Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night I made the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and they were moist and rich. In a word Yummy! Now, I was surprised that they really didn't spread out like I thought they would and they took a little longer in the oven because of that reason. Unfortunately I married a man who does not like pumpkin so I guess all those yummy cookies are for me. Too bad because I love pumpkin especially this time of year.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

1/3 c Canola oil

2/3 c packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 c Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp Xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c mashed ripened bananas

1/2 c finely chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x5in nonstick loaf pan

1. Cream together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer.

2. Add flour, Xanthan Gum, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to egg mixture, alternating with bananas.

3. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts and raisins.

4. Batter will be soft. Pour in pan.

5. Bake for 1 hour.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 c canned pumpkin ( not pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 c butter softened (not melted)
1 tsp gf vanilla
1 egg
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix
1/2 c raisins - if desired
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
powdered sugar if desired

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets with shortening.
2. In large bowl, stir in pumpkin, butter, vanilla, and egg until blended. Stir in cookie mix, raisins, and cinnamon until soft dough forms. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when lightly touched in center and edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free mixes

I have tried all of Betty Crocker's Gluten Free mixes and so far my favorite is the chocolate cake. All the mixes tasted good but the cookie and brownie mixes were dry and crumbly. Although, that is to be expected with gluten free baking. I added a little extra butter to the cake mix and it made it more moist. I found a recipe on the Betty Crocker web site for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies that I am going to try. It calls for the Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. I am excited to see how they turn out and I will let all of you know as well. I will even post the recipe for you to try.

My favorite wheat free/ gluten free products

When I started trying different types of wheat free/ gluten free pasta I tried some rice pasta but didn't like the taste, but then I tried Quinoa pasta which is made from corn and quinoa and I absolutely loved it. It didn't have a bad after taste and there wasn't a notable difference from regular pasta. They have spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, elbow,and a few types of noodles. I was wanting to make lasagna for my husband and was wanting to use Qunioa noodles but I couldn't the lasagna noodles. I was hesitant to try the rice noodles, but decided to go ahead and I tried a different brand of rice pasta called Tinkyada. I was pleasantly surprised there wasn't a spicy after taste to the noodles. I also really enjoy The Gluten Free Pantry mixes for brownies and cakes. Bob's RedMill offers a variety of wheat/ gluten free flours that are staples when cooking and baking.

What are your favorite wheat/ gluten free brands?

Wheat free/ Gluten free stores

I was recently in western New York visiting my in laws and my mother-in-law took me to a grocery store called Tops. I was amazed to find 2 1/2 - 3 aisles of wheat free/ gluten free products. This is just a regular grocery store and to find that much of the gluten/ wheat free foods was a shock. My husband and I are considering moving up there and this was a definite plus if we decide to move there. We are currently visiting my parents are my parents took me to a small market called Miller's in Romey, West Virginia. It is not your normal grocery store its more like an Amish market. Anyway, they had an organic aisle which included some gluten/ wheat free foods. There is also a regular grocery store Martin's in Cumberland, MD, which is about 30 minutes from my parents, that carry a few gluten/wheat free products maybe an aisle. Now back home in Nashville, TN, of course we have Whole Foods Market that have a lot of wheat/gluten free foods, but Publix, Kroger, Trader Joe's have wheat/ gluten free foods as well.

What grocery stores have you been to that carry wheat/ gluten free foods?