#1 - Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies (**** 4.5/5 stars)

Time To Eat: about 35 minutes

Prep Notes: These were easy to make; no need to chill dough and I didn't even roll the balls but used a small ice cream scooper to make them and then used the other side of it to flatten them.

Drum Roll Please! - Overall Score
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars  - all smiles
Standard Ingredient/Taste Comparison Score:  5/5 stars
You could not tell a difference between a 'regular' cookie and these.


I gave these to kids in the neighborhood.  They gave them two thumbs up and an 'up tongue' to add!  
They were gobbling them up as we said good bye; cookies were gone before kids got home.  Adults loved them too.  They were chocolately and crispy and light.  Using shortening instead of margarine or oil helped.  If you are looking for a chewy moist cookie, try shortening the baking time or go with another recipe but if you want crunchy, crispy chocolate goodness - these are the ones to bake.


I will bake these again!  This one is a winner.

It's amazing to get results like these after years of trial and error and finding the authors that really come up with recipes that work.   I remember not being able to bake a cookie that didn't turn into a gooey mess in the oven, no matter how many recipes.   Oils in cookie batter ended in disastrous results for me.  I think it must have been sometime in 2nd year of my DD life that she had a cookie for the first time.


It took me months and a friend's help to track down a kosher margarine (Mother's Passover version) that didn't contain soy and milk and I remember purchasing like 40 lbs. of it to safe keep for future.  I remember being in tears when she had her first cookie and probably have a photo of it somewhere.  It was a great moment for me and I learned to persevere and keep at it to make it great.   So don't give up when cooking with alternative ingredients - it's a re-learning process of cooking/baking chemistry!

The Challenge - Bake All Recipes in Cybele Pascal's "Allergen Free Bakers Handbook"

The Book: "The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook" - by Cybele Pascal

The Project: Bake and review all recipes in this cookbook.

The Reasons:


I love to bake!  But beyond that, I am trying to discover whether allergen free baking can be delicious to the point that kids/adults cannot distinguish it from standard baked fare.  I have close to a hundred cookbooks and I do love them but the problem is that when I'm making something I want it to come out great given the cost, time, and energy I'm expanding on it and yet I have not discovered a good site that does what the now famous "Julie/Julia Project" blog by Julie Powell did - really get into these great books to figure out what's amazing, good and so/so.

So as my children are getting older, I have delved into the food preparation overtime having a child with many food allergies.  I have as of lately been told I should go into baking as a career.  I love it but do I love it that much?  Well before I do something more permanent career-wise, I want to test the bounds of my love and dedication.

Food is so personal and simultaneously social.  It unites us in celebration and has the ability to point out those of us that cannot partake because of food allergies, diabetes, and other food related issues.   In my experiences I have met people who were open to new ingredients and others that have refused to try and have looked upon the 'safe' foods with judgment that it just "cannot be good", suspicion about it because it's "not real food!"  And so I am challenged in a way to raise awareness about the 'normalcy' of baking without eggs or milk or gluten or nuts or peanuts.  I want to make it real as it is real to us that manage food allergies on a daily basis.

How will it be evaluated?  The judges of the recipes will be the kids in my neighborhood and in school. Friends and neighbors will also weigh in on the 'debate' of how the recipes are!  Why kids?  Because they don't lie about food and if a recipe is great they'll rave about it or otherwise.

Timeframe: Unknown - Tentative Finish Goal April 1, 2011!


So I hope this may be helpful to you as a bystander so you can zero in on just the right recipe for brownies, cookies, cake and bread.

And we are off!  Wish me luck.