Rachel’s Recipe Box

One of my friends on Facebook posted her variation of the Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. This is my adaptation of her adaptation.

I’ve now made this with 3 types of preserves – Lingonberry, blueberry, and raspberry (a special sneaky batch while the berry-allergic child was out of the house). Of the three, I have to say that the Lingonberry preserve version was the best, hands down. We used the preserves from Ikea, but you can buy 2 brands of lingonberry preserves them through Amazon if you don’t find any in the international section of your grocery store. This is a wonderfully easy and adaptable recipe, so I’m sure I’ll be trying more flavors soon!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup preserves. Great flavors which work with chocolate include lingonberry, blueberry, pomegranate, cherry, or orange marmalade. (For those who can tolerate seeded berries, the original recipe called for raspberry preserves, and strawberry would likely taste good too)

• 1 cup sugar if using a sweet jam, 1 1/2 cups if using a tarter preserve such as Lingonberry
• 1/3 cup melted margarine, or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup GF flour (my current favorite is sorghum, but millet, bean, pea, or brown rice would also work well) Reserve the 1/4 cup, that might not be needed.
• 1/2 cup starch (I prefer tapioca or arrowroot starch, but corn starch is acceptable if you aren’t sensitive to corn)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
• (if you can eat gluten, use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus an extra 1/4 cup reserved, and omit the xanthan gum)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips – (we usually use Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips, but Enjoy Life Baking Chips, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are allergy-friendly and also soy free)

Method:
Note: each brand and variation of preserves/jam is different. Just as we need to add more sugar if using lingonberry preserves, sometimes more flour is needed when the preserves are quite liquidy, and sometimes a bit more sugar is needed if the preserves are tart. Be patient with this recipe, as the results are well worth it!

Preheat oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with silpat, Reynolds non-stick foil or parchment paper. Or you could grease a cookie sheet, if you don’t have any of the above.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), stir together preserves of choice, sugar, oil/melted margarine & vanilla in one bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together well. (this replaces sifting in this recipe)

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well with a whisk or fork between additions (or using the paddle of your stand mixer). If the dough becomes quite stiff, doing the final integration of the flour with clean hands works very well. If the dough does not become stiff, add the reserved 1/4 cup flour and incorporate it into the dough.

Mix in the chocolate chips after the wet and dry ingredients are well combined.

Use an 18/8 cookie scoop (or roll walnut-sized balls of dough) flatten to make a cookie about 2″ diameter. Drop the balls of dough and gently push them down, leaving about 2″ apart on cookie sheet (they can spread out a bit as they bake). This makes 24 cookies

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to let them cool completely. Eat and enjoy!

These are a favorite holiday cookie from my childhood, my Nana made them every year. I was so sad when we went dairy-free, as it was then impossible to find dairy-free mini chocolate chips. Thank goodness for Enjoy Life chocolate chips! You can also make them with regular sized chocolate chips, but they are even yummier with the mini chips.

I am hopeless with meringues – they always end up sticky, but these appear to be foolproof. You should still try to avoid baking them on wet days, but otherwise they are incredibly easy and keep very well in an airtight container.

These cookies are gfcf, wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, corn, tree nut, peanut, fish, and shellfish free. and delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 10oz bag mini chocolate chips

Method
Preheat oven to 370 degrees F. This is NOT a typo!

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer.

Sloooowly add the sugar, vanilla, and salt to the eggs. Continue to beat eggs until they form stiff peaks.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, Reynolds Release, or silpat.

Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto the sheets. You want small, snowdrops. They still work if they end up larger because you have “help” from children, though.

Put the cookie sheets in the oven, and TURN IT OFF. Then walk away. This doesn’t require an oven with a pilot light or anything – it works fine in electric ovens

Leave them there overnight (ideally), or for at least 5 hours. I do it overnight, as otherwise I would be tempted to check on them. Put a sticky note on the oven to remind people that they may not open the oven.

Take them off the cookie sheets in the morning and place in an airtight container. Give as many as survive your hungry family to your most loved friends and family.

Adapted from my friend Sue’s tried-and-true recipe, but adapted to be gf/df/sf/and rolling-out-free. These are divine.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, potentially egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and potentially vegan recipe. This recipe also makes a beautiful and delicious gingerbread house!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Spectrum Shortening or margarine

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 egg, or egg-replacer
• 2 1/4 cups bean or pea flour
• 1 cup mixed tapioca and arrowroot starch (or you could sub potato starch for one of them)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• about 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp salt

• powdered sugar for rolling

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.

Line cookie sheets with exopat, silpat, or parchment paper.

Mix cookie ingredients together in the order listed, until it forms a great big lovely soft ball of dough.

Using a cookie scoop (or a spoon, I suppose), scoop out balls of dough. Roll in powdered sugar, and squish onto cookie sheet. leave about an inch around, as they spread.

Bake for about 6 – 9 minutes. When they’re done, they’ll be a little crinkly on top, but won’t change color much since the dough is already brown. Let cool on sheet about 5 min, then cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.

Yum!

I didn’t have the patience/time to scoop individual cookies, so I adapted my peanut butter cookie recipe into bars.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup peanut butter, sunbutter, peabutter, or another nut/seed butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup gf flour
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using a gluten-full flour for the 1 cup flour)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate or white chips (or a combo)

Method:

cream peanut butter, oil, sugar together. add eggs. mix in flour, xg, salt, baking powder. mix until well combined. add chocolate chips. mix until just combined.

press into a greased 9×13 pan (I coat with Reynolds Release foil or just greased foil).

Bake at 350 for 30 min. wait for them to cool, and cut. yum!

This is one of our all time favorites, because this is a super-easy, super-adaptable recipe. It doubles quite well, too. If you can’t use peanuts, other nut and seed butters work fine. And if you can’t do eggs, egg substitutes have worked well here too.

This recipe is gluten & dairy free and can be corn & soy free. I have made these as brownies as well.

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter (generic store brand works great)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method
Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper or silpat.

Use a stand mixer or strong arm and medium sized bowl to cream peanut butter and sugar and egg together. Add salt & baking soda. Mix until well combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix well.

Use a cookie-scoop or tablespoon to scoop small balls of dough out. Flatten on the cookie sheet. The dough is not really easy to handle, but it will taste great once it’s cooked.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until puffy and golden brown. Let sit on the sheet for a few minutes before (carefully!) removing to cool. These cookies are delicate at first, but as they cool they become more sturdy. yum.

This one is adapted from a recipe by Joanne Fluke.

Ingredients

• 1 cup margarine/shortening (softened or melted)

• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs replaced by 1 TBS egg replacer mixed with 2 TBS warm water plus 1/4 cup applesauce
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups gf flour (I used a mix of bean & amaranth)
• 1 cup starch (arrowroot/tapioca – but can use corn/potato or any mix of those)
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 small, 10oz jar stemless marachino cherries
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream fat and sugar. Beat in egg replacers. Mix in vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together baking powder through xanthan gum. Add flour mix slowly until combined. Add chocolate chips and mix until just combined. Dough will be stiff and a bit crumbly.

Drain cherries and reserve the juice (when I’m really good I use the cherry juice instead of water for the egg replacer).

In the microwave combine the chocolate chips and the coconut milk. Heat in 30 second intervals and stir until just melted. Add about 2 TBS cherry juice. You want the chocolate mixture to spoon easily – you might need a little more or less juice.

Use a cookie scooper or pat dough into walnut-sized balls with your fingers. Place on parchment paper/silpat covered cookie sheets (12-13/sheet). Press down center with thumb to make a deep indentation. Put cherry in the little hole.

Spoon chocolate sauce over cherries – make sure not to drip it down the sides.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet a couple minutes, then move to cooling rack.

If you’re feeling really decadent, drizzle with more chocolate sauce after baking.

These are simply amazing. And no one will ever guess that they are “special”. In fact, my grandmother (who dislikes “special” foods) asked for the recipe!

These are a big favorite here, and frequently requested, and they are eaten very quickly by visitors, too.

These are dairy & gluten free. They could also be egg, corn, and soy free with ingredient adjustments. I have made them with egg substitutes, and they were tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (8 oz) margarine or shortening, softened
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs (or equivalent Egg Replacer)
• 1 1/4 cup sorghum flour (or amaranth, or bean, or pea)
• 1 cup rice flour or starch (arrowroot, corn, tapioca)
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. line baking sheets with parchment paper/Silpat or oil well.

Cream butter and sugar. Add salt & vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined.

Combine both flours, cocoa, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture and beat on low. Stop a few times to scrape sides with rubber spatula

Fold in chocolate chips. The dough will be very stiff.

Chill mixture for 2 hours (this is the hardest part)

Scoop into heaping tablespoon -size balls (or use a cookie scooper) and set 2 inches apart on baking sheets

Flatten dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and bake 12-14 minutes or until browned (these cookies should be relatively crisp, do not under bake)

Let baked cookies stand a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Very yummy. This came from a taste in my head and an OJ cookie recipe in a book I was reading. Many failed adaptations later, here it is.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shortening or margarine
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 egg or 1 TBS egg replacer mixed with 2 TBS warm water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• (I bet lemon zest would be great in these, but I was out of lemons)
• 2 cups GF flour mix (I used 2/3 c each pea & amaranth flour, 1/3 c each tapioca and arrowroot starches)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixer, cream shortening & sugar. Add egg or Egg Replacer and beat thoroughly. Add lemon juice (& zest if you have it). Whisk dry ingredients together and add slowly to wet ingredients.

Use a cookie scooper or a teaspoon to drop about 2 inches apart onto parchment paper or silpat on cookie sheet.

Bake 8-12 min until light brown on edges – watch out, they go from tan to burned very, very quickly.

Frosting

• 3 TBS margarine/shortening
• 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS lemon juice
• (I bet some zest would be nice here too)

Beat margarine/shortening. Add confectioners sugar and lemon juice until mixed into a very nice frosting texture. Spread on cookies and let set.

Eat ‘em up, yum!

adapted from a recipe from my Nana, who made these no-bake cookies when her husband told her she should take a break from baking cookies.

In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt together:
• 1 stick dairy-free margarine
• 3/4 cup sugar

• Add 8 oz cut-up dates (I put pitted dates in the food processor with a pinch of sugar to keep them from sticking).

Mix in:
• 1/2 cup sunflower butter (or other peanut/seed/nut butter)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups rice krispies (check for gf status)
• 3/4 cup coconut

roll into balls, dip in coconut, cool on wax paper.

Yum, Yum! My kids made these completely (other than some help from me with measuring

A classic cookie – everyone loves these! And oh my gosh are these yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups gluten free flour (I like sorghum and amaranth)
• 1 cup starch (arrowroot, corn, tapioca, potato)
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch kosher salt
• 2 egg yolks (save the egg whites to make snowdrops later)
• 3 TBS coconut milk (or whatever milk substitute you happen to have on hand
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick margarine (1/2 cup), softened
• 1/2 cup shortening (we use Spectrum)

Method
Whisk flour, starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.

Mix together yolks, milk sub, and vanilla in a measuring cup (or something else with an easy-pouring lip).

In a stand mixer, cream sugar, margarine, and shortening until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolk mixture until just combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients until the mixture starts to clump together. Prepare baking sheets with silpat, parchment paper, or Reynolds Release.

Now you have two options:
1 – thwap it onto a sheet of waxed paper and roll it into a snake. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Slice cookies about 1/4? thick, lay out on prepared cookie sheets about an inch apart. Decorate as “ornaments”, and bake at 350 for 12-14 min, until golden brown on the edges.

2 – Roll out dough (work with about 1/4 at a time) to 1/4-1/8 thickness. Flour cookie cutters with whatever cheap gf flour/starch you have on hand. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Transfer cut-outs to prepared baking sheets, and leave 1? of grow room around. Decorate as desired, and bake at 350 for 12-14 min, until golden brown on the edges.

Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature if you can wait that long to eat them.