Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars, with and without Gluten

I made Peanut Butter Bars, following the recipe to a T, then I switched out the flours to bake a gluten free version. We ate the gluten free bars and sent the regular ones to my brother, who is away in college.

I tasted both bars, and both were delicious, of course (you can hardly go wrong with peanut butter, chocolate, and sugar), but they had slightly different textures. The regular recipe had a finer crumb, but felt too rich to me. You can see the texture difference in the photos.

Regular recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, peanut butter, and vanilla until well blended.

In another bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir or beat into butter mixture until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread dough evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake until pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes, then cut into pieces (about 12). Let cool completely.

Gluten-free recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup wheat germ- substituted 1/8 cup rice flour/ 1/8 cup of Bob's biscuit and baking mix
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, peanut butter, and vanilla until well blended.
In another bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir or beat into butter mixture until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread dough evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake until pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes, then cut into 12 pieces. Let cool completely.

Gluten Free Waffles

After going gluten-free, my dad experimented with one recipe after another for gluten free waffles. We were guinea pigs for months, but he finally perfected his recipe. You have to buy a few special flours, but the recipe is not complicated beyond that. I think the waffles taste almost exactly the same with and without gluten, which is to say, they taste delicious.

4 eggs, separated
½ cup almond flour
¼ cup oat flour
¼ cup Bob's Biscuit Mix
½ t baking powder
¾ cup milk
4 Tbs butter, melted

Whip the egg whites until fluffy. Beat the yolks, flour mix, and milk until smooth. Add melted butter. Fold in whites. Serve warm with your favorite topping (some ideas: jelly, jam, or preserves, powdered sugar, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, cocoa powder, whipped cream)

Note: Pure oatmeal does not contain gluten. However, most oatmeal brands on the market today are not pure — they contain oats that have been cross-contaminated with a tiny bit of wheat, barley and/or rye. Bob's Red Mill oatmeal does certify that it is gluten free.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Casserole

Recently, my mother and I made a quinoa casserole. When my mother cooks, she uses only a few measuring cups. Most of the ingredients are added a handful at a time until the balance looks right. This is close to the recipe:

2 C quinoa, cooked and cooled
2 T oil
1 small onion
1/2 C mushrooms, sliced
1 + 1/2 C grated cheese
3 C spinach
1/4 c sour cream
8 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil and cook onions until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook 3-4 min. Cover to keep warm. In a separate bowl, stir together quinoa, cheese, eggs, and sour cream. Add spinach to onion-mushroom mix, and cook until wilted. Combine all ingredients in a greased casserole dish, and bake in preheated oven until done, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm. Enjoy!

Mushroom Tofu Egg-drop Soup

Soup Season has been in full swing for months now, and Mushroom Tofu Egg-drop soup is my go-to soup. I have brought this for lunch day after day. My mother and I created the recipe. She started with a basic soup and I suggested changes until we ended on this. It is very much Marielle Food.

Ingredients:
1/4-1/3 cup onion
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
2 cans of chicken broth
1+3/4 cup water (or just refill the can of chicken broth with water)
*optional* garlic
2-3 oz firm tofu (1/6 container), chopped
2 eggs, beaten

Fry onions in olive oil or butter until onions turn translucent. Add mushrooms, cook 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and water (and garlic if you would like). Immediately add tofu and bring soup to a boil. Add beaten eggs, do not stir yet, and let sit for 30 seconds to allow the eggs to set, then stir gently for 30 seconds. Let coast to desired temperature and serve or ladle into mason jars and refrigerate for later (lunch... or a picnic!).

Notes:
If you are making a pot to save and serve later, you can reserve one can of chicken broth to add at the end to cool the soup down.
Pardon my italics... I love stirring... and I usually overdo it.
It's not a very pretty soup, but it tastes good.

Enjoy!

(Gluten Free) Fruitcake Cookies

 

The other night my I tried to make some gluten free cookies. My family tries to eat gluten free. For the most part, this isn't a problem. There are gluten free flours. I think we mostly use Oat Flour. Anyways, these cookies were our own recipe, and they turned out alright. They were a little bread-y, like a mix between a cookie and a biscuit. I think walnuts would be a good addition, to give the cookies a little crunch. They aren't perfect, but they're good in a pinch.

Here's the recipe:
1 + 1/2 cube butter
4 packs sweetener
1 + 1/2 T molasses
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 C cream
3 eggs
1/2 C Bob's Gluten Free Baking Mix
1/2 C Almond flour
1/2 C Oat flour
Fruitcake mix, to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients and drop onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15 min.

The recipe might be improved by replacing the almond flour with quick oats, adding more eggs, or adding walnuts.