Pumpkin Cookies

Time to take a short break from the travel journal. After all, life continues to flow on in the here and now.

Election Day in the U.S.A. has come and gone. I'm happy that our local libraries will likely receive more money and that Sweetie will likely continue to be a director of our local fire board. I say 'likely' because there are still something like 20,000 absentee ballots to count. The day after the election there were about 50,000 so I'm hoping that it is down to 20,000 by now. It's a lot of work making elections work.

Not at all happy about the presidential election, but California continued to support diversity in our choices of at least some of the people we are sending to Congress, including a local senator-elect Kamala Harris. Wednesday was a mixed bag.

One of the great things that happened is that on Wednesday my attention was turned to the challenge of making three dozen cookies that were dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free. I was determined to also make them as delicious as any cookie that has dairy, gluten and eggs. The owner of my gym, DeDe Cool of Cool Fitness and Training, had invited Dr. Kate Tenney, N.D., Integrative Medicine, Clear Center of Health, Inc. to speak at the gym, after hours today, on ways to deal with Lyme Disease. It was a fund raiser for H.O.P.E. for Healing Institute. Dr. Kate asked that the refreshments be those 'free' cookies and the local bakeries either don't make that kind of cookie or wanted $2 per cookie (Whole Foods). I received a 'what should I do?' message from DeDe and I knew just what to do...make them myself.

As you can see, the cookies I came up with were bite worthy...and they were a big hit.

After a short time looking at my favorite cookbooks, plus a copy of one from the library by Alice Medrich (whom I met when she had a fab bakery in Berkeley eons ago), I cobbled together a recipe for Pumpkin Rocks Which Are Gluten-free, Dairy-free And Egg-free.

It's the season for pumpkin! These are yummy, soft, spicy drop cookies with raisins and walnuts and pumpkin. They smell like fall and taste so good that I almost didn't have enough for the event since Sweetie really liked them. The 'Rocks' in their name is because they are bumpy like rocks, not that you should bake them until they are hard as rocks...think soft!

I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking mix, but the recipe also has a flour mixture you can mix yourself, if you prefer. I used Ener*G egg substitute and water to replace the egg.

I used dairy-free margarine instead of butter. I used canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix), but you could substitute fresh pumpkin that you bake, de-seed, and process in a blender or food processor to a puree. If you use fresh pumpkin, you may need to add a bit more flour mixture. When you scoop the cookies onto the parchment paper or foil, the drops should sit up in a mound, not flatten out. If they flatten out, add more flour mixture until they sit in mounds.

They, of course, can be made with regular gluten containing flour and with butter and with an egg, but they are just right without any of those. People with Lymes Disease often have to eliminate gluten, dairy and egg (and sometimes other things) from their diet in order to maintain maximum health and well-being. Since I have to do without dairy now, I know what a difference it can make. Still, with a little bit of effort, you can still have delicious things to eat. These cookies are one of them. Enjoy!

Large, thick, soft, spicy and old-fashioned cookies

Gluten, Dairy and Egg-Free Pumpkin Rocks
Based on a recipe in Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies and
a recipe in Alice Medrich's book Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy

2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mixture (Or use the Gluten Free Baking Mixture below)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 lb (1 stick or 4 oz.) non-dairy margarine, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
egg substitute for 2 eggs (I used the powder and water mixture amounts on the box to make two eggs)
1 pound (about 1 3/4 cups) canned pumpkin...not pumpkin pie filling
1 cup (5 oz. ) raisins
2 cups (7 oz.) chopped walnuts - medium sized pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut aluminum foil to fit your cookie sheets. (I used parchment paper because I wasn't doing the glaze.)

Sift together the flour mixture (see below for how to make flour mixture or use a one-to-one gluten free flour mixture-Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour both have good ones), baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice and set aside.

Cream the margarine in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in both sugars. Add the egg replacer and water and beat to combine. Beat in the pumpkin.

On low speed gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, beating only until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the raisins and walnuts with a flexible spatula or wooden spoon

.

Use a rounded tablespoonful of the dough for each cookie, and place them 2 inches apart on the cut aluminum foil. Slide cookie sheets under the foil or parchment.

Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes, reversing position of the sheets if necessary for even browning.

Cookies are done when lightly browned and spring back if gently pressed with a fingertip.

Cool on racks if not glazing.

Optional Glaze:

2 tablespoons softened non-dairy margarine
1 1/2 cups gluten free confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy, almond or rice milk

Place all the glaze ingredients in the small bowl of an electric mixer and beat until completely smooth. The mixture should have the consistency of soft whipped cream. It might be necessary to add more liquid (either lemon juice or nut milk) or more sugar. Cover the glaze airtight when you are not using it to keep a hard skin from forming on top.

If glazing cookies, after you remove the baked cookies for the oven, slide the foil off the cookie sheet and immediately, while the cookies are very hot, brush the glaze generously over the tops. It should be a heavy coating, which should run unevenly down the sides.

With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool The glaze will dry completely.

Gluten Free Baking Mix For These Cookies

1 cup and 3 tablespoons oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

Old Favorite Anzac Cookies A New Way

This has been a summer of integrating old and new. On the new deck we used some of the old framing, but then used lots of new lumber for the decking and railings. We have a new outdoor carpet anchoring an outdoor living room with a very old wicker couch and chair and an almost new rocker.
Here is Sweetie enjoying the rocker and some dragonfly lights from our daughter.

Some treasure from my Mom's home arrived a few weeks ago and I have been finding them new homes around the house so reminders of her are everywhere. It makes me smile.

I made Straight Shooter Anzac Cookies for his birthday. Since I wanted to be able to eat some of them myself, I made them gluten and dairy free...old and new again. The old recipe was given to me by MaryEllen from Perth, Australia, the wife of an old friend of Sweetie's. Since ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps and since Anzac cookies were sent to the Australian and New Zealand troops during (I believe) the first and second World Wars, and also sold to raise money for veterans between the wars, getting a recipe for the cookie from an Australian born and bred is special. I hope she is OK with having a gluten free version.

To make the change, I substituted butter flavored Crisco for the butter. Since both get melted I don't think it makes a big difference in the texture and the flavor will be a little different with any butter substitute. I was amazed at how the butter flavored Crisco kept most of the buttery flavor in the cookies. The other change was to substitute gluten free baking mix for the all-purpose flour and self-rising flour. I also added some baking powder and salt since I wasn't using self-rising flour. I left out the nuts, but did put in some golden raisins. Straight Shooter was quite please and, except for the cookies being a little more crumbly than usual, he said they were just like his favorite old Anzacs.

So why should you make these? Well, they are fully flavored and chewy with the coconut, just a little sweet with the brown sugar, golden syrup and raisins, and really delicious, plus they are a great cookie with milk, tea, or coffee...or by themselves.

ANZAC Cookies Gluten Free
based on a recipe from MaryEllen Godfrey

1/2 cup (1 stick) non-dairy butter, melted (I used butter flavor Crisco shortening
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons golden syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup gluten free rolled oats or regular rolled oats
1/2 cup gluten free flour mix (I used a mixture of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, and cornstarch)
1/4 cup gluten free oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet, mini-muffin pans, or decorative small cake pans.

Melt the butter or shortening in a large pot and mix in the hot water and the golden syrup and brown sugar.

In a bowl mix together the rolled oats, flour mixture, oat flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda. Add this mixture to the pot, along with the coconut, raisins and nuts (if using). Stir until well blended.

Form cookies by dropping by teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet or by filling the mini-muffin pans or small decorative cake pans. Cookies don't rise much but they spread a little so space them a couple inches apart on the baking sheet if using.

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on a rack 5 minutes, remove from pan and cool on a rack until completely cool. Enjoy. Store any not eaten in an airtight container.