The Little Lost Cookie Recipe

     Truth be told, the reason I blog my recipes is because I'm the type of person who could lose my head if it weren't firmly attached to my body.  Case in point is the Chocolate Cherry Chunk recipe I submitted to the FAANtastic Divvies Cookie Contest a few weeks ago.
      I tinkered with that recipe so many times I could barely think clearly, adding a bit more flour, a little less cocoa, too flat, too puffy.  I was down to testing quarter batches (you know you've reached the edge of sanity when you know that 1/4 of 2/3 cup is 2T plus 2t.).  Failed cookie dough was starting to pile up in the freezer, and I think my husband was ready to stage an intervention.
       Finally, I had to call it and just the submit the best I had...and forgot to save a copy for myself.  Poof.  This wouldn't have been a big deal, except that the recipe made the Top 5. Now the problem is that I know exactly where the recipe is, I'm just too embarrassed to ask for a copy back.   So until I get my courage up, here is the best I can piece together from my notes.  I can't remember how much chocolate or cherries I used,  so I'll let you use your judgment.  Congratulations to Libby at The Allergic Kid  and Kelly at Generation Allergy on making the top 5 also, it's a small blogging world after all!

Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookies ( I hope)

2 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa ( I used Nestle, see my post on safe cocoa)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

1/2 cup shortening ( I used Spectrum Palm Oil shortening, pretty expensive but nice to work with)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 T. corn syrup
2T vanilla
1/2 cup cherry juice (I used Juicy Juice)

1 cup chocolate chunks, ( I chopped up a Divvies bar, an Enjoy Life bar, or safe chocolate chips would work too)
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped

1.) Preheat the oven to 350.
2.) Whisk the flour, cocoa, soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
3.) In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the shortening with the brown sugar and white sugars. Add the corn syrup, vanilla and cherry juice.  Beat well.  Things will curdle apart slightly, don't worry.  Just mix the best you can.
4.)  Dump the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and mix carefully with the hand mixer until everything is just combined.
5.) Add the chocolate and cherries and give the dough another quick mix to blend the goodies in.

6.) Drop tablespoon sized dough balls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops are set.
7.) Cool on a cookie rack, Enjoy!!

 My notes!

Read more...

For the Sake of Science and American Girl Place

     7 years old and already an old hat on the medical research circuit...that's life for an allergic kid with a pediatrician mom.   We just finished our second research experience this weekend at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.  The first experience was a year ago for U of M, doing a fun 24 hour urine collection and a blood draw trying to see if there are other chemical markers for anaphylaxis (the answer is no, so we're all stuck with the problematic RAST for now).  This time the study involved the whole family with the research goals to look at potential causes and genetic risks for food allergy.

      The long and short of it was basic vital signs, a blood draw and skin testing for us all (our non-allergic kid was not pleased!)  and then also spirometry and body fat measurements for those over age 6....plus a lot of questions.  A lot of questions.  Pregnancy and nursing histories on the kids all seem to run together, the matrix of who can and did eat what and when really gets complicated.   Hopefully my memory serves science well. 

      But the fun part was a budget-neutral trip to Chicago with the kids and free RAST testing to be sent on to our allergist.   The gas money was covered and we got a boatload of Target gift cards for our participation.  We 'transfered' the gift cards into cash at American Girl Place for the girls and had a great end to our day serving humanity.  The study is still recruiting families, if you're in the area and have to get RAST testing done this year anyway it's worth doing. Hopefully our next research experience will be as participants in a cure study...

HOLY COW!!!

Read more...

Multigrain Madness

Last time I checked, nuts were not a grain.  But for some reason, all the multi-grain breads out there have nuts of one sort or another thrown into the mix.  So the options are a.) getting used to boring white bread or b.) embracing that grain aisle with both arms and making the best nut-free multi-grain bread out there.   This recipe is not for the faint of heart.  The ingredients are many.  The check-out guy will make a comment on your cart full of fiber.  Your husband will gasp at the bags in the freezer taking up prime ice cream space.  But one slice of this whole-grain wonderful goodness and you'll know it was worth the effort. Birkenstocks and baby slings are optional.

Mighty Multigrain Bread

1/4 cup steel-cut oats (like McCanns)
1/4 cup cracked wheat
1/4 cup millet
1 cup boiling water

5 cups bread flour
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat bran or wheat germ
1/4 cup sunflower seeds ( I buy Sunbutter brand from peanutfreeplanet.com )
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T. instant yeast
2 T. flax seeds
2 T. oil
2 t. salt

 1 1/2 cups water

1.) Place the steel cut oats, wheat and millet in a bowl (I use a 2 cup Pyrex) and pour boiling water on top.  Allow to sit and soak until water is room temp.
2.) Meanwhile, measure the rest of the ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer.
3.)  Add the soaked and cooled grains to the big bowl and start kneading.  Add more flour if the dough seems particularly sticky. I usually need to add a few spoonfuls of flour at least, depending on how much water is absorbed by the grains. It is easier to add more flour to wet dough than to add water to a stiff dough, so that's why this recipe has so much water initially.  The dough will be soft but not a sticky mess. Knead for about 5 minutes.
4.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap allow to raise at room temp for 1 1/2 hours.
5.) Divide the dough in 2, shape into loaves and place into bread loaf pans.
6.) Cover with a towel and allow to raise for another hour, until the edges of the dough have reached the edge of the pan.
7.) Heat oven to 365 and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the loaf reaches 190-200 degrees.  Cover loosely with foil if the tops seem to be browning too quickly.
8.) Remove bread from loaves and allow to cool on a rack before slicing!  Enjoy!

Read more...