Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies the Gluten Free Way

One of the most annoying things about gluten free baking is all the ingredients needed, and the small amount of yummy treats it yields.  Things tend to dry out fast and basically not be as delicious as the "normal" baked goods.  Last night, I wanted to make gluten free chocolate chip cookies, but didn't want to fuss with multiple flours a million ingredients.  I did something bold, my friends: I used the recipe on the Toll House Dark Chocolate Chips package, only I substituted the "all purpose flour" for Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and added a 1/2 tsp of xantham gum.  That's all I changed and boy oh boy was it was a great experiment.

**A note about these chocolate chips: They don't say "gluten free" on the package, but do not have any ingredients that have gluten.  I am very sensitive, and ate them without any problems at all (except maybe the problem of wanting to eat a million of them)**

A couple tricks I found helped make this chewy and delicious:

1. Before putting the sheet of cookies in the oven to bake (use parchment paper!), put them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

2. Under cook them a bit.  If you look at them and say to yourself, "just another minute or two" take them out.

3. Store them in a big Ziploc that is tightly sealed, so they don't dry out as quick.  The next day, mine are just as chewy as they were after cooling.  I froze half of them too, so I could take them out when ready and microwave them for about 20-30 seconds.  Delicious!

Keep Them Busy With a Simple Rainbow Craft

 

This morning, Atticus told me he wanted to do a craft.  He wanted colors, glue and cotton balls.  He also wanted a squirrel and a giraffe, but I didn't have those things handy.  It dawned on me that he hadn't done much with rainbows in the past, and what a no brainier to set him up with a good old fashioned rainbow project.  He was thrilled.

We started by talking about colors and where rainbows come from and then he just went to town on creating his own.  This is a great way to practice colors, cutting skills for preschoolers (though, he gave up on the scissors and helped me rip pieces of paper instead) and let them use their creativity with how they want the rainbow to look.  I found myself close to correcting him on the color order, but where's the fun in having someone telling you how to make your artwork?