When I was a kid I loved baking chocolate chip cookies with my sister. Whether it be during Christmas or just one lucky Sunday afternoon, I was thrilled! Thrilled because I got to eat these hot chocolate chip cookies as they came out of the oven but thrilled also because I got to spend this time with my older sister who was… my GOD. We had such a blast and the smells that would come out of our kitchen! The butter the vanilla the chocolate ALL baking together, would create an aroma throughout the house that would linger for days. As we got older we continued this tradition. I could be anywhere and anyone baking a chocolate chip cookie would bring a smile to my face.
When I was diagnosed with celiac disease and my sister was diagnosed as well, we didn’t know what to do. We knew that the tradition that we had for so long and that was so loved was going to be gone. So when I started my mission to create nutritious gluten free foods one of the first cookies was chocolate chip. My sister and I danced with glee when I first offered her one of these cookies. And it got the taste test of approval from her 10 year old son who couldn’t tell the difference between my cookie and the original Toll House we use to bake.
Upon reading all of your What Do You Miss emails I realized that so much of what we miss is not only the taste and the experience but it’s also the memories that come with it. Having celiac disease we have to take away so much – gluten, dairy, and whatever else we need to feel healthy. We should not have to give up our memories as well! I wasn’t having any of it. It is my mission to create as many of these What Do You Miss recipes for you as I can because I realize that food is not only about something good to eat but it’s about our memories.
The first What Do You Miss, entry that I chose, Bette Dixon, requested the snicker doodle cookie. What got me about her story was the similarity between two sisters and how important it is to have these bonds of yesterday. So! I got in that kitchen with My Troops and we went on a voyage to figure out how to make a snicker doodle cookie. And after a few attempts and a lot of taste testing I finalized the perfect combination of goodness! Now, I do have to say I’ve never had the good opportunity of having a snicker doodle before celiac disease so I didn’t have much to go on but I did enlist my friends as taste testers who reported mine have a bit of a maple taste. Which is because as you may know I don’t use real sugar. If you want to use real sugar then I’m sure these would probably taste more like a “regular” snicker doodle. But from a non snicker doodle eater before, I tell you I am a new snicker doodle cookie eater! These cookies came out fantastic and I really hope you enjoy them! So Bette, I hope this recipe is as delicious as your Granny’s! I would love if you would take pictures of you and your sister and whoever else you enjoy baking these treats with. Lets start creating new memories while we are able to save the old ones.
Ever Onward,
Jennifer Esposito
“…like you and your sister, Sherrie and I used to bake a lot when we were kids. We lived out in the country without a lot to do, so baking together was one of few things we could do together with our age differences. Our grandmother, “Granny” always had to have a dessert after dinner and with her cup of green tea, so snicker doodles was one of our favorite of hers.”
Snicker Doodles
preheat oven to 375*, refrigerate mixed dough for 1 hour, cook 10-12 minutes
Cookie:
1 cup Jennifer’s Way All Purpose flour or gluten free flour (confirm flour does not have xanthum gum already in it and if it does do not add additional)
1/3 cup maple sugar
1 tbls maple syrup
1/2 tbls lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla fresh bean
1/4 cup Earth Balance, or butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp xanthum gum
pinch of salt
Cookie Topping:
2 tbls maple sugar
2 tbls cinnamon
Combine and set aside for step 7
Cookie Directions:
1. Combine all dry ingredients and set aside.
2. Beat room temperature egg for 1 minute on high.
3. Add butter to egg and whip on high for another minute and half.
4. Add lemon juice followed by maple syrup.
5. Slowly pour in the dry ingredients in to wet until combined.
6. Cover bowl of dough with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.
7. Finally scoop out spoon full of dough, roll into a ball, flatten with a fork, sprinkle the maple sugar and cinnamon mixture on top of cookie, place onto baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes (or longer if prefer a crispier cookie). Enjoy!!!!
Do you use the real maple syrup or the fake stuff?
I have a much different recipe that works out awesome…always a cookie in high demand here…just the Betty Crocker version but converted to use gluten free flour…just ate 6, have to move away from the box, will try your version too…
Ooooou Dan–do not under any circumstances use the fake stuff! It is full of chemicals, HFC…very bad for you!
Hi Jen, have you tried the Stevia Powder yet as a sugar substitute instead of maple sugar? It’s gluten free, 20 times sweeter than sugar, its also an antioxidant so it helps the immune system and contains over 100 phytonutrients. Any health food store carries it….
Bill
Stevia powder, if that is the ingredient I am thinking of, that stuff works like dynamite on the derriere. Yes, it tastes great and it is sweet, but I definitely regret binge eating on a batch of cookies made with stevia powder one day.
Stevia powder is even listed on many websites that sell natural supplements as a laxative. The only thing sweet about stevia powder is the jokes you can play on your friends once they eat anything made with that stuff. It is even more entertaining if they have to sit through grid lock, rush hour traffic.
I would stick to the maple syrup. If you want the very best maple syrup in the world it is made in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is 100% authentic and is harvested from Canadian Maple trees. It is very expensive compared to what is available at many grocery stores (corn syrup with artificial maple flavouring). However, the taste and quality is well worth it–especially for Jennifer’s pancake recipes.
The mayo clinic states: “unlike a laxative, pure Stevia doesn’t encourage bowel movements to relieve constipation…pure Stevia contains, Stevia, Rebaudiosides or Steviosides.” At eHow.com they state: “certain manufacturers include fiber or sugar alcohols (like erythritol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol) in their Stevia products. Consumed in excess, these ingredients may produce symptoms which mimic laxative abuse.” This goes for anything with natural sugars in them: molasses, syrups, fruit juices like apple, prune, cranberry, honey, figs, olives, sardines, coconuts…maple syrup is actually used as a laxative so binging on products that contain it would lead to the same abuse symptoms. Drinking too much water causes hyponatremia which can lead to seizures, coma and death, but nobody suggests that we stop consuming it, so I guess the lesson here is that overdoing anything is going to create undesirable results.
Is there a recipe available for Jennifer’s all purpose flour? I’m looking forward to adding that to my pantry;-).
Hi Jennifer….
Thank you for sharing your recipes and I am presently in the midst of starting your 2 week challenge…just wanted to pass along a few things that I recently found…
http://www.elanaspantry.com
http://www.kellykeough.com (from the show on veria – the sweet truth)
Have a great day and thank you again
All the best….
The mayo clinic states that stevia powder is not a laxative: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5863676_stevia-laxative_.html
Another good article on the great benefits of stevia is here:http://www.healthynewage.com/herbal-newsletter-sweeteners.htm
Some manufactorers mix in suger alcohols or sweetners into their products, that do have laxative effects, but these are not pure stevia products. If you binge on anything that contains these kinds of sugars/sweetners, you’ll get the negative effects you describe.
Love this! I jumped on this website about an hour ago, and I’m hooked. The recipes, the stories … just wonderful! Thank you
I am going to try to make these but in the meantime, trader Joe’s has excellent snicker doodles that are free from 8 allergens including gluten. I’m also allergic to pecans and walnuts.