Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I promised recipes and here I go! I tried out this gluten-free, vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe from Elana's Pantry . The base recipe was great, but I still had to adapt it to my low carb/sugar guidelines so here is the original recipe and how I changed it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan) *Courtesy of Elana at elanaspantry.com

•2 1/2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
•1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 cup grapeseed oil
•1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•1/2 cup agave nectar
•1 cup dark chocolate 73%
1.Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2.Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
3.Mix wet ingredients into dry.
4.Form 1/2 inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
5.Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
6.Cool and serve.
For additional almond flour recipes, go to elanaspantry.com

So, if you aren't concerned about the super high fructose in agave nectar this would be great, but since I am not ok with that kind of sugar if I can help it... here is what I did:

1. These are VERY oily in the dough state so don't freak out when you make them :) I added about 2 Tbsp - 1/4 cup more almond flour.
2. I used kosher salt b/c that's what I have
3. I didn't have gapeseed oil, so I substituted 1/2 corn oil and 1/2 olive oil
4. Instead of the agave nectar, I used 10 packets of purevia (stevia type) sweetener + 1/2 of a ripe banana that I had frozen and then thawed and mashed.
5. My grocery store didn't have 70% cocoa chips so I used Ghirardelli 60% (close enough right?)
6. I added the sweetener and banana into the wet ingredients and "beat" them together with a fork.
7. I baked the 1st batch on 350 for 9 min. and the second on 325 for 11 min. I don't think it matters which you do... they both came out slightly gooey in the middle (but very yummy!)

So, how did they turn out, you may ask? GREAT!!! The oiliness (is that a word?) reduces slightly when they are cooking, I think the excess oil in the dough helps them to keep from drying out and crumbling during the baking process. Anyway, you can definitely taste the banana that I used in place of the agave nectar, but I think it is a yummy, delicate addition. If you didn't want the banana taste, you could use maybe applesauce or a pear. (Here I go on another rabbit trail so bare with me... I read somewhere else that a lady used 2.5tsp stevia blend + 1/4 pear for every 1/4 cup agave nectar that a recipe called for. So, that's why I tried banana - its what I had.) The texture is chewy and substantive b/c of the almond flour.

Next time I make them (and believe me, there WILL be a next time!) I will maybe try the purevia sweetener by itself and also start with about 1/2 the oil and see what the texture is. These turned out great, but the amount of oil is just too much. Once I fix that, well, it will be pure yumminess!

These aren't low fat by any stretch of the imagination, but since that's not what I am tracking all the ingredients listed above are legal :) I can't tell you how much I am enjoying my new way of eating. I have been feeling great, losing weight and not sacrificing a thing!

This is getting good!

Ok, so I posted about making the almond milk yesterday, but I didn't mention that you should/could save the pulp that is left over. When I made the milk, I saved the almond 'mill' that was left over and just stuck it in the freezer until I could figure out what to do with it. Well, my chance came sooner than I expected... When I was trying to be creative and find something new for my non-vegan daughter, Jadyn, it popped into my head that she LOVES chicken nuggets (specifically, McDonald's chicken nuggets) so... I beat an egg with some almond milk and a tiny bit of vinegar (similar to buttermilk) and then I tenderized a chicken breast, cut it into 'nuggets', coated it in the egg mixture, coated it in the left over almond mill, and deep fried it in olive oil. Now, I was totally winging this and taking that into consideration, it turned out really good! I did forget to season the almond crumbs, so that would be a must, but other than that I think it was a great use of the left overs. Who'd a thought... low carb, battered, deep-fried chicken? Yum! I'll have to try it again when I get the almond flour I ordered to see if the finer ground texture is better.

Also, since I was going to be sharing different things that we were eating, last night we had seasoned brown rice, Santa Fe sweet potato fries ( http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/08/sweet-potato-shoestrings-fries-that-is.html ), and sauteed yellow summer squash. I winged the seasoned brown rice and it turned out pretty great :) so i was happy about that. Just in case you were wondering... I put 1-1/2 cups brown rice, 3 cups water, and a dash of each: basil, thyme, and fresh ground black pepper. I also added a tiny tiny pinch of cinnamon :) and I had to season it pretty generously with salt. I let it all cook like usual and when all the water was absorbed, I drizzled a tiny bit of olive oil so that it wouldn't clump up.