Name: Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Yield: Number of bones depends on the size you cut them out.
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter; 1/2 cup oatmeal (any kind); 1 cup hot water (NOT BOILING WATER)

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

February 20, 2019 by sugarcoatednanagrams 4 Comments

We don’t have a dog of our own but our children do and we sometimes puppy sit. One weekend we were keeping Tim’s dog Dixie

but we had no treats for her. Apparently getting puppy treats at home is a rare occasion but Dixie knows that Jim is a soft touch and would give her a treat after she went out for her walk. Dixie would stand by the counter where the treats were normally kept but there was nothing there. After her pathetic performance I decided I would try making her some.

I have seen dog treats recipes all over Pinterest but had never made any. I went searching for a recipe. The only criteria was that I needed to have all of the ingredients on hand. I didn’t want to have to go to the store. There wasn’t one recipe that met that criteria. After reading several recipes I came up with my own version. They are really simple to make and were a huge hit not only with Dixie but with Melissa’s dogs Teddy and Chase as well.

I keep them in the freezer but you can keep them in an airtight container.

I happen to have some dog bone cutters but you can cut them into any shape you want. The number of biscuits you get will depend on how big you cut them.

I hope you will try them and let me know if your puppy likes them.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Category: Dog Treats, Uncategorized

Servings: Number of bones depends on the size you cut them out.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup oatmeal (any kind)
1 cup hot water (NOT BOILING WATER)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, oatmeal and the baking powder. Add hot water, and peanut butter. Mix until it just comes together. If the mixture is too dry add a little more water.
Turn the dough out onto a pastry cloth or the counter which you have floured generously.
Pat or roll the dough out to about 1/2" thickness.
I happened to have a dog bone cookie cutter but you can use any shape or cut it into sticks with a knife. I guarantee that your puppy won't care what the shape is. Place cut out dog bones on cookie sheet . They don't get much bigger than when cut out so you don't need to leave a lot of room between the cookies, about an inch will be fine.
Once all the dough is cut up bake the bones for twenty minutes at 375 degrees. The bones should be light brown when done. Allow the bones to cool before giving one to your puppy!
Store in an airtight container or in the freezer.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2019/02/20/peanut-butter-dog-treats/

Browned Butter Pecan Cookies

November 19, 2017 by sugarcoatednanagrams 2 Comments

Last year my grandson introduced me to browned butter chocolate chip cookies. They were fabulous and I have wanted to try using browned butter in another cookie recipe ever since. I thought that the flavor of the browned butter would be a good compliment to toasted pecans. I was right! The cookies are to die for!! I forgot to take a picture of them before I iced them but you can see that they bake up just as perfect as my regular sugar cookie recipe. All of the different sugar cookies that I have experimented with have all started with my mother in laws sugar cookie recipe. I think she would love the fact that so many people have been enjoying her recipe as much as the family does.

I have included a link to directions for how to brown the butter if you are not familiar with the technique. It’s very simple and your kitchen will smell heavenly while doing it.

I hope you give the recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we do.

Please let me know what you think!!

Browned Butter Pecan Cookies

Category: Uncategorized

Browned Butter Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

1 Cup (8 ounces) browned butter, slightly softened* (It will take approximately twice as much butter to make 1 Cup of browned butter)
1 1/2 Cups (315 grams) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/4 Cups (522 grams) flour **
1 cup toasted pecans finely ground.

Instructions

Brown the butter, cool it until it comes together and is no longer liquid. Browning the butter is optional. It adds a layer of flavor that is unlike anything else but the cookies are very good using regular butter.
Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don’t need to “cream” your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extracts. Mix well. Add flour and pecans. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator.
Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.
**This dough is stickier than some recipes. I roll my cookies out on a pastry cloth with flour so this recipe allows for some added flour from the rolling process. If you do not use flour to roll your cookies you may add an additional 1/4 cup of flour to the recipe.
* http://www.inspiredtaste.net/13029/what-is-brown-butter/

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2017/11/19/browned-butter-pecan-cookies/

Cookies & Cream Sugar Cookies

August 28, 2017 by sugarcoatednanagrams 2 Comments

This is another adaptation of my standard cookie recipe, which I love for many reasons. Not the least of which, because it is a wonderful reminder of the many years we baked this recipe for our Christmas cookies. It bakes beautifully and it is easy to adapt to your particular needs (even gluten free).

I have made cookies & cream macarons in the past, but hadn’t made a cookies and cream type of cookie that I could ice and decorate until now. Although I made them a few weeks ago, I wanted to get my “official taste testers” (otherwise known as my fabulous grandchildren) to review them before I put them on the blog.

The brown iced cookies have chocolate royal icing on them, and the blue ones have regular royal icing. Some testers preferred the chocolate iced cookies and some preferred the plain ones. To make chocolate royal icing I added 1/2 cup of good quality cocoa powder to my regular royal icing recipe. Either way, I don’t think you will be disappointed with this recipe.

Like my regular sugar cookie recipe, this cookie does not spread and bakes true to the shape you cut out.

Please let me know how you like it!

Cookies & Cream Sugar Cookies

Category: Uncategorized

Servings: Approximately 3 dozen cookies depending on size.

Cookies & Cream Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 Cup butter, slightly softened*
1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
10 Oreo cookies finely crushed (with the filling)
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 Cups flour

Instructions

Finely grind Oreos. I used my Cuisinart.
Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don’t need to “cream” your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extract. Mix well. Add flour and ground cookies, mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer.
Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.
*Make sure you don’t over soften your butter. You should be able to make an dent with your finger when pressed but not so soft that your finger will go right into the butter.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2017/08/28/cookies-cream-sugar-cookies/

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

August 15, 2017 by sugarcoatednanagrams 12 Comments

I have been trying quite a few gluten free recipes lately with mixed success, until today. My granddaughter’s college roommate has Celiac Disease and I wanted to be able to send her sugar cookies when I send them to my granddaughter. I have made a couple of different gluten free cookies to send her, like oatmeal cookies and meringues, but never a decorated sugar cookie.

I tried several brands of gluten free flour but none of the resultant cookies tasted like a cookie I would want to eat.

I found a recipe for a blend of flours to use as a substitute, and tried that as well, but that wasn’t very tasty either. One day, I read a review of Namaste brand gluten free flour. All of the reviewers said it was the best they ever tried, so I decided to give it a try.

Namaste flour acted just like all purpose flour in this recipe. My husband couldn’t tell the difference between the gluten free sugar cookie and the regular sugar cookie.

When I make them for Mel, I am as careful as I can be to avoid cross contamination. The last thing I want to do is make her sick.

If you want these to be dairy free as well, substitute Earth Balance for the butter in the recipe. It’s a fabulous substitute. I use it in my Vegan Cookies with great results.

I hope you will try this recipe and please let me know if you like it!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Category: Uncategorized

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 Cup butter or Earth Balance for dairy free cookies, slightly softened*
1 1/2 Cups (315 grams) granulated sugar
3 large eggs (152 - 158 grams)
1 tsp lemon extract**
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/4 Cups (522 grams) Namaste Gluten Free flour ***

Instructions

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don’t need to “cream” your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extracts. Mix well. Add flour, mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer if well wrapped.
Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.
*Make sure you don’t over soften your butter. You should be able to make a dent with your finger when pressed but not so soft that your finger will go right into the butter.
**You may substitute any other flavoring you prefer for the lemon but don’t eliminate the vanilla. Be aware of nut allergies if you choose to use almond extract.
***This dough is stickier than some recipes. I roll my cookies out on a pastry cloth with flour so this recipe allows for some added flour from the rolling process. If you do not use flour to roll your cookies you may add an additional 1/4 cup of flour to the recipe.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2017/08/15/gluten-free-sugar-cookies/

http://amzn.to/2uxh7Qb

Paint Your Own Cookie (PYO) Tutorial

November 8, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 66 Comments

I have been asked many times in the last few weeks about how to make PYO cookies. When I wanted to make the first PYO cookies I did, I went searching for some online tutorials. I didn’t have any luck, so it was just trial and error on my part. Now that I am trying to write a tutorial for these cookies I can understand why there isn’t one. When writing everything out it seems like it’s going to be a daunting task, as there is no quick and easy way to tell you everything. But, be patient and bear with me. Once you read everything you will see how easy they are to make and will hopefully get the courage to try your own. I promise you that you will wonder what took you so long! Because I didn’t plan to make this post I don’t have good step by step photos.

You will need a few supplies to get you started. One of the most popular PYO cutters available is from Creative Cookier. It comes in two sizes. I bought the larger one, but I sometimes wish I had bought the smaller one.

You may use any cutter you like as long as it is big enough to hold your image. A search on Pinterest will bring up hundreds of ideas. The reason I like the one shown is because it has a ready place to put your paint dots and a place to lay the paint brush.

You will also need a stencil. I bought my first PYO stencils on Etsy, which has many options to choose from. I am now learning how to cut stencils with my Silhouette machine. The ones pictured below are the first ones that I cut myself. There is a Facebook page for a Silhouette Cookie group, and the very talented Kealalani Baumann made these files available to the members of the group.

That’s all you “need” for this project, but there are a couple of items that make the process so much easier so I have to mention them.

The Stencil Genie is an amazing tool for stenciling cookies. I did a blog post on my thoughts about this wonderful tool. You may read it here. There are some basic stenciling tips in the blog post that you might find helpful.

The last tool that isn’t a necessity, but one that I find really helpful are these scrapers. I used to use an offset spatula. The spatula works but not as easily as the scrapers. They are also from Creative Cookier

I have not received anything from Creative Cookier to recommend these products, I just really like them and think you might find them helpful, as well.

Directions:

First you will need to cut, bake and flood your cookies with royal icing. Let them dry for 24 hours.

There are several ways to get your paint dots on the cookie. Some people paint a circle of the color they want directly on the cookie. I prefer to use royal icing transfers. I made a sheet full of circles awhile ago, and I store them in a covered container and then paint them when I need them. I do all of my transfers on acetate or transparency film (the kind used for overhead projectors). They seem to dry faster and pop off easier than on parchment paper or waxed paper but you can use that as well. If you choose to use acetate, lightly grease it with something like Crisco. I wipe it all over and then take a paper towel and wipe most of it off. I almost always use an image of what I am making under my acetate. I use small magnets to secure them to the back of a small cookie sheet so that I can easily move the transfers to a safe place to dry when I’m done. This is one of the free images available through Google that you can print to use as a pattern. This is a one inch circle but you can Google whatever size you want. Measure the space on your cookie that you will be putting the dots on to make sure you have enough room to put all the colors you want on each cookie. Print it out and put it under the paper you are going to pipe your transfer on. Stay inside the circle with your icing because it will spread a little. When getting ready to paint the dots it will be easier to paint them if you stick them to your paper with a dot of icing, otherwise they will slide around as you are trying to paint them. DO NOT add the dots to your cookie until after you have stenciled them, because your stencil will not lie flat on the cookie.

When I first started making PYO cookies I used gel color mixed with a little vodka for the “paint.” They took at least 5 days to dry. I did a little research and found that a lot of cookiers use airbrush colors instead of the gel colors because they dry so much faster. They were right. You don’t need to add any vodka to it. You will just paint the color straight on the transfer and let dry. One coat will usually be enough. They still take longer to dry than you think they will, so plan accordingly. Mine took a full day to dry.

Next, you will need to choose what your stencil medium will be. Most people use thick royal icing and I always did, too (the cookies at the top of this post were done with royal icing). My main complaint with that process was that when the outline got wet, the color ran a little. The kids didn’t care, but I didn’t like the way they looked. I experimented with using chocolate candy melts on my Halloween PYO cookies a couple of weeks ago, and it worked like a charm! I melted some candy melts and used that in place of royal icing for the stencil. My theory was that once the chocolate was dry, a little water wouldn’t melt it and the edges would stay nice and tidy. I was right, it worked wonderfully! It will be my stencil medium of choice from now on. The cookie below was done with black candy melts. I used a snow globe cutter because I wanted a smaller cookie this time.

When you are ready to stencil your image on the cookie, secure the stencil in place and scrape the icing or candy melts down the stencil in one smooth stroke. This video by the always fabulous Julia Usher is what I used to learn how to stencil. Truthfully, I learned most of what I know about decorating cookies from watching her videos.

If using candy melts, melt them by placing them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for as long as it takes for them to be almost melted. That will depend on how many candy melts you are melting. I did a small custard cup with 1/3 cup of candy melts and it took about 40 seconds. Stir until fully melted. Let it cool and thicken and then proceed as you would with royal icing. Place a dollop of the chocolate at the top of the stencil and run your scraper or offset spatula down the cookie in one smooth stroke. Remove the stencil and set the cookie aside to dry. Another advantage of using candy melts is that the cookie dries in just a few minutes. I can usually do about 4-6 cookies before I need to wash the stencil. You will wash your stencil with warm, soapy water to remove the chocolate then pat dry with a paper towel. If you are doing a lot of cookies you might want to keep your bowl of melted chocolate in a larger bowl of warm water to keep the chocolate of spreading consistency. I only did 6 cookies, so I didn’t need to use a water bath. I could probably have done a dozen or more cookies with the chocolate that I melted. It takes much less than one would think.

You will also need paint brushes to give with each cookie. I found the best price at Walmart. I paid about $1.00 for 20 paint brushes. If you want a shorter handled paint brush you can break or cut off as much as you like. Then take a lighter and melt the end. It only takes a few seconds and it makes a nice rounded end on the brush. I bag the cookies and tie a ribbon around the top securing the paint brush in the ribbon. It makes a nice presentation.

I buy cellophane bags from Gifts International. I buy bags that can be tied at the top for PYO cookies. I like the self sealing bags for other cookies. Their prices are really good, but the shipping is a little high. I try to order about a 6 month supply of bags at once to minimize the shipping costs. I bag every cookie that I give away so I go through quite a few bags in a year.

I print some instructions to tape to the back of each bag. Feel free to copy and print it for your cookies.

Paint Your Own Cookie

Dip the brush in water
Wet the color you want to use
Color the picture
Rinse brush in clean water before using on a different color.
Eat your creation!!

I hope these instructions are clear enough and will give you the boost you need to make your own PYO cookies. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer them. You may also find me on Facebook.

Have fun and good luck!

Pretzel Bread

November 1, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 6 Comments

Jim and I spent the weekend with Nate, and by now you all know that he and I love to cook together. I was trying to think of something different and fun for us to make, and I decided it would be fun to make bread. But which kind? I narrowed it down to Challah Bread and Pretzel Bread. We decided that pretzel bread would go with the homemade vegetable beef soup that we were having for dinner that night. Boy were we right. This bread is fabulous! Our biggest challenge was making sure we had enough left over to serve with our soup when his parents got home. For this project I was Nate’s assistant. He’s becoming a wonderful cook!!

The bread was a huge hit with everyone. Even Jim asked me to make some when we got home, and he is not a homemade bread lover. I know, right? Who doesn’t love homemade bread? Well, Jim doesn’t. Go figure!

I hope you will try this recipe and let me know what you think.

Here’s Nate measuring the flour.

When adding the baking soda to the boiling water you have to be careful and do it slowly because it bubbles quite violently.

Brushing melted butter on the loaves is just what this bread needs to have a nice soft, chewy crust. We only made one cut in the top of the loaves and probably should have done two. It helps release the steam and bake better. It didn’t affect the taste, but they would have been prettier with double cuts. We thought it was pretty funny that one of the loaves looks almost like a face.

Pretzel Bread

Category: Uncategorized

Pretzel Bread

Ingredients

2 ¼ tsp yeast
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
2 TBS water or milk (I used water)
3 TBS brown sugar
4 TBS butter, melted
1 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 quarts water
½ cup baking soda
2 TBS butter, melted
1-2 TBS coarse sea salt

Instructions

Combine yeast, water, and brown sugar in a bowl. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes (until foamy)
Melt butter, add 2Tbls. water or milk to the butter and set aside.
Put yeast mixture in the bowl of your mixer with the dough hook attached. Add salt and butter mixture. Add 2 cups of flour. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Add remaining cup of flour. Mix until incorporated and then increase speed to 4 on a Kitchenaid and let mix until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and is slightly sticky to the touch. If any dough comes off on your finger, add a tablespoon or two of flour and mix some more.
When done put the dough into a well greased bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Let sit in a warmish place (out of draft) until double in size. It took mine about 90 minutes to double in size.
When dough is almost double bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling slowly add 1/2 cup of baking soda.
When the dough is double in size, turn out onto a slightly floured board. At this point you can divide into 2 loaves or 6-8 rolls. You will want to use scissors or a bench scraper to divide your dough. Do not use a knife, if possible. This is a great little video that will show you how to form the rolls. The second method she shows is how you shape the round loaves. Shaping rolls video
When the bread is all formed, drop one loaf at a time into the boiling water. If you are doing rolls you may do 3-4 rolls at a time. Boil for 60 seconds, turn over and boil for an additional 60 seconds.
Remove from the water bath and place directly on a well greased baking sheet. Sprinkle coarse salt over the tops and cut a slit or two in the top with a very sharp knife or a razor blade.
Bake the bread at 400 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Bake the rolls for 13-17 minutes. When they are done baking brush with melted butter.
The bread is easiest to cut when it's cool but I doubt you will be able to wait that long to try it.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2016/11/01/pretzel-bread/

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

October 12, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 7 Comments

What better flavors to welcome Fall than the spices associated with pumpkin pie? I have wanted to try a pumpkin spice cookie for several years, and in my mind I thought that all I would have to do is replace some of the granulated sugar in my cookie recipe with some brown sugar and add some pumpkin pie spice. So easy! I thought they tasted pretty fantastic, but they still needed to pass the grandkid test. If they liked them, then I knew I had a winner. After the cookies were made, I sent a few cookies to four of my grandkids and a larger box of cookies to my granddaughter away at college, so she could share with her teammates. I loved the cookie with a cup of coffee, but I wanted to see if they had wide appeal. Most kids love cookies, and college students really love getting goody boxes, but I was counting on them to give me their honest opinion. I assured them that their comments would have no bearing on future cookie packages. When the reviews came in everyone loved them.

In addition to making the cookies with pumpkin pie spices, I added a few drops of caramel flavoring to my royal icing recipe. It was the perfect complement to the cookies. I was able to get the flavoring at my local farmer’s market, but I included the link to Amazon’s product page so you could see exactly what I’m talking about. Lorann Oils makes many different types of oils, emulsions and flavorings. I have read that you shouldn’t use any oil in royal icing but I have no experience to back that up. To be safe I used the flavoring.

The recipe I used to make my cookies is below, but if you have a recipe that you love and feel like experimenting try substituting half of the granulated sugar with brown sugar and add 2 1/2 teaspoons of either pumpkin pie spice or with a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and a tiny bit of ground cloves.

These cookies are wonderful on a chilly day with a cup of whatever warm beverage you prefer. I hope you try them and let me know your thoughts!

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

Category: Uncategorized

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, slightly softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/4 Cups flour
*If you don't have pumpkin pie spice you can make your own mixture with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp ground cloves or any combination you like.

Instructions

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well. Add flour, mix until combined. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer.
Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes.
Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2016/10/12/pumpkin-spice-sugar-cookies/

I don’t normally refrigerate or freeze my cut out cookies before I bake them but a lot of bakers do to help minimize spreading so I thought I would see if it made a difference in my cookies. I froze the cutouts for 15 minutes before baking them. I didn’t find any difference in any of the cookies except the frozen cookies took longer to bake. As you can see I didn’t get any spreading with either cookie. It’s one of the things I love about this recipe.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

June 2, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams Leave a Comment

As I mentioned, in an earlier post, I have been trying to “cure” my stomach issues with diet rather than with medication. I will be honest and tell you it’s been a real struggle. I feel like it’s one step forward and two steps backwards most days.

One thing I needed to give up, at least temporarily, was wheat based products. I haven’t missed much but I do like a sandwich now and again or a piece of toast with my eggs. I haven’t heard many good things about store made GF bread so I decided I would make my own.

I have tried quite a few GF bread recipes and this is the one that I think is the closest to “real” bread. I have been making bread for a zillion years with great success but the technique for gluten free bread is totally different. It’s important to not over think the process. I had a couple of colossal flops before I figured that out. The technique is more like a dessert type bread than a yeast bread but the bread will look, feel and taste like yeast bread.

This is not my original recipe. I found it by doing a Google search for the best gluten free bread recipe. The search led me to a wonderful blogger named Kim. She has done all of the hard work and posted a recipe that is really great! I wanted a recipe that looked like “real” bread and seemed easy to make. This one fits the bill. I made a couple of changes to her recipe but my recipe is almost exactly as the one Kim posted. I used granulated sugar instead of honey because I cannot eat honey yet. You can’t leave out the sweetener because the yeast needs it to do it’s “thing”. The recipe I am posting is with the ingredients that I except for the oil. I used coconut oil and it does have a slight coconut taste. I have listed the oil choices Kim provided in her recipe. I will use a different oil next time.

Be sure to go over and read Kim’s blog post. She has a lot of great information.

A note about why I use a digital thermometer to check if the bread is completely cooked. Gluten free bread is a much moister bread than regular yeast breads. It may look done and sound hollow when tapped but it can still be too moist inside. When it isn’t done your loaf will collapse as soon as you take it out of the pan. Another blogger recommended using a thermometer to test the bread. It worked like a charm!

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

Category: Uncategorized

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup warm water
1/4 cup 1/4 cup oil of choice (canola, olive, corn, coconut, grape seed etc)
3 lightly beaten large eggs
1/4 cup honey or sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch
1 slightly heaping T xanthan gum
1 T (scant) dry active yeast

Instructions

Place water in a microwave safe cup and heat for about a minute. You want the water to be about body temperature or 100 degrees. The exact temperature isn't critical. It's better to be too cool than too hot.
Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of your mixer. Whisk until thoroughly blended. If you are using sugar add it now. If you are using honey add it with the wet ingredients.
Add all wet ingredients. Mix on low until all ingredients are mixed and then mix on medium for about 2 minutes.
Place in a greased loaf pan (I used a 9 x 5 inch pan). Spread with a spatula or damp fingers to get a fairly smooth top.
Place pan, uncovered, in a warm, draft free place to rise. I set mine in my oven with the light on and the door closed. Let rise for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 40 minutes or until done. I use a thermometer to check to see if it's done. I bake it until it reaches an internal temperature of 210 - 220 degrees.
When done, remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Take the bread out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2016/06/02/gluten-free-sandwich-bread/

24 Hour Yogurt

April 23, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 3 Comments

I have been having some stomach issues lately so I am in search of the reason why. I am hoping to get to the bottom of it by adjusting my diet rather than depend on medication to do it for me. I have been reading until I feel like my eyeballs are going to fall out. It’s a lot to take in and planning a menu that eliminates all of the things that could be causing these problems require a spreadsheet. I am spending the weekend preparing some things that will help me and will start, in earnest, on Monday. I am attempting to only eat the foods that are classified as Low on the FODMAP food list.

One of the things that I would have to give up is yogurt. I really love Greek yogurt and wasn’t happy to read that it wasn’t allowed. But, in reading further, I read that something called 24 hour yogurt was allowed. Off to Google I went in search of 24 hour yogurt. I used to make my own yogurt all the time and what I discovered is that 24 hour yogurt is made the exact same way except it is left in the oven for 24 hours instead of 12. The longer the culturing process goes on, the longer the culture has time to multiply, thereby increasing the amount of bacteria and acids in the yogurt while decreasing the lactose content of the milk.

24 Hour Yogurt

Category: Uncategorized

24 Hour Yogurt

Ingredients

2 quarts milk, I use 2% but you can use whatever you prefer
2 tablespoons commercial yogurt like Fage or any yogurt with live cultures.

Instructions

Put the milk in a pot and heat it to 180 degrees. If a skin forms on the top of it, skim it off. Allow the milk to cool to around 110 degrees. Whisk in the yogurt. Turn the light on in your oven. Cover the pot and wrap it with a towel. Place it in the oven and leave it for 24 hours.
If you want a yogurt that is more like Greek yogurt you will have to strain it. I have tried several different methods but I found the best, cheapest and easiest way to do it was by using a jelly strainer. Put the yogurt in the strainer and leave it for several hours. The whey will strain off and you will be left with a thick yogurt that also substitutes nicely for sour cream. I will add a link to the strainer that I use.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2016/04/23/24-hour-yogurt/

Whether you are trying to cut down on the amount of lactose in your diet or you just want to try making your own yogurt, I hope you will try this recipe and let me know how you like it.

This is a link to the type of strainer that I use. It comes with 2 bags. I put one bag inside the other to get the finest mesh.

Basic Chicken Stock

April 16, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 5 Comments

I wasn’t kidding when I said this chicken stock is the best stock you will ever make. It doesn’t have any fancy ingredients in it but it will produce a wonderful, full flavored stock that you can use in a multitude of recipes. Looking at the photo , the large jar of stock, on the left, shows the stock after it has been refrigerated and the fat has come to the top. The smaller jar, on the right, shows the stock after the fat has been skimmed and it has been heated. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Because I am on a low iodine diet, I had to use salt with no iodine it it. When I’m not on a low iodine diet, I use table salt. I prefer table salt to Kosher salt but I know a lot of cooks prefer Kosher salt over table salt. Use whatever you prefer. It will still be delicious.

The difference between stock and broth is stock is made from bony chicken parts and broth is made from chicken meat, like breasts. Making a good stock takes a lot longer than making a broth. Chicken stock tends to have a fuller mouth feel and richer flavor, due to the gelatin released by long-simmering bones. You will also notice that the chicken stock made from roasted chicken pieces has a much richer color than broth made from chicken meat that hasn’t been roasted.

I discovered that I could make the same stock, in a pressure cooker, in a fraction of the time. Instead of simmering for 6 hours, I cooked it for 1 hour. It took about 1/2 hour for the steam to get to the right level and another half hour for the steam to come down on it’s own. Two hours vs. six. Another advantage of using a pressure cooker is that you end up with a super clear stock.

You can also make this stock in a slow cooker. This will take longer but you don’t need to “babysit” the pot. You could even cook it overnight.

The recipe below is the basic recipe. I have done it with chicken wings, chicken parts, and a whole chicken. It depends on what I want to make with the stock. I usually make it with a whole chicken. Then I divide the meat and stock into meal size containers for the freezer. When I want to make a meal using one of the containers, I add cut up carrots and celery to the meat and stock mixture, season it to taste, simmer it for about 1/2 hour and then add cooked pasta, rice or dumplings.

Chicken Stock

Category: Uncategorized

Chicken Stock

Ingredients

4-5 pounds chicken wings
4 Large carrots - scrubbed but no need to peel
4 Celery Stalks - scrubbed
2 Onions - cut in half
2 Tablespoons oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 475
Put chicken on a foil lined baking sheet or other shallow pan. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. For a low iodine diet, use Kosher salt or table salt with no iodine.
Roast for 45 minutes and then add the onion, cut side down, to the roasting pan and roast 15 additional minutes.
To a large heavy-bottomed pot, add the carrots, celery, roasted chicken wings, onion and the juices from the pan. Add about a tablespoon of salt. Cover with 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer, uncovered, on low for 6 hours, skimming any impurities that float to the top. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer.
At this point you may freeze your stock in individual containers or refrigerate it for about 5 days.
You may also make this in a pressure cooker or a slow cooker.
Pressure cooker directions - After roasting the chicken put all of the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Do not fill your pressure cooker more than 2/3 full. You may have to adjust the water and add less to stay below the 2/3 line. Bring the steam up, cook for 1 hour, let steam go down on it's own. When you can take the lid off the pot, strain the broth and store or use.
Slow cooker directions - After roasting the chicken put all of the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover with water. Cook on low for 8 hours or overnight.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2016/04/16/basic-chicken-stock/

Living with and Enjoying a Low Iodine Diet

April 15, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 4 Comments

If any of you have had thyroid surgery then you are probably familiar with the much dreaded low iodine diet.

About 4 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid. I had a complete thyroidectomy, was put on medication and went on my way. If anyone has to get cancer, the type I had is a “great” one to get. It almost never metastasizes and almost never returns.

Along the way, I had to have a PET scan to see if there were any cancerous thyroid cells floating around my system. To prepare for the scan I had to go on a low iodine diet. Apparently, normal thyroid tissue takes iodine from the blood stream and traps it within the cell to make thyroid hormone. The reason for the low iodine diet is to deplete your body of any iodine. After a few weeks of this diet, you get a dose of radioactive iodine. The iodine will hunt down any roaming thyroid cells that might be in your body. The PET scan will be able to see them, if they are present. I was a little disappointed to learn that even though any thyroid cells would glow, I would not. There should be something fun that comes from all of this, right? Can you imagine the fun that I could have if I glowed in the dark? <sigh> Oh well, it wasn’t to be so I’ll move on.

The diet isn’t really that bad although there are a lot of posts, on the Internet, that say otherwise. First of all, it’s only for 2 weeks. We can do pretty much anything for 2 weeks. You can’t have anything with iodine in it. I won’t go into all of the foods that you can’t have (and there are plenty) but I will focus on what I could have. I love food and I was determined to eat as normally as possible and still have it taste good. I could use table salt as long as it was iodine free and I could have Kosher salt. There aren’t enough herbs and spices in the world that can take the place of salt, for me. Not all salt free products are iodine free but many are. You can’t eat anything processed because most cleaning agents, that commercial meat producers use, have iodine in them. You can’t have any dairy or egg yolks so that would present a challenge when making cookies and other goodies but I was pretty sure I could figure out something.

In the next few days I will share some of the recipes I have made while on this journey. My goal was to make a few things that would taste good, be easy to make, and use readily available ingredients.

When I am done with this diet, I have to go on another special diet. It seems I have reflux. I want to try to get a handle on it with diet and lifestyle changes rather than medication. One of the things I have to give up when I go on the reflux diet is gluten. To tell you the truth, I’m a little excited about that part because I have been dying to try more gluten free recipes. I have made a few gluten free recipes for friends who have Celiac Disease or who are gluten intolerant but I tend to make the same few things over and over again because I don’t like wasting ingredients on something that might not be good. So, now’s my chance. I will share what I learn in a few weeks.

Tomorrow I will post the best chicken broth that I have ever made (and I make a lot of chicken broth). Until then, be kind to yourself and feel free to ask any questions you might have along the way.

Working with colored cookie dough!

March 29, 2016 by sugarcoatednanagrams 8 Comments

Quite awhile ago I ran across a tutorial for a beautiful cookie that was made with layers of colored cookie dough. I always kept it in the back of my mind knowing I wanted to try it someday. After I saw a set of cookies on Facebook, made by The Cookie Monger, I knew this was the time to try it. What better time to make fun colored cookies than for Easter.

The cookies posted by Mensaje en una galleta were made with several colors of dough. I chose to try it with just one color at a time. Her tutorial is easily translated using Google Translate but I will outline the steps to make the dough and how to bake the cookies.

I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe rather than try her recipe. I feel fairly certain that this technique will work with any sugar cookie recipe.

The first thing you will need to do is decide which colors you want to use. I used a combination of Americolor Gel Neon colors and regular Americolor gel colors.

Divide your dough into as many colors as you want to make. I used three colors dividing my dough into approximately 7 ounce balls of dough. Put one ball of dough back into your mixer bowl and start adding the color. Start slow because you can always add more if you want a more intense color. Mix the color into the dough until it is thoroughly mixed, adding more color when needed. One thing I learned was that the color will be lighter when baked so make the colors a little deeper than you want them. I just wiped my mixer bowl out after each color rather than wash and dry it (lazy that day!) I did the pink dough first, then the blue and then the green so that if there was a little color left in the bowl it wouldn’t impact the color too much.

Once the dough is colored refrigerate for an hour or two or up to 3 days. You may also freeze the dough at this point.

In the tutorial that I was following, the main difference between her cookies and the way most of us make cookies is that she baked them twice. If I am understanding correctly (her blog is in Spanish), the double baking makes a crisper cookie and it doesn’t brown the cookie leaving you with a vibrant cookie all the way through. I tried it her way and the conventional way. What I discovered is that the cookies baked twice were indeed more vibrant and crisper. I thought they were delicious and a little different than what I usually make, even though the recipe is the same. When I baked the cookies once, the bottoms were slightly brown and the cookies were softer. It was like I had two different cookies.

Directions for double baking sugar cookies

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350
Roll the chilled dough out to your desired thickness (I rolled mine out to about 1/4") and cut into your desired shapes.
Bake cookies for about 8 minutes or just until the tops no longer look wet. The tutorial I was using didn't list a temperature or a time because she says that all ovens are different. She is right. You have to know your oven. My cookie recipe calls for 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. I tried a few different times and 8 minutes is what worked in my oven.
When done baking the first time, remove them from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes. Then turn your oven off and put them back in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely and then decorate as usual. It seems like it's a fiddly process but I think the results were well worth it.

Instructions

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2016/03/29/easter-cookies/

Here are a few of the cookies that I made with the colored dough. If you try it, please share your photos with me either here, on Instagram or on Facebook. I would love to see what you come up with.

Fig & Olive Crisps

June 4, 2015 by sugarcoatednanagrams 8 Comments

While visiting our daughter a few months ago, she served a really yummy “cracker” I had never seen before. I’m not sure what they were but they were like a small, thin, flavorful toast. I fell in love with them immediately! She had gotten them at Trader Joe’s. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, so I either had to buy a bunch and schlep them home, or I had to find a way to recreate them.

Once again I turned to my bff Google, and (as usual) she didn’t let me down. Come to find out, I’m not the only one who loves these crisps. There was a plethora of blog posts devoted to both the Trader Joe’s crisps and a similar cracker named Raincoast Crisps. I have never seen nor tasted Raincoast Crisps, so I’m not sure how similar my recipe is.

I loved the fig & olive combination but I wanted to add some seeds and nuts, as well. I have made them many times and have learned that anything goes when it comes to what you want to add or leave out.

One recipe makes about 80 crisps, and they will keep for a very long time if kept in an air tight container. Ours never last long enough to have to worry about them getting stale.

Let me know how you like them, and what combinations you come up with!

Fig & Olive Crisps

Category: Uncategorized

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup maple syrup
1 cup dried mission figs, chopped
1/4 cup red wine
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup brined kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raw pepitas
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 tbsp chopped fresh or dried rosemary

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F, and spray a 5X12 pan. Set aside. I don't have a 5 X 12 pan. I used several small loaf pans.
In a pan, heat the red wine and the balsamic vinegar together with the chopped figs to reconstitute the figs and add more flavor to them. Slowly simmer the figs until all of the moisture is evaporated, and the figs are almost dry in the pan. Let cool.
Sift together the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, and add both together (a standmixer is fine). Now, add the warm figs, the kalamata olives, and all the nuts and seeds. Mix well. Fill into the prepared pan and bake for 45 –50 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool thoroughly.
Slice very thinly with a serrated bread knife. Set oven to 300F and place slices on cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 12-15 minutes until crisp. If you give them a whiff with an organic canola or olive oil spray, they bake extra crispy. Cool on a cookie rack, and store in airtight container.

https://sugarcoatednanagrams.com/2015/06/04/fig-olive-crisps/