Thursday, May 13, 2010

Chocolate Macaroons

No odd gluten free flavors, not as sweet as traditional macroons, yay! Makes a dozen cookies--you might want to double or triple this recipe! ;-)

2/3 c brown rice flour
5 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 t sea salt
2/3 c light agave syrup
1 c coconut milk--full fat, not light
2 t real vanilla extract

Chocolate Sauce
2 c (16 oz) gluten free dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
6 T water
4 T canola oil
2 t real vanilla extract
1/8 t sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine the flour, coconut, salt, agave syrup, coconut milk, and vanilla in a large bowl and mix. The dough will be moist and slightly sticky.

Make each macaroon by hand. Make them approximately mini cupcake size but with a flat bottom and domed top (as best as you can, don't go crazy about it). Pack tightly so the macaroon stays together when baked.

Bake about 15 minutes, until just barely brown.

While the cookies are baking, make the chocolate sauce. In a double boiler, or with a metal or glass mixing bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate chips, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.

When the chocolate has melted, whisk in the water, canola oil, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Remove from heat.

Let the macaroons cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheets. Before serving, drizzle with chocolate sauce. Leftover chocolate sauce can be stored in an airtight container (so can the macaroons) in the fridge for up to 10 days. To use again, simply reheat in a double boiler.

Cheese Crackers

Cheesy crackers
adapted from You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free

Ingredients:

4 oz goat cheddar cheese, shredded
4 T (1/4 c) Earth Balance vegan butter
3/4 c cornstarch
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t xanthan gum
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 T goat milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.

Combine all the ingredients, except the milk, in a medium sized bowl. Mix until the mixture resembles a fine crumb. Add the milk and beat well.

On parchment paper or a lightly greased surface, pat out the dough to 1/8 in thickness. Cut into 3/4 in squares, use a tiny cookie cutter, or just cut into random small chunks. You can also cut the dough into larger round or square cracker shapes, if desired--just extend the baking time.

Prick the tops of the crackers with a fork and sprinkle lightly with your desired topping (I've tried salt and pepper or salt, pepper, and onion powder)

Bake on the prepared baking sheet until golden brown and crisp, approx 10 min. The crackers will be light and crispy, although barely browning at the edges. The bottom of the crackers will have a bit more color.

Makes approx 5 dozen small crackers

Sloppy Joes

Weight Watchers PointsPlus--5 points/serving
(Points for each ingredient in parenthesis below)


1 to 1.5 lbs of ground bison (or beef)--either amount of ground meat works, don't worry! (16-24 pts, depending on whether you use 1 or 1.5 lbs of meat)
1 large onion, finely chopped (0)
1 large bell pepper, any color, finely chopped (0)
1 6oz can of tomato paste (1)
2 6oz cans of water (0)
1 T cornstarch or potato starch (0)
1.5 t chili powder (0)
2 t salt (0)
1 t freshly ground black pepper (0)
1/8-1/4 t cayenne (optional--my kids like it with 1/8 t) (0)
1 T sugar (1)

1 pound serves 4 open faced sandwiches, 1.5 pounds serves 6 open faced sandwiches.
19 points total divided by 4 servings=4.75   1 lb=5 points/serving
27 points total divided by 6 servings=4.5     1.5 lbs=5 points/serving

And then of course you'll need to add bread and cheese! We buy Udi's gluten free buns (5 points/bun) and Deli Select American Cheese (2 points/slice).

This is adapted a bit from You Won't Believe it's Gluten Free Cookbook. I make this often and if I'm really on the ball I make a huge quadruple batch and freeze them in 4 containers.

In a large pan brown the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper. Once the meat is cooked through (no longer pink), add the tomato paste and 1 can of water. Mix the starch with the remaining can of water. Whisk well and add to the pan. Add the spices and stir. Bring to a simmer.

Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.

We serve with open faced gluten free buns, cheese broiled on top. Yum!