Chocolate Chip Cookies, allergy safe!

My, oh my it has been a busy couple of weeks!  We have had so much going on, and after this week the rest of March is already pretty tightly booked.  My Etsy shop needs serious attention as does my laundry and house, but so have my kids and they always come first.  After a rough weekend (Friday night trip to the emergency room with River when she bit through the sides of her tongue, which was every bit as awful as it sounds, followed by a 24 hour stomach virus for me), I started the week 2 days behind in my projects with deadlines. Despite this, on Monday I made a "executive decision" to have coffee with a friend instead if catching up on my projects during the hours that I normally work while the youngest kids are in preschool .  After the weekend we had, I deserved it, and it was well worth it.  I left feeling refreshed and reconnected with the world just from the simple act of casual conversation.  Thanks Cristin!  I also have a new sewing tutorial in the works, inspired by that conversation and my attempts to scribble a sewing lesson on a paper napkin.  It's really for Cristin, but maybe some of you will enjoy it as well. Stay tuned for that, hopefully this weekend! So Monday afternoon, I did get white bread baked for the week as well as banana bread, but between ballet lessons, homework and bedtime, not much else.

I planned on getting caught up on Tuesday, since Mark was home all day too, but we ended up having company most of the day.  First my mom and a fantastic friend recently home from a military deployment.  Nothing that I had to do held priority over that visit.  Then my in-laws, who always understand when I need to work while they are visiting, but I ended up hanging out instead. By evening, Chloe was running a fever.  Never a dull moment.

As for me, I think the down time was a wise choice, because today not only did I get almost completely caught up (and by now I was 4 days behind!), but also played outside with the kids a bit, straightened the bedrooms, helped with homework, made dinner, cleaned the kitchen and did 4 loads of laundry.  I never would have gotten caught up on work if Mark had not entertained the little ones today (and he got the garden tilled to boot!), and if work had been hanging over my head I never would have had the (semi) focus and drive to get everything else done.  Especially since, other than the laundry which I had running while I was downstairs working, I did everything else that I listed after he went to work for the night.  The kids were all  completely not whiny or argumentative, either, which is always a bonus.

I decided that we all deserved a treat, and since It was an hour too early for a martini for me (vodka, dirty and slightly dry, 2 olives, please!) and Chloe, who has been eating next to nothing for weeks, has been asking for chocolate chip cookies, that seemed like a great idea.  The only problem was that my old standby recipe that used to be allergy safe for Cassidy contains applesauce (important since it is egg and dairy free) and she now clearly has a pronounced reaction to apples.  So I poked around in the kitchen for a bit and tried out a new allergy safe version.  Lucky for us, they turned out really well, and made plenty.  Luck for you, I'm going to share the recipe with you all now!

Allergy Safe Chocolate Chip Cookies
yield: about 30 cookies

3/4 cup non-dairy margarine (I use Earth Balance), softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3 Tbsp. soy milk (if avoiding soy, use coconut milk)
1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp non-dairy cream cheese (or vegetable shortening, in a pinch)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup allergy safe mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together the first 5 ingredients (margarine, brown sugar, soy or coconut milk, vanilla and cream cheese/shortening) until smooth.
Mix everything else except the chocolate chips (flour, baking soda, baking flour and salt) with a whisk and gradually add to the sugar mixture, beating well.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop by  teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes.
Let cool slightly on the sheet, then move to a wire cooling rack.

I'd love to know what you think of this recipe, so feel free to leave me a comment!

Now, since the kids are in bed, I must get back to my martini...

Real Chocolate Syrup, dairy and corn syrup free!

 Before I get started, if you look to the right, you will see that you can now subscribe to my blog via email.  I know some of you noticed this already, because the number of email subscriptions that I can see on my end is growing!  You can also follow the blog using your existing Google, Yahoo or Twitter account, just scroll down a bit to the bottom of the right hand column for that option.

By now most people reading this know that we make a lot of our daily food from scratch.  We both enjoy cooking, but there are other reasons. Sometimes due to family food allergies, usually because it tastes better, almost always because it is healthier.  There is a 4th reason that only applies to some of the recipes, and that is because even if a healthy, allergy friendly version is readily available and affordable, dumping a few ingredients in a pot and stirring is ten thousand times easier than taking 4 small kids to the grocery store to buy, for example, chocolate syrup.

So that's how this recipe happened for the first time.  Added bonuses for us are that it is non dairy (some dairy free versions are at most grocery stores) and high fructose corn syrup free (not so readily available at the store) and while it does contain plenty of sugar, it's a bit more chocolatey and a touch less sweet. But those last 3 are just the reasons that I keep making it, batch after batch. It all started with me not wanting to drag the 4 minions out to the store on a cold, rainy evening.

It's so easy that I bet you'll start making your own, too.

Allergy Friendly Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
dash of salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Combine everything except the vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture starts to simmer and thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Let it cool a little, but you can enjoy it warm over ice cream or brownies or cold in chocolate milk (or rice milk, or soy milk).  Make sure you store it in the fridge.  We put ours in an empty ketchup bottle that we washed out and saved because it is easy to squirt onto or into things, but a mason jar or tupperware work too.

Thanks for stopping by!