Thumbprint Jam Cookies

Hey everybody, sorry it's been a while.  Things have been busy at work and when I come home my husband has usually made dinner or is about to start dinner.  However, this past Wednesday I had off and since my husband, Tom, surprised me last week by giving me a new cook book I wanted to try baking one of the recipes.  The new cook book is called The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar Free Baking by Peter Reinhart & Denene Wallace.  Since I love to bake, I'm always looking for new recipes and new ways of baking.  This book doesn't use regular Gluten-Free Flour, but other alternative flours, like Pecan Flour, Coconut Flour, and Almond Flour.  So if you are allergic to nuts this book is not for you.  They also replace sugar with either Splenda (which I wouldn't recommend using since it's not natural) or Stevia (which is natural).  You can use Stevia Extract in the Raw or New Roots Stevia Sugar, or Splenda.  Splenda is a lot easier to find, it's at your local grocery store.  However, finding Stevia was a little more difficult.  I could have bought many many many boxes of it in those tiny small packages, but I wanted a large bag.  The only place I found it was at Walmart.  As for the New Roots Stevia, I think it's more expensive and I don't know where you can buy it, Amazon.com maybe? 

The first recipe I decided to try were these Thumbprint Jam Cookies, they were easy and came out delicious.

What you'll need:

2 1/2 cups (10 oz.) almond flour (I always weigh out my flour because I've noticed the end result is always better.)
1 cup (4 oz.) coconut flour
1 1/2 cups Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw, or 3/4 cup New Roots Stevia Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 salted butter or margarine, melted
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
About 6 tablespoons sugar-free jelly or jam (I didn't use sugar-free, I just used what I had lying around in the refridgerator.)

Position 2 oven racks in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly mist 2 baking sheets with spray oil, or line them with parchment paper or silicone mats and then lightly mist the surfaces with spray oil.

In medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt and whisk until well mixed.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, and vanilla together.

Add the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon for 1 to 2 minutes to make a stiff, playdough-like dough.  The spoon should be able to stand straight up with out falling.

To form each cookie, scoop out 1 heaping tablespoon of dough and, using oiled hands (I put jojoba oil on mine), roll it into a ball, then press it gently between your palms to flatten it slightly.  Place the cookies on the prepared pans, spacing them 3 inches apart.  Press your thumb into the center of each cookie to make an indentation.  Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of the jelly into each indentation.

Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans.

Switch racks and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.

Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the jam to cool.

Enjoy! 

Grow-a-Row Day Camp Trip

I don't know if I ever mentioned what I do for a living, but I work at an after school program, and in the summers it's a six hour day camp.  I work in the inner city of Paterson, New Jersey.  The kids don't come from wealthy backgrounds and probably witness things no child should witness at any age in their neighborhoods.  During the day camp, we were provided food from New Jersey's Food Bank to serve the kids breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday.  The Food Bank offered a trip to a farm, called a "Grow-a-Row" farm.  Here's a link to learn more about what Grow-a-Row is.  The farm we went to was in Pittstown, New Jersey called Peaceful Valley Orchards.  This farm was very big, and we were there to have the kids pick their own corn and green beans.  The kids loved picking their own vegetables, some were very excited and ended up with bags too heavy for them to carry.  Hey, we warned them, "you pick it, you're carrying it." 

I brought home six ears of corn, which was very sweet corn, and many green beans.  Since I had brought some extra money, I thought I'd buy some things the farm was selling.  I bought some plums, two jars of jam, and a small cider drink.  The plums were very tiny, maybe a little bit bigger than the pits they encase.  They were also extremely juicy.  If I lived close to that farm, I know where I'd be getting my produce. 

I also mentioned I bought some jars of jam, and a bottle of cider.  The cider was peach cider, and I wished I bought more bottles, but that one bottle I bought was expensive. 

The jars of jam were worth every penny.  I have been using them on graham crackers, for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as well as a morning English muffin or raisin cinnamon muffin.  I must  find this company and find out where they sell their products, since I don't live close to Pittstown. 

I never had a chance find a good corn recipe, so I just brought the ears over to my parents' to have for a Sunday dinner.  I did get to make a yummy vegetable medley with the green beans though. 

I cut up some zucchinis, red and yellow peppers, as well as the green beans and tossed them in some olive oil and garlic.  I think I served it as a side.  On the side of what, I can't remember.  This goes back to mid-July.