Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar free

The fabulous Louise @mustntgrumble on Twitter is sharing this great recipes for gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
325g blanched ground almonds
 ½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
125mlsaffflower oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
125ml agave nectar
100g dark chocolate chips 73%
Optional - 40g dairy free chocolate beans for decoration

Preparation method
1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry.

4. Form 1cm / ½ in balls and press onto a parchment lined baking tray. (if adding decoration, place chocolate beans on top of cookies)

5. Bake at 180 C / Gas mark 4 for 7-10 minutes.

6. Cool on baking tray for 15 minutes then transfer to wire rack and serve

They are dead easy to make and the only down side is they do need to be eaten on the day of making (!) Not a hardship in this household.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

The lovely Pippa from A Mothers Ramblings has this great recipe to share with us

Gluten Free Banana Bread - Cake suitable as Breakfast

40g/1½oz cherries

75g/3oz sultanas
110g/4oz butter, softened
110g/4oz caster sugar
2 large eggs,
3 large ripe bananas
175g/6oz rice flour
50g/2oz cornflour
2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
½ tsp salt


1) Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4 (180oc) and grease a 2lb loaf tin (or make in muffin cases for muffins!).


2) Cut cherries in to 1/4s and mix with the sultanas.


3) Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs one by one, and beat well, when the butter/sugar mixture is light and soft.


4) Mix in the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt.


5)Mash the bananas and add to the mixture along with the sultanas and cherries, making sure they distribute through the mixture.


6) Put the mixture in the loaf tin (or muffin cases) and cook for between one hour and one and a half hours. (Muffins will take around 30 minutes)


7) Allow to cool, slice and serve!


Although this is a "bread" it has the consistency of a cake, but does taste nice with a bit of butter on

Homemade Pizza

Muddling Along Mummy has a great recipe for homemade pizza, with a little help from toddler girl!

Toddlergirl and I had lots of fun making pizza for lunch at the weekend. The recipe is from Economy Gastronomy which is my new favourite cookbook and this was our attempt to replace our trips out for pizza with something tasty at home.



The dough needs to be made a bit in advance so it can prove for an hour or so but otherwise it's fairly fast and with lots that small cooks can do.


To make the tomato topping
One pack of passata or a can of tinned tomatoes
Garlic, chilli and a tsp of oregano


Fry up the garlic and chilli in a pan until nicely browned, then pop in the passata and bring up to simmer, add in oregano and let infuse for a bit. Any leftover can be used for pasta sauce afterwards.


Alternatively you can just have tomato, add in basil or other herbs or whatever takes your fancy

To make the dough
260g strong white flour
Small packet (7g ish) of dried yeast
1tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
140ml warm water
2tbsp olive oil


Put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix. Make a well in the middle and add a little of the water and mix in. Keep adding the water a little at a time and keep stirring. When it starts to come together add in the olive oil and use your hands to bring it together into a ball. Turn out onto a floured board and knead. Keep going until it rises back up when you stab a finger into it.

Put a splash of olive oil into a clean bowl, put in your dough and roll around so it's covered in oil. Then leave somewhere warm covered with a tea towel for an hour.


And after an hour give it a punch (not obligatory but good fun !)

And then roll it out

I make ours rectangular to get the best use out of the space on the baking tray

Then get your tomato sauce and toppings ready

Spread on the tomato sauce

And then put on the toppings (Toddlergirl seems obsessed with putting it all on one corner but that's probably just her)

 Admire your work and pop in a really hot oven for 12 - 15 minutes

And enjoy

Oreo Orgasmic Cheesecake‏

This amazing recipe comes from Snaffles Mummy

Ingredients

4 packets of Oreo’s

4oz butter (melted)

400g white chocolate

300ml double cream

250g soft cheese (such as Philadelphia)

250g mascarpone

Method

1. Place 2 packets of Oreo’s into a food blender and blend until resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Mix in the melted butter

3. Press the biscuit mixture into a spring form tin

4. Melt the chocolate

5. In a separate bowl mix the cream, cream cheese and mascarpone until combined (do not over mix)

6. Add the melted chocolate to the cheese mixture

7. break up 1 packet of Oreo's and fold into the cheese mixture

8. Spoon the cheese mixture on top of the biscuit base and chill

9. Crumble the remaining packet of Oreo's and scatter over the top of the cake.

Porridge Biscuits

Here is a recipe for Lax Parenting favourite biscuits

8oz Marg (I use Stork)

8oz Caster sugar

2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup

2 Level teaspoons hot water
2 Level teaspoons bicarb of soda

8oz Self raising flour

8oz Porridge oats

Method:

Melt marg, sugar and syrup in a pan over a low heat.

Mix hot water and bicarb in a cup, add to pan and it should go all frothy. Take off heat, add oats and flour and mix well.

Roll mixture into little balls, pop onto a baking sheet or stone, flatten slightly and bake for approx 10 mins at 180 until golden brown.

Cool on a rack, coat in melted chocolate if you wish and eat.

Makes about 16.

Shortbread

125g Butter
55g Caster Sugar
180g Plain Flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 185c - 175 for fan assisted
2. Beat butter and sugar together until pale
3. Stir in flour until you make a dough
4. Roll out 1cm thick, cut out your shapes, I like stars.
5. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with caster sugar.
6. Chill in fridge for 20 mins
7. Bake for 12-15 mins
8. Enjoy

You can also add choc chips or lemon rind for something a bit different