Valentine's Day

"How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics 

so important a biological phenomenon as love?" 

- Albert Einstein

I still imagine Valentine's Day as it was in grade school when it was just about hearts and flowers and giving cheesy valentines. In that tradition, I made some cookies to bring into school. They are simple sugar cookies with pink vanilla buttercream frosting. They were an excellent tool for procrastination Monday night! 

a beautiful bouquet from my dad :-)

Sugar Cutout Cookies

1 1/4 cups icing sugar

225 g butter, softened

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or flavoring of your choice)

1 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 tablespoon xanthum gum

Beat the sugar, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, salt, and xanthum gum slowly and mix until the dough comes together. It will seem dry at first, but it stays too dry just add about a tablespoon of water. Divide the dough in half, pat into round disk, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit for 20-30 minutes, or until it is soft enough to roll out. Prepare your rolling surface by sprinkling flour on the surface and your rolling pin. I use baking parchment to roll out on and wrap cling film around a wine bottle for my rolling pin. Cut out your cookies using any shape cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet (they can be close together, they won't spread too much). Bake at 190 C for 10-14 minutes or until the edges are just starting to brown. Transfer the baking parchment from the cookie sheet to a wire rack and allow to cool before frosting.

My mom's buttercream frosting:

It is hard to write a recipe for this as it is mostly done on feel, but you can loosely follow this...

115 grams butter, softened

1 box icing sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste

milk

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the milk in increments until the desired consistency is achieved. Add the vanilla last, mixing until combined. Taste and feel should govern this recipe! Color with food coloring, or leave white. This recipe is great on cakes as well! 

New Year, Same Us

New healthy diet for the new year? Nah. Honestly, chocolate cookies are better than greens...especially these cookies. An improvement on the chocolate cookies from our housewarming party, they really keep their chocolate chunks and taste incredible! I couldn't even get a picture of them before they were all gone!

Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
115 g butter
24 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or you can buy chocolate chips)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 190 C and line 2 baking sheets with parchment baking paper. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthum gum. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the butter and half the chocolate until melted (on 30 second intervals, stirring between each). Whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Slowly add this to the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in the remaining chocolate. Let cool for 15 minutes. Scoop in heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, placing 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges are hard and the tops have cracked. Cool on wire rack (though best eaten warm and gooey!).