Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies*

These are mostly sugar-free because I used chocolate chips instead of a sugar-free alternative like carob chips.  All you need to is substitute carob chips for the chocolate chips and you have yourself some delicious sugar-free cookies.

These cookies are made with Isomalt which is a sugar substitute that is suitable for those who suffer from diabetes. Isomalt also has only half the calories of sugar, however it is suggested that adults should not consume more than 50g per day and 25g for children. I first learned of Isomalt while I was in my Baking and Pastry course at school. I am in no way an expert of working with sugar alternatives but I wanted to give this a try seeing as Bryan’s dad has diabetes and both of my grandfathers (who have now passed away) had diabetes.  We are really trying to cut back out sugar intake this year and when I was sent samples of this I wanted to give it a try. This recipe was developed with Bryan’s dad and our dear friend Warren in mind.

Many may think of Isomalt being used in sugar-free hard candies, but it can also be used as a 1:1 substitute in baked goods. The big high point is – there is NO weird after taste that you get from the other sugar substitutes out there.You can purchase Isomalt online from Amazon.

Here is a little information about Isomalt from the company who sent me the samples: Beneo Group:

ISOMALT’s proven benefits, such as being kind to teeth, low in calories and low glycaemic

ISOMALT – the only sugar replacer made from pure beet sugar that tastes as naturally sweet as conventional sugar.

Toothfriendly, reduced-calorie and low glycemic – with these benefits, ISOMALT suits every consumer profile. ISOMALT’s technological advantages make it easy to produce sugar-free premium products for the growing market of health-conscious consumers.

ISOMALT provides healthy products without compromising on taste. As a result, ISOMALT is the number one sugar replacer around the world, and can be found in more than 1,800 products worldwide.

 

I really wanted to just play around and see how it would work in baked goods. I have to say I was rather impressed with the texture and taste of these cookies.  I’m not a huge sugar person anyway but I really enjoyed that these were not overly sweet, but were crunchy yet soft at the same time.  The first thing that came to mind was the cookies that you buy in the mall…yummmm. I mentioned above that Isomalt is a 1:1 substitution for sugar, but I wasn’t sure how sweet this was going to be so I cut it back a bit and only a little less than 1/2 cup vs 3/4 cup – I really liked them on the less sweet side.

Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies*

1/2 Cup Isomat

1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick softened)

1 Large Egg

1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Almond Flour

1 Cup Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips – to make this recipe 100% sugar-free use Carob Chips*!

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. In a medium bowl add the almond flour, baking and pancake mix, salt, and baking soda. Mix well, and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer cream together the softened butter and Isomalt.
4. Once the butter and Isomalt are creamed together, add the egg and vanilla while the mixer is on low-speed. Mix until well incorporated.
5. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
6. On low-speed, slowly add the dry ingredients.
7. Mix until just incorporated – do not over mix. Add chocolate chips and combine by hand using a rubber spatula.
8. Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silpat sheet, scoop six cookies by using a small ice cream scoop. Gently press the top of the cookies down.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes (depends on your oven)
10. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes: 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

Options:add 1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds) when you add the chocolate chips.

Substitute carob chips for the chocolate chips to make this 100% sugar-free.

Again, I’m not an expert on Isomalt or sugar substitutes. I was sent samples and wanted to experiment with it to hopefully create a sugar-free recipe for Bryan’s dad and our friend Warren with out a nasty after taste. I do however hope to experiment more with sugar-free recipes in the near future, so if you have any suggestions please let me know. Thank you!

 

 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Crockpot Recipe}

As you have probably gathered from reading my blog, we love Asian food. We often say to each other that we could live on Asian, Mexican, and Italian food…but mostly Asian. Bryan said the other day, I could eat Chinese food for breakfast lunch and dinner…I have and it was awesome. I lived in China for a little while in 2003, while I was a Program Liaison between two colleges/universities – one located in Worcester, MA where I was employed and our partner Beijing Geely University located in the Changping District.

My time spent there was right in the middle of the SARS epidemic so traveling outside of Beijing was out of the question. I did however get to spend quite a bit of time doing the “tourist” thing by visiting places such as The Great Wall (twice) (Bādálǐng), The Forbidden City (Zǐjin chéng), Tiananmen Square (Tiān’ānmén), The Summer Palace (Yíhé Yuán), Mausoleum of Mao Zedong (Máo Zhǔxí Jìniàntáng), Ming Dynasty Tombs (Míng shísān líng), Temple of Heaven (Tiāntán), Temple of Confucius, and many more.

While I didn’t get to travel much, I ate some of the most amazing food. Most of my meals in the beginning of my stay were supplied by the on campus dining rooms – all of which were really great. We (my Chinese colleagues and I) would venture out to local restaurants to try some more delicious and local dishes. My breakfast usually consisted of the following: fresh made wonton soup or red bean porridge , scallion pancake (cōng yóu bǐng) (I am working on a gluten-free recipe for these, stay tuned), fresh hot soy milk ( dòunǎi) which has a slightly sweet flavor to it. Lunch was a number of different options (sadly most of which I can’t remember their name): kung pao chicken (gōng bǎo jī dīng), egg flower soup (dàn huā tāng), the most delicious spicy cucumbers, steamed dumplings (xiǎo ​lóng ​bāo) – either veggie or meat filled, and for the occasional dessert some Mantou (mán ​tou) which is steamed bun that is served either steamed or deep-fried with condensed milk. For dinner my favorite dish was Peking Duck (Běi​jīng ​kǎo​yā), Hot Pot (shuàn ​guō ​zi) was another favorite of mine, although they tended to order mutton (yáng ​ròu) I opted for the chicken (jī​ ròu​) and Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans with some ground pork.

So I have lived solely on Chinese food and would do it again in a heart beat. Thankfully Bryan loves the same styles of food that I do. Many of our meals are Asian and Mexican inspired dishes. We venture out but always come back to our love of Asian food.

Below is a recipe that is inspired by the P.F. Chang’s Gluten Free Lettuce Wraps – it is not a copycat recipe like my Beef a la Sichuan is but just inspired by it. We were at P.F. Chang’s last night to celebrate Bryan’s birthday (a little early, but we wanted to go before school started up for the both of us again). Since I was making lettuce wraps tonight we opted for our other favorite appetizer, their Shanghai Cucumbers.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Crockpot Recipe}

3 large chicken breasts* – diced into small pieces

3 large celery stalks – diced into 1/4 inch cubes

8 oz baby bella mushrooms – diced into 1/4 inch cubes

1 8oz can water chestnuts – chopped (divided)

1 8oz can bamboo shoots – chopped

3 cloves garlic – finely chopped

1/2 inch piece ginger – peeled and grated (I use a microplane)

1 tbs brown sugar

1/2 tsp chili garlic paste

1 tbs sesame oil

1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce (I use San-J low sodium if you have it)

2 tbs hoisin sauce (I use the Dynasty brand)

1. Prepare all of the ingredients according to the above directions.
2. In a crockpot (mine is 7qts…you can use a smaller size too) add the Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Brown Sugar, Garlic Paste, Ginger, Garlic, Bamboo Shoots, 1/2 of the Water Chestnuts, Celery, and Mushrooms.
3. Mix together.
4. Add the chopped chicken and mix until evenly coated.
5. Cover the crockpot and turn it on low.
6. Cook for 5 1/2 hours.
7. Stir about half way through to incorporate everything and break up some of the larger pieces of chicken.
8. Add the remaining water chestnuts, mix well, cover, and cook for an additional 1/2 hour.
9. To serve: Peel the leaves off of a head of iceberg lettuce, butter/boston lettuce, or use romaine hearts. Scoop about 1/4 -1/2 cup into each leave, “roll up” and enjoy. You can top these with shredded carrots, bean sprouts, and chopped peanuts. We’ll be serving ours with a side of steamed edamame.

Notes: Many recipes out there call for ground chicken, which is completely acceptable, however I wanted a more hearty version so I choose to use chicken breasts and dice them instead.

You can also add all the water chestnuts at once, they will retain their crunch, but I wanted a bit more crunch so I added half of the can in the beginning and half towards the end.

Vegetarian version – instead of chicken increase the amount of mushrooms and celery, add zucchini, yellow summer squash, baby bok choy, etc.

Non-Onion Free version – replace the celery with 1/2 cup 1/4 inch diced white onion.

Hope you enjoy this crockpot dish – I dished out a little bit to take a photo and then I couldn’t put it back sooo I ate it…its delicious!

(The chopsticks in the photo were sent to me from a dear friend, Shiho whose family runs one of my favorite little sushi places, Ocean Sushi in Monterey and Pacific Grove, CA. If you are in the area stop on by – they have gluten-free soy sauce!! Thanks Shiho, these get quite a bit of use!)

Gluten-Free Mini Corn Dogs

Bryan loves corn dogs and for many years I would even take a bite of one of them.  It was a texture thing to me…I always thought that the corn bread batter would be soggy and mushy and I wanted nothing to do with them.  When Bryan came to visit me in California we picked up a box for him (they weren’t gluten-free), but when he left I still had half a box…they ended up in the trash. I told him at some point I will give them a try.

A few months ago I as fortunate enough to sample some of the Applegate Farms new corn dogs - they were delicious!! To my surprise the coating was crunch and not soggy at all. Ever since Bryan has been asking for me to make some…he would really love them to be full of gluten but he’s a good sport and eats what I make.  Maybe I’ll surprise him and make some regular ones for him anyway.

Yesterday I decided to make some mini corn dogs just to see how they would come out.  I found a recipe in a magazine that seemed pretty simple but it had NO corn in it at all.  How can you call it a corn dog with no corn?? To me it must have corn in it and Bryan loves them with a little bit of crunch to them so I came up with the following recipe.  Please note that this recipe will continue to be worked on…they came out pretty good (to my standards) but Bryan wants more corn flavor to them so I will be posting an updated recipe at some point. 

These would be great for: a quick snack for your kiddos, or an app during super bowl!

Mini Corn Dogs {Gluten-Free} (please see notes for how to make them with regular flour)

1 Package Mini Beef Franks (14oz)

3/4 Cup Pamela’s Pancake/Baking Mix Gluten Free (Or 3/4 cup regular AP flour)

1/2 Cup Gluten Free Corn Meal (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 Egg

1/2 Cup cold water

1. In a medium bowl mix together Pamela’s Baking Mix (or your favorite Gluten Free AP flour, or regular flour), corn meal, egg, and water.
2. Remove the franks from the package and pat dry with a paper towel (the batter will stick better when they are a bit dry).
3. Take a toothpick and insert it into the frank about 1/2 – 3/4 of the way, set aside and continue with the remaining franks.
4. In a medium sauce pan heat about 1 – 1/2 inches of oil to 350° (If you have a candy thermometer be sure to use it…that way your batter wont get too dark too fast, if not just test a few franks until the desired color is reached – golden brown).
5. Dip franks in the batter – it is not a perfect dip, you may need to move the frank around a little bit to get it all covered.  You don’t want it to be too thick because you want it to cook on the inside as well as the outside.
6. Add three-four franks to the pan, turn often to brown all sides evenly.  Cook each frank for 30-45 seconds (it’s really quick!)
7. Remove corn dogs and place on a plate lined with paper towels.  Repeat this process until all the corn dogs have been cooked.
8. Serve with your favorite dip – I love it with spicy mustard!

Again, this recipe will be a work in progress so check back for an update in the near future.

Granola – Cinnamon-Vanilla and Pecan

Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.

This year I hope to make a few changes – not so much “new years resolutions” because I feel like those don’t ever stick and people feel obligated to make one with out the intention of keeping it.  These will be more along the lines of continual adjustments. So I’ve decided on a few things to “work on” this year and they include: getting in better shape (working out, eating healthier, etc.), making more vegetable based dishes, creating a gluten-free flour blend, more recipe development, canning/preserving more with my dad, reducing the amount of refined sugar that we intake, and making more items at home (granola, muffins, bagels, and non food items such as bath salts, etc.)

A few weeks ago I taught my neighbor David how to make refrigerator and bread and butter pickles.  I gave him a jar of each a few months ago, and what I didn’t know was he is a huge pickle fanatic.  I think both jars were gone in less than a week.  So when we see each other he talks about them saying “these are the best I’ve ever had”. Bryan headed to NJ for a few days so I figured I would have David over and we would make a batch of each.  He was so excited. We had a great time. While we are making these I kept thinking…”I need to do more of this”. I know my dad and I have plans to can a whole bunch of things, but I just get such great pleasure out of making something and being able to not only enjoy it myself but share it with others.

As I thought of other things I could make at home I came up with a list of items and one of them was homemade granola.  I’ve made it in the past and even blogged about it. I don’t know why I haven’t made it in such a long time – it is so simple and delicious, but yesterday I decided to make a batch.  A simple batch consisting of gluten-free oats, cinnamon, vanilla, and chopped pecans.  You can add anything you wish to granola as long as you have the basic recipe down. Granola to me is a blank canvas – feel free to adjust this recipe to your specific tastes.  I store my granola in a pint-sized mason jar (you can also store them in any air tight container).

Basic Granola Recipe

1/4 cup honey (you can substitute agave nectar or use 1/2 honey 1/2 agave)

1 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare a sheet pan with either a silpat or lightly spray with cooking spray (make sure it is gluten-free) or you can line the pan with tinfoil (lightly spray with cooking spray)
3. Heat honey (and/or agave) for 10 seconds to help loosen it up.
4. In a medium-sized bowl all honey (and/or agave), and oats.
5. Evenly spread oat mixture in a thin even layer.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Turning pan half way through.
7. Let cool. Crumble into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Additions: If you wish to add any of the following ingredients add them in step 4 – mix well.

Nuts: Pecans, Walnuts, Macadamia, Almonds etc. (chopped, slivered, sliced) (1/2 cup)

Coconut: Fresh, Shredded (unsweetened) (1/2 cup)

Cranberries: Dried (re constitute them in a little bit of water for 10-15 minutes prior to adding them in) (1/2 cup)

Spices: All Spice (1tsp), Cinnamon (1tsp),Vanilla extract (1/2 – 1tsp)

Chia Seeds: (1/8 – 1/4 cup)

Puffed Rice Cereal: make sure this is gluten-free (1/2 cup)

Really – the options are endless.

Bryan eats his granola (I make his without any nuts) just as it is…not milk, yogurt, etc. I on the other hand love it over some vanilla yogurt (like Stonyfield Farms and Chobani).

This is only the start of homemade goodies for this year…stay tuned for more goodies.