Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan and Whole-Grain)

Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that this is a chocolate cookie that is whole-grain, vegan, and still manages to be as chewy and delicious as the best chocolate chip cookies you've eaten.

The bad news is that this is a chocolate cookie that is whole-grain, vegan, and still manages to be as chewy and delicious as the best chocolate chip cookies you've eaten.

What this means for you is that you will want to eat ALL OF THE COOKIES because they will fool you into thinking that they're actually healthy. And granted - they are definitely healthier than other chocolate chip cookies. But yeah. Unfortunately, they're not actually all that healthy (no matter what I tell myself as I pop yet another one into my mouth).

But they are that delicious. I wasn't sure what to expect with these, as it was the first recipe I'd tried from the wonderful recipe archive Yum Universe. And me = blown away. Also, my friends = blown away. These are fabulous little treats!

I didn't really adapt the original recipe much at all. The only thing I did was use organic granulated cane sugar because I didn't have sucanat on hand. I also added more vanilla extract than what was called for because, well, I seem to always do that. If you're making these for someone with a soy allergy, double check all ingredients, especially the chocolate chips (which often have soy lecithin in them). Otherwise, just do what the nice lady tells you and you will not be sorry.

Click here to get this recipe. And you're welcome. You should also check out the rest of Yum Universe's plant-based recipes - they all look so delicious!

German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)

Many years ago, before I was diagnosed with celiac, I spent two years living in Germany. And in a way, I'm grateful for the fact that I wasn't yet diagnosed. Sure, I felt awful most of the time and struggled with all kinds of symptoms that come with undiagnosed gluten intolerance. But on the upside, if I had to be dealing with all of that, at least I was surrounded by some of the best glutenful food I've ever tasted. The softest pretzels, the most delicious and refreshing (and largest) wheat beers, Bavarian potato salad I could probably eat a vat of, and bread. Oh, the bread.

The bread in Germany is of a very different strand than it is here in the U.S. We tend to enjoy softer, more pliable breads here; breads that will soak up your peanut butter and jelly, and cushion your club sandwich. But not German bread. German bread is unapologetically solid. It packs a punch and is often the wholest of whole grain and has a dense texture studded with lots of seeds and nuts.

I love it. 

So when this month's Gluten-free Ratio Rally challenge for bread rolled around, I knew just what I wanted to make: a replica of my favorite German bread, Vollkornbrot ("fully seeded bread"). I relied mainly on dark whole grain flours like teff and buckwheat, added apple cider vinegar for a sourdough-like flavor, and dumped a full cup of seeds in there - pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds. And you don't have to stop there. Go wild. Add whatever you want. I'm pretty confident it will turn out to be delicious. 

A big thanks to Karen of Cooking Gluten Free for hosting this month's Rally!

Ruhlman's ratio for bread is 5 parts flour to 3 parts water, but I ended up needing to add a bit more water to mine, so that my ratio ended up more like 5 parts flour to 3.5 parts water. I made this in a bread machine, but you could certainly make it the traditional way and just let it rise for a good 30 - 45 minutes in a warm place before smoothing it into a bread pan and baking in a conventional oven.

This won't rise very much, but that's ok. That's the German way, at least for this particular style of bread. It's meant to be very dense and cut into thin slices. My German roommates and I used to sit around the breakfast table for hours, chatting away the late morning and cutting slice after slice. We would eat it with all kinds of wonderful jams, Nutella, slices of cheese with butter.... After this loaf came out of the breadmaker, I felt so nostalgic that I pulled out some of my homemade German Forest Berry jam to enjoy spread across a toasted piece.

I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Here's the recipe, and be sure to check below for the links to the rest of the fantastic bread creations that my fellow Ratio Rally friends came up with!

Breadmaker German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)

100 g teff flour

75 g buckwheat flour

50 g sorghum flour

25 g potato starch

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal

2 tbsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. salt

1.5 tsp. xanthan gum

175 g warm water

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. sugar

3 tsp. rapid rise yeast 

1 cup mixed seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, etc.)

Bread machine directions:

Combine the wet ingredients and the yeast into the bread machine pan. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except for the mixed seeds (which you will add later in the bread machine cycle). Pour them over the wet ingredients and set the bread machine to the gluten-free cycle. After the first rise (during the second knead) or whenever your bread machine tells you to do it, add the cup of mixed seeds and stir to mix well. Make sure to spread the dough out evenly in the pan. Let bake for the rest of the bread machine cycle. Remove from pan when done and let cool on a wire rack.

For conventional ovens:
If you are making this in a conventional oven, no problem! If you go this route, you'll want to proof the yeast before you add it. To do this, stir together about 1/2 cup of the water, the tbsp. sugar, and the 3 tbsp. yeast and let sit in a warm place until it doubles. Combine the dry ingredients, including all of the seeds and nuts, and then add all of the wet ingredients at once and mix well. Place into a greased bread pan, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 - 60 minutes, or until it's grown substantially in size (it may not double, but it should get marginally bigger). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to about 350 F. When the bread has risen, stick it into the oven and bake for 25 - 40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom and the edges are golden brown.

More Recipes
Check out these other wonderful options for some gluten-free breads to try from my fellow Ratio Rally friends!

Adina | Gluten Free Travelette  Seedy Sandwich Bread
Angela | Angela’s Kitchen  Our Family’s Basic Gluten Free Dairy Free Bread
~Aunt Mae (aka ~Mrs. R) | Honey From Flinty Rocks  Chia Millet Bread
Brooke | B & the boy!  Buckwheat-Oat Bread
Charissa | Zest Bakery  Cherry Pecan Pot Bread, Gluten Free  
Claire | This Gluten-Free Life  German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)
Erin | The Sensitive Epicure English Sandwich Bread (gluten-free & egg-free)   
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine  Gluten Free Boule
Jonathan | The Canary Files Gluten-Free, Vegan Mediterranean Soda Bread
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free!  Gluten Free Sandwich Bread/Gluten Free Naan
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan  Vegan Gluten-Free Bread
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie  Ciabatta (gluten-free, egg-free/vegan)
Monika | Chew on This!  amaranth skillet flatbreads, amaranth mini pita rounds
Morri | Meals with Morri No Knead Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Flatbread (yeast free/grain free) 
Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem  Gluten-Free Challah
Rachel / The Crispy Cook  Gluten Free Chickpea Sandwich Bread
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies  Gluten Free White Bread
Tara | A Baking Life  Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread & Boule

Whole Grain Cherry Almond Zucchini Muffins (Low-fat!)

"There's something very summer about cherries," someone at work said to me this week.  I couldn't agree more, and what perfect timing he had, because there just so happened to be a sale on cherries this week.  Organic cherries, at that.  And conditioned by years of watching my mother stockpile groceries, I followed my instincts.  I came home with 5 pounds of dark red cherries, glistening with matte condensation.

Ambitious as I may be, I can't eat 5 pounds of cherries before they go bad.  I needed to find some way to use them, or at least to preserve them.  So I started pitting them (my fingers are still slightly purple), and one episode of Gilmore Girls later, I had a mountain of halved, pitted cherries sitting in front of me.  Begging to be used, and pleading with me to infuse something baked with their tart sweetness.

The flavor combination was easy, because cherries go beautifully with almonds.  Theirs is sort of a famous little affair.  So it was really just a matter of finding the medium I was in the mood for.  In the end, I settled on muffins.  Whole grain muffins, specifically, and ones that would use less fat.  Muffins I could eat a few more of without feeling guilty.  Which turned out to be a very wise choice in this case, as these muffins turned out to be heavenly - a little too heavenly for comfort, actually.

Mine turned out to be pretty moist, which is partly due to the substitution of applesauce for some of the oil, and partly due to the shredded zucchini and squash (I used half zucchini and half yellow squash simply because that's what I had in my kitchen, but you should feel free to use all of either, if you only have one or the other).  The fresh chopped cherries add a tart sweetness, the perfect complement to the almond flour and extract.

The bottom line is that they're fabulous, and would be wonderful to eat any time of day (I, um, may have turned them into my dinner tonight).  So next time you find yourself wondering how to use those cherries you just bought, try this recipe out.  And I dare you to stop at just one.

Whole Grain Cherry Almond Zucchini Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup combination of teff flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup smooth applesauce
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup shredded/pureed zucchini and/or yellow squash
1 egg
1 tsp. flaxseed meal + 1 tbsp. warm water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional)
3/4 cup chopped (pitted) cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a muffin tray or spray with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix well.  In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, applesauce, shredded zucchini/squash, sugar, egg, flaxseed meal and water, and vanilla and almond extracts.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to mix.  Add the chopped cherries (with as little of the water as possible) and stir to mix.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 350 F for 25 - 35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.  These end up being very moist even after baking for a long time, so definitely take them out after 35 minutes.

Multigrain Breadmaker Bread by the Gluten Free Goddess

You know how gluten-free bread sometimes withers under the heat of the oven?  How it looks so full of yeasty promise, only to deflate disappointingly once you attempt to actually bake it?

I've been hearing rumblings of the wonders that a breadmaker can work on gluten-free bread, and as I was lucky enough to inherit a Breadman Breadmaker from my cousin recently, I decided to try out a recipe from Karina's website (always trustworthy) in my first attempt to use it.  She raves about her Multigrain Bread in her blog, and so I decided to give it a try.  I followed her recipe pretty exactly, using real eggs instead of egg replacer and used all water for proofing the yeast instead of using half non-dairy milk.  I also left out the seeds on top (and I only did that because I stuck this in the breadmaker at an ungodly hour of the night after a marathon paper-writing session and promptly fell asleep before it was time to add the seeds on top).

The result?  Mine was a little dry, but made a beautiful piece of toast spread with sweet jam.  And it slices!  It slices without falling apart!  I'm inclined to blame myself for the slightly dry texture because I originally only used 1 cup of warm water to proof the yeast since I'm not cooking at a high altitude like Karina was.  I think next time I'll use the full 1 1/4 cup and see if it turns out to be any moister.  Overall, though, it was a pretty good loaf of bread and held up well in terms of texture, and was particularly good as toast.  I think everyone's breadmaker will be slightly different, so I'd start with Karina's original recipe and then tweak from there.  Even if mine turned out a little dry, it was still eons above some of the store-bought stuff I've choked down.  Thanks for the recipe, Karina!

Almond Quinoa Crackers

I tried a recipe from The Gluten-free Goddess' website for my first attempt at crackers, and I was very happy with how they turned out. I don't have a rolling pin at the moment, so I just pressed them down with my hands, which made them a bit thicker than regular crackers, and also a bit softer than regular crackers.  But they were still delicious.  I ate some spread with peanut butter, and some with tuna salad spread over them.  And some of them, I just ate plain, appreciating the wonderfully grainy texture and the slightly sweet aftertaste.  Store these in an airtight container for several days, and keep them in the fridge to make them last longer.

Find the recipe here.  I used a real egg instead of the Egg Replacer and made half with the onion/garlic powder and half plain.  Both were great, but for spreading something like peanut butter or jam, make the plain ones.

Buckwheat Millet Griddle Scones

These could not be easier, really.  You toss the ingredients together, stir, and plop dollops of the dough onto a hot pan.  Flip.  Done!  They're essentially pancakes, but somehow, magically, they turn into scones in the pan.  They are slightly sweet (made less so depending on how much sugar you want to add) and beautifully grainy, turning golden and crumbly as they cook.  I used a combination of buckwheat and millet flour, but I think you could try it with any other grainy gluten-free flours (such as sorghum).  They even hold up pretty well; I was able to cut them in half and make an egg sandwich out of one, and it didn't fall apart in my hands as so many gluten-free breads tend to do.  I made them a bit sweet, so they turned out tasting like more like a teatime snack than real bread, but they were delicious nonetheless!  Perfect drizzled with honey or with strawberry jam spread over a piece hot from the stove.

Buckwheat Millet Griddle Scones  (Adapted from "The South African Cookbook for Allergies and Food Intolerance")

½ cup buckwheat flour

½ cup millet flour

¼ cup fine maize meal

Dash of salt

1/8 – ¼ cup raw brown sugar, depending on how sweet you want them to be

¼ tsp. baking powder

100 ml water

15 ml oil

1 medium egg, beaten

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine the water, oil, and egg and mix well.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix to form a soft, sticky dough.

Heat a nonstick frying pan on high until hot.  Rub a little oil into the palms of your hands and shape 6 flat cakes from the dough.  Place 3 at a time in the frying pan and close the lid.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Cook scones for 3 – 4 minutes and then cook on the other side for another 4 minutes.  Serve piping hot; split and serve as preferred.  You can also store these in the fridge