Gluten-Free Casein-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

My daughter had a party with our church group yesterday, and they were having cookies and popcorn. I always want to make sure she has tasty food to bring, so she won't feel left out. The popcorn part was easy, but cookies are always a bit more challenging, especially when we try to do low sugar. I adapted this recipe from a Toll House recipe. They were a hit!

1 c. shortening (I used Spectrum Naturals, which is non-hydrogenated palm oil)
1/2 cup xylitol
1/2 cup packed coconut sugar
1/8 tsp. stevia (you probably don't need it, but I used very low sugar chocolate)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend (3/4 c. rice flour, 1/2 c. potato starch, 1/4 c. tapioca starch)
3/4 cup almond flour (you can replace it with the gluten free flour blend if you have a nut allergy)
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips (I used a dark chocolate very low sugar bar and broke it into pieces)

Cream the shortening, xylitol, coconut sugar, stevia, and vanilla. Add eggs and blend well. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and slowly add to the creamed ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips/pieces.

Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets by spoonfuls, flattening the dough a bit with the back of the spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove immediately from the cookie sheet to cool on wire racks.

Note: Because of the almond flour in this recipe, I store the cookies in the fridge. This recipe made 2 dozen cookies when I made them.

Chocolate No-Bake Bars

1/4 cup cocoa
1/8 tsp. stevia --or more, depending on what kind you use. I used the pure Nunaturals stevia for this recipe today. I think I like the liquid NOW stevia glycerite better for this. I used about 1/2 ts...p. of the liquid last time I made these
1/2 cup honey (if you don't like stevia or honey, you can replace with about 2 cups of sugar)
1/4 cup xylitol (or honey)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup non dairy milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups gluten free rolled oats

Place all ingredients minus the vanilla and oats in a large saucepan. Melt and stir the ingredients over medium/high heat until melted and bubbly. Take off the heat and add the vanilla and oats. Spread into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Refrigerate until hardened. Keep refrigerated.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

1 cup gluten free flour (I used garbanzo)
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
2 T. o...il
1 c. milk
4 eggs
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic
Veggies of choice like carrots, peas, onions, etc.
Chicken or whatever meat you want **
Daiya cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the first 8 ingredients in a bowl. In a sprayed muffin pan, add 1 tablespoon of the mix into each muffin cup. Add veggies, meat and cheese. Top with another 1-2 tablespoons (depending on how much room you have left) mix. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until they test done. Remove immediated from pan onto wire rack. Serve warm.

**I haven't tried this idea yet, but I would think you could make a pizza type mini pie. You could use veggies like onions, green peppers, black olives, etc., and use pepperoni or sausage as the meat. Then you could top it or serve it with pizza sauce.