Nut Meal/Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I may have to change the name of this blog soon, for various reasons. One is that I'm going to need to remake EVERY one of these meals soon without using any plastic of any kind.

[soapbox]We just found out that my son has nearly toxic levels of plastic in his blood, which comes from all the use of plastic in not only freezer meals (leaching into the food when it defrosts or is WARM in the bag) but various other sources in the house (like shampoo, plastic cups, paper products, etc). So, I'm going to start using glass storage and see where it takes me.[/soapbox]

Also, I'm branching out to lots of grain and dairy free recipes for health reasons. So when I find a great recipe, I'm waffling on where to post it! So I might change the blog name and hope you followers come along! :)  It's going to have to be something to do with Healthy Eating and Freezer Meals. I dunno, the name is in the works.

ANYHOW, I made some fantastic SERIOUSLY cookies last night. I actually ate them for breakfast this morning they were THAT good. You can make these dairy free (using ghee) and you also might be able to make them egg free (with flax), but I made them with butter and eggs. So delish.

The original recipe called for almond flour, but I am allergic to almonds (darnit!) so I gave this a whirl with walnuts! And best thing ever, you don't even have to buy special walnut meal to make this. I purchased a bag of walnuts from Trader Joe's (walnut baking pieces) and stuck them in my food processor until I liked the consistency. Then voilà! I have meal/flour. I've also done it with sunflower seeds, halzenuts, and almonds (for my sons). It works great and is more than half the price of already ground meals/flours.

So here is what you need:

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted! You can use ghee)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs (or flax meal mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups walnut or almond meal/flour
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips of choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar. I'll note here that you can use 100% butter/ghee instead of some coconut oil. Makes the cookies a slightly different flavor, but so good all the same.

Add the vanilla and eggs and mix well.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Add the meal/flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

If you have ground your own meal, pay attention to the consistency. Sometimes my ground stuff has more air pockets when I measure, so add more if the batter looks too runny. You want it to hold up to heat for a little while ;)

Fold in the chocolate chips.

If you refrigerate for 30 minutes before you bake, they won't spread as much. And trust me when I tell you, these bad boys SPREAD. These pictures are NON-CHILLED. So you can see they are flat, but oh so yummy.

Using two spoons, put dough balls onto the lined baking sheet and make sure they are a good 3 inches apart. Because they WILL spread (especially if you have not refrigerated the dough).

Bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan then transfer to a baking rack (to make more!).

Eat way too many, but love every second of it ;)

Perfect Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Wheat free)

As some of you know, I've been cataloging good wheat free recipes (that don't have much to do with a freezer) on this blog for a while. Mostly because I don't want to lose these recipes and know the best place to share them is on the website. This is so when I go to a friend's house and want to make wheat free treats, I know exactly where to get the recipe.

Today's wheat free treat is a Chocolate Chip Cookie that holds up to the chocolate chip cookies of old. These even gives nestle tollhouse a run for its money! No really!

The original recipe is from Pampered Chef's Gluten Free cook book. Haven't seen it? You should really check it out and it's only $8! Such a good deal. But I digress!

So this recipe called for Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour blend... Blech. No thanks. I've tried this on numerous occasions and it's horrid. I mean really horrid! So, like a good recipe crasher, I decided to hack it up and see if I could make it FABULOUS without ruining my appetite!

The result? The perfect Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie! No like really. I've eaten three.

Yields 36 regular sized cookies

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups Oat Flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together and set aside.

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups of packed brown sugar
1 cup of butter (two sticks)

Cream together in a large mixing bowl with hand mixer.

More wet ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tsps of Vanilla

Add eggs and vanilla with hand mixer and blend well. Now add dry mix to bowl and beat until the dough looks like your joe average cookie dough!

Now add in one WHOLE package of semi sweet morsels and stir with bamboo/wooden spoon. Stir until combined.

Parchment line your cookie sheets (Makes for easier clean-up) and I used the pampered chef medium scoop (2 tablespoons worth scoop) to make perfect rounded balls. I love my scoops!

Place in preheated oven at 350 for 14 minutes. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before you move them. This was the tip from the original recipe and since I know GF recipes can be tricky (because they don't bind well) I wanted to make sure I obeyed! But after waiting, I believe this cookie could have been moved a lot earlier and cooled on the wire rack. But it didn't change the cookie process.

Seriously. Seriously. These are the best GF cookies I've ever eaten. PERIOD. Even my Oatmeal cookie recipe I love more then life itself might have to get a hack to see if it will come out as thick and delicious as this. Seriously.

(For those asking, I'm not a Pampered Chef consultant, nor have I ever been one. But everything I use in my kitchen is Pampered Chef. So when I refer to a product, I will try to use a link to help you purchase. The products used in this recipe are as follows: Stainless Mixing Bowls, Medium Scoop, Easy Read Measuring cups, Bamboo Spoons, Adjustable Measuring Spoons, Large Sheet Pans, and Stackable Cooling Rack. )