Ghiradelli-Level Gluten Free Brownies

After a 6 month hiatus, I'm back! In that time, I discovered something sad... I am probably gluten intolerant. I say probably because it's hard to really know whether a person is gluten intolerant or not since there are varying degrees of intolerance and it doesn't always show on an allergy test. However, I do know that most of my issues have resolved after reducing my gluten intake, so it's worth pursuing. That said, I still plan on making both glutenous and non-glutenous recipes... mostly because I love food too much not to, but also because I'm not technically allergic... right?

This brownie recipe is unique because it's a gluten free recipe, but it's actually WAY better than any gluten brownie recipe I've tried. Maybe I just haven't tried the right recipes, but achieving perfect homemade brownies has always been tricky for me. I also have a very high standard for brownies, namely Ghiradelli's Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix. Judge me for loving boxed brownie mix if you will, but I will not change my mind. I love Ghiradelli brownies and I stand by this recipe. The only problem is that most people don't have GF flour in their pantry, so I'll have to experiment to see if they can be made just as well with wheat flour.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dutch-process cocoa or baking cocoa
3 large eggs
3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
* I used Bob's Red Mill GF flour, but the recipe calls for King Arthur GF flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips and/or 1 cup chopped nuts - optional
* I didn't add these because I didn't have any on hand

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8" square pan
2. Place the sugar, butter, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the butter melts and the mixture lightens in color
   * This step helps melt the sugar, which will give the brownies a shiny crust
3. If you've heated the sugar and butter in a saucepan, transfer the mixture to a bowl
4. In the bowl containing the sugar-butter mixture, blend in the vanilla and cocoa until incorporated
5. Add the eggs and mix until shiny
6. Blend in the GF flour and the baking powder
7. If adding chocolate chips and/or nuts, stir into batter
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading to the edges
9. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is set
   * I baked mine for 30 minutes, but I prefer my brownies gooey-solid
10. Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before cutting
11. Enjoy!

This may have been my breakfast this morning...

America's Favorite Cookie

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

I was really excited to try this recipe. It was one that I had bookmarked about a year ago, but could never bring myself to try for fear of ruining an American classic. Thankfully I received a particular request to try this recipe, which was the push I needed.

Although these cookies were good, I don't think I would prefer them over the store-bought originals. I know that I should prefer the homemade option that doesn't include things like high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients... but they just weren't quite the same. The difference in the two lies in the cookie. Something about the flavor of the cookie in this recipe is not quite lined up with the cookie in a real Oreo. This problem could simply be a matter of ingredients - maybe my vanilla extract or my cocoa powder are lower quality than Nabisco's, which could have a huge impact on flavor.  However, the cream filling recipe is spot on. It was d-licious. If you prefer double (maybe triple...) stuffed Oreos, and/or like to sample while you bake, I would recommend doubling the cream filling.  Overall, these were tasty, but it may not be fair to directly compare them to the real deal.

Oreo Cookie Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter - room temperature
1 large egg

Oreo Cream Filling Ingredients*:

1/2 stick unsalted butter - room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

* For those double/triple stuffers out there, double these ingredients

1. Move two oven racks to the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Doing this made me so uncomfortable

3. Cut the butter into chunks and add to dry mixture. *This part of the recipe worried me, because for most cookies, you mix the butter with the sugar, then add eggs/vanilla, and then add the dry ingredients to butter-mixture. Adding the butter last is more common for things like pie crust. But I followed these instructions and it made a legitimate dough, so I think it's okay. With the electric mixer turned off, manually use the beaters to begin incorporating - cutting the butter into the flour to get a crumbly mixture (see picture)

This is what it should look like prior to the egg

4. Add the egg and continue to manually incorporate until the flour-mixture is moistened enough to turn on the electric mixer. Once you can turn on the mixer without covering yourself with flour, mix these ingredients until the dough comes together in a mass.

5. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper - about 2 inches apart.  Using the bottom of a large glass sprayed with cooking spray, flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. *Trust me. Teaspoons sounds and looks tiny, but once you flatten/bake these, they get way bigger than you think they will

6. Transfer the baking sheets to cooling racks and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes. Once set, transfer the cookies directly to the cooling racks.

7. For the filling, cream the butter and shortening together in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
8. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
9. Slowly add the powdered sugar, mixing on a low speed to avoid spraying powdered sugar everywhere. Beat on low until all the sugar is added, then turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 minutes until the filling is light/fluffy. *At this point it is wise to taste-test the filling... frequently.
10. Using a pastry bag (or for people like me, a plastic baggy with a hole cut in it), pipe blobs of cream onto the flat side of one cookie and then place another cookie of similar size on top. Lightly press them together to fill the sandwich.  Continue this process for all the cookies.

Mocha Icebox Cake

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa

I'm sure Jeffrey loved this one. For those of you who have not watched "Barefoot Contessa" on the Food Network, Ina Garten is always whipping up something delicious and telling her viewers how much her husband, Jeffrey, loves whatever it is she's making. He is one heck of a lucky man.

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make. The basic layout of the recipe:

1. Mix everything but the cookies in a bowl - whipping until peaks form
2. Alternate layers of the whipped mixture with cookies in a springform pan
3. Cover and put it in the fridge overnight

Easy breezy. The best part is that it tastes decadent.  It's rich, creamy, and delicious. If you have ever made Oreo ball truffles... this recipe is similar in that the product tastes way more impressive than it should. It's great.

Ingredients:

2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
12 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Kahlua
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant espresso powder (I just used instant coffee)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 (8-oz) packages flat chocolate chip cookies (Ina recommends Tate's Bake Shop*)
Semi-sweet chocolate for garnish

*I couldn't find Tate's Bake Shop cookies in the store, so don't stress out if you can't either. I tried this recipe once using really cheap, flat, store-bought cookies and a second time using Chips Ahoy; both times the recipe turned out great.

Directions:

Combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, Kahlua, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix on a low speed to initially combine, then increase the speed until firm peaks form.

In an 8-inch springform pan, place a flat layer of the chocolate chip cookies - breaking up some cookies to fill in the nooks and crannies.  Spread a layer of the whipped mixture (Ina says 1/5 of the whipped mixture -- I think I did 1/4) over the cookie layer.  Place another layer of cookies on top of the whipped mixture -- again, breaking pieces to cover as much space as possible. Spread another layer of the whipped mixture on top of this. Repeat this process until there are 4 or 5 layers of each, but make sure to end with a layer of the whipped mocha cream.  Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Run a sharp knife around the outside to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Remove the sides carefully. Shave some semi-sweet chocolate on the top of the cake. Lastly... cut and eat!