Coconut Cookies

My Mom made some (apparently) really good coconut cookies that I was supposed to get the recipe for.  When I went to try making them, I decided to go for a gluten-dairy-free version to see if He-Who-Requested-The-Cookies would notice.  They turned out pretty good, but not as good, of course, as the wheat flour/buttery biscuits. The second time around I tried a few things, and came up with a much better cookie than my first attempt.  It's a flaky, rich biscuit with big coconut flavour, and no dairy, no gluten. I'm interested in trying them with agave nectar instead of sugar... I'll let you know how that goes if I get around to it. These are seriously nice cookies. All the taste testers agree that you'd never know they were allergy friendly. If you don't have xanthan gum (or guar gum)on hand, I'd try without it. I feel like they might hold together just fine without the added gum. 

1 cup coconut oil, unmelted; chipped and packed into measuring cup

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 cup coconut

1 cup oatmeal

Mix coconut oil together with sugars, egg and vanilla until well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix until mixture holds together. It should be a little sticky, but not too sticky, and not too stiff. (*if it feels too sticky, and if a test cookie doesn't hold it's shape/spreads way out, add a little more oatmeal and coconut flour- equal amounts, a Tbsp at a time.) 

Make 1 Tbsp balls of dough, and space them out on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. To be allergy-safe, I use parchment paper. Flatten cookie balls with a fork, and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. Bake at 350*F for 10 minutes. Let rest on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool  completely. Store in a sealed bag or container.

Made 3.5 dozen cookies. 

Chocolate Reece's Pieces Cookies

These are my friend Janet's Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with a few alterations. They've become a family favourite. Most excellent with a cold glass of milk.

1 cup hard margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 - 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Reece's Pieces (or peanut butter chips)

Cream margarine and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour (start with 2 cups), cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. If the dough is too soft to hold a "ball" shape, add a little more flour. (it's not a stiff dough, but shouldn't "plop" onto the baking sheet. You should have soft cookie dough balls.) Stir in Reece's Pieces.

Shape into 2 inch balls (I use my ice cream scoop= about 1/4 cup per cookie) and place on greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Cookies spread when they're baking, so be a little generous with the space on the first pan to see how much room they'll need.

Bake at 350*F for 10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet until slightly cooled, then transfer to cooling rack.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, and then substituted the gluten-free flour blend. It took 2 tries to get it right, and they are not as "fat" as the regular ones, but they have a good flavour, and after I increased the flour blend they only spread a little, and not all over the pan. A pretty good cookie that got the thumbs up from the Junior High Boys.


1/2 cup hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup rice flour*
1/2 cup tapioca starch*/flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon guar gum*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream together margarine and the sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Mix in rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, guar gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add chocolate chips.

Divide dough into 24 balls, and place about 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. NOTE: use margarine to grease pans; or make sure your cooking oil spray has no flour added to it.

Bake at 325*F for about 10 minutes. Let stand/cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

*rice flour is readily available at most grocery stores. Tapioca starch and guar gum were available at Nutter's Bulk Foods for a very reasonable price. A large bag of tapioca starch was about $3, and the guar gum was about $6 for 250 g.

Light Peppernuts

A Christmas family tradition from Grandma Friesen. They are small, round cookies that are especially delightful with coffee. My theory is that cookies like this became a Christmas holiday treat because of all the chilling and freezing involved. In the days before refrigerators and freezers it would have been difficult to make these in the summer. Definitely worth the trouble.

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup hard margarine
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon mace (substitute nutmeg if you can't find mace)
1/4 teaspoon ground star anise (or 1/8 tsp anise extract)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk
4 cups all purpose flour

In medium sized saucepan, bring sugar, corn syrup, margarine, cloves, ginger, mace and star anise to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

To cooled syrup mixture add egg, baking soda and milk. Mix in flour. You will have a very stiff batter/ very soft dough.

Refrigerate/ chill for half an hour, or until dough is firm.

Roll the dough into strips; I use a large plastic spatula to scoop out a "hand full" of dough, then quickly roll it into 1 to 2 inch diameter strips. If the dough feels too sticky, rolling it on a large plastic container lid has been successful, and the odd time I've been in a hurry and have tried rolling dough before it's chilled enough, actually rolling it WITH the spatula ON the plastic lid has worked.

Place dough strips on a waxed paper or plastic wrap lined cookie sheet, and place cookie sheet in the freezer. (If I plan to bake peppernut cookies a few at a time, I will wrap each strip of dough in plastic wrap and when they're frozen, I'll put the frozen strips in a freezer bag)

Freeze strips until hard, then remove, one at a time, and slice the strips into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces. Place 1/2 inch apart on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 350* F. for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown.

Immediately remove cookies from baking sheets to paper towel covered counters. I've found this to be my best bet for cooling cookies, as they're too small to stay on a cooling rack.

When cooled, store in airtight containers or storage bags.

Makes an Extra Large Freezer bag full (38cm X 46cm bag- the ones that come in a box of 10).

Monster Cookies

From Company's Coming Cookies, this originally huge recipe is a peanut butter and oatmeal cookie that contains no flour. For flour allergies and sensitivities, don't use Smarties, as they contain flour. (go figure!) Either double the chocolate chips or use M&Ms, which seem to be alright.


1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup hard margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulate sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon corn syrup
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Smarties or M&Ms

Cream peanut butter, margarine, and sugars together. Beat in eggs, then vanilla and corn syrup.

Mix in remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoons onto greased pan. Bake at 350*F, for 8 - 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Don't over bake or the cookies will be hard.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Oatmeal Honey Cookies

NEARLY like the original "Honey Oatmeal Cookies" recipe in Company's Coming Cookies...

I reduced the margarine, replaced sugar with Splenda, increased the oats, decreased the flour and replaced the white with whole wheat. Oh, and I added a little baking powder. They're quite good. Last time I made them I used part raisins and part chocolate chips, which was nice. If you use "mini" chocolate chips you get the essence of a chocolate chip cookie without quite as much chocolate. Very yummy, even if they are sort of good for you.


1/2 cup (125 ml) hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup (125 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/2 cup (125 ml) creamed honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
2 1/4 cups (550 ml) Roger's Porridge Oats
1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
1 cup (250 ml) raisins

Cream butter, Splenda and honey together well. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Shape into balls, and press lightly with a fork. Bake at 350*F. for about 10 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These started life as Dad's Cookies (from the Mennonite Treasury), but I think, from here on in, they'll be known as "Mom's Cookies". Not sugar free, but sugar reduced. I've cut the recipe in half, as Splenda baking tends to dry out quicker than its sugar laden counterparts, so a smaller batch will be eaten quicker when the cookies are freshest. I promise to do the math on these ones, as I'm also curious about how the nutritional analysis will shape up. So, keep checking back. Until then, go with one at a time, and keep an eye on your sugar levels if you're in doubt.

1/2 cup hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup Roger's Porridge Oats (a combination of large flake oatmeal, oat & wheat bran and flax; follow the link for more info. Scroll down past Large Flake Oats)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 cup raisins

Cream margarine, brown sugar and Splenda together until light. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the coconut, oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in raisins.

Divide into 24 balls, and place on lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork. Bake at 350*F, for 8 - 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Let cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Gingerbread Men

This recipe is a kicked up version of the "Gingerbread Figures" recipe found in the Company's Coming For Christmas: Holiday Magic For Your Table cookbook, by Jean Pare. I love the spices in these cookies, and I was happy to find that a sugar- reduced version was as good as the original recipe. You can decorate with a minimal amount of icing, or try adding raisins and nuts for faces and buttons before baking. I hope you enjoy this rolled cookie recipe that your diabetic kids can help you make! This is one time they can have their cookies and eat them too. Just don't eat too many, and keep an eye on the blood sugar- remember that molasses has as many carbohydrates/ sugars as the same amount of sugar or honey.

1/2 cup (125 ml) hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup (125 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/2 cup (125 ml) fancy molasses
1 large egg yolk
1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (150 ml) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt

Frosting:
1 large egg white
2 cups (500 ml) icing sugar

Cream butter, Splenda, molasses and egg yolk together until light.

Add next 9 ingredients. Mix well. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. Roll out. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350* F for about 5 minutes (for small/3 " cookies) up to 10 minutes for larger cookies, until lightly browned. Cool.

To make frosting: beat egg with with as much icing sugar as needed to make a frosting that holds its shape. Pipe icing outlines around gingerbread shapes. Large baby bottle liners work well for this. Just fill the plastic liner, cut a small hole in one corner and use as an icing bag.

Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

Alright. I'll admit it. These cookies were an accident. I was making a batch of Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies to send to the College Girl, and I forgot to add the egg. I didn't realize it until they were out of the oven and looked a little different... but, surprise, surprise, they very much remind me of shortbread cookies- quite light and sugary, and altogether a nice peanut buttery take on an old Christmas favourite!

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

Cream together margarine, peanut butter and both sugars. (with the Kitchen Aid mixer, I measured in all the dry ingredients, including flour, then used the same measuring cup to measure the peanut butter... it saved washing a couple of measuring cups!) Add flour. Form into round balls. Place balls on greased cookie sheet and lightly flatten with a fork. Bake at 350*F for about 10 minutes.

Made about 18 cookies.

Peanut Butter Nuggets

Start with the old, then add some fibre. This is basically Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies, but I tweaked it a bit. They're good, in spite of having half the sugar, 50% more PBPs (Peanut Butter Proteins) and 100% more fibre. I had to add an extra egg so the cookie balls would stick together. Give 'em a try.

1/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup No Sugar-No Salt added Kraft Peanut Butter
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Splenda artificial sweetener
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Cream together margarine, peanut butter, brown sugar and Splenda. Add eggs, then flour and wheat germ. Lastly stir in chocolate chips. Shape into 24 balls, lightly flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 *F. for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

A bit of a twist on the Peanut Butter Cookies. Try both variations. Yummy.

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream together margarine, peanut butter and sugars. Add egg, then flour.

Variation #1: add 1/2- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Variation #2: replace peanut butter with Nutella or Kraft Chocolate Peanut Butter

Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350* F. for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 2- 3 dozen.

Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies

Simply the best.

1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, (softened but not melted)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream together margarine, peanut butter and sugars. Add egg. Mix in flour. Form into round balls, flatten with a fork, and bake on greased cookie sheets at 350*F. for 8- 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Makes 2-3 dozen.

Hippy Bars

This started life as an Oatmeal-Raisin bar... but I needed something with tons more fiber and protein that would be a good snack for summer treks. I'm very pleased with it. If you're allergic to peanuts, try substituting mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce for the peanut butter. These bars have a lot of fibery substance and a wonderful flavour. I found powdered soy protein at our local Nutter's; look for it at a health food or bulk store. If you can't find any, or want to leave it out, try adding the 1/4 cup all purpose flour that I took out when I added the protein powder.

50 ml (1/4 cup) hard margarine
50 ml (1/4 cup) no salt/ no sugar added peanut butter
125 ml (1/2 cup) corn syrup or honey
250 ml (1 cup) quick (not instant) rolled oats
125 ml (1/2 cup) Red River cereal
500 ml (2 cups) Rogers 9 Grain cereal (scroll down a bit)
125 ml (1/2 cup) Splenda, artificial sweetener
175 ml (3/4 cup) Compliments 5 Fruit Medley (raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, and cherries) or other chopped dried fruit
1 sour apple, cored and diced (with peel)
150 ml (2/3 cup) bulk protein powder
2 eggs
10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In microwaveable bowl, combine margarine, peanut butter and corn syrup. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until melted together.

While the syrup cools a bit, mix together the cereals, Splenda, fruit and protein powder.

Mix egg and vanilla into syrup mixture. Stir well to blend.

Add dry ingredients to syrup. Stir to combine, until cereals are well coated with syrup. Firmly press into the foil lined pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven, and invert pan onto a large wooden cutting board. (Place the board on top of the pan, then use oven mitts to flip the pan over onto the board.) Carefully lift pan off bars, and remove foil. Let cool 5 - 10 minutes, then cut into bars with a long knife. Makes 24 bars. Store in airtight container.

Per Bar:
155 calories, 5.3 g total fat, .55 g saturated fats, 17 mg cholesterol, 33 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 8 g sugars, 3 g fiber, 21 mg calcium.

Cinnamon "Salt" Dough

This is a craft dough recipe that might have come home from school with one of the children. This oven- bake dough makes very cool Christmas tree ornaments, gift tags or "car fresheners" that the kids can roll and shape themselves. Does Grandma have a miniature tree? Make her a set of tiny gingerbread tree ornaments! They'll look great and smell good too. Specialty kitchen stores like "Nutters" often have cookie cutters in many sizes.

1/3 cup cinnamon (75 ml)
1/3 cup all purpose flour (75 ml)
2/3 cup applesauce (150 ml)

Mix cinnamon and flour together. Gradually mix applesauce into cinnamon/ flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Use cinnamon/ flour mixture (equal parts) to knead into dough if it's very sticky or gooey.

Roll dough out on an un-floured board (or waxed paper) 1/4 inch thick.

Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Make a hole with a straw to hang. Decorate with whole cloves or allspice (to make eyes or buttons on gingerbread men), or wait until your shapes are baked, and then decorate with craft supplies and glue.

Bake at 225 * F for 2 hours.

You can give them a quick spray with a sealant, if you like, and they'll have a shiny appearance.

Tie with a ribbon pushed through the hole in the top.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Definitely a family favourite! Easy to halve or double. These freeze well. We've also shaped the dough into one or two large rolls, wrapped it in plastic wrap, then placed it in a freezer bag in the freezer. They can be sliced, and baked frozen as per instructions as needed.

1 cup hard margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour (enough to make a stiff dough that can be rolled into balls)
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream margarine and sugars together. Add eggs, then the rest of the ingredients as listed. Scoop dough into balls with an ice cream scoop or large spoon, and drop onto greased cookie sheets, a few inches apart. (12 on a 9 X 13" sized pan) Bake at 350*F for: 10-12 minutes for larger cookies, 8-10 minutes for smaller ones. Remove to cooling racks to cool.

Yield: 4 dozen large cookies.

Variations:

Mini Rolo Cookies are awesome- substitute Mini Rolos for Chocolate Chips. For best results, bake cookies on cookie sheets lined with greased aluminum foil or parchment paper. When cookies are baked, slide foil off pan and allow cookies to cool completely before removing them from the foil.

Smarties or M&Ms work well in place of chocolate chips.

Easter Bunny Cookies- if you have an abundance of Easter chocolate, coarsely chop it and use it in place of chocolate chips.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

A fun way to spend a rainy afternoon with young children. Put on the aprons, fire up the oven, get out the cookie cutters and icing- and have fun!

1 cup (227 g) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups (450 g) granulated sugar
4 eggs
2-4 Tablespoons (30-60 ml or about 1/4 cup) milk, divided
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
5 cups (575 g) all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
(colored sugar, nuts & candied fruit for decorating as desired)

In large bowl, beat butter & sugar til light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 2 Tbsp of the milk and the vanilla til smooth. In another large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt til light and thoroughly combined. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture. If dough seems dry add another tablespoon or 2 of milk. Gather dough into a ball and divide into 8 parts. Wrap each part in plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. The dough may also be frozen and later thawed in the fridge.

When ready to bake, remove dough from fridge one package at a time. Preheat oven to 350*F. With floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/8 " thickness on a generously floured board. (*I find that if I flour the board, then sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit of flour and roll the dough with a piece of waxed paper between the dough and the rolling pin that I don't need as much flour and the cookies are lighter) Cut dough into desired shapes, transferring to a lightly greased baking sheet. Re-roll and cut scraps. Decorate cookies on baking sheet with colored sugar, nuts, candied fruit or sprinkles before baking, or decorate with icing when baked and cooled. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or til lightly browned. Transfer to baking racks to cool. Store in tightly covered container for 2-3 weeks.

Each ball makes about a dozen cookies, depending on the size and thickness of the cookies.

NOTES:

-It's easy to make half or a quarter recipe, if 8 dozen cookies overwhelms you, however the dough is also very freezable, so you can make up the whole recipe and put the plastic wrapped dough that you don't want to bake into a freezer bag and toss it in the freezer. To enjoy fresh cookies all season, just thaw the frozen dough in the fridge and roll and bake as directed.

-I use this same recipe for Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick's Day- don't be deceived by the name; they're excellent Sugar Cookies, not just for Christmas.

-As each of my children started school, I made it a special project to bring cookies to their Kindergarten class once. I used this recipe then made giant round cookies (I think I used a large margarine lid... I'm sure they weren't the size of an ice-cream pail lid!) Then I iced them and personalized the cookies, one for each child, using a contrasting color of icing to print his/ her name. Sometimes I did them for Halloween'en, and put a pumpkin candy on each one beside the name, maybe once at my child's birthday, but it was always an exciting treat. Children love to see their name on things, and are at an age when many of them are just learning to print their own name. It was while doing Kindergarten cookies that I discovered that "Christopher" may well be the longest name in North America!

Oatmeal Raisin-Chip Cookies

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend together. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* F for 8 - 10 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.