Not Ready Yet!

I haven't been here much, but I'm working on something! You would think that a gingersnap would be easy, but it's proving harder than I at first suspected. Today I'll be pawning my latest attempt off on some unsuspecting homeschoolers (shhh), but I'll have another go at it tonight.
It's not that they taste bad at all; in fact, they're quite good. It's the texture that's giving me the difficulty. The end result is almost carmelized in places, and the aftertaste is decidedly grainy. Oh well! It's fun to try the latest results, even if they're not up to par.
On another note, I have a new bread recipe that I created last week. Hopefully I'll have the time on Saturday to post the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies(GF, DF, Vegan)

Since the truffles didn't turn out as great as I had hoped, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. Fortunately, they worked better then I could have imagined! I have no idea how well they would keep, because they're all gone. I used my version of Bette Hagman's Four Flour Bean mix, and I'm happy to say that it was a good choice! I'll post the recipe the way that I make it, and at the bottom mention some changes that I might make in the future.

Four Flour Bean Mix

2/3 part garfava flour
1/3 part sorghum flour
1 part arrowroot flour (Bette calls for corn starch)
1 part tapioca flour

Cookies

3/4c coconut oil
1 1/4c demerrara sugar
1tsp gf vanilla
1/4c egg sub. (I used 1/2Tbsp of my egg replacer mixed with 1/4c water)
2 1/4c FFB flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
10 ounces chocolate chips (I used the Enjoy Life brand)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar, then add vanilla and egg replacer. Mix well and add the dry ingredients. Add the chocolate chips, and stir to combine.
Drop by teaspoon onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until light brown; 8 minutes should do it, but all ovens are different!
Changes that I plan to try:
1) I could probably loose 1/4c of the oil and still have an amazing cookie.
2) I think I'll try using only 1c of sugar.
3) The chocolate chips that I used are quite small, and I think that I could still get a great taste if I used a smaller portion. Besides, they're great on their own...I could snack on the chips while I wait for the cookies....or I could be sensible and set them back in the cupboard until I'm ready to bake something else.....

Truffles

I had hoped that I would have a wonderful truffle recipe to share today. Ha! Although they are much better than I had hoped, they are no where near worth talking about. The flavour is lost in the dark chocolate. I am happy about the texture; the center is light and fluffy; however, the time and effort did not pay out in this recipe.

Vegan Marshmallows

I found this recipe at fatfree.com. It was posted by Lisa Bennet, who said the marshmallows are not as fluffy as commercial marshmallows but have all of the flavour. I'll have to make some this week, but probably not until Friday.....unless the treats I'm making for Thursday somehow don't work out.....

Marshmallows Makes about 1 3/4 lbs.

Put in the mixing bowl and let stand 1 hour:

3 tablespoons kosher veg gelatin (this is 3 packets of Emes)
1/2 cup water

In about 1/2 hour, begin to prepare a syrup. Place in a heavy pan over low
heat and stir until dissolved:

2 cups sugar (I used unbleached)
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt

When the mixture start to boil, cover it about 3 minutes to allow any crystals which have formed to be washed down from the sides of the pan.Be careful, though, not to let the mixture boil over.
Continue to cook uncovered and unstirred over high heat to the firm-ball stage (244 degrees F). Overcooking makes the marshmallows tough. Remove the mixture from heat and pour slowly over the gelatin, beating constantly with an electric mixer. Continue to beat about 15 minutes after all the syrup has been added. While beating, when the mixture is thick but still smooth, add:

2 tablespoons vanilla extract.

Put the mixture into an 8 x 12 in pan that has been lightly dusted with cornstarch. Dust the top with cornstarch and set aside. When it has dried for 12 hours, remove it from the pan, cut it into square with scissors dusted with cornstach, and store the fully dusted pieces in a closed tin.

One change that I plan to make is that I will be dusting the pan with a mixture of cornstarch and icing sugar. I will also roll the cut edges in this mixture when the marshmallows are ready. I've also read that it's easier to cut the marshmallows with lightly oiled scissors, so I'll probably try this as well as the cornstarch-dusted method. I'll post which is easier!

Gf Peanut Butter Cookies

I first ran across this recipe a few years ago, before I cared about having gluten or milk in my foods. It was on the side of a Kraft peanut butter jar, so you know it wasn't in my house; we generally have the 'only peanuts' kind of pb. (Although I have heard a rumour that Kraft has come out with this product...) These cookies are perfect for children to make on their own. There are only a few ingredients, and no rolling pins or cookie cutters are necessary!

1c peanut butter
1c sugar
1tsp baking powder
1 egg

Preheat oven at 350
Mix well; roll into balls; place on ungreased baking sheet and flatten with a fork, then bake for 10 minutes.