Domino Cookie Copy Cat Recipe

Before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I absolutely loved these super chocolaty cookies from The Great American Cookie Company. They are such a rich chocolate and chewy cookie with white chocolate chips. The past few weeks I've been looking for a recipe for these cookies, but everything I've seen didn't look like it would work with gluten free ingredients. I finally pulled few ideas together and decided I would just "wing it".

I wish I could explain how AMAZING these cookies are! I mean, holy cow, I can't get enough of them. I seriously think they taste almost exactly like what I remember The Cookie Company's tasting like. To be completely honest, they don't taste gluten free, at all. If someone else would have made these cookies for me, I would have been very nervous about thirty minutes after my first bite. They are THAT GOOD! Make them and let me know if you agree!

Domino Copy Cat Cookies

-2 Sticks of Softened Butter (1c)
-1 1/2c. Sugar
-2 Eggs
-2t. Vanilla
-2c. Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix
-3/4c. Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
-1 1/2c. White Chocolate Chips

Combine the flour and cocoa powder in a separate bowl with a whisk, set to the side.

Cream together the butter and sugar. When it's well combined, add the eggs, one at a time and then add the vanilla. Get all of these ingredients well incorporated and then start to add the flour and cocoa powder mixture. After all ingredients are well mixed the dough will be very thick. At this time fold in the white chocolate chips.

Place 2T. size dollops of cookie dough on to parchment paper lined cookie sheets (I used my silk mats) and place in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes and then move them to a cooling rack. Enjoy them warm or cooled. Either way, they are incredible!!!

All Natural Popsicles

My sweet Hadley absolutely LOVES popsicles. I haven't really found a good all natural popsicle on the island that is low in sugar (besides natural sugars) and isn't packed full of artificial flavors and colors. A few months ago, we decided to try making our own and I can not tell you how much she loves them! The last batch I made, I used all the strawberries and bananas I had on hand, and it didn't make enough "popsicle batter" to fill up our six molds, so I added some of her apple juice to be a filler. This go round, I had plenty of everything so that I didn't have to put anything else in this batch except for fresh fruit.

These popsicles are 100% gluten free, dairy free, nut free, and all natural. Including, no extra sugar added. You really can't beat these popsicles, they will cost a little more to make (versus buying at the grocery store) but they are a guaranteed crowd pleaser and you know that they are 100% safe for your kids!

All Natural Popsicles

3 Bananas
2c. (Aprox. 20) Dieced Strawberries
1 1/2c. Blueberries

Place in a food processor and combine fruit until desired consistency is reached.

Makes 3 1/2c. of  "Popsicle Batter". For the size molds we have, it made six popsicles with about 1/3c. left over for us to eat.

Gluten Free Meatballs

I wish I could tell you that this is a meatball recipe that has been in my family for "years", but it has not. Growing up, we didn't eat a lot of spaghetti. My Mom was (and still is) a wonderful cook, she was very creative and we always had something delicious on the dinner table, but we didn't eat a lot of tomato based sauces because my Dad had a bout with stomach ulcers when I was in the first grade. I remember when my Dad would be out of town at a conference or mission trip, we would ALWAYS have spaghetti one night. Funny how little things like that, stick in your memory, even 20 years later. Being the lucky one that I am, I inherited my Dad's stomach and bouts of painful acid reflux, so I usually have to stay away from heavy tomato based sauces. There are times though, where I keep the acid reflux meds in my pocket and eat it up!

Clint loves spaghetti and meatballs, so every now and then, I pull out all the stops and throw together these meatballs. I use all dried ingredients when I make these because I let them sit overnight after I have rolled them together. In my opinion, letting all those dried herbs sink into the meat overnight, makes a huge difference.

Gluten Free/Bread Free/Flour Free Meatballs

1.25lb Ground Turkey
1/2-1t. Sea Salt
1/2-1t. Freshly Ground Pepper
2t. Dried Minced Onion
2t. Dried Oregano
1/2t. Dried Sage
1/2t. Dried Thyme
1T. Dried Parsley
1/2t. Dried Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
1/2t. Dried Garlic Powder
2T Batch 501 Original Sauce
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 Egg Yolk

LIGHTLY Combine together all ingredients, do not "over mix". Once all ingredients are combined, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of meat. It is basically 2T of meat mixture. Lightly roll into a ball and place in a 9X13 baking dish that you have drizzled with olive oil. Continue until all the mixture is gone.

Makes approximately 15 meatballs, depending on size.

Let meatballs sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, bake for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 165, place them in your spaghetti sauce and let them sit there until dinner time.

ENJOY!

Banana & Blueberry Muffins

It has been almost six years since I've had a blueberry muffin and before Celiac, they used to be one of my favorites!!! I was at Sam's a few days ago, and decided to grab their 2lb. container of fresh blueberries. It's probably the cheapest place on the island to buy ANY fruit, and it still isn't that cheap. Clint and Hadley both love fresh blueberries, and my parents are coming to visit this week, and they do too, so I figured, "why not?".

Clint had to work Saturday, and when I asked Hadley what she wanted for breakfast, she said, "muffins, but not the apple ones". That's when I remembered I had all those blueberries! She got excited when I told her we would make blueberry muffins and that's when I started to think about my Dad. He's recently found out that he is just borderline diabetic (it's a family thing). I wanted to see if I could make these without any refined sugar so that I could make them again this week. I almost did, but then added some brown sugar. When my Dad is here, I will probably use honey instead, and I think they will still be delicious! ENJOY!!!!

Banana & Blueberry Muffins

For this recipe, I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I kept the motor running and added everything in the order as listed below. I think the order is very key in these muffins, so try to make them in this order!!!

1 Banana
1 Egg

**Combine until smooth**

1/4c Brown Sugar or Honey

**Combine until smooth**
1/3c. Coconut Milk or Regular Milk
1t. Vanilla
1t. Cinnamon (optional)

**Combine until smooth**

1 1/2c. Pamela's GF Baking & Pancake Mix
(1/2c. At a time)

**Combine until smooth**

Turn off mixer and remove from base.
Fold in 1c. Fresh Blueberries.

Grease muffin tin and fill 3/4 full with batter. Bake on 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

OPTIONAL (But delicious!!!!)
Brush with melted butter IMMEDIATELY after removing from the oven. Let muffins stand for a few minutes and then remove from muffin pan and ENJOY!!!!!!! These are even delicious the next day! I could taste the cinnamon more on the second day, so if you aren't a cinnamon fan, don't add the cinnamon!