Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Merry Christmas everyone! What Christmas would not be complete without the smell of fresh bake goods in the air? We got up this morning and Santa's beautifully gift wrapped treasures were quickly turned to mounds of pretty paper shreddings in an instant. Now while my little guy is playing with his new toys, I'm in the kitchen baking up a batch of chocolaty heaven. Um, I can just smell those tasty treats ready to be had! So I am going to share with you this fabulous recipe!

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread
1 1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sucanat
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 tsp EnerG Egg Replacer
3 tbsp Water
2 1/4 cup Brown Rice Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
12 oz pkg Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 ° F. Line 11 X 15 cooking sheet with waxed paper.

In medium bowl cream buttery spread and sugars. Gradually add in vanilla, egg replacer and water. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend in with butter mixture and then stir in chocolate chips.

Drop well-rounded walnut size dough balls onto cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart. Bake in oven for 6-8 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before removing with spatula to baking rack. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Place in airtight container and store for later "yummy" attack! Enjoy. Recipe yields approximately 3 dozen cookies!

Special Note: I used brown rice flour because I like that little "snap" on my cookies where the bottom is slightly crispy and the tops are soft and gooey. You can substitute with any variety of gluten-free baking flour for a more traditional type chocolate chip cookie. Gluten Free Essentials has a large assortment of gluten-free products you might want to check out. They even have the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix for those of you that don't like the fuss. I like to play in the kitchen and create...but this is definitely a time saver option!

Merry Christmas to all!

Vegan vs Traditional Pumpkin Pie

For anyone looking for a spin on a classic pumpkin pie recipe recreated Vegan style, this is definitely the one to try!

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe

This is the version of pumpkin pie my family has come to know, love and expect from me every Thanksgiving. It is without fail, a very simple and traditional recipe that has been around as long as I can remember. So to try to fix what is not broken is definitely a huge risk. My solution - make both versions and put it to the ultimate test.

• 3/4 Cup of Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 (15 oz.) can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 (12 oz.) can Carnation Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9" Deep Dish Pie Shell

Mix Sugar, Salt, Cinnamon, Ginger and Cloves in medium mixing bowl. Beat in eggs. Stir pumpkin into mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour into pie shell.
Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 40-50 minutes or until inserted knife in center comes out clean. Cool on wire baking rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie 

This version was borrowed from Bryanna Clark Grogan with a few modifications. I found it listed on FatFree Vegan Recipes and used it to create my vegan version.

• 3/4 cup Sucanat
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 3 tsp EnerG Egg Replacer
• 1/4 cup Corn Starch
• 1 tbsp Molasses
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 (15 oz.) can Pumpkin Puree
• 1 1/2 cups Almond Milk

I cooked this recipe following the same directions as the Libby's Pumpkin Pie recipe.

I poured each into my store-brought ready-made deep dish pie shells. I know, there have been times when I made my own crust, but for time sake and expense pre-made seems to work just fine.

Libby's on the Left and Vegan on the Right

Always be certain to put your pies on a cookie sheet or shallow baking dish. This will help avoid spillage onto your oven. I like a clean oven and even though my oven is self-cleaning, it is still easier to clean the cookie sheet than the oven.

Don't forget to foil your crust

Another tip I've learned through years of baking is don't for to put foil around your crust. If you loosely wrap the crust edges they will bake up flaky golden brown without burning. The thing with pumpkin pie is it cooks for quite sometime to set up. Even though you start with an unbaked shell, if you don't wrap it - it will get ugly dark brown.

Always cool to room temperature before refrigeration

If you want to avoid your pie from cracking down the middle, always allow it to cool to room temperature on wire racks before you refrigerate. I like to make my pies the night before. There is always so many other things going on in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day. So dessert is always made the day before. Just works out fabulous for me anyway.

The Finished Product! YUMMY!!!

In the end, they were both "DELICIOUS"! I actually liked the Vegan version better! The texture was "PIE PERFECT" and the taste was wonderful! I will definitely be keeping this recipe. I couldn't find any "Soya Whipped Cream", so it does have regular dairy whipped topping in the picture above. But I will be attempting my own Vegan whipped topping in the future.

If you are looking for a great alternative to the Traditional Pumpkin Pie and don't want to skimp on flavor, this recipe is worth trying. I wasn't particularly thrilled at the idea of using any "tofu" version. This definitely was easy and tasty...and best part...NO TOFU! Enjoy!

Wishing you a very safe and blessed Thanksgiving!