I have a confession: I have a secret rebellion I cannot seem to reform. I bring it out into the open here in a desperate attempt to convince myself of my folly. I CANNOT FOLLOW A RECIPE to the letter. This has worked out surprisingly well, further encouraging the rebellious tendency. But my creativity has proven disasterous on several occasions like the time I was left staring at the sad puddle of goo stuck to the bottom of the pan that was supposed to be beautiful, moldable marzipan to lay atop my son’s birthday cake.
I’ve tried and tried and tried to be good, to measure every ingredient, mix it just so, and include every item on the list. But there’s that little voice that says, “What if we tried to use almonds instead of walnuts, why not juice instead of milk, what about adding a little flax seed to these donuts to give them at least a little nutritional value? This little jar looks about half a cup. What will happen if I just leave that odd ingredient out that has never ever inhabited my cupboards, I mean who’s gonna miss half a teaspoon of “cream of tartar” anyhow?
The result of almost anything I whip up in the kitchen is rarely the same twice. Hence my delinquency in posting new recipes. I hate measuring and actually recording what I’ve thrown together. But, for once, I’ve tried to follow a recipe a second time to make sure it will really work. Here’s a recipe I’ve stolen from a church cook book and modified beyond recognition. I made it again today (struggling frightfully to follow my own recipe) to make sure it won’t end up a brown lump stuck to the bottom of your pan.
Jackson loving refers to these as “Bar?” The intonation echoes my oft-repeated question, “Jackson, do you want a bar?” And everyone in our family will eat these!
Bars
1 cup prunes, softened and smashed (opt.)
2 eggs
1 cup organic peanut butter
1 cup raw organic sugar
1/2 cup ground raw almonds or almond meal
1/2 cup ground raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon molasses
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups oatmeal (make sure it’s GFCF, I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup chocolate chips (GFCF)
Mix all ingredients thoroughly except oatmeal and chocolate chips. Stir in last two ingredients and pour into a 9 X 13 inch pan for bars or form dough into cookie balls and drop onto cookies sheet. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes for bars or 8-10 minutes for cookies.
Optional Topping:
My oldest daughter came up with the brilliant idea to add more chocolate and peanut butter to send the yummy factor over the top! We melted about 1 cup of GFCF chocolate chips (we love Enjoy Life brand) and stirred in about 1/2 cup of peanut butter and smoothed it all together over the top of the cooled bars. YUMMY-licious! Super messy when eaten as a finger food, but soooooo worth wiping chocolatey fingerprints off the dining room chairs!
It’s like a disease: I think I will always include substitution suggestions and ample room for experimentations or warnings when my own creativity failed (or my rebellious vice was my downfall). Not to encourage similar rebellion, but…feel free to NOT follow my recipe, and send me your suggestions!
For more info on the GFCF diet check out these links:
Autism and Diet
Autism GFCF Diet: How Long?
I love it!
I too have the same covert rebellion!