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Ingredients for Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese

- 1/3 cup of lemon curd

- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

- 1/2 sheet cake.  I used my Honey, Lavender, & Lemon cake.

Cupcakes for Two!

Have you ever just wanted one cupcake??  Sometimes I have a craving for cupcakes, but I know I don't want one dozen sitting around my apartment.  This recipe comes to the rescue!  It's so simple, takes less than a half hour to make, and yields just TWO cupcakes (or in my case 1 dozen mini cupcakes).   This is the perfect recipe to satisfy a quick cupcake craving!!

Cupcakes for Two

Recipe adapted from How Sweet it is
Makes about 2 standard cupcakes or 1 dozen mini cupcakes.
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Ingredients

- 1 egg white

- 2 Tbsp sugar

- 2 Tbsp butter, melted

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1/4 cup - 1 Tbsp brown rice flour

- 1 Tbsp tapioca flour

- 1/4 rounded tsp gluten free baking powder

- pinch of salt

- 1 1/2 Tbsp milk (dairy, almond, or soy, I use almond)

Vegan Apple Peanute Butter Cookies

My mom recently switched from vegetarian to vegan.  As a congratulations for her first month, I wanted to make her some celebratory cookies.  The only complication was I had never made cookies before that had neither butter, eggs, nor refined sugar (regular refined white sugar or any brown sugar is not vegan.  Only organic white sugar  or brown sugar is.  You can find lists of vegan white sugar online). So I did some research, found ways to substitute that I preferred and found a recipe that I thought she would like and that I could also make gluten free easily.  Apples and Peanut Butter and a perfect match.  They're healthy but they're also something I used to have when I was a kid as a healthy treat--and still frequently have!  These cookies are for everyone, not just vegans, looking for a healthier version of a cookie, while still being just as indulgent any other cookie.

Vegan and Gluten Free Apple Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe adapted from The Tolerant Vegan
Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies
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Ingredients

- 1 Tbsp flax, ground
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour*
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used Earth Balance Natural Shortening)
- 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (I used Nature's Promise Smooth, Salted Organic Peanut Butter)
- 1 cup organic brown sugar (I used Florida's Crystals)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla
- 1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced (I used a fuji)

*When I made these I used a mixture of flours (1/2 cup brown rice four, 1/3 cup oat flour, 1/3 cup white rice flour, 1/3 cup tapioca flour).  The result was the cookies were very soft when baked.  The were delicious but a little too soft.  I think using only brown rice flour, or maybe even brown rice and oat flour, will toughen them up and make them the correct texture.  If you try it let me know the outcome!!  I will update this when I try the recipe again!

Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies

I love Whoopie Pies but I've never made them myself, let alone tried a gluten free one.  I recently acquired some vanilla bean pods and wanted to think of a recipe to use them in.  I decided to make simple vanilla bean whoopie pies.  Then was the question of the filling.  I wanted something to compliment the vanilla bean but not overpower it.  I decided to go with a light mocha buttercream.  Once I made everything, I was 4 whoopie pies short of filling them all.  So I also whipped up some really quick strawberry buttercream as well.  Both were delicious although I think I preferred the mocha buttercream.  Coffee with a hint of chocolate didn't outshine the vanilla bean cake but paired nicely with it.  The cake was light and moist and filled with vanilla flavor.  They're a perfect balance of delicate and flavorful.  And as my boyfriend put it, the coffee flavor makes it acceptable to have them in the morning!

Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies with Mocha Buttercream

Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
Makes 2 1/2-3 dozen cookies
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Ingredients

- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, roome temperature
- 4 Tbsp shortening
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 Vanilla Bean Pods, split and seeds removed

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

I had this bag of Nestle half Mint half Semisweet Chocolate Chips, so for the past month I had been wanting to come up with a recipe for perfect soft center with crispy edge chocolate cookies to put these in. I found a recipe for inspiration and the outcome was exactly what I wanted. Not as dense or as extremely rich as the Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies or the Andes Fudge or Peppermint Bark Cookies, but still nice soft, centers with crisp edges. Not too intensely rich but still having a strong chocolate flavor to pair with the mint while not overpowering it. The mint chips are perfect little bites of freshness and lightness to the cookie. These cookies are the perfect after dinner treat...chocolate and sweet with a nice bit of refreshing mint!

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Recipe adapted from Ginger and Berries
Makes 2 1/2-3 dozen cookies
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Ingredients

- 1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3 oz 60% chocolate
- 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey's, use any non-Dutch processed)
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup sorghum flour
- 1/8 cup tapioca flour
- 1/8 cup white rice flour
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups of mixed Nestle mint chocolate chips and chocolate chips

Peppermint Bark Brownies

For the holidays this year I wanted to do brownies for my family and friends, with a wintery twist.  One of my favourite winter treats is peppermint bark.  I worked at a chocolate shop in college and come December I'd be anxiously (and impatiently) waiting for the first bath of peppermint bark.  Personally, I think peppermint bark should be a layer of dark chocolate, then white chocolate, and topped with the peppermint.  So this year I made my own peppermint bark and created my own perfect seasonal brownie.  Chunks of peppermint bark spread throughout the brownie, then topped with white chocolate drizzle and crushed peppermint candies...these brownies were irresistible!  I was really glad I had to bag them up as gifts otherwise I would have eaten way too many!  For this recipe you need my Brownie Bliss Recipe, plus this recipe for Peppermint Bark below.

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Brownie Bliss Recipe

Peppermint Bark Ingredients*

- 16 oz 60% cocoa Ghiradeli bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped bars)

- 11 oz white chocolate (I mixed Ghiradeli and Nestle) plus extra for the drizzling

- 1-2 standard bag Starlight Peppermint Candies (typically around 3 or 4 ounces) OR you can also use Candy Canes

*This recipe is for a full 9''X13'' pan.  I made a 9'"X13'' pan AND a 9''X9'' pan and I still had some extra peppermint bark.  Which I was totally fine with!  And actually gave two little bags as gifts too.  So if you're making less brownies, just but this recipe in half...or make it all and have a lot of extra delicious peppermint bark!

Snowmen Decorations

Winter cookies are some of my favourite to create.  This year I wanted to do a cookie that would be good for all my friends and family that was just winter themed instead of holiday themed.  I decided I wanted to a scene with snow falling and a snowman, instead of just doing snowman shaped cookies.  I also wanted them to be able to be used as decorating for your home or if you celebrate Christmas for you tree so when I baked them I cut out a little hole in the top to place ribbon in later.  These vibrant, cheery, snowmen will be sure to brighten up their recipient's day!

Snowmen Decorations

Decorating level: Medium-Advanced
Concept, design, and execution by Jesika Rose

• Gluten Free Chocolate Sugar Dough Recipe
• Royal Icing Recipe
• 4" Circle Cutter
• 9 Decorating bags, couplers, tips, and rubber bands
• Two #3 round tips
• Two #2 round tips
• Five #1 round tips 
• Toothpicks 
• White or Opal sanding sugar
• Gel food coloring:
• Sky Blue
• Royal Blue
• Fushia
• Regal Purple
• Orange
• Chocolate Brown
• Black

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Every year for Thanksgiving I always make Pumpkin Bread and Cornbread.  This year though, I wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes instead.  I wanted to do something a little different than typical Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.  I decided on makes Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream and Cranberry Syrup.  I also wanted a crunchy element so I added Candied Pepitas as well.  The tartness of the cranberry sauce contrasts the sweetness of the white chocolate buttercream.  The pepitas are sweet and crunchy and full of spices.  The cake is full of pumpkin flavor and warm spices like cinnamon and cloves.  They're the perfect pumpkin treat.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes
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Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

- 4 large eggs

- 1 cup light brown sugar

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 2/3 cup brown rice flour

- 2/3 cup sorghum flour

- 1/3 cup white rice flour

- 1/3 cup tapioca flour

- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp ginger

- 1/2 tsp cloves

- 1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)

Peanut Butter Cookies Two Ways

A while back, Julie911 on tumblr posted a recipe for gluten free peanut butter cookies and ever since I had been wanting to try my own version of them.  These type of peanut butter cookies (I always called them fork peanut butter cookies since the impressions on the top of them are made with a fork) are so reminiscent of being a child.  They're sweet, chewy, and full of peanut butter flavor.  Peanut butter is possibly my favourite food, I eat a spoonful of it for a snack sometimes.  Needless to say, these cookies are addicting if you're a peanut butter lover.  I wanted to do something a little more special too on top of doing just plain peanut butter cookies.  I did milk chocolate filled, semisweet chocolate filled, and jelly filled (like a pb&j) versions as well.  They add a nice little surprise to the cookie and add even more flavor to the already delicious unstuffed versions of the cookie.

When I made the first batch, the plain cookies were absolutely delicious, but the filled cookies, especially the jelly one, stuck the roof of your mouth slightly.  So I developed a different recipe based off the first.  The first recipe is completely gluten, dairy, and all flour free.  The second is gluten free but uses butter and gluten free flours as well.  The recipe with flour and dairy is much better suited for stuffed the cookies.  The flour ones are delicious plain as well, but plain I definitely prefer the flour free ones.  I'll post both recipes for you to decide which ones you prefer!

Best Ever Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe adapted from Julie911
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
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Ingredients

- 1 cup of natural, salted peanut butter (I used Nature's Promise)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt

Sugar Skull Owls for Halloween

This year for Halloween I wanted to do a cookie that was a little less traditional.  I've done skulls and spiders and mummies and things like that in the past.  At first I wanted to do a whole bunch of decorative owls, almost look like they were made of cut paper possibly in Halloween colors like oranges and purples.  Then I really wanted to do sugar skulls, but I feel like everybody is doing sugar skulls now.  Then the thought came to me to do a very decorative sugar skull inspired owl design.  I used a chocolate sugar cookie base to really make the design pop on the cookie and I couldn't be happier with the results.  They're something a little different than what I normally see for Halloween cookies and that's exactly what I was going for.  And like always, they're gluten free.  If you want to make these too, here's what you're going to need.

Sugar Skull Owls for Halloween

Decorating level: Advanced
Concept, design, and execution by Jesika Rose

• Gluten Free Chocolate Sugar Dough Recipe
• Royal Icing Recipe
• 4" round cookie cutter
• 12 Decorating bags, couplers, tips, and rubber bands
• Two #3 round tips
• Nine #2 round tips
• Two #1 round tips 
• Toothpicks
• Gel food coloring:
• Regal purple (or Violet with a dash of Fushia)
• Lemon Yellow
• Leaf or Neon Green
• Sky Blue
• Deep Pink
• Orange

Go-To Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Right now I'm working on two decorating projects that I plan to also do tutorials for.  Both designs involve lightly colored icing or white icing for the base color.  I really want these designs to pop though, and those colors can sometimes look bland on a regular sugar cookie.  So I really wanted to find the perfect chocolate sugar dough recipe to give these cookies some contrast.  After looking at at least a dozen recipes, I decided this recipe by Georganne at LilaLoa appealed to me the most.  Nice crisp shapes, and tons of raving reviews about how delicious they are. 

So I converted it to be gluten free and I was not disappointed!  Great, rich chocolate flavor and with the help of just three-four drops of black dye the perfect contrast color I was looking for (don't worry! that little dye does not give it a bitter taste).  They roll out great and they hold their shape perfectly.  They seem like the perfect ground for decorating, and they're also great plain or just sprinkled with a little bit of sugar.  So if you don't want to go all out with royal icing decorating, even using a cute cutter and just sanding them with sugar will make a delicious treat.

This will be your go-to chocolate sugar dough.  And I dare you to not sneak any bites of this raw!  That is just how delicious it is.

As with most sugar dough, you need to let this dough rest.  When you're done mixing it will be very sticky and soft.  Georganne suggests if you need to use it right away add 1/2 cup more flour.  While I did not try this, if you need to go with more brown rice or sorghum flour.  I did not try this with gluten free flours though so it may not work the same as with wheat flour.  If you try the extra flour and it works let me know!  Otherwise just a few hours in the fridge will make it the perfect texture for rolling out without any problems with it being too soft or stick

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Recipe adapted from LilaLoa
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen 4" cookies
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Ingredients

- 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla, gluten free
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder, gluten free
- 2/3 cup non dutch-processed cocoa, I used Hershey's
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
- Black gel dye, optional

Banana Bread Cookies

A few weeks back, I had bought a bunch of bananas and forgot about them.  They got too overripe to eat, which makes the perfect for banana bread.  While banana bread is delicious, I wanted it to be something a little sweeter, and I had cookies in mind because they're easy to travel with, and normally stay fresh in a container for a few days.  So then the idea of making banana bread cookies came to me.  They're light, fluffy, almost cake like texture perfectly captures the texture of banana bread while still being a cookie.  The banana flavor really comes out and balances perfectly with the coconut and chocolate.  Banana bread has a comforting taste, there's just something so warm and homey about it.  These cookies capture that feeling.

Banana Bread Cookies

Recipe adapted from my Sweets Treats and More
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
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Ingredients

- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp gluten free vanilla
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 cups gluten free rolled oats
- 1 cups chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut plus extra for topping

*These would probably be delicious with chopped walnuts as well, but I recently became slightly allergic to them so I didn't include them.  But if you like walnuts I definitely recommend you try it!

Gluten and Sugar Free Devil's Food Cake

When I was a kid, more times than not there was an Entenmann's Devil's Food Cake with Marshmallow Icing in the freezer.  It was always my dad's favourite cake (and eating it frozen was the only was to eat it).  A few years back though he found out he had diabetes so he couldn't really eat the cake anymore.  This year for his birthday I wanted to take a stab at trying to recreate it not only gluten free, but also completely sugar free.  The devil's food cake recipe and the way I alter it to make it gluten free yields a moist, rich, delicious devil's food cake.  I actually would love to try this recipe again for myself with real sugar.  I used Splenda, which I do have to admit has a little bit of an aftertaste, but I think because of the flours I chose to use it was an extremely minimal aftertaste.  The icing is what through me off.  At first I tried to make my traditional marshmallow icing I make which is basically whipped egg whites and add basically a boiled homemade simple syrup, but that was a bit of a disaster with splenda instead of sugar.  So I did some research, and someone recommended using Sugar Free Jello Instant Pudding with heavy whipping cream and to my surprise it worked out great!  It actually was pretty damn close to Entenmann's for being Gluten Free AND Sugar Free!  And like I said, if you're not sugar free this would probably make a great just gluten free devil's food cake!

Gluten and Sugar Free Devil's Food Cake

Cake recipe adapted Food Network Kitchen
Made Gluten Free and Sugar Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 2 9" round cakes
Print Recipe for Cake and Icing

Ingredients for the Cake

- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 12 Tbsp butter, room temperature
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp Splenda for baking*
- 3/4 cups cocoa powder (I use Hershey's...any that isn't Dutch processed is fine)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/4 cup almond milk, or milk of choice

*It is important to use the baking Splenda because it is a 1:1 replacement...if you use regular granulated Splenda this will be intensely too much sugar.  Just make sure if you buy the Splenda to check it's recommendations for the ratios.  And if you want to make this with regular sugar you can replace the Splenda with the same amount (2 cups + 2 Tbsp).

Ingredients for the Icing

Icing Recipe by SugarEd Blog
- 1 Large box of White Chocolate Sugar free Jell-O pudding mix
- 1 cup low fat milk
- 2 cups heavy cream

Earl Grey Madeleines

Jesicakes' second Madeleines!  I visited my mom and grandma this past weekend and wanted to bring them a treat.  Since I just made the Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies for my mom the week before, I wanted to make something a little more on the lighter side for her this time.  She didn't get to try my last batch of Madeleines so it seemed like the perfect treat.  I wanted to use Earl Grey tea as the flavoring this time.  They came out light, fluffy, and cake like but with the perfect touch of sweetness and delicate floral notes from the Earl Grey tea.  I made some changes from my original recipe.  I substituted out some of the sugar for honey for a more subtle sweetness.  I also added vanilla to marry with the Earl Grey flavor.  There's still lemon in there but slightly less.

Although I mentioned the last batch was best fresh because they were glazed, these I just dusted with powdered sugar.  They actually tasted better after they had rested a day or two, and even got softer and more moist than when first out of the oven.  The flavors all seemed to burst the day after I baked them.  It may be that I needed to let my dough rest more in the fridge, but either way they still wound up being delectable.  And of course, they're perfect to dip into or pair with a nice warm cup of Earl Grey tea.

Earl Grey Madeleines

Recipe adapted from my Lemon Thyme Glazed Madeleines, which were adapted from Annie Eats
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 2 dozen standard Madeleines
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Ingredients

- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 Tbsp honey
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup sorghum flour
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 9 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled to room temperature- zest of 1/2 a lemon (or to taste)
- 3 tea bags of Earl Grey tea (I used decaf since my grandma and I both avoid caffeine)

-extra melted butter and white rice flour to grease and dust the Madeleine mold.

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

If I could only have one dessert, it would probably be a brownie.  I'm a sucker for anything chocolate, but there's something about the moist, dense texture of a brownie combined with the rich chocolate taste that makes them irresistible.  Last weekend my family went on our annual wine tasting trip, and I wanted to make a treat to bring along.  I wanted to make something that everyone would like and something that would also travel well.  While I love brownies, they're not the best thing for traveling.  Even dense, fudgelike ones can tend to be smashed and squished while being carried unless they're in their own separate container or bag.  

I looked through all my cook books and found the answer in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  Her Double-Chocolate Brownie Cookies (pg. 75) were the perfect solution.  A cookie is sturdier than a brownie because its whole exterior has been baked, almost like it has a protective shell, whereas a brownie really only "set" on the top (or sometimes sides if it was on the edge of the pan.  This cookies are similar to the Andes Fudge and Peppermint Bark Cookies I made, except those definitely had a texture and taste more like fudge (hence the name), while these have dense cake like texture very similar to a brownie.  

I decided to alter her recipe a bit, using a mix of granulated sugar and light brown sugar instead of just granulated.  I also decided to make them Triple-Chocolate Brownie Cookies instead of double-chocolate.  She suggests that you can add walnuts or any kind of nuts really, but since I have a mild allergy to walnuts I left nuts out altogether.  And of course, I made them gluten free.

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Recipe adapted Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook Double-Chocolate Brownie Cookies (pg. 75)
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 30 cookies
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Ingredients

- 3 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
- 2 oz 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghiradelli), roughly chopped
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup sorghum flour, sifted
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup brown rice flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup white rice flour, sifted
- 1/8 cup tapioca flour, sifted
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 oz 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chopped into 1/4" chunks

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

When Justin and I lived in Philly, there were these brownies by BT Baking that were pretty much the greatest idea ever.  They were Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies.  What could be better than that?  Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brownies are pretty much the two ultimate comfort foods and combining them is simply bliss.  I always keep some chocolate chip cookies frozen in individual balls in the freezer for cookie emergencies, which is the easiest way to make the cookie brownies.  If you don't have chocolate chip cookies on hand, you'll have to make a small batch of chocolate chip cookies as well as a batch of brownies.  And what makes these special is they're completely gluten free!!  They combine crispy, chewy chocolate chip cookies with soft, rich, decadent brownies.  They're the ultimate indulgence!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

- 16 1 oz chocolate chip cookie dough balls from Jesicakes' original Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- 1 full recipe of Gluten Free Blissful Brownies

Lemon Thyme Glazed Madeleines

Madeleines are one of my favorite treats.  I have to admit, the first one I ever had was when I was working at Starbucks.  And I thought they were great until I went to Paris and rediscovered them there.  Since then, I've only had them a few times in the states because I never really see them in bakeries.  I've always wanted to bake them and I finally got myself a madeleine pan so I could do so.  I've wanted to make something a little different from just the classic ones...Earl Grey, Lavender, something along those lines.  I recently had dinner at ABC Kitchen in NYC, and for dessert we got their doughnuts of the day, one of which was a Lemon Thyme Glazed one.  I knew instantly that was the flavor profile I wanted for my first madeleine attempt!  They came out great.  Spongey, light, delicate, yet moist.  The cake itself is very light with a bit of the lemon flavor, and the glaze just puts it over the edge into heavenly territory.  It'll be nearly impossible to eat just one of these sweets!

Lemon Thyme Glazed Madeleines

Recipe adapted from Annie Eats
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 2 dozen standard Madeleines.  Most likely double that of the minis
Print Recipe - For Madeleines and Glaze

Ingredients for batter

- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup sorghum flour
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum*
- 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
- zest of 1 lemon (approx. a packed Tbsp)
- 9 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

Ingredients for glaze

- 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

- zest of 1 lemon (approx. a packed Tbsp)

- approximately 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme chopped finely

Extra melted butter and white rice flour to grease and flour the madeleine pan

*I accidently used too much xanthan gum in my batter.  I used about 3/4 tsp and it was definitely too much.  So I'd say at most use 1/2 tsp.  You can even try a 1/4 tsp and see how the batter feels.  Mine was way too sticky (but didn't really affect the outcome).

Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups

So last month I got tested for celiac (negative! But I still want to be mostly gluten free because I just personally feel better when I don't eat gluten).  The hardest part is cutting out things that I had started eating daily during the two months before testing.  One of those things is granola bars.  They're just so easy and convenient to carry around except most of them have some form of gluten, soy, or dairy in them.  I just started using Pinterest and I saw a pin of Personal Sized Bake Oatmeal from Sugar-Free Mom and was inspired to use these to replace granola bars!  I made them in cupcake pans not muffin tins and got 3 1/2 dozen little oatmeal cups out of it!  That's part of my lunch for 42 days.  Not only is it going to cut granola bars and help cut soy, dairy, and gluten back out of my diet, but it'll probably save me a lot of money too!  I made fourteen different varieties too to try new flavors and so I don't get tired of them.  I use Chia Seeds in them which have lots of Omega 3 fatty acids, protein, antioxidants and much more.  I topped them chopped nuts and fruits to add to add more protein and for more energy.  So if you try these get creative with your toppings and see how many different varieties you can make!

Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups

Recipe adapted from Sugar Free Mom
Makes 3 1/2 dozen individual baked oatmeal cups in cupcake pans, or about 1 1/2 dozen in muffin pans
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Ingredients

- 2 large eggs

- 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 5 cups rolled oats (gluten free)
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1 banana, mashed
- 2 1/2 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla, gluten free
- 3 tsp baking powder, gluten free
- 1 tsp salt
- toppings of choice: dried cranberries, chopped almonds, peanut butter, chocolate chips etc.