Tonight our cookie host is
Andi Marquette.
Here's my lovely (HA HAHAHAHAA!) contribution to your recipe soiree:
Okay. For real. I SUCK at making cookies. I totally do. I will own that right here, right now, and hope it makes me sexy or something. Anyway. This is the recipe for Nestle Tollhouse Cookies, which I modify to accommodate my stupid wheat allergy. Yes, okay? I'm allergic to wheat (though I cheat sometimes). So I use alternative flours like spelt, which though related in a way to wheat, I can still eat. Something about the plant DNA, I guess. I do not have a gluten sensitivity. Rather, it is a sensitivity to wheat, which means I can't have any processed flours. So if you go to a grocery store and you look at ingredients on something and it says "flour" or "white flour" that means wheat because "flour" is derived from...wheat. Even if it's white bread. It's derived from wheat. So I have to read labels pretty religiously to make sure the flour in the product does not come from wheat. I shop at a lot of stores like Whole Foods as a result.
All right. If you go to the store and you buy yourself a package of those Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips, the recipe for these cookies is on the back. What I do is I modify it a bit and make a big ol' pan cookie that I cut into squares. YUM.
The cool thing about white spelt flour (you can get it either white--lighter for more delicate baking--or coarser at your local health food store) is that I found you can sub it cup per cup with regular all-purpose (and thus wheat) flour. So here's my recipe for my butterscotch-chocolate Nestle Tollhouse wheat-free cookie squares. Let's make up a name for 'em. Um...
Andi's Freakin' Wheatless Cookie Bars
2 1/4 cups WHITE SPELT FLOUR (rises better than coarser ground spelt flour)
NOTE: If you're at high altitude (above 5200 feet), INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups.
1 teaspoon baking soda
optional: 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) Country Crock el fake-o butter stuff (seriously--it works fine and I like the taste)
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
NOTE: If you're at high altitude (> 5200 feet), DECREASE white sugar to 2/3 cup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
NOTE: If you're at high altitude (>5200 feet), DECREASE brown sugar to 2/3 cup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract + a little bit extra (a dash, as they say)
2 eggs
1 cup (around 1/2 of a regular 12-oz bag) Nestle tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup (around 1/2 of a regular 12-oz bag) Nestle butterscotch morsels (though I sometimes put more in)
optional: 1 cup chopped nuts [I don't like putting these in my cookie bars, but if you do, here's yer option]
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl and set aside. Then beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. I actually do this by hand and it works okay, especially if you leave the Country Crock out to soften. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in your handy-dandy flour mixture. NOTE: If you're at high altitude (>5200 feet), ADD 2 teaspoons of water as you mix your flour in with the other stuff. Stir in morsels [and nuts, if you want 'em]. Dump onto oiled cookie sheets (standard is, like 15 x 12 inches) or a pizza pan. Whichever you like. I'll use the Country Crock wrappers, actually, to grease my pan (oooo, that sounded kinda KINKY!). Make sure your pan has an all-around raised lip because you're basically making a cookie pie, here, and it's going to rise against the sides of the pan. Get creative. Use whatever the heck kind of pan you want to add depth, if that's your thing. So your cookie bars come out
more like brownies. YUM. Nestle recommends a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan. But be a rebel if you want.
BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Or just leave it out on the counter like I do.
When things have cooled off, slice 'em into whatever size squares makes you happy. Or cut a hunk off whenever you get a hankering for one. Whichever. Keep 'em in a sealed container or covered tightly after they're cooled--they'll stay moister longer.
And that's my recipe. I haven't been able to screw this one up, so it must be pretty easy.
sharin' the love,
--a
Damn...so close to being a vegan cookie recipe. E's fellow Seattle-ites would love that it uses spelt flour. Tiny update tonight, use that extra time to bake some cookies.
Tamara
